On a side note, I watched Brooker's 'How TV ruined your life' about how game shows have changed, and I think Countdown is one of the last remnants of when game shows used to be enjoyable.
I remember growing up with the Generation Game, Strike it Lucky, Blankety Blank, Bullseye, etc, and rarely did anyone walk away with more than a few hundred pounds, usually they'd be lucky to get a toaster and an alarm clock, but everyone was happy, enjoying themselves and the quiz show was just a fun, light hearted format.
Since, I'd say, 'Who wants to be a Millionaire', everything became about the money and the tension, and to an extent, watching people lose. So many game shows now, you build up a big cash prize thru the show, then miss a question at the end and lose everything. Sure it suits 'tension and drama', but it's not actually fun.
I never thought I'd speak up for Michael Barrymore, but damn, he did know how to make a game show lively and enjoyable, you wouldn't catch him pulling a stern face and giving a tense 20 second pause just to say' correct '.
On another angle, there's even fewer shows I'd say that challenge the viewer much. Countdown keeps you involved I'd say, 'Pointless' is like a much harder 'Family Fortunes/Feud' and over on BBC 4, 'Only Connect' makes Mastermind look like a kid's game show.
Would anyone else maybe watch a lively, fun, quiz show where the point was fun, and the prizes were amusingly shit?
I remember growing up with the Generation Game, Strike it Lucky, Blankety Blank, Bullseye, etc, and rarely did anyone walk away with more than a few hundred pounds, usually they'd be lucky to get a toaster and an alarm clock, but everyone was happy, enjoying themselves and the quiz show was just a fun, light hearted format.
Since, I'd say, 'Who wants to be a Millionaire', everything became about the money and the tension, and to an extent, watching people lose. So many game shows now, you build up a big cash prize thru the show, then miss a question at the end and lose everything. Sure it suits 'tension and drama', but it's not actually fun.
I never thought I'd speak up for Michael Barrymore, but damn, he did know how to make a game show lively and enjoyable, you wouldn't catch him pulling a stern face and giving a tense 20 second pause just to say' correct '.
On another angle, there's even fewer shows I'd say that challenge the viewer much. Countdown keeps you involved I'd say, 'Pointless' is like a much harder 'Family Fortunes/Feud' and over on BBC 4, 'Only Connect' makes Mastermind look like a kid's game show.
Would anyone else maybe watch a lively, fun, quiz show where the point was fun, and the prizes were amusingly shit?
