Saturday Night’s Alright for Writing 02/04/2011

By | April 2, 2011

Quite a few things on tonight that are of interest:

  • Ant and Dec’s Push the Button – it’s the last in the series (7:10pm, ITV1)
  • Schlag den Raab – tonight half a million Euro all rests on throwing a ball into a cup that’s been strapped onto the top of the contestant’s heads. (7:15pm, ProSieben and hopefully naughty internet streaming)
  • The National Lottery: Secret Fortune (7:30pm, BBC1)
  • Live Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Mother’s Day Special – featuring Olly Murs, David Walliams and Patsy Palmer.

So here’s a post where you can talk about them all at cross purposes.

127 thoughts on “Saturday Night’s Alright for Writing 02/04/2011

  1. Tom H

    Not related to tonight’s veritable televisual feast, but a couple more nuggets from France.

    – Laurence Boccolini – she of Weakest Link fame over there – has apparently been signed up for TF1’s version of Million Pound Drop. Endemol are having format adaptation problems though – there may end up being no actual drop over fears the French audience will find it a bit vulgar. All slightly odd.

    – Nagui’s Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush rehash has lost a million viewers in four nights…so it’ll probably end up on the scrapheap given the ruthlessness of French TV controllers at the moment.

    Reply
    1. Tom H

      Well, bit more than lighting changes in actual fact – the podia/screens have been replaced, and now rise up out of an ‘infinity pool’. Whatever that is.

      Looks nice, though – even if host and contestants are now further away from each other.

      Reply
    1. Joe

      That person said it was “hilarious” and that he “can’t wait to see” it on TV. Sounds good.

      Reply
  2. Des Elmes

    Will be interesting to see how Secret Fortune fares tonight.

    Not only is it in an earlier timeslot than usual for some reason – but also, how much will interest in the show be affected by last week’s £100k win?

    I bet Endemol Joe will be over the moon if viewing figures plummet… 🙁 🙁 😉

    Reply
  3. Dan Peake

    Well, after two games the contender hasn’t won a single point, not even in a minigame!

    So, myself and Gary Male are already asserting that it will be a shut out, 66-0 to Stefan.

    Reply
  4. Alex

    Is there going to be a play-by-play? I wish I could watch it, but I’m working at the moment :<

    Reply
  5. Dan Peake

    I’m just adding some salt and pepper to my words so that I can eat them. That woman’s got balls, as it were.

    Reply
  6. Mart with an Y not an I

    Well, as I was up at 5.15 this morning – I fear the chances of me getting to the usual end of the show somewhere after 11pm is remote. I’ll do a couple of games before the eyelids snap shut..

    However to catch up, Alexandra won Game 3 Handball – so it’s 3-3.

    Reply
  7. Mart with an Y not an I

    Game 4.
    Both seated at two (for now covered) tables. Blindfolded and with a nosepeg – and if not their turn, headphones.

    Table cover removed to reveal various objects (ie Lemon, Onion, Broccoli florret). They have to guess as many as possible in 3 mins by touch alone.
    Rabb goes first

    Reply
  8. Mart with an Y not an I

    Alex races through them – gets on more than Stefan with a min and a half left – so goes 7-3 up.

    Game 5 – Hovercraft. Outside. Usual drill.
    In a hovercraft over a course. However, as they need to go outside and get kitted out – we are off for another lonng werbung..
    Back in about 10-15 mins with the result!

    Reply
  9. Travis P

    Live Millionaire

    They haven’t learned from Christmas. Given the 75 minute timeslot, they aren’t going to get through all three games, have callers answer the live question to win half the money and have mothers dedications in the audience.

    35 mins have gone, David Walliams and Kathleen have been and gone and Chris has done three mothers dedications in the audience.

    Reply
    1. Travis P

      EDIT – Looks like there will be one prize for the home caller with the combined half the of winnings on the show.

      Reply
  10. art begotti

    Hi, I’m here now, I’ll join in the play-by-play a bit.

    Stefan seems to be a hovercraft natural, starting his turns (slides, really) early enough to do consistent ~25 second runs so far. Alex, on the other hand, seems to be doing a very jerky stop-and-go method, and she’s barely making it to the halfway point in the time Stefan takes to complete the course.

