Not much new stuff to get excited about this week, but let’s go through the motions anyway:
- The Cube (6:45pm, Sunday, ITV1): This week, a man attempts to win £250,000 by playing EGGBOIL, where he must successfully boil an egg to a required consistancy and all without the aid of a clock.
- Fantasy X Factor Launch (9:30pm-ish, Sunday, Bother’s Bar) – The unofficial X Factor fantasy competition returns for its fourth or fifth year, I forget which, with another £100 up for grabs. The rules and points scoring will go up later today, and the forms soon after the final 12 (OR ARE THEY???) are released. Oh, The X Factor is also on as well, variously.
- The Amazing Race (Sunday, CBS): I went to Stonehenge, and all I got was a lousy watermelon right in the face. This was hilarious, because we all knew it was coming but the editors were happy to play the “will it/won’t it?” card for as good five minutes. The Amazing Race also represents the only time people get excited about the UK road network.
- Only Connect (8:30pm, Monday, BBC4): Fantasy Writers vs Bridge Players, it says here.
- 71 Degrees North (9pm, Tuesday, ITV1): It’s cold, apparently.
- Survivor: Nicaragua (Wednesday, CBS): Episode two’s epic Tribal Council not withstanding, I’m not quite feeling this one yet. Hopefully this will change.
- The Challenge: Cutthroat (Wednesday, MTV US): It’s not usual to advertise an MTV show, but having watched the last season of The Challenge I think I will bill this one – sure it’s mainly good looking young people getting drunk and arguing in a house, but the tasks are on the whole fun and quite demanding. This season unfortunate contestants will be sent to The Gulag to fight for survival. Which is tasteful. It should be available from the usual sorts of places.
- The Apprentice (9pm, Wednesday, BBC1): Sir Lord Alan Sugar is back with Nick Hewer and new adviser Karren Brady in tow. I’m going to be honest, The Apprentice is a massive blind spot for me. I know its the sort of thing I think I’m likely to enjoy, and do tend to enjoy it when I watch it but I’ve just never got round to doing it properly. I will try and make the effort this time round though.
What else is getting YOU excited?
It’s also the last “All New” Millionaire on Tuesday but will it get recomissioned???
Grrrrr, Ratings Bear is back from his extended stay outside the cave and getting wet. Ratings from last night and the first non battle between The Old Knight Forsyth and World Dominaton Leader Cowell.
The X Factor Not Live – 11.9m (47.3%)
Strictly Come Dancing – 8.7m (41.6%)
How Piers Got His Job Back From Alan Sugar – 5.2m (22.4%)
In It to Bin It – 4.1m (16.0%)
Family Fortunes – 3.0m (14.1%)
Qi XL – 1.2m (6.9%)
An excellent rating for Simon Cowell, while BBC have learned this year by advoiding the clash with the World Dominaton Leader by producing above average results for a 6pm show. Ratings Bear has noticed Vernon Kay once again acheives low ratings but this time for his main ship. Ratings Bear reported in the late spring that The Whole 19 Yards managed to get 1.9 million viewers, therefore eating Caroline Flack and biting off Vernon’s thumb. If the trend continues then Ratings Bear will be having Turkey Kay for Thanksgiving.
On another note, Prediction Squirrel has come to me, stating if Fortunes secured low ratings against Strictly Old Hasbeens then the same could happen for next Sunday, as The Cube will clash for the 30 minute results show.
Ooh, good point Prediction Squirrel, I hadn’t considered that before.
It might perform fine as The Cube will move to 7pm from next week but the SCD results show will air at 7.30pm.
Also to compare in 2008, when they had a Sunday results show.
Sunday 12th October 2008
Strictly Come Dancing Results (8.15pm) 7.68 million
Heartbeat (8.00pm) 5.74 million
For the fourth series in five, the last UC first-round match is an Oxford v Cambridge affair.
* Merton Oxford is making its third appearance in the Paxman Era, having reached the second round in both of its previous two (2002/3 and 2006/7).
+ St John’s Cambridge is also making its third appearance PE, its previous two being in 2004/5 and in the Gail Trimble Series. In the latter, a three-quarter Irish team lost a high-scoring affair against Lincoln Oxford but breezed past Pembroke Oxford, King’s Cambridge and City University, only to come up against GT herself.
In two of the last three series, the last first-round match has featured the eventual champions – but after seeing the likes of Magdalen and Edinburgh, it couldn’t possibly happen again here, could it?
The Cube: Denryu IraIra Bou is BACK! And is very angry.
Contestant.. Defeated
Also what appears to be the Spanish Intervilles spotted in the newest Windows 7 ad.
Or it could be just competitive getting-slammed-by-a-bull, I ‘unno.
I actually saw some Apprentice contestants at the Eurogamer Expo this weekend, they were trying to get people to download some rubbish Android apps. One of them tried to bribe me with a doughnut, which was quite hilarious. I didn’t know they were Apprentice guys until one of my friends who was also there told me he actually got filmed and they said it was for Apprentice.
I went to Stonehenge, and all I got was a lousy watermelon right in the face.
Well, if you will turn up to the annual Andrew Edmonds Fan Club meeting…
And in a late change to the running order, Merton -v- St John’s Cambridge has been replaced by coverage of grown men hitting little white balls with adapted sticks. Goodness knows how the Week’s going to cover this.
The always brilliant Canada’s Worst Driver returns on the 25th. Both that and Canada’s Worst Handyman have been known to crack me up.
My mum who works in Lloyds TSB served a woman yesterday who claims that she’s taking/has taken part in Total Wipeout Series 4 and it’s being shown in January.
Whether it’s either shown or filmed then, no idea.