21May2012
Sandi Toksvig to Host Channel 4′s “1001 Things You Should Know”
Sandi Toksvig has a new hosting gig. The author, comedienne, and actress will be leading the new Channel 4 daytime quiz show 1001 Things You Should Know which will debut this summer. The series sees experts posing questions to the day's contestants on things they really should know. If they get that right then Sandi will ask a cash question to add more money to their pockets. If the winner can answer one final question correctly they'll return the next show. Click here to learn more about Sandi and the show.
Read MoreView Comments (1)18May2012
Buzzer UK: Ten Years of In It to Win It
Today, 18th May 2012 celebrates the tenth anniversary of the BBC One National Lottery quiz show, In It to Win It. It is not often in this generation of British television where primetime game shows for members of the public manage to stay on air for a decade. In the last few years, Only ITV's Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Big Brother have been on longer on air in the UK. We look into the format, the success of the show and how it got it right to captivate the audience. In early 2002 the regulator of the National Lottery, Camelot wanted to rebrand the lottery. Therefore they changed the name of main jackpot draw to Lotto and make a very small tweak to their crossed fingered logo. With the BBC continuing to broadcast the draws live.
Read MoreView Comments (8)17May2012
UK “Millionaire” Renames “Ask the Audience” Lifeline, Adds Play-Along Game
ITV's Who Wants to be a Millionaire returns for its first run of civilian shows in years this summer, and a few changes will be coming with it. Millionaire will be adding a special play-along game so home viewers can interact with the show and see how they'd fare in the Hot Seat. In addition to the play-along, the popular Lifeline "Ask the Audience" will be getting a revamp. The long running Lifeline will be renamed "Ask the Nation". Click here to read about the new changes and let us know what you think.
Read MoreView Comments (5)16May2012
Quickplay: Does This Contestant Win the Showcase on Aussie “The Price is Right”
As we previously said, you should really be Liking us on Facebook by clicking here. Nearly every day we play a special "Quickplay". We'll pull a question or moment from an episode of some show from some country and ask you to answer or guess as well as you can. Today we focused on Australia's The Price is Right, which has had a mixed reception. They haven't had someone win the Showcase yet. In the Showcase, you have to stack the prizes in order from lowest to highest without fail. Can you solve the puzzle, but better yet, does this contestant become the first person to win the Showcase on Aussie Price is Right 2012? Click here to find out and let us know what you think.
Read MoreView Comments (3)16May2012
“Blockbusters” Returns to Large Audience, Peaks at 355,000
Challenge's revival of the cult classic quiz show Blockbusters returned with a bang yesterday. The debut episode of the Simon Mayo hosted game pulled in a total of 265,000 viewers for its half hour debut. The breakdown was 247,000 for its original Challenge airing and an additional 18,000 on Challenge+1. This is quadruple the network's usual rating for this slot, the largest rated program on Challenge since August 2nd, 2011, and the second highest rated since 2006, when records were published. Moreover the show peaked at 355,000 viewers at 8:20PM, which is right around the time the first Gold Run aired. For comparison, last year the network's highest show was an episode of Millionaire at 251,000 viewers. Congratulations to their success, and I hope it continues. Click here to read more and to see some of the episode. Be sure to let us know what you think.
Read MoreView Comments (7)15May2012
Brad Rutter and Mark Labbett are Chasers for Fox’s “The Chase”; Pilot Details Revealed
We've had to bite our tongues for a long, long time but we can finally reveal some information about Fox's pilot of ITV's hit quiz show The Chase. We already knew that host Bradley Walsh would be sticking around from the British version. He's not the only one, though. Two pilots were taped, one with an American Chaser and one with a British Chaser. Click here to read about the two Chasers and to learn more about the small tweaks to the American format.
Read MoreView Comments (20)12May2012
Weekend Replay: Would You Swap Your Box on “Deal or No Deal”
This past week on Deal or No Deal was the Banker's Birthday. Last year Suzanne had the dream finish and won the £250,000 top prize during a cowboys and Indians week. This week it's doctors and nurses. Contestants get the chance to play for a trip and, if they elect to gamble, to go one box at a time towards the end. However, the Banker can look inside the contestant's box if they fail. We'll skip that part since it doesn't meet the tension of the end. The contestant lost the challenge and the Banker has looked into the box. The title gives it away a little, but would you swap your box at the end of your game? What if you got the chance to swap it back. How much can the Banker get into your head. Trust me, you do not want to miss this ending. It's an episode of Deal fans will never forget. Click here to check out the moment.
