Television schedules these days are punctuated by a great many quiz shows on which contestants compete to win money, holidays, and above all, pride. The viewing public play along at home, insistent that if they were to go on that particular show that they would perform significantly better than the idiot using two of his three lifelines before the £1000 landmark, or the bloke who thought it was Marilyn Manson who famously sang happy birthday to the President John F. Kennedy.
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| CJ - The evil face of teatime quiz shows |
One of my personal favourites is ‘Eggheads’, where teams challenge a formidable quiz machine, made up of five from a pool of around eight expert quizzers. Kevin is imperious, I have never yet seen him out-witted; looking at him, it is hard to imagine him doing anything other than digesting encyclopaedias in his one bedroom flat with the faint sound of Babestation in the background as his only company. Daphne and Judith make up the female contingent on Eggheads and are often targeted as the weak links by their challengers, but despite preferring to spend their time scantily clad on street corners - rather than revising - they are seldom defeated. The rest are an unimpressive blend of middle aged men whose flair for general knowledge is their only redeeming feature. A paragraph about the Eggheads would not be complete without mention of possibly the most horrific human being on the planet. CJ epitomises everything that is wrong with the world and whilst there are no amount of words that could describe how much the British population despises him, anyone who has seen the programme will know what I am talking about.
‘Pointless’ is a pioneer in the evolution of television quiz shows and is made all the more enjoyable by its dynamic duo of presenters, Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, who - when the roaring trail of fire that their quiz is currently blazing, dies out - could easily carve out a career in the comedy industry as a double act. The concept of the game is a clever one; pairs of contestants must battle stupidity and nerves to answer questions with the least common answer (kind of like the opposite of the format on Family Fortunes). For example, when presented with the task of identifying the world’s most evil men, CJ from the Eggheads would earn you a high score whereas Joseph Kony would produce a more desirable lower yield. The four pairs that begin the game are whittled down over three rounds, before the final round in which the remaining duo competes for what is admittedly a pathetic prize fund when compared to other shows.
Not all of the newer quiz shows are good though; the less said about ‘Cleverdicks’ – Sky Atlantic’s recent stab at a quiz show - the better. The show consists of a decrepit Ann Widdecombe - labouring with haemorrhoids - firing questions at an array of poorly dressed, yet unquestionably intelligent, virgins.
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| Ladies man - Roy Walker |
‘Catchphrase’ is often cited as one of the best Gameshows ever to grace our television screens, in its prime Roy Walker hosted the show in which two contestants would compete against each other to correctly identify a plethora of animated catchphrases; ‘Say what you see’. A great deal of fun to play from the comfort of your own home, ‘Catchphrase’ offered a lucrative reward for the victor, in the shape of a holiday to some far flung resort on top of any money accumulated throughout the show. ‘Catchphrase’ and its famous mascot Mr Chips, saw a brief revival in the early noughties, post Roy Walker but the show was never the same without the Irish lothario undressing the female contestants with his eyes.
A mere 15 questions stood between contestants and one million pounds on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ but few managed to reach that landmark, even with the aid of three lifelines. One individual who did manage to conquer the 15 questions was Judith - of Eggheads fame - who nonchalantly answered the Million Pound question correctly. One contestant on the American version of the show who, when faced with the life changing Million Dollar question, had the gall to use his final lifeline to ring his Dad and tell him he was about to become a millionaire. Whilst the feeling of winning the jackpot is most likely the pinnacle of that person’s emotional capabilities, the feeling of answering one of the early routine questions wrong and leaving the company of Chris Tarrant empty handed must be hard to take. This was never going to be an issue for Major Charles Ingram who, with the help of a coughing accomplice, cheated his way to £1,000,000.
Gameshows provide society with an academic outlet, a means of affirming one’s metal capacity and intelligence. There are many components that make up a successful quiz show: a charismatic host, an interesting concept and a play-along-at-home appeal. Britain’s love for Gameshows and the apparent enjoyment in watching others squirm under pressure will ensure that the producers at Challenge TV will remain in employment for years to come.
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