Kenneth Clarke’s Civilization. Attenborough’s Planet Earth. Epic documentary series both.

And now there’s a new landmark documentary to add to the list, Ben Justice’s Top 100 UK Gameshows of All Time. Justice is a little different from your average punter, he actually works in development (with shows to his name including last year’s best-selling format All Together Now, Richard Osman’s House of Games and Benchmark) and may have a different viewpoint to the audience. Will you agree with his choices? Every Friday he’ll be ticking another ten off the list and we’ll be showcasing the video at Bother’s Bar.

So without further ado:

Thursday, 10pm,
Quest (Freeview 37) or online (live or catch-up)

Well this is a bit of an oddity and no mistake, Al Murray (the person, not the character) in a makeshift pub hosting a pub quiz with Shaun Williamson, slowly but surely losing his Barry From EastEnders moniker after about twenty years, playing the barman whereas seemingly Al Murray, the pub landlord character, is nowhere to be seen. Maybe it’s for the best, Fact Hunt and Compete For The Meat didn’t do great things after all.

Two proper pub quiz teams, along with a celebrity team captain, compete in a quiz to win a golden tankard and cash prize. Al asks the questions, Shaun is the Pointless Friend. Hopefully comedy will ensue (it was pitched as comedy I believe), but it sounds like the quizzing element will be played fairly straight.

It’s certainly a unusual commission for Quest, which is Discovery’s Freeview arm. Let us know what you think in the comments.

9pm on ITV and the trails indicate someone gets to see a million pound question.

I hope they’ve still got Ask the Host.

Thanks to TV’s David Bodycombe for alerting me to a full episode of non-hit Les Dawson 1991 BBC1 quiz Fast Friends is up on Youtube.

Our favourite bit, obviously, is the 17 frames of our Les dancing in front of a green screen to make it look like he’s at the hip party. It’s so hilarously incongruous it’s the one thing I remember about the show above anything else (and round one).

So as someone who is outside the demographic now I wanted to create something to make Bother’s Bar more relevant to the youth. And what is more relevant to the youth than an animated GIF? “I cat have cheeeezburger” and the like. Anyway I’m proud to announce that the Dancing Dawson will, until we forget it exists a la The Jim Bowen Greatometer, accompany new shows I reckon are really good, like some sort of Crash Smash sort of award. It’s quite large, so I will hide it under a cut. I’ve also slowed it down so hopefully it won’t require an epilepsy warning.

So for whatever reason at my work’s tea table yesterday conversation got round to the father of utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham (via Abducted in Plain Sight, best of luck) and someone pointed out that his actual body was on display at University College London, but with a specially made head as they suggested the actual head was likely too disgusting for public consumption so they made a different head for public display.

At that point I compared him to Worzel Gummidge, the scarecrow played by Jon Pertwee who also had the ability to change heads. But because I’m the sort of guy who is popular with the 16-34 demo and hangs out with people ten years younger (I’m 37) obviously this went over their heads.

I then asked if they knew who Una Stubbs was. Of course not. I asked if I should give you a clue. My older colleague understood.

Anyway, the point is they should do 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Give Us A Clue.