IFAP is still an unfortunate acronym, though.

By | April 7, 2018

Tonight’s revelation on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway is that the popular Stephen Mulhern game segment In For A Penny is going to series.

This is very interesting. As we’ve pointed out time and again, vox pop shows just don’t get audiences, they look too light and cheap to be worth bothering with. IFAP is sparkier than most and Mulhern is good with the public, the question is can you sustain a four-minute segment -which may or not be being carried by the show surrounding it – across half an hour or whatever it’s going to be? Is an audience going to cope with 30 minutes of fast cutting? Or will they slow it down a bit and will it stop feeling like In For A Penny?

Answers in due course. There’s only really been one successful version of the idea, no it’s not Ready or Not, but Billy On The Street in the US, but really that’s half an hour of quite smart comedy masquerading as a quiz show. It’s telling that IFAP tends to play up comedy interactions rather than the game itself.

7 thoughts on “IFAP is still an unfortunate acronym, though.

  1. John R

    Makes me wonder if ITV are giving this a go why on earth they didn’t decide to give Go For It another chance, that was quite a good Mulhern vehicle with quite a similar prize budget.

    Reply
    1. David B

      Go For It was something of a guilt trip commission, bundled with the rights to The Voice, if I heard correctly.

      Reply
  2. Luke

    I can see this sort of working in a You’ve Been Framed slot, with You’ve Been Framed money* and You’ve Been Framed expectations**. Nice lead-in to something like Celebrity Chase. Not the sort of show to anchor an evening.

    I don’t think you could cut back and forth between teams in the same way but if the focus stays on the comedy interaction rather than the games, I can see it working. I’m imagining it a bit like the first half of Total Wipeout – focus on one person’s entire run, and then a few miserable failures together.

    *I’m assuming that You’ve Been Framed is dirt cheap even after all those £250s.
    **I’m also assuming that You’ve Been Framed hasn’t been quietly doing four million and I just haven’t noticed.

    Reply
    1. Weaver

      You’ve Been Framed does up to 2.5 million on Saturday nights. It’s very variable on the weather and what’s on other channels.

      Remember Don’t Say It Bring It on UKTV W last year? I’d hope for that sort of speed – a little less breakneck than we’re used to, four complete games in one show, with some comedy from Stephen Mulhern as we go.

      Reply
  3. Dash

    I would happily give Steven my penny if he comes by. Can’t wait!

    Reply

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