Read MoreView Comments (2)12May2012
A Look at Challenge TV’s “Take It or Leave It”
This Monday sees the debut of Challenge TV's first original game show since 2008, the cult classic Blockbusters. I thought it may be interesting for both our UK readers, plus Americans who don't know much about Challenge, to look back at some previous Challenge originals. I wanted to start with what is arguably their high point in original production: Take It or Leave It. Cross some fairly tricky 50/50 trivia questions with the luck of Deal or No Deal and you'd get this show which ran from 2006 to 2008. Click here to learn more and to see pictures and a video of the show.
Read MoreView Comments (2)11May2012
“The Million Pound Drop” Wins Rose d’Or Award
Congratulations are due to Channel 4's popular live quiz show The Million Pound Drop. The Davina McCall-fronted quizzer won the award for best game show at this year's Rose d’Or Festival. It managed to beat ITV's The Cube and the Israeli format Still Standing which seems to do moderately well in every country except America. I wonder why. Congratulations to Endemol and Drop. It's still a fun, exciting quiz and we're glad to see it do so well. The show is looking for contestants for its newest series so if you want to take on the Drop and try to win a million pounds, click here.
Read MoreView Comments (2)08May2012
“The Cube” Released for PS3, Wii, and 3DS on October 5th
Do you want to take on The Cube in your own home? You're going to get that chance on October 5th. ITV's critically acclaimed game show is making the transition to home consoles on October 5th, 2012. The Cube will be released for Playstation 3 with Playstation Move (motion control) capabilities, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo 3DS. People in Europe can get it for anything, obviously. If you're American and want to play, like I'm sure some of you are, you may need to look at the PS3 version. Wii and 3DS are PAL, while PS3 looks to be open region. You may want to look to eBay or Amazon for that. Click here to read what to expect in the game, and to hear from the people behind it.
Read MoreView Comments (13)07May2012
Quickplay: Aussie “Deal or No Deal” for $100,000
It's Australian Day here, apparently. Are you following us on Facebook? If not, you should and click here. Every day we play a special "Quickplay". We'll give you a question or situation from the previous day's game of some show from some country. We'll ask you how you'd play, and we'll reveal the answer later. Today we played Deal or No Deal. We are focusing on this afternoon's Australian episode. The contestant is facing a $29,000 offer with $100,000 left in play and a few smaller amounts. Will she make the right call. Better yet, did you make the right call on Quickplay? Check it out and let us know what you think. Click here to see if you won today's Quickplay.
Read MoreView Comments (2)07May2012
Australia Brings Back “The Price is Right” to Tepid Reviews
Australia's network Seven brought back The Price is Right after a seven year break. The show, in part, was meant to boost the severely sagging ratings of Deal or No Deal. From our perspective, it's going to have to a little better to get people more interested in Deal. Price has an interesting format pattern. Each country seems to have their own tweaks, twists, and turns to the classic format created by the late Bob Stewart. France, for instance, has an interesting take on the show. It's very glitsy, big, over the top, and fun. It's one of the best international versions out there. Australia tried to mimic it, but (and I hate to say it) for the most part they sadly failed. Click here to see some of the debut episode and tell us your opinion.
Read MoreView Comments (24)07May2012
New Shows Coming to Challenge in May, Plus a Simon Mayo Interview
Challenge, the United Kingdom's network devoted to games, has some great new shows and schedule changes coming to you through the month of May. Upcoming shows and schedule changes include Blockbusters, Family Fortunes, Shooting Stars, Stars in Their Eyes, and Bullseye. Click here to read about all the updates, plus to see the interview with Simon on the set of Blockbusters.
Read MoreView Comments (1)04May2012
Report: Channel 4 Considers a Daytime Comeback for “The Bank Job”
The Channel 4 live quiz show The Bank Job may not be dead after all. After relatively lackluster average ratings for the two series, BroadcastNow is reporting that the George Lamb hosted quiz show could come back as a daytime program. Channel 4 is currently deciding whether the series deserves that shot. The Bank Job sees four contestants answer questions and take money from inside a bank's safe deposit box. You need to be out of the vault with the most cash before the clock hits 0 to win. A series of format changes would be expected with a daytime version. Click here to learn more about the possible new version.
Read MoreView Comments (4)30Apr2012
Million Dollar Moment on “Millionaire: Hot Seat”
With all the excitement of next Monday's debut for Australia's new version of The Price is Right (Seven, 5:00PM), we can't forget the other games in Australia right now. The one that has put the long running Deal or No Deal in some trouble over the past few years is the love-and-hate Millionaire: Hot Seat. There are a few things very off about the show, and it's completely unfair, but it's been around for a while and they've had quite a few million dollar moments, which is what the show is all about, so they know what they are doing. One of those million dollar moments happened last week. Four people have gone for the $1,000,000 top prize (you can't walk away; you either win $1,000 or the million) but no one has won. Can Alan Edwards be the first person to win it all? Check out the last half of the episode by clicking here and see if the confetti goes off.
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