Alright, I’m hoping this might become a new series. As we all know, my favourite gameshow sub-genre is the action-adventure game. Bother’s Bar likes to champion cheap DIY productions. So why not give some time over to amateur adventure shows on Youtube?
If you are or were a young man and at no point you’ve ever put together (or thought about putting together) your own version of The Crystal Maze/Fort Boyard then chances are you are weird. Here are some Doctor Who fans doing their own version:
To be honest, the games aren’t all that good (the one with the harness is undoubtably the best one, the puzzle in the dark second best) but I think it does make quite an imaginative use of set (the treasure room is hysterical, in a good way) and the host amusingly blunt.
We love this sort of thing. If you’ve made your own Maze, version of Knightmare or used your own helicopter to make a Treasure Hunt, then I want to know about it.
In other news, I’ve just been informed that Thomas Gottschalk has retired from Wetten Dass? presumably as a result of the paralysis accident last year. Quoting Boggenstrovia on Twitter, there are going to be three specials for the rest of the year, looking back on the show’s last thirty years.
I’ve wanted to do this in Uni but they won’t let me.
BECAUSE OF FEAR.
Also I don’t know what that Japanese show is on your Twitter, Brig, but it’s AMAZING.
It appears to be called Dasshutsu Game DERO! I’m hoping to write a feature on it at the weekend.
There are some home-made takeoffs on good game shows on YT. “The Crystal Maze” has spawned at least a couple, including “The Sapphire Assault” and “The Orbidome”, the latter a “machinima”, which may make more sense to fans of the HALO videogames.
“The Cube” has also spawned some takeoffs, including “The Oblong” (found under “The Cube, funny piss take” in three parts), and another machinima, called “The Cell”.
Start digging: there may be more that I’ve not run across!
I will check these out, thanks. If anyone comes across any that look like they show potential then please pipe up!
I thought about doing “The Tube” once, which was “The Cube” only on the Underground. (Can you successfully stand on the platform so that there’s a door straight in front of you when the train? Can you remain on one foot between two stations?)
Turns out: not actually that entertaining.
Huh. I accidentally a word. A door straight in front of you when the train *stops*.
I’ve always wondered if it were possible (and entertaining) to make a real life lightbikes of off Tron game using a map of the Underground?
Dunno about Tron lightbikes, Brig..
However, animals..
http://www.animalsontheunderground.com/
…I think I’ll just stick to On The Underground…
Ooh, that’s good!
Compare with Chromaroma. (You may have to squint fairly hard to do so.)
Going back to the original topic, there’s apparently a small community of people doing Ninja Warrior-ish-ish sorts of shows at home. At least the start of the sixth episode of Kouen Supiritto has been posted to a Sasuke forum.
One of said Sasuke community right here.
Although I’m 8,000 miles away from everyone else so I just do the graphics.
Anorak on..
The one foot between stations is more easy than you think..
Leicester Square – Covent Garden (on the Piccadilly Line is only around 500 meters from platform to platform)
Charing Cross – Embankment (on the Bakerloo is even shorter – it only takes around 90 sec to walk between the two at street level, obviously)
Anorak off…
Wetten Dass. Not a great surprise TG is giving up (how will the German mens specialist outfitters of 3/4 length smoking jacket, leather trousers and non-matching shirts cope?)
I guess the last proper edition, minus the huge stunts, was a toe in the water but just didn’t feel right after what happened back in January.
I wonder if the last clip they will show on the final edition, will be the wax crayon tasting challege..?
“Sapphire Assault” is a fine shout, but it’s a shame that only the first four parts were ever posted. Pity when people lose enthusiasm, but it only goes to show what an achievement putting something together is. They definitely had the spirit of Richard emulated neatly.
Seems to me that the tricky part in all of these things is editing, to select only the neatest game material. Any of us could probably think of one show’s worth of games for a Crystal Maze fan tribute, given time; coming up with lots of interesting games is rather trickier. Editing together several people’s games might be the way forward, or it might be the way to a load of bruised egos. (Compare with the Only Connect-alikes we post from time to time; we could put together a show’s worth, but it takes probably between ten and thirty times as many questions as you might see in a single show to put together a show with material as varied and interesting as the real thing.)
I’m going to use a loaded word here: this really is fandom, the act of being a game show fan, by pretty much any classic definition of fan activity. When fans in other genres will painstakingly edit together videos from all manner of footage, perhaps to show nineteen examples of a male lead character being in pain and requiring comfort, this is probably about as direct an equivalent as the game show fandom gets. To mention probably the most common sort of fanwork, very many fandoms generate their own fan fiction, though the game show fandom probably hasn’t done so nearly so much, though I’m pretty sure I can place a few from Knightmare fans. (Doubtless there are many others – and, for better or for worse, rule 34 will doubtless apply, but you’re going to have to search for, say, Dick/Dom featuring buckets upon buckets of Lubricating Muck Muck for yourself.)
Media fandom is a very thoroughly explored and familiar subject, but the game show fandom, as a sub-genre, has never really seemed to be explored as a fandom, by and large, with only minor shining examples – Iain’s work regarding WWTBAM? years ago, for instance. (Unless I misremember…?)
rule 34 will doubtless apply
…Considering we once accidentally started writing Knightmare Treguard/Pickle slash in the comments to a Deal or No Deal game, undoubtedly.
