I discovered this morning that Travis lost his stroke battle this morning at the age of 30 (edit: apologies, 29, 30 next month), which is no age at all. Our thoughts are with his family.

Travis was a regular contributor to the comments of this site (his knowledge of contestant minutiae remains unmatched), and was a source for much of our feature material. He will be missed.

As you’ve doubtless gathered, it’s basically Christmas and basically I’m out having various dinners because I’m so popular and that. Expect a low level of service over the period (although I’ll be around variously and it’s the final Schlag den Raab of the year on Saturday and Placebo are on it! So look out for that.), there’s not much news about anyway. However here are some things you might have missed:

• Pointless Celebrities on Saturday outrated Sports Personality of the Year in the overnights, the award show that middle-class ratings watchers said would beat the X Factor Final. Ha ha, no. Former host Jake Humphrey SHOWED HIS DISPLEASURE:

How can ‘Pointless Celebrities’ average a higher audience than Sports Personality this weekend?!? That is simply daft! #SPOTYIsLegendary

— Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) December 16, 2013

• Paolo Bonolis’ agent has threatened they’ll stop making Avanti un Altro! if another Mediaset channel dares to put Big Brother on opposite it. AUA is frequently breaking its audience records. Ah! Italian television. Anyway, perhaps he can host a UK version, which would likely be terrible otherwise.
• We’re having a chat about The Genius series two here. It is, as ever, interesting.
• Wie is de Mol? begins on January 2nd. We have a page set up for it.
• De Slimste is BACK in the Netherlands! It’s only been a few months since the last series.
• The first Bother’s Bar Monthly Open poker game will be on January 5th. Registration is not yet open, but you can certainly join the poker club right now. Actually can I still call it an Open if you have to join a club for it? Never mind.
• And finally, we’re aware that regular punter and supplier of lots of feature material for this site Travis Penery has been very ill (as in intensive care ill) recently, and we wish him all the best for a speedy recovery.

Remarkable Television are looking for contestants for a new ITV quiz show. If you are chatty, confident and quick thinking and you want to win a cash prize, drop remarkabletvquiz@endemoluk.com a line. Lines close 15th Feb (although that may be extended), you will need to be 18 or over.

Good luck! No idea what it is.

If you want to apply for the new 15 to 1, send an e-mail to 15to1apps@remedyproductions.tv, don’t hang about audition places are limited and happening throughout January, closing date January 17th. By the sounds of it they’re looking for characters but don’t let that put you off. They haven’t revealed what the prizes are – whether it be a piece of pot or hard cash, but I wouldn’t be expecting the sorts of money they were throwing around for the celeb episode. It sounds like 19 heats and a final with the top 15.

If you hadn’t gathered, 15 to 1 is returning with four celebrity specials fronted by Adam Hills and twenty civilian episodes with Sandi Toksvig. We discussed the earlier one-off here, and we have been discussing the show’s prospects now it’s definitely happening here.

MEANWHILE the new Fifty 50 Show is out. In the LANDMARK 45th episode, Lewis Murphy chats to two-thirds of Only Connect semi-finalists and crazy guys the Board Gamers. Likely to be a fun episode, check it out:

• Direct download!
• Show notes!
• Subscribe on iTunes!
• Subscribe on RSS!

So here’s something fun and interesting, our good friends at the terrific Knightmare.com (here’s their Twitter) tweeted us this morning alerting us to the fact that an episode of Broadsword’s short-lived BSB show The Satellite Game has been uploaded to Youtube. It’s the very first episode, and with thanks to the uploader (one of the contestants) here it is!

I know it’s the first episode and as such there’s going to be a bit of explaining of the set up, what I wasn’t expecting was the kids basically not doing anything meaningful until the last five minutes or so – it’s all very heavily led with the command computer (Freyja Westdal) and Lari the Droid (voiced by David Lerner of Pickle the Elf fame who in fairness is quite funny here given the constraints) basically not so much nudging the contestants in the right direction (of which there seems rarely more than one anyway) so much as using a full on tractor beam. It’s a bit dull. The graphics have a sort of charm although there seems a clear delineation between the led bits and the bits with the kids in direct control, which look a bit like an 8-bit Freescape game.

A curio, and one Tim Child admits wasn’t very good, but also that the lessons learnt from it meant Knightmare avoided a similar later fate.. Here’s some more information.

David Rowe did some of the artwork for this, you can still fund his Art of Knightmare Kickstarter.

In sad news, watching The Genius just got a whole lot harder as Bumdidlyumptious’ Youtube channel got taken down. However undeterred, it sounds like they are looking for another outlet, so fingers crossed we will be able to watch series two after all which began this weekend. You are advised to follow on Twitter for latest news.

Edit: And now 15 to 1 has got its series – 20 civilian shows with Sandi Toksvig and four celebrity ones with Adam Hills, so we will finally be able to put the “is it worthwhile?” question to bed next year.

I’ve got my 31 Questions badge and David M Green signed photo… have YOU? There is still a week-and-a-bit to contribute to the next series of Bother’s Bar favourite low budget cable access show if you are that way inclined.

We’re all about the crowdfunding at the moment seemingly, look out for a “fund Brig a Playstation 4” Kickstarter soon.

In audience news:

• They’re recording more episodes of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown in Manchester, recording dates 12th and 16th December.  Recording session times suggest either a lightning fast turn around for four shows or recording lots and editing into two shows.
• The Cube records 13th-17th January at the Fountain Studios in London.
• Chef Simon Rimmer is hosting a new quiz/cookery show called Truffle or Tripe? where contestants answer questions to earn prized ingredients whereas people who answer less well get less useful foodstuffs. Then they make a meal. It sounds like a quizzy reversioning of Ready Steady Cook. It records in Islington January and February variously and sounds like it’s for Channel 4.

Dale Winton’s doing a new lottery show where couples get to win items on their wishlists.

FINALLY, because I’m fed up with finishing second every year my Sundays are busier than they were there will be no Bother Series of Poker 2014, look out instead for the Bother’s Bar Monthly Open due to be held on the first Sunday of every month. Details will go up on the BB Poker Page nearer the time. The BSOP and Mix It Up Real Good may return at a later date.