On ABC in the US this last week an exciting new (old?) block of shows, Sunday Fun and Games, starring Celebrity Family Feud (a known entity), The $100,000 Pyramid and Match Game, all shows that have been done before (indeed C/FF has been a going concern for a while), Pyramid recently on GSN, Match Game variously in the 90s (and quite recently on Canadian television, both English language and Quebecois).

They are certainly findable if you know where to look and are willing to put up with pop-up ads (irritatingly if you want to use magic to use ABC Go you need to wait for over a week to watch “officially” unless you have a subscriber number).

The new shows are both very good, slick productions very true to the originals, albeit with more whooping. Also an hour of them feels a bit too much, Pyramid is tight but repetitive, Match Game has a bitty-ness that begins to grate three-quarters in. Both feature two full games (and Pyramid makes no secret of the fact it’s just two episodes from two tapings back to back), it’s almost a shame they don’t do The Pyramid Match Game Hour for twice the number of weeks.

I enjoyed Alec Baldwin hosting although the scripted gags felt a bit too scripted. Michael Strahan was confident, if a bit blandly competent. The sets terrific – loved the trilon screens on the Pyramid, for example.

Everything seemed to do fairly well, it remains to be seen if anyone will try anything like this over here, although with ITV apparently resting many of their remade hits maybe now is not the time.

Trailers for the new, emotional series of Robot Wars have gone up on the BBC’s Youtube page.

There are also trailers for the upcoming second series new run of The Getaway Car.

Tomorrow night in the US is the new Sunday Fun and Games strand on ABC featuring all new episodes of The $100,000 Pyramid, Match Game and Celebrity Family Feud. I’m sure there will be ways for them to become “available” eventually outside the US.

With the UK facing it’s own *political* Sliding Doors scenario on Thursday, that gives us a great if very tenuous excuse to link to a full episode of La Piste de Xapatan, not one of our favourite Jacques Antoine shows to be honest but not without interest, a woman hunts for statues in a cave whilst men go on the “trail of Xapatan”, looking for clues to determine which of the statues is worth a lot of money to the professor whilst trying to avoid elimination in rather samey physical challenges against the guards. But they’re all against the clock because in Xapatan the train always leaves on time, will they make it?

For a more detailed write-up we wrote a feature quite a long time ago. Good theme tune.

Edit: In other news, Challenge have got a new logo look:

With thanks to Buzzerblog for spotting this, Endemol Shine have a format called Trapped Doors knocking about, a show where couples must escape a series of concentric circles banking money along the way by picking good doors. Run out of keys and it’s game over.

The game doesn’t sound all that, it’s a scratchcard basically. But just take a look at the set. Very cool, and a potential health and safety nightmare.

In other news, Endemol Shine are working with the director of Bother’s Bar favourite The Genius for a new show called Society Game, which is looking for contestants. We’re trying to work out what it actually is.

“A mock society game show will unfold in a controlled village environment over 14 days between 22 contestants.”

— Bumdidlyumptious (@Bumdidlyump) June 17, 2016

“If you complete the challenges given to you and survive until the end, $100,000 will be yours.”

— Bumdidlyumptious (@Bumdidlyump) June 17, 2016

“Join the special survival game about ‘society’ and ‘leaders’.”

— Bumdidlyumptious (@Bumdidlyump) June 17, 2016

Interesting stuff. Basic translation suggests something a bit like Survivor In A Village, but I don’t know.

Great news for fans of comedy sort-of gameshows (or at least Unscripted Of Interest), the new series of Murder in Successville starts on BBC3 on iPlayer (with a proper broadcast at some point in the future) TODAY, episode one is Vicky Pattison.

Certainly the Jaime Laing episode last year was the hardest I’d laughed at anything for quite some time.

Meanwhile on UKTV On Demand, the first episode of the second series of Taskmaster is up on demand. I’m pondering whether I’m going to watch it tonight or enjoy it as a shared experience on Twitter when it goes out properly next week. Decisions decisions.