I think the reason that gameshow fanworks are rare is that there’s only so much you can do in terms of fanfic, etc – A limited selection of programs really support fanfiction, and that fanfiction has to exist within the universe implied by the show rather than to have what would traditionally amount to a narrative. (i.e. It’s hard to concieve of a Jeapordy! fanfic, and even for stuff like Knightmare what you tend to get exists outside the format of the show and in the universe implied by it – Which I don’t think it’s unfair to say isn’t typically what groups gameshow fans together, and so while they might originate within Knightmare or Fort Boyard fandom, I don’t think they’d originate from gameshow fandom generally)
What you do often find, however, is gameshows used in fiction outside of gameshow fandom (Although… In some cases there’s a blatant and major crossover) – Usually a plot device to frame the actual thing the writer is wanting to write (Sometimes this is even done well), sometimes a means of character exploration, and occasionally they manage to commit what actually would be a very nice format if it were actually made in painfully loving detail to page.
And it’s only fairly recently that it’s really become possible for people to make gameshows of their own and share them, of which you’ve got some examples recreating shows that they makers were fond of, and some with more original formats (Although if the latter is a fandom thing or not is probably debatable… Which is part of the problem with figuring out what is and isn’t a fandom example for original stuff when the fandom is for a genre rather than a specific series – If I write an original sci-fi work is that an example of sci-fi fandom, or just a piece of fiction that happens to be sci-fi? If I write a piece of pokemon fanfiction with all original characters and an original scenario, on the other hand, it’s still obviously a pokemon fanfic)
But that’s just my opening thoughts on such an issue.
Mr. Dickson wrote about fan fiction. There is, for instance, a bunch of youngsters inspired by Raven to write poetry, fiction, give detailed recaps of quests, run a caption competition, and so on and so forth. (Rustles through files.) Raven’s Eye Mag, that’s the collective.
It seems to be sci-fi / fantasy shows that attract such efforts, perhaps because these have a richer storytelling environment than straightforward studio quizzes. Other than the obvious, what could we write about Going for Gold? The likes of Mission 2110 and Scavengers have plenty of things to inspire creative minds: for instance, Commander John Leslie doing battle with a badly-dressed human-robot hybrid who is holding his nose and muttering something about “smelly stinky”.
Gizensha wonders where fandom stops and new creativity begins. Re-creating your favourite Crystal Maze game, that’s fandom. Coming up with a whole new format like Accumulate!, that’s creativity. Taking games familiar from Crystal Maze and combining them in a novel manner, I’d say that was creativity with clear inspiration. Other correspondents may have a different view.
I don’t recall writing about the Millionaire fans in detail, though I’ve probably slept since.
‘Tother way around; academic writing about, among other things, your writing about WWTBAM.
This isn’t going to make any sense until I find the link I’m on about, but please don’t hold your breath.
I’m planning to see an episode of Deal or No Deal being filmed after the summer hols anyone who’s been know if they use the a different audience for the Channel 4+1 showing or will I have to sit through the same show twice?
…you can’t be serious, right?
Yes, why would someone pretend they were going to see DOND?
Seeing as you’re posting under a different name than normal, I’m going to assume it’s a joke.
But just in case you aren’t: no.
It was indeed. Not very funny?
Quite funny given a better build-up/knowledge of audience expectation.
I enjoyed it 🙂
According to @tvscoops who hasn’t been wrong yet, the next LIVE Millionaire will be Friday 15th July at 9pm. A “schools out” special, apparently, celebs and their kids.
Tickets: http://www.lostintv.com/tv_show.cfm?f=1308679425098&content_type_id=272
But hey, I thought they hadn’t cancelled Millionaire’s regular series? 😉
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It’s the biggie: Pat Sharp is on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/patsharp
Pointless on BBC1 now official, or so I hear. So ‘meet’ to whoever said I was wrong about this about seven weeks ago.
I don’t think anyone said you were wrong, did they? Just that Weakest Link is still being made until next Spring.
Anyway, good work Pointless.
Ah, this is explained away by Weakest Link moving to BBC2.
But Pointless can’t run 5 days a week, for 42ish weeks a year, like The Weakest Link can it?
That was meant to be ‘nerr’. Damn Android.
Admittedly I am a sucka for this sort of thing, but The Fortress was BLUDDY GRATE. Hurrah, and thanks for sharing!
I’m going to look at some of the suggestions given and hopefully turn Amateur Adventure Hour into a semi-regular feature.
It was certainly better put together than most of the youtube videos I’ve seen like it…
As a reminder, there is/was a chap called Erin who is pretty prodigious in such matters and is far from the only person creating amateur Amazing Races. And, as far as I can tell, his work does not commit animal welfare fails like episode 4 of TAR Australia 🙁
Oh trust me, if we can get some decent walkie talkies, some cameras and a few willing volunteers, I’m thinking of doing Interceptor.
Willing volunteers: here, probably. And (*points at self*) here, in some non-running capacity.