Board of Excitement 16th-22nd January 2010

By | January 16, 2011
21 Comments

Well there’s not much on this week, so I’m first going to remind you that it’s the first event of The Bother Series of Poker 2011 this evening with another picture of some of the ‘great’ prizes on offer to the overall winners:

The fun starts at eight, although I think you’re allowed ten minutes of late registration should you forget then have a sudden realisation you should be somewhere at that time.

In other news:

  • Perfection – Nick Knowles pops-up with the first episodes of troubled BBC2 true or false quiz. A Show Discussion box for this will be avaliable tomorrow. (4:30pm, Monday-Friday, BBC2)
  • Only Connect – It’s the Crossworders vs Alex Guttenplan off of University Challenge +2. I saw Guttenplan walking through a college once. FACT. (8:30pm, Monday, BBC4)
  • Total Winter Wipeout – I’m just going to merge the two shows here for now. Winter Wipeout is on Thursday on ABC in the US, Total Wipeout is on Saturday at 6pm on BBC1.
  • Poll of 2010 – look out for the results for this sometime this week. Look out especially for the special statistic on how well “2010 was a really bad year” would have done if all the protest votes counted as one. 

Also in the States, American Idol begins a Cowell-less run on Wednesday and Thursday and Fox are also holding back on ratings missile Million Dollar Money Drop as no new episode airs this week as it’s the President’s State of the Union address on Tuesday. Apparently. Edit: No I’m wrong about that, there’s an episode Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Endemol Joe has news of a new pilot being filmed:

Hello Bothers Bar readers. Please start applying for Endemol’s new ITV gameshow which is set to be a smash hit: http://www.itv.com/beontv/newgameshowpilot/default.html

It is similar to The Chase but better.

Anyone over the age of 18 and any gender will be eligible to enter.

So there we are. It also sounds like it’s only going to have six questions an episode which I can’t help but feel misses some of the attraction (or, HEH, the thrill) of The Chase. It’d be interesting to know which bit of Endemol is making this, I’d be much happier trusting the old Endemol West guys to make an entertaining show compared to the old Brighter Pictures lot.

Show discussion: Schlag den Raab 15/1/11

By | January 15, 2011
45 Comments

Before we begin, final reminder that the Poll of 2010 closes tonight at midnight, the results will follow ooh, sometime in the next week hopefully.

However tonight is the first Schlag den Raab of 2011. Look out as Stefan Raab and a contender play Ker-plunk for tonight’s jackpot of €500,000. Tonight’s musical guests are Bruno Mars, Adele and Max Mutzke (I know I can’t believe it either, Max Mutzke!)

The action starts at 7:15pm GMT (8:15 CET) on ProSieben, although hopefully there will be a naughty internet stream for everyone outside of Germany.

The Chase

By | January 13, 2011
57 Comments

The Chase on ITV1 is not by any means the perfect show, but it has the force of personality to paper over the cracks and as such is a show that I approve of even though I don’t really make time to watch it on a regular basis.

Today’s episode (that of the 13th January) was a complete cracker and I’m really glad everyone alerted me to it. Mark Labbett is basically perfect in his chasing role and everyone seemed to be having a rather jolly time (except the bloke on the end). Also, the criticism I was making at the start of the series, that the muliple-choice round questions had become a bit pub quiz machine-y, seemed a bit less appropriate today.

Right then – presumably Chasers are on some kind of performance related pay, but what I would like to know is who sets the amounts that get played for in going up or down a step? Is the Chaser just acting as the mouthpiece of the producer? Or is it a bit more interesting than that?

Some quick reminders

By | January 12, 2011
29 Comments

Because I have quite literally not much free time between now and the weekend I’m going to “do” some reminders:

  • Poll of 2010 – If you haven’t voted in this yet then please do so, the results are currently looking quite interesting. Lines close Saturday midnight.
  • Schlag den Raab – there’s a good chance I won’t be around for this, but I will make sure to leave a discussion post whether I am or not.
  • The Bother Series of Poker 2011 – many people who didn’t play last year sounding interested on Twitter so fingers crossed it’s going to be a good turnout on Sunday for the first event. May have a hilarious special guest in the form of my brother. You can register for it right now!

MPD returns

By | January 11, 2011
25 Comments

Million Pound Drop – Live! returns for another eight-part run on Fridays and Saturdays, 10pm on Channel 4 from the 28th January.

Hat tip to Travis P.

Meanwhile, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire apparently isn’t except in specials form. It’s a sad end for The Most Important Show In The History of TV (I’ve always said if you want to know why TV is like what it is today the 20m viewers Millionaire was getting in its heyday is the genesis), still Chris Tarrant is on The Magicians this weekend.

I think there’s something amusing about the fact that Who Wants to be a Millionaire? is only going to be played by (likely) millionaires in future (or at least people who are very well off). What should they change the title to?

Edit: Endemol Joe suggesting the story is bogus and civilian contestants are not off the cards. Make of that what you will.

Fun Thing Found on Youtube Monday

By | January 10, 2011
18 Comments

Right, flicking around the pages of UKGameshows.com (as you do on occasion) found myself clicking through to the page on Terror Towers which would have been something I wrote, Christ, about nine-ten years ago now probably and was quite excited to see there are now videos on Youtube of it, of which here is one of them.

I remember seeing the ‘making of’ on barely-remembered Saturday morning show Telegantic Megavision back in the day, in particular the Nightmare Room is a stage built entirely on rockers being pushed back and forwards by stagehands, with a camera they can spin through 180 degrees. Although you could probably guess that for yourselves.

I always thought it was a great little show with an appealing setting. Steve Johnson got some brilliant gigs back in the day, this and Mousetrap on Motormouth which was a really really good interpretation of the game. Whatever happened to him?