    Reply
  11. art begotti

    Stefan easily takes it four heats to nil.

    8-7 Stefan, I think?

    Reply
  12. art begotti

    There appears to be four holes with a variety of simple obstacles (hills, doglegs, etc., but no windmills, sadly). I’m guessing low score after four holes here.

    Reply
  13. Mart with an Y not an I

    Now Art has entered ‘the bar’ – I’m off for some sleep :o)

    I predict this battle will swing back and forth for the next couple of hours, so I’ll catch up on what happened tomorrow..

    Reply
  14. art begotti

    Alex misses a hole-in-one on the second hole by probably an inch, but she nails the second shot. it’s 4-4 (2 2 and 2 2) so far. I’m betting this match is going to be about whoever screws up first.

    Reply
  15. art begotti

    Hole three has a narrow teeter-totter ramp, which he doesn’t clear the first time, but BARELY clears the second time. This could be the big break for Alex.

    Reply
    1. art begotti

      Er, sorry, the Full Swing for Alex?

      Actually, Alex misses her first shot as well, and somehow the ball doesn’t *quite* clear the second, but it’s past the ramp, so she’s now in the same boat as Stefan, but with a very long putt. She misses that, but makes it in four. 7-8, Stefan’s favor.

      Reply
  16. Joe

    Who Wants To Be A Millionaire have copied the Million Pound Drop set with the change of set where the hotseat is. A blatant copy of Million Pound Drop. Also the ‘live’ element is obviously copied from MPD too.

    Reply
    1. Dan Peake

      Right, I’m the one to bite. I apologise in advance.

      FFS JOE!

      Firstly, Millionaire did a live show WAY before the MPD was even conceived. If shows being ‘live’ were a copy of MPD, then hang on THE 10 O CLOCK NEWS IS COPYING THE MPD! Shock! There’s no real reason why MPD has to be live anyway. It’s been done so that ‘realtime’ questions can be written, but I don’t think it’s been implemented very well.

      Secondly, the set has changed, but it’s minimal. Different screens, no podium in the middle, but essentially the same. I can’t see a giant tower on which their standing with four screens in a semi circle.

      I’m sorry I’m sorry, don’t feed the troll and all that, but please Joe SAY REASONABLE THINGS. I’ll admit that yes, I’m biased when it comes to Accumulate! for example, because I’m heavily invested in it. But even know there are plenty of things that could be improved – the set, the camera work, the question writing, the presentation – all of it is quite ameteurish (albeit, we are amateurs). So, Joe, even though the MPD may be the greatest thing in the world to you, please admit that it could be better. Did you know that EVERY BLOODY SHOW IN THE WORLD ISN’T TRYING TO COPY IT?

      Apologies again, one and all.

      Raab is good this evening, I particularly enjoyed the minigolf just now!

      Reply
      1. Joe

        Apologies. But do you think WWTBAM would be having live shows had it not been for the success of MPD? 😉

        Reply
        1. Dan Peake

          Ah, now that’s a reasonable question, and I’d say yes, spurred on by the Drop, Millionaire has started doing live shows. I’d still say ‘copying’ MPD is too far though in this respect.

          Reply
  17. art begotti

    The final hole as a volcano-type hole, with a viciously narrow entry ramp. Alex nails it on her fourth shot, so Stefan’s got to get it in five to tie, less to win.

    Reply
  18. Joe

    Do the celebrities in Millionaire take away everything they win and the viewers pot is separate? Or do they only take away half of what they’ve won with the viewers winning the other half?

    Reply
        1. Brig Bother Post author

          Nope, but the Xmas one had a viewer game for each of the first two pairings. Tonight it’s one big pot.

          Reply
    1. art begotti

      A bald guy with a guitar who likes standing on top of the dinner table, apparently.

      Reply
    2. Gary

      I started playing 2 super turbos when that came on.
      1) Musical interlude
      2) ???
      3) Profit

      Reply
  19. art begotti

    Alex gets the example of Satellite before Stefan. BUT I GOT IT BEFORE BOTH OF THEM!

