Do you remember back in the good old days of 2010 we had a brief love affair with the Canadian show Mantracker (“the Interceptor your Dad would like”)? It was on the Extreme Sports Channel, I don’t know if that still exists, I can’t be bothered to look it up.
Recently I found myself trying to remember what it was called, then looking it up on Youtube and it turns out there’s loads of episodes on Youtube, here’s a random one:
That’s from Season five, there were seven made (with a different guy for the final series).
Speaking of Interceptor, it occurred to me recently how highly GIFable it would be with the kids if it was around today. I would make some myself but I can’t be bothered.
And speaking of shows we had forgotten about but briefly remembered etc etc it looks like hot on the heels of a reasonably successful Match Game reboot in the US ITV want to bring back Blankety Blank, although they don’t have a host in mind for it yet (Stephen Mulhern).
Of course the recent Celebrity Squares revival didn’t work out too well, but we’ll see.
Wondered how long after the reboot of The Match Game, it would be before the rumours of it rolling over the Atlantic and Freemantle/Thames would have another go.
But, the host has to present it in the manner of Wogan/Dawson. The ‘it’s come to this, & sacking my agent in the morning’ whilst all the time, you know actually they are enjoying the rapid fire banter, and trying not to broad grin at some of the double meaning questions.
I’ve said in the past the perfect host would be Jack Dee – but, unless the panelists are from his era and comedy, he wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.
Paul O’Grady as Paul O’Grady this time would work. Although as he’s claimed the show the last time around nearly killed him – whether that was just a ‘drama queen’ joke or not remains to be seen.
I do know someone who would be very good at bone dry dead pan, and very quick witted as demonstrated in his couple of adventures into light entertainment – although again, whether he’d even turn his mobile from airplane mode to take the call from ITV – Adrian Chiles.
Paul O Grady hosting it on 24 Hour Panel People was *hysterical* but he genuinely dislikes gameshow hosting which is a pity.
I think you’re right re: Adrian Chiles but suspect he carries too much baggage to be considered.
And this is just the host! I wonder who they’d consider for a panel these days.
With David Walliams hosting, here’s a stab at a very very ITV panel for a bit of one-off Christmas fun:
1) [Elder statesman / Grumpy Old Man] Jack Dee
2/3) [Double act] Holly Willoughby / Philip Schofield
4) [Glamour] Freema Agyeman
5) [Anarchist] Keith Lemon
6) [Safe pair of hands… who might choose to play dumb] Mel Giedroyc
I’m not sure whether picking the character Keith Lemon is cheating or not – but Kenny Everett was born Maurice Cole and perhaps Kenny Everett may be as much of a character as anything else. If so:
1) Jack Dee
2) Anne Hegerty
3) Paul Sinha
4) Holly Willoughby
5) Bradley Walsh
6) Mel Giedroyc
In the meantime Warwick Davies is doing a new quiz called Tower of 10 for ITV Daytime which sounds like Big Money Topranko:
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/itv-plots-warwick-davis-quiz/5108453.article?blocktitle=Latest-News&contentID=2319
This will no doubt be that “ITV Quiz for 5 person teams” that the application forms are floating around for atm
Yes it most certainly is.
This will get lost in all the Mega Monday hoo-ha, doubtless, but I want to post about it now so that I can kill some tabs.
Take a look at a 1985 US pilot for a show called Finders Keepers, which has nothing to do with Finders Keepers (1) or Finders Keepers (2) as we know them. Take your strongest stereotypes of what a mid-eighties US game show might look like, then consider a take like that on the UK Treasure Hunt. It’s deliberately zany; the prizes are notably off-beat, and there’s a human sidekick pretending to be a computer character, because that’s what people did in 1985. (Max Headroom might have popped up in a movie, but was still a couple of years off being a show yet.)
There’s a particularly cute Sale of the Century-like mechanism in there which is by far the most interesting part of the show. The whole thing isn’t horrible, but you can see why it was a pilot that didn’t sell.
This has definitely come up before, possibly in an older version of this site, but I had forgotten about it so look forward to looking at it again later.