There’s going to be a load of Show Discussion posts today and tomorrow, and probably next week as well with all the US shows starting up again but we begin today with David Walliams’ Wall of Fame, usually the guest on a panel show this is, I think, the first time he’s hosted one properly (24 Hour Panel People notwithstanding).
The show’s unique selling point is that it’s got a video wall in it.
It’s on Sky 1 (+HD) at 9:30pm 10pmthis evening. Can’t guarantee I’ll be watching it live, but if you do and you have an opinion feel free to share.
Right, there’s a wall and it features the top twenty five trending people of the week (tne methodology isn’t revealed).
Round One is which of these people once did something about twenty years ago. The choices are reduced to five. Throw it over if you’re wrong.
Round two, a position of one of the celebrities is revealed, is the second celebrity rated higher or lower than them?
Round three is Pap Snaps, can you guess which of the twenty five the unfortunate photograph is taken of?
Round four is predicting which of three celebs in fact charted 26th.
It’s Celebrity Juice without the joir de vivre, edge or indeed laughs and is basically a barely adequate way to spend thirty minutes. Sorry 🙁
The other thing is, is it likely that the same old fsces are going to crop up most weeks?
I wasn’t that impressed either. Quite a poor panellist standard too (other than Jack Dee)
Very poor decision by the producers of The Chase to have Paul Sinha as a new Chaser. He is NOT a top quizzer like the other Chasers and will be very weak in that lineup. Contestants will have many more opportunities to win the cash with Sinha as a Chaser and that’ll make the show worse. Yet again a good format being messed up.
I disagree; Mr. Sinha is a very good quizzer, no-one appears on Brain of Britain or Mastermind without being in the top echelon, and he has a formidable reputation in the quiz league circuit. His comedy training ensures he can think and react quickly, and that he would be a Large Personality, a larger-than-life character that the viewers can remember.
The Chase is an entertainment programme, if it doesn’t make for quality viewing it’s never going to come back. It’s a stroke of genius to add the one excellent quizzer who is also a proven entertainer.
Hmmm… I’m not convinvced by Paul Sinha’s quizzing credentials. Sure, appearing on Mastermind is good, but many people have appeared on the show. But it doesn’t mean he’s the best of the best (or up there among the best). From what I know, he doesn’t have the best track record as a quizzer and I feel that contestants will have many more opportunities to win the cash with him being in the show. Sure, he’ll be entertaining. But the beauty of the show is that it’s rare for contestants to have the chance to win the cash, so when it does happen, it’s a big thing. This rarity in opportunity hooks viewers to the show, just like the rarity of someone winning £1m on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire was the “hook” for viewers back in the late 90’s/early 00’s and the rarity of the £250k being won in DOND being a hook. But now that there is a weak Chaser in the show, the number of chances for contestants to steal the money is going to go up considerably and that’ll have an effect on the audience’s loyalty towards the show.
You’re jumping the gun again without doing your research. Paul is more like Anne Hegerty, he is more well know on the professional quizzing circuit than appearing on quiz/game shows in the past (like Mark & Shaun).
Many people doubted Anne would do well as a Chaser. Although she lost her very first head to head in her first series, she became the best Chaser on the last series (early 2011) as she only lost ONCE out of thirteen shows.
Also Paul is a qualified doctor, his stand up comedy is his night job. Also I have to agree with Iain that The Chase is an entertainment show. The question are not set at Mastermind/£250K Millionaire level. Being a stand up comedian he will interact well with the contestants and especially with Bradley Walsh.
Personally, I think there was no need for a fourth chaser as they don’t record episodes in bulk, only three a day. I have said that if they wanted a fourth Chaser then they should’ve headhunted someone younger, somebody like Jesse Honey or Jenny Ryan. However, they have made a good choice as many people have heard of Paul Sinha than Anne Hegerty when she appeared on the show last year but the show has proven her ability very well.
