Board of Excitement 29th May – 4th June 2011

By | May 29, 2011
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I hope you all enjoy your Bank Holiday. I will be WORKING.

  • Scream if You Know the Answer – this has just been bought by the US Travel Channel dontchaknow. In tonight’s episodes Joe Swash vs Vanilla  Ice, and then Dom Joly vs Kate Silverton. Dom can’t talk now, he’s on Nemesis Inferno etc. (7pm, 7:30pm, Sunday, Watch)
  • Britain’s Got Talent Finals Week – Most nights at 7:30pm on ITV.
  • The Amazing Race Australia – if you’ve not watched a Race for a while, I do recommend having a go with this one. (Seven Network, Monday)
  • Alexander Armstrong’s Big Ask – Panel show where the guests set the questions and Dave Lamb checks the answers. Dave Lamb is on a lot this week, he’s also fronting Gory Games on CBBC weekdaily and also endless repeats of Come Dine With Me on the various Channel 4 channels. (9pm, Monday, Dave)
  • Four Rooms – I doubt I’ll be billing this every week, but episode one of Dickinson’s Real Antiques Den was definitely better than I was expecting. Worth a watch. (8pm, Tuesday, C4)
  • The Apprentice – if you’re wondering why I haven’t been billing this after getting into it last year, it’s mainly because I’m working very lengthy days on Wednesdays at the moment 🙁 (9pm, BBC1, Wednesday)
  • Schlag den Raab – Eurovision host Stefan Raab defends a million Euro from the onslaught of another challenger. (7:15pm, Saturday, Pro Sieben and Hopefully Naughty Streaming)

Also Challenge TV does indeed seem to be showing old stuff next weekend, but Challenge Anneka doesn’t seem to have turned up regrettably, at least on Saturday’s schedule.

Fort Boyard is back, back BACK!

By | May 27, 2011
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Hold on to your hats kids, it sounds as though Fort Boyard is deffo coming back to UK screens, but in a twist, it’s going to be for older kids. I believe they will be shooting some US episodes as well. To be honest going by the Contestant Call it sounds like they’re trying quite a few things out (18 year old team captain and 13-15 year old team mates?).

But what of the exciting French show beginning July 2nd? Here’s what we’ve gleaned:

  • 13 new games, two of which are returning faves (the mud wrestling and the fight with the pugil sticks on a beam) with some high-tech twists, apparently.
  • The cells are now decked out in the style of a carnival, the jungle or high tech.
  • Three new characters – the mud wrestler, Justice White and The Firefly.
  • Teams must now get seven keys again.
  • It sounds like The Firefly will help on the high-tech games, whilst Justice White is who the teams go to if they don’t get their seven keys, he’ll give them the chance to make them up for a price.
  • Pere Fouras is now in charge of the Council, and this time, it sounds like a modified version of the betting from 2009 is returning – now this time you win or lose Treasure Room time if you win or lose the bet.
  • Can’t wait!

How can you tell when something is, in fact, a gameshow?

By | May 26, 2011
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The answer is, of course, when the host right at the beginning says “this is not a gameshow.” Anyway, here’s some Silent Library (based, of course, on a segment of popular Japanese show Dauntaun no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!) It’s a celebrity edition with punk (presumably) band All Time Low playing. The idea, of course, is that one or more people are picked at random to take a punishment, they and their friends laughing at them must try to remain as quiet as possible to win the money.

It’s mildly entertaining, I could see it being a minor hit on Channel 5 if done the right way.

Silent Library

By | May 25, 2011
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Very quick as I’m in a rush, Broadcast reporting that Channel 5 have bought the rights to Silent Library, the show where people gather in a library and must perform painful and hilarious tasks whilst not shouting, and whilst their friends try very hard not to piss themselves laughing too loudly, for a cash prize of up to £2,000 (wooooh!)

This has already been done in the UK as Fist of Zen on MTV UK, of course.

In other news: Does anyone know anything about this?

And here’s some fun: If the Eurovision 2011 was jury only, Italy would have won. Possibly quite predictably, Blue did much better in the televote than the juries.

Show Discussion: Four Rooms

By | May 24, 2011
20 Comments

Tonight at 8pm on Channel 4.

Is it just going to be Dickinson’s Real Deal but with added game theory, trendy camera angles, “tense” music and a cast of eccentric characters, or will it be so much more than that?

Monday night fun

By | May 23, 2011
35 Comments

Here’s quite a good thing from our very good friends at TV Cream, it’s their top ten Rules of the Gameshow, featuring extended versions of clips you’ve already seen and interesting clips of things you probably haven’t, like Brucie going into the audience. Plus lots of Surely-Should-Be-Sir Fred Dinenage!

Apparently Tuesday’s Deal or No Deal “will blow your mind”. So there we are.