    Reply
    1. art begotti

      If I’ve heard of the song, I can usually recognize them pretty quickly, like usually within a few measures. The problem is, I could only identify half of the songs they play, even when they play them forward. It’s rare that they’ll play one that I’ve heard of but couldn’t answer.

      Reply
      1. Brig Bother Post author

        I’ve recognised most of them so far (or at least the less German-centric ones) but stuff like I Got A Feeling I know the track, I know the artist but my mind goes blank with regards to the title.

        Reply
  20. art begotti

    Ooh, last one stumped me. Macarena backwards… does that mean you turn to the left after each set or the right?

    Anyway, Stefan takes it 7-0, with Alex’s only buzz being the incorrect answer that gave him the win. Stefan leads, 21-7.

    Game 8 – Saugen, which I guess is Straw. A bucket of ping pong balls, a cup of straws, and a couple of glass tubes. Carry the ping pong balls by sucking on the straws, methinks?

    Reply
  21. Dan Peake

    Game 8 – which I shall call SUCKING HELL. Using a straw, get ping pong balls into a different container.

    Reply
  22. art begotti

    Stefan gets 10 while Alex gets only 5. Men around the country are disappointed in her.

    29-7, Stefan.

    Reply
  23. Dan Peake

    Gary Male says: This game is surely biased towards the woman isn’t it?!

    I couldn’t possibly understand what he means.

    Reply
    1. Gary

      You are painting me in a very bad* light here!

      *accurate 🙁

      Reply
  24. art begotti

    Game 9 – Eishockey… Another outside game? But they were already outside! Anyway, a commercial.

    Reply
  25. art begotti

    Aww. The Little Darth Vader Volkswagen commercial is still too freaking cute.

    Reply
  26. Des Elmes

    I can only agree with pretty much everyone on Digital Spy that tonight’s live Millionaire was another complete shambles.

    And I wouldn’t disagree that it was even worse than the first one, too…

    To think that Millionaire used to be so, so good… 😕 😕 🙁

    Reply
    1. David B

      As I’ve said before, the original Millionaire team are v. upset at the ‘relaunch’ and are going off to do something else.

      Reply
  27. Travis P

    Live Millionaire was a mad rush again. ITV must give them a 90 minute timeslot to allow the time for the third pair to finish or at least let the show overrun. Also there were some controversy with David & Kathleen Walliams at the £50,000 question. Although they ran out of time, Chris still pushed them for an answer. Not that it mattered as they answered the question wrong and dropped to £1,000 but it would’ve be interesting if they did get it right.

    Reply
    1. Barry

      The waffling on after almost every question on the ordinary folk version is irritating. Waffling on after almost every question on a live charity show where a) a game can be stopped for running out of time and b) they knew that happened at Christmas is a disgrace. (Although Patsy + son were unlikely to go much further).

      Reply
  28. art begotti

    Wow, that was quite intense. 7-6 Stefan after a 5 minute play period.

    38-7 Stefan.

    Reply
  29. art begotti

    Game 10 is That Game I Never Spell Right So I Put In This Statement So You Know Exactly What I’m Talking About Because I Do This Every Time!

    Reply
  30. art begotti

    And it’s apparently Elton’s Birthday! And Stefan doesn’t know how to conduct music.

    Reply
  31. art begotti

    And he gets the NEW Schlag den Raab board game as a gift! Nothing lightens up a birthday like product placement.

    Reply
  32. art begotti

    Game 11 – Die Scheibe. It looks like they have to alternate putting weights on a platform hanging by its center from the ceiling. First to topple the lot loses, I bet. They appear to have four each of three different weights.

    Reply
  33. Brig Bother Post author

    Die Sheibe is that game off of Fort Boyard writ large – place different sized cylinders on a balancey table in the hope your opponent will upset it and knock it off. The second player always has an advantage here – always do the exact opposite thing to the first player.

    Reply
  34. art begotti

    I sorta feel like Alex has the upper hand in this game, going second. All she (theoretically) has to do is just mirror Stefan’s moves to automatically be safe.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.