(samkydd @ Sep 21 2005, 01:05 PM)
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Quizzes have always been a cheap way of pulling in audiences for television and we all have our favourites. Some people like the difficult ones like Mastermind, others prefer the ones where the patronised contestants make complete fools of themselves by replying with the most ridiculous answers possible like Family Fortunes, The Weakest Link etc. There were some completely strange ones like 3-2-1 where the question setter must have been a surrealist on acid, and Ted Rogers kept us all in stitches with gags about British Leyland workers having too many tea breaks!
Then there's the new breed of "comedy" quiz (well 15 years old anyway) which we were discussing under the Contestants post, like Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You, QI, Shooting Stars etc. where minor celebs try and cling on to their fame and mortgages by shouting out inane "off the cuff" remarks to get the studio audience rolling in the aisles with laughter, while the quizmaster laughs along with them until the producer prompts him to add a well rehearsed witty retort!
Millionaire used to be good but my personal favourites were/are; Bullseye, Have I Got News For You, The Price is Right, Screen Test. Univesity Challenge and QI.
The radio has some good 'uns too, and years ago I remember DLT (Dave Lee Travis) on Radio 1 used to do a 'phone-in snooker quiz on a Saturday and a darts quiz on the Sunday, or vice versa. It sounds naff but it was quite good.
One day a contestant replied to the question "What instrument does the conductor of an orchestra usually play?" with the answer "A baton!" and DLT just burst out laughing uncontrolably so much that he couldn't continue the show for about ten minutes, and I think his producer came in the studio and he was laughing as well. I was driving at the time and I had to pull over to the side of the road. The tears were flooding out and my stomach was aching, and I had to get out of the car and collapse on to the grass. It was one of those rare moments that you remember forever! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clapping.gif[/img]
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