Doubtless you’ll have seen that PJ and Duncan are set to top the charts this weekend with the amazing Let’s Get Ready to Rhumble after they performed it on Saturday Night Takeaway this last week. It was already in the Top Five in the All Important Vodafone Big Top 40 Sponsored By iTunes the day after they did it, but now it’s top of the iTunes charts so there’s a good chance it will be number one in the proper charts this coming Sunday.

We’ve long thought that people put too much faith in formats and that something that isn’t brilliant can still succeed if it can connect with the audience in some way, nothing really supports that view more than Saturday Night Takeaway does which is doing great numbers despite the fact most of the items in it aren’t actually very good (I’m a Celebrity… Get Out of Me Ear!, Ant vs Dec and The End of the Show Show not withstanding – do you know anyone who really looks forward to the Supercomputer?).

I read an interesting and funny post on DS (it does occasionally happen) suggesting that this makes Ant and Dec more musically relevant than The Voice which starts this Saturday, with its failure to make make stars of the winner.

Meanwhile in a change of tone you might have read about the sad death of a contestant whilst filming Koh Lanta (TF1’s very successful version of Survivor made by Adventure Line) in Cambodia. His name was Gérard Babin and he was 25, which is no age to die of a heart attack.

Let’s not get hysterical over this – this was the first challenge of the series (swimming from boat to beach) and he would have needed to pass health checks to satisfy the insurers of such a show, as such it’s difficult not to see this as “just” a very unfortunate event. People like testing their mettle. People like watching other people testing their mettle. Production companies want interesting (or at least the threat of something interesting) to happen, but the reality is injury and accidents after initial interest cause a lot of long term harm to production companies  (this show was one of TF1’s and Adventure Line’s biggest shows, and now it won’t be happening this year) – not to mention the contestants of course, which shouldn’t be made light of.

Edit: It may be worthwhile to point out that not a lot of information has been released to the media over this yet, but the authorities are currently looking into it.

Happy weekend!

Tomorrow (i.e. Sunday) night at 8pm we’re having a fun game of HORSE as part of our Mix It Up Real Good poker series. It’s open to anyone who basically wants a game, regardless of if they’ve got any interest in winning the glass-effect league trophy or not, so come and join us. It’s DOUBLE POINTS, as the first deeper stacked mixed game of the season.

Otherwise there’s not much of interest this weekend, although there’s a Pointless Doctor Who special (BBC One 7pm) followed by a new series of Who Dares Wins (BBC One 7:45pm). Alternatively there’s Proper Saturday Night Entertainment™ with Ant and Dec (ITV, 7pm) followed by Philip Schofield making looks of joy, excitement and pain on The Cube (ITV 7:20pm).

Lewis Murphy is ill, so there will be no new Fifty 50 Show this week. They’ve still got last week’s to put out eventually.

Edit: Jonathan Ross takes on The Banker on Celebrity Deal or No Deal Sunday evening, 7pm on C4.

So here’s a something I’ve heard on the grapevine, the BBC are currently piloting a quiz where people answer general knowledge questions and then back how well they’ve done by taking money out of a cashpoint, but if they try and take out too much they get zero. From the sorts of things I’ve been hearing, prize money suggesting it’s being aimed at an afternoon slot.

So there we are.

…and open to anyone who wants a game. Technically it’s Game 5 of the BSOP, but you’re welcome to play if you have any league interest or not.

You’ll need to be a member of the Bother’s Bar Poker Club, don’t leave joining to the last minute to join as I’ll have to approve you.