Follow-up question: are they keeping the other three Chasers and going to a rotation of four, or is he replacing one of the existing line-up? I reckon that he might take a little while to get up to speed – I suspect there’s more technique to Chasing than meets the eye – but soon enough he’ll do juuuu-u-u-u-u-ust fine.
It will be three becoming four. None of the existing three Chasers are being replaced. Since each series runs for 40 episodes then it will logically be 10 episodes each, but I suppose the downside will be that the other three Chasers will get a pay cut with the reduction of appearance fees.
Well ITV have apparently ordered 120 episodes (I assume 2 x 60 episode series) so I don’t think they need to worry about reduced appearances or pay cuts!
Paul Sinha is indeed a qualified G.P. but no longer practises so stand up is not his night job. In his latest show he tells the story of beating CJ de Mooi and says just incase you were wondering whether he is a narcissistic prick in real life…yes he is! He is born to do the chase.
Your wish of Jenny Ryan being picked has come true.
Quizzing.co.uk ranks Paul 4 places below Anne and considerably above Mark in their rankings so he’s certainly strong enough to be on the line up
Mark used to do the professional quizzing years ago but now focuses on appearing The Chase and more towards his teaching. Unless I am wrong, Shaun has never done the prefessional quizzing circuit. Probably due to his barrister role.
Yes I suspected at much – Mark I believe mentioned he was ranked 14th on the peoples quiz in 2007 – which because the editor was a useless moron was edited to appear arrogant…
Wallace has done the circuit, once. 79th place http://www.quizzing.co.uk/forum,89,295874,2.php?PHPSESSID=92c2cfe975383e232db0a3392620b196
Oh, knock it off, Sir I-Dislike-The-Chase-A-Lot. 🙄
I thought Joe liked it? Although not to Endemol levels of likeness.
http://www.radinden.com/sqbs/oxfordopen2010_individuals.html
In my position as the principal question setter for the British Grand Prix quiz circuit (including the annual British Championships, since 2005) and one of the chief setters for the European and World Quizzing Championships, it is also my lot to record stats and, just as often, to act as question master at major quiz tournaments. I’m also chief selector for the senior English team (and other representative English sides). So I know a bit about ‘top quizzers’.
IMHO Paul is an excellent quizzer. He made an instant impact on the circuit when he joined. He’s twice a category winner at Grands Prix (something Anne has yet to do) obviously showing particular strengths to come top of the field in ‘Entertainment-based’ questions. He was also picked to play in one of the ‘junior’ representative England sides at his very first European Championships, in November last year. And just a couple of weeks ago he finished 26th in the World Quizzing Championships in a field of 1500 (Anne, a regular in the Scotland team, was 16th – making her this year’s top placed woman).
Being a qualified GP and now full-time comic (of international repute) who performed stand up on national TV, I really can’t imagine Paul being phased on ‘The Chase’. So, you’ll gather, I think he’s a stonking choice for the role.
And I forgot… earlier this year I played alongside Paul in a 4-man team in a buzzer tournament at Oxford University. There one of our opponents was a team comprising chasers Anne, Shaun, and Mark, and Egghead CJ de Mooi. Anyway, we destroyed them – no mean feat, you’ll understand, if you’ve ever seen La Bette in action on the buzzers – and, as in all our matches, our captain Paul was without doubt our star player.
The point to this? Paul’s not only a smart cookie, but lightnig fast with it too – in fact, just what you want when playing on the Telly under time pressure!
La bête
Any of the regulars on the UK circuit would tell you that you’re worrying unduly, Joe. Paul’s a very good player and is improving at a rapid rate. I think he’s probably as strong as Anne overall, considerably stronger than Shaun, and a bit stronger than Mark. I would have no worries on his ability to do well on the show. And I speak as someone who is a very regular contestant on the non-televised quiz circuit.
Okay, it seems like I was wrong about Paul Sinha. Apologies.