Right, new content alert – I’ve done an iDevice review for Lingo HD. It’s an unofficial game, but it actually plays the word game element quite well so have a look. Will try and do an Amazing Race app review at the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Digital Spy forums are suggesting that ITV have bought the rights to Zodiak’s popular-in-Denmark Sing if You Can, also known as Twist and Shout. In this show, celebrities try to sing whilst being distracted in a number of wacky, zany and painful ways like being lowered into a tub of ice, having dodgeballs thrown at them, that sort of thing. Saw the promo film for it a while ago, it has many of the elements of a potential hit (Celebrities! Singing! Mild peril!) but it doesn’t feel like a potential hit, shall we say. Make of that what you will. Edit: I don’t know where I got the idea it’s big in Denmark, but is has apparently aired on a minor channel in France. And also Turkey.
Also TNA Wrestling is coming to Challenge when it launches on Freeview in February. Are they going to call it Sky Challenge? Anyway, this is obviously Sky moving Bravo’s popular programmes across, it will be interesting not only to see how well it does but also what other plans Sky have in store for the channel – in theory they’re willing to throw some money at it, and it’s been boring for years so it wouldn’t take much to feel like a meaningful shake-up.
Appropos of nothing, despite my expectation that Fort Boyard would be axed in France following a couple of poor rating seasons, it doesn’t appear to have actually happened yet, and Olivier Minne has just signed to become a France 2-only celeb. Hmm.
Meanwhile, if you wanted to watch Dutch Lingo, you can do it on http://www.tros.nl ‘s Gemist service.
It all seems rather jolly.
And you can actually watch the entirety of season three of the US show on http://www.gsn.com, and in fact you can watch many GSN originals on there without needing to be in the US. Good stuff.
Challenge is keeping the name Challenge (for now) no Sky prefix, it is also being kept under The Living Group and has not merged into the Sky portfolio of channels.
Sky do indeed have big plans for Challenge and i suspect a name change will come before the year is out. One of the changes being discussed on digitalspy is a male block of programming weeknights from 10pm. As this is when the TNA shows are due to go out (Impact on Tuesdays, PPVs on Wednesdays Xplosion on Mondays).
Sky have been extremely quiet on Challenge since the takeover apart from to say it is joining Freeview, i suspect the channel will gain more of a general entertainment feel, though i do hope they will try a few shows again like The Mole and Survivor now we have new owners as well as bringing some new original content.
I’m going to go wrestling nerd here and say that’s a horrible scheduling setup for TNA, great that they’ve got PPVs from Extreme Sports but making the delay between US and UK showings even bigger isn’t going to help the struggling company much.
Has it already been reported that (Sky) Challenge starts up on 1st Feb on Freeview channel 46?
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/news/a300152/tna-wrestling-to-air-on-challenge.html
Only Connect was an answer on a Sporcle quiz today.
http://www.sporcle.com/games/Buzzers/Scramble_TV
Well, that was easy.
And I could have sworn the show was “A Question of Sport,” not “Question of Sport.”
The daily anagram games aren’t difficult but nice to see a UK-centred quiz for a change.
Interesting news about Minne staying on F2. Wasn’t all that long since he said he was going to be primarily on F3.
Fort Boyard needs a 2003-esque shake-up. 2010 was another 2002 year, although it was down to the changes not working out instead of the format simply stagnating.
If there is a 2011, I’m convinced that just doing a 2009-style series again would not bring the audience back, even though it’d probably be a good series. Also it’s not a MAJOR point, but I really feel there needs to be a second host.
I remain not a massive fan of the two-team format, although I’d be happy with them ‘doing a Sweden’. And it MUST get back down to 90 minutes.
The positive thing is when they axed Carte aux Tresors, they did it quite quickly when the series finished. Despite the audience rejection of the previous series, they haven’t said anything yet. The success of the Scandinavian shows might be the French show’s lifeline here.
I think Fort Boyard will be beck. I just hope they don’t do what they did in 2010 again.
Been watching the 2010 series of Fort boyard finland which to me seems one of the best 2 team formats (First is Sweeden, Second is Russia 2006) with it using full on french music as well as using interviews after the game and not during.
As for the german boyard ratings have dropped from week 1 from 2 million to 1.3 million. Although the channel has recived a younger audience growth because of the show.
Norway starts on 06/02/11 I been told its a 2 team format so were see how that goes.
Intresting to note im not sure what algeria has done this year on the fort with them episodes being hidden. They ususally done a 1 team format.
Did they do interviews during or after the games in Sweden 2010? I forgot.
Also when I mean ‘2003-shakeup’, I would also like a UK series. It’d be a nice bit of new programming for Challenge, even if it has no hope of actually happening.
Idle question: What would be an efficient way to do a buzz-in system for a game show done over Skype?
I have been informed by a reliable source to watch The Chase this evening.
The source was right. So very right.
I have my sources 😉
Fantastic final chase.
Didn’t see The Chase but doubt it was as tense an endng of today’s Deal (which needs to be added to the list of all-time UK gameshow winners).
I was going to do it but it seems I have problems having a new password sent to me. Must get it sorted.
If we ever played a game of “Biggest gameshow win you’ve ever seen live”, would I win?
(I would have given a hint earlier today but I take my Endemol legal contract very seriously LOL)
Rumour from Italian WWTBAM:
SPOILER!
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Million euro win on Friday!
Sad to see The Beast chucking his toys out of his pram on The Chase tonight.
Lol
This source suggests Sing If You Can is played by “talented amateurs”. Meh, it’s a slightly different take on Distraction, though I fear it’ll retread ground covered by Brainiac’s Shocking Acts. Instantly obviously not my cup of tea and I shall look “forward” to avoiding ITV to miss the trailers, should it come to fruition.
Why did the NTAs stop doing the ‘Best Gameshow’ category?!? When did they stop having it?
Million Dollar Drop sure would’ve won. What a pity.
Wiki says the last Gameshow award at the NTA was 2006.
Million Dollar Drop sure would’ve won. What a pity.
Very much doubt that. The National Television Awards are an ITV production, championing cross-generational populist television shown in the UK. Million Dollar Drop meets about one of those criteria, and Million Pound Drop might meet two.
Defending champion Gameshow Marathon wouldn’t retain its crown, but defending runners-up 8 Out of 10 Cats and Have I Got News For You would surely be in contention. So would newcomers Pointless, Eggheads, The Chase, and familiar faces The Weakest Link and A Question of Sport. Maybe Celebrity Mastermind could be in the mix. Maybe even Millionaire.
They dropped it I think because WWTBAM won it all the time.
And in other news, the UK is sending Blue to Eurovision in the first in-house selection process since 1994.