Long term fans of Bother’s Bar may remember that back when you could stream John de Mol’s Tien channel live over the internet we championed a show called De Slimste (The Smartest). Hosted by the ever amazing Linda de Mol, this was the Dutch version of a popular Belgian format De Slimste Mens Ter Wereld (The Smartest Person In The World, the joke being that Belgium is meant to be the smartest country so the winner must be the smartest person in the world). It’s basically a sort of general knowledge themed Talkabout with added strategy elements. Despite this it doesn’t take itself too seriously, the Dutch show was played with celebrities.

It’s a neat little quiz which I will be doing a feature on in the next few weeks. But if you can’t wait that long it looks like the Belgians are currently “doing a run” of it right now. I can’t find full episodes or a live stream, but there are clips.

Also: Blokken!

Right, the last few days have been a fun stay in a cottage in Arundel, reduced to surfing on a DS. I can EXCLUSIVELY reveal that this is the least fun thing you could ever do.

However, as I’m on the edge of my seat seeing if Little Timmy Halbert won his family quiz or not, I’m hoping to do a feature on Hasbro’s Family Game Night before the new year.

Also, those ratings for Million Dollar Money Drop eh? Basically exactly how I called it, albeit a bit lower to start of with than I was possibly expecting. Can someone please set up some sort of gameshow based spread betting site so I can quit my job? Thanks very much.

Right! I’m away for a few days in theory (i.e. will probably be checking in from time to time) so I’d just like to wish all punters (all 14 of you) a happy Christmas.

A quick glance at Iain’s TV Guide suggests the Only Connect final is on Boxing Day on BBC4, and that Bravo finally Get It and put World’s Strongest Man at the correct time of “between Christmas and New Year” rather than in the middle of January.

Have a good one!
Brig x

Just a quickie – if you’ve arrived late and missed the action, Dai, the champion from the episode of Tout Le Monde Veut Prendre Sa Place! on the episode I did a feature on has dropped by and is happy to take questions. I know there are fans of the show here, so go ahead.

Also quiz fans it’s the live edition of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? this evening from 9pm.

Christ, you know when you think something is a funny idea, but then you have to go through with it and you wish you left it at the idea stage?

I’m declaring zero outright duff questions for the previous series of the Million Pound Drop. I’ve considered the arguments, I’ve done research on the Mangalitza Pig and can’t find any scientific references to sheepigs. I see the argument on the airspace closure, but whilst it was certainly disrupted for about a month I would have difficulty in suggesting the airspace was closed for the entire period.

So of all the people who put all their million on zero answers, Barry Nosurname has won about £40’s worth of stuff, which is more than what most people win on the show itself.

Meanwhile of course, the show remains THE place to go to for poorly conceived questions, with the phenomenally popular US version running into trouble with internet historians everywhere with the apparent revisioning of the history of post-it notes.

I think one of the show’s main problems, aside from apparently not having experienced quiz writers writing the questions if what I’ve heard is to be believed, is that Endemol appear to be terrible at PR when things go wrong, see also Big Brother, that makes them look terribly arrogant and defensive in a way that other companies do not when they stuff up. Instead of being able to sweep it under the carpet, it’s an association that will run and run.

Here’s something quite interesting and fun, 5Hole productions (basically the guys beind Buzzerblog) are branching out from their podcast gameshows into internet flash gaming. Their first game is called The Money Vault. I remember when the format idea was pitched to a discussion group a while ago, and I wondered if there was anything in it, and lo and behold, a fun internet game (which crucially up until the resetting of the scores a little while ago I WAS WORLD CHAMPION AT with a score of $580k-odd).

The game is quite simple, and actually the ordering of random things is not a new idea – pick cards off of a board, each one with a value of between $1k and $100k. As you discover the value of each one, stick it on a board. Once moved it can’t be unmoved. If you can order ten cards from highest to lowest, you win, if not you lose. If you get into trouble you can get help twice – either by passing or by swapping the new card with an old one, which leads to some interesting strategies. Ten of the cards are bail-outs, the more you’ve found, the greater the percentage of the bank you can walk away with – but it is a decision that must be taken there and then.

Would it actually work as a TV show? The counting up in the beginning feels interminable, but when you’ve forced a gap I was getting surprisingly excited when the money clock reached safe amounts and at the end I was mentally willing it to stop which surprised even me – sort of the opposite of The Colour of Money really. As such, it’s an exciting second half in need of a more interesting first half. As an internet game, it’s more than worthy of an advert and five minutes of your time.

You can play it here, if the site is coping with the pressure.