Thursday, 9pm,
ITV2
Three celebs find themselves on island in a human zoo run by highly intelligent monkeys, who set them challenges for money. But one can’t see, one can’t hear and one can’t speak (the three wise monkeys, you see?).
From the trailer it looks like a slightly different take on the Release the Hounds formula, slightly more overtly comic. We shall see.
If you watched it, let us know what you think in the comments.
This may actually be just a broadcast pilot- ITV didn’t do any stuff on their press website about it…
In other news, TKO is DOA here in the states- they’ve moved it to the dead zone of Friday nights.
A US deal for a version of Love Island is “imminent”- They put the show on the Hulu streaming service this year (as well as the previous seasons- the just-finished season had eps up within 1 or 2 days of the UK airing), and people were spending hours watching it (they actually had a deal a couple of years ago to do it on MTV, but it fell through with a management change, so the deal will potentially be more lucrative.) If I had to guess- I’d think it’d be on a big cable network like USA or Lifetime, as they’re more able to clear the schedules for the multiple episodes a week.
Thanks, I did wonder what the deal is with this.
TKO is a bit of shame, I like the set, I like the ambience, there’s the germ of a really good idea in it, but it probably could have done with a bit more baking.
This has come a long way since Banged Up with Beadle:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6018787/Historic-naval-fort-goes-sale-5million-transformed-nine-bedroom-hotel.html
Channel 4 should buy it up and do a cheap version of a popular adventure gameshow from it.
Not one, not two, but three pickups for Fox:
You mentioned it on Twitter- Mental Samurai:
https://deadline.com/2018/08/fox-orders-mental-samurai-competition-series-rob-lowe-host-produce-mike-darnell-1202438805/
A Korean format- Masked Singer (it went viral a couple months ago when Ryan Reynolds was a contestant)
http://ew.com/tv/2018/08/02/fox-masked-singer/
And a Justin Timberlake-created show called Spin the Wheel with a possible US $20 million prize each episode:
http://ew.com/tv/2018/08/02/justin-timberlake-fox/
After watching it, I think a lot needs to be worked on the format. I do like the principle of See No, Hear No, Speak No Evil, which can add to some great bits but the execution fell flat a lot of the times.
I also HATE timers where you don’t know how long they actually have, editing obviously makes it easier but you can never be sure if the Producers aren’t just grabbing a number out of thin air for each game, and the final.
Talking of the final, did they really win an amount which wasn’t even shown on the amounts to begin with?!
Having a proper human host and then having the Monkeys like an Adult Jungle Run wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, with the monkeys hosting I just don’t think it works on their own.
In other news, I’m not going mad, you keep changing your name!
ahh feck, i’m using different browsers/pcs when doing this.. sorted!
Yeah the whole time during the show I was like, they really should just do fort boyard again because this is just a very poorly done version of that
There “Is” technically a human host in the “primatologist” , but he is supposted to be dead anyways, and all he does is provide instruction’s post humorsly…. how did he die anyways? if he was killed by the monkeys (as implied by the show), then why would he record all these instructions in the first place if he forsaw it??
If it was that if he devoloped siman flu from contact with his monkeys, and this entire thing is just his will carried out since it took his life, which he anticipated which is why he records those instructions…. that would make more sense, but it would be a little tragic.
They would have to justify a proper human host in story, perhaps doing the same thing trapped did with its main presenter, IE a permanent prisoner of the monkeys, who is forced to help out with the tests if he wants to see his freedom.
I also do not like those invisible time mechanics also, perhaps they should have an on screen graphic counting down when the next idol is lost in the main tasks/ when does the bonus time money amouts are gone run out in the finale.
other than that, it is an enjoyable if flawed retool of release the hounds…. i wonder why they couldn’t have just gone with RTH series 5? Who knows….
.betting those amounts will change to pounds if and when it gets a series, as release the hounds also played funny money with their amounts in the pilot……top prize of 20,000 will do.
also love that the constestans live in the “Human zoo” between challenges for a day…. kinda gives it a bb element, you know?
This was quite interesting, a tale of two shows really – I thought the tasks were quite entertaining and thought out in the main, only the getting-up-a-wet-hill challenge, Grease Monkeys, where it didn’t really feel like they needed to work as a team to succeed. Quite enjoyed the overall format, really liked the sandtiming mechanism.
But. But but but. The style and presentation felt like a Gary Monaghan tribute act and in the main I found it quite annoying more than anything. The jokes (and editing) were very heavy handed. And this is a pity because the monkey characters I was getting quite attached to by the end.
That the show is a very unsubtle reworking of Release the Hounds I can live with.
Intrigued to discover how happy the contestants were to discover 100k in yen is about £500.
Bülent Ceylan will be presenting a German version of Game of Games for Sat.1 . (Tickets available on Endemol Sine website) . This was new news to me – I’ve probably missed it before!
Last nights episode of Teamwork on Pro7 was standard fare, however I really enjoyed Game 5 – which was a golf buggy, on which there was a big tray with different golf holes on the back – the contestants had to drive the cart around and try and get the ball into the three holes which changed each round. The third hole especially was tricky and it was fun to see if there was a solution to getting it in!
Oh that sounds like quite a fun idea, will look into. Thanks Gyro!
I liked Teamwork in the past but I dont like the format change. I liked it where they had to choose to play on or pass. Same with the changes Pro7 has made recently with Beginner gegen Gewinner and Die Beste Show Der Welt
I don’t understand the changes! I thought most of the concept was the ‘pass or play’ bit with those tempting offers. I think it wasn’t explained very well and the graphics didn’t help much, but it was a great concept. I’m still not a big fan of the graphics. Some are very stylish others could have been made by me. And this is not necessarily a good thing!
150k for this I’m being told.
No idea what they’re hoping for/expecting, but it feels quite low.
With the sad news of Barry today, does anyone remember their CBBC game show from 1998 ‘To Me To You’? I was 10 and remember it quite clearly!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATXyUCFc_uY
Quite spooky how Dale Winton and The Chuckle Brothers randomly decided to try and get back into TV a bit both via Channel 5 only for them to pass away shortly after.
Loved me to you, always had an obsession to see every spot on the board being played because a couple were only hit I think once or twice in the shows entire run
Yeah this was always a really fun show.
Things apparent watching it as a 37 year-old:
* Given that the ‘to yous’ on the dice were on opposite ends, the kids were a bit slow to pick up the dice chucking technique that favoured them.
* Whoever had the most coconuts totally should have got all the prizes on the trolley at the end.
* The flashing lights were very clearly fixed. The tune that plays is rather jolly though.
* I don’t remember many kids shows that had a 0891 premium rate phone competition attached. And on the BBC!
Another gameshow that needs to be replayed on challenge but of course the BBC are clearly charging too much for their archive or isn’t available.
If they’d have spent as much time on the games as they did creating the ‘world’, then maybe this would have been a better watch.
Release the Hounds works because it plays on familiar, horror themes. Every game is designed to deliver scares and shocks (for both the contestants and the viewers). The theme of the three monkeys (and the related senses: hear, see, speak) just isn’t strong enough when it felt the games were (almost) an afterthought.
Also, RTH is based on horror movies – a genre that’s extremely popular with the typical ITV2 viewer, demonstrated by the constant sponsorship of rides and attractions at Thorpe Park (e.g. Saw, Walking Dead etc).
I admired its boldness and weirdness. But it felt to me at least, that perhaps the producers lost sight of who their intended audience was. Apart from a bit of bad language and the reality stars, would your average ITV2 viewer enjoy this? NOt sure…