UK’s “Heads or Tails”: Holy Crap; or….
“Heads or Tails? Firstly, the commissioners need to know their arses from their elbows.” Thanks, Greg Scott!
I hope everyone’s having a great Christmas if that’s your sort of thing. In a few hours I’m sure many of you will be just about done with the family happiness and will want something to level you out a bit. Boy are you lucky you checked us out today! We saved a very special treat for you: it’s the new Channel Five show, coming from England, Heads or Tails. It’s so bad it’s funny.
The game is as simple and dumb as you’d expect. Call heads or tails to a coin flip and get some random amount of money you chose in play. Call it again and you get the value in the end game. That’s essentially the entire show. It’s for that special crowd that says, “You know I’m a big fan of Deal or No Deal but the model’s breasts just confuse me!” Watching it you almost think it’s a parody of a primetime game show that somewhere along the line lost its focus and started taking itself seriously. Congratulations, Heads or Tails. With just a week left in the year you have claimed the Holy Crap Award of 2009. The bad thing is I can’t turn away right now. It’s so bad it’s hysterical. There’s a note after the clip…
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I swear this show would seem more correct with a laugh track. To prove it, either on Sunday or Monday we’ll be posting the same clip, or a similar one, with a laugh track added to it, to show you that I really think it is a parody show that went horribly wrong. Video courtesy of Channel Five and Eyeworks.
What do you expect, it's Channel Five.
What do you expect, it's Channel Five.
Oh my.
This thing actually makes Set For Life look like Jeopardy!. Un-freaking-believable.
Alex, I think you've misnamed the award. It should be the "Unholy Crap" award, because that's precisely what this show is… a gigantic pile of unholy crap.
Oh my.
This thing actually makes Set For Life look like Jeopardy!. Un-freaking-believable.
Alex, I think you've misnamed the award. It should be the "Unholy Crap" award, because that's precisely what this show is… a gigantic pile of unholy crap.
And this got sold…how?
Wow. Well, Buzzerblog gave us “The Britsh Are Better Than Us” series, well, this falls under the catergory “The British Are So Better Than Us, They Can Afford To Make Crappy Game Shows Like This”. It would surprise me if GSN or Fox picks this up because, as juliaz12345 puts it, it could be their next “hit”.
I'd call this the British can be worse than us…but knowing Alex being Euro centric…
I'd call this the British can be worse than us…but knowing Alex being Euro centric…
I'd call this the British can be worse than us…but knowing Alex being Euro centric…
@ The Kid965: You can say the same about NBC:
Nothing
But
Crap
Correction: It WOULDN’T surprise me if Fox or GSN picks this up.
What you may not know about Five is that their name doesn't actually refer to their being the fifth terrestrial network on British television. It's actually an acronym:
Failing
Infinitely and
Very
Easily.
Don't believe me? Watch Heads or Tails.
What you may not know about Five is that their name doesn't actually refer to their being the fifth terrestrial network on British television. It's actually an acronym:
Failing
Infinitely and
Very
Easily.
Don't believe me? Watch Heads or Tails.
Does the fact that I kinda liked it make me a bad person? I think it must have been the set and lighting… I'm a sucker for a good set.
Does the fact that I kinda liked it make me a bad person? I think it must have been the set and lighting… I'm a sucker for a good set.
Does the fact that I kinda liked this make me a bad person? It must have been the set and lighting… I'm a sucker for a good set.
Does the fact that I kinda liked this make me a bad person? It must have been the set and lighting… I'm a sucker for a good set.
Another sign the world is ending … a U.S. network picks it up.
Eh? What? Why did this happen?
I thought this show was dreadful. However, Ian Fleming turned baccarat (which is about as random as coin-flipping is) into a dramatic piece in several James Bond stories, and baccarat is used in several of the Bond films. The entertainment in "Deal or No Deal" is in watching an excitable stranger gamble for half an hour. Same with "Card Sharks."
Seven minutes to flip ONE coin, though?
Watch the Regis/Best Burger in New York episode of "How I Met Your Mother."
Saves you 25 minutes.
Honestly, it's the killing time and the overdramatic coin-flipping that really kills the show for me. I wouldn't have much of a problem with the game itself if it weren't for the OVERKILL in its production values… scaled down a bit, it would make a halfway-decent endgame for a more traditional series.
In fact, it's already been done, in a manner of speaking. The bonus round of the 1986 Strike it Rich was little more than glorified coin-flipping itself (choose one of two monitors to reveal either a dollar sign or a Bandit). So it's not the premise I object to here, but rather the production values that are the very dictionary definition of "making a mountain out of a molehill."
Honestly, it's the killing time and the overdramatic coin-flipping that really kills the show for me. I wouldn't have much of a problem with the game itself if it weren't for the OVERKILL in its production values… scaled down a bit, it would make a halfway-decent endgame for a more traditional series.
In fact, it's already been done, in a manner of speaking. The bonus round of the 1986 Strike it Rich was little more than glorified coin-flipping itself (choose one of two monitors to reveal either a dollar sign or a Bandit). So it's not the premise I object to here, but rather the production values that are the very dictionary definition of "making a mountain out of a molehill."
Right, because we're not good enough for Poker Face or The Cube. Give this one to Mark Thompson and make him run with it. Nice.
One issue to add: if the Host is flippng the coin, how do you guarantee a genuine outcome. There's too much potential for some sleight of hand here.
As it is, the show is crap.
Right, because we're not good enough for Poker Face or The Cube. Give this one to Mark Thompson and make him run with it. Nice.
One issue to add: if the Host is flippng the coin, how do you guarantee a genuine outcome. There's too much potential for some sleight of hand here.
As it is, the show is crap.
Happy Holidays from my family to yours.
You may not know this, but JD Roth is the creator of this show…
I was going to post the same thing. Regis was classic in Millon Dollar Heads or Tails.
Well…I thought England had all the intelligent programming and the US got all the crap? I guess that's not the case anymore. This game made me scratch my head, something I used to only do when I had dandruff years ago. Nowadays, only crap like this makes me go, "Uh…WHAT?!?!?!" Just watch GSN look at it and say, "OMG! This is going to be our next hit!"
Well…I thought England had all the intelligent programming and the US got all the crap? I guess that's not the case anymore. This game made me scratch my head, something I used to only do when I had dandruff years ago. Nowadays, only crap like this makes me go, "Uh…WHAT?!?!?!" Just watch GSN look at it and say, "OMG! This is going to be our next hit!"
After shafting The Cube, I could see Fox pciking this up as the follow-up for Our Little Genius – just wait and see…
Don't forget, this is Channel Five who are broadcasting this. A terrestrial network that "rarely" comissions game shows. To be fair, nobody watches Five anyway, unless CSI is on.
You gotta love what they are doing on Wednesday, they are showing a 90 minute (yes, 90!) celebrity special to wrap up the series. It's a fact over in Australia Eddie McGuire was thinking about having this on Channel Nine to rotate with Millionaire Hot Seat.
I won't be surprised if it does reach American waters but it could appear as a 30 minute syndicated show.
Don't forget, this is Channel Five who are broadcasting this. A terrestrial network that "rarely" comissions game shows. To be fair, nobody watches Five anyway, unless CSI is on.
You gotta love what they are doing on Wednesday, they are showing a 90 minute (yes, 90!) celebrity special to wrap up the series. It's a fact over in Australia Eddie McGuire was thinking about having this on Channel Nine to rotate with Millionaire Hot Seat.
I won't be surprised if it does reach American waters but it could appear as a 30 minute syndicated show.