05Apr2013
ITV and Channel 4 Debut New Games This Weekend
If you're a game show fan in the United Kingdom, you're going to have a very busy weekend. Saturday and Sunday are virtually bursting with genre offerings anywhere you look. The two we'll be keeping an eye on the most are ITV's Catch Phrase and Channel 4's 5 Minutes to a Fortune. The latter, 5 Minutes to a Fortune, starts this Saturday, April 6th, at 5:10PM UK (12:10PM ET). Davina McCall (The Million Pound Drop, Big Brother) hosts. Each episode sees a team compete in five challenges within five minutes in order to save as much cash as possible from an ever-draining larger-than-life hourglass. Then, on Sunday, April 7th, a classic game returns. After an eleven year break, Catchphrase comes back to ITV with new episodes at 6:45PM UK (1:45PM ET). The weekly show hosted by Stephen Mulhern simply asks contestants to "see what they say." Beyond those two exciting new shows there are several others on this weekend. Click here for the full story one ach show and let us know which one you're looking forward to the most.
Read MoreView Comments (10)27Jan2013
Weekend Replay: “Pointless” for Record £20,250 Jackpot
In our never ending praise for ITV's The Chase, we do often forget about BBC's very fun and equally popular Pointless which runs opposite it. For those that may have not seen it each show asks contestants to come up with answers to trivia questions that no one else could think of. The fewer people that said it, the fewer points you get. In this game a high score knocks you out. The day's winner must find one Pointless answer to win the jackpot which grows daily. This Wednesday featured the biggest jackpot in the show's three-and-a-half year history: £20,250. Can the team find the all important Pointless answer and take it home? Click here to watch the clip and find out.
Read MoreView Comments (4)25Jan2013
BBC One Picks Up Objective Productions Game “Reflex”
What is essentially a spin-off of ITV's The Cube, the long-developed game Reflex is finally getting to television. BBC One has announced they have picked up six 45 minute episodes of the stunt-based show hosted by Shane Richie. Each episode sees two teams of three family members against each other in games that test their speed and reaction through five rounds. Click here to read more about the format, what games to expect, and to hear from series creator Adam Adler.
Read MoreView Comments (2)08Dec2012
Buzzer UK: UK Christmas Game Show Preview 2012
Christmas is here once again with the UK major channels drawing up some game show treats for the next few weeks into the new year. Some are returning favourites with some new shows and a special revival of a 1980s classic. Here are the details to what is planned for the festive period. BBC One Given the huge popularity of the London 2012 Olympic Games over the summer. The BBC have decided to bring back 80s sportsfest, Superstars. The original show featured many sport stars taking part in sports that were unfamiliar to them with the finale taking place in the gymnasium for the gruelling gym tests. It was known for having a memorable theme tune, Heavy Action. Which is well known to US viewers as the theme tune to ABC's Monday Night Foot
Read MoreView Comments (3)04Dec2012
BBC Shelves “Secret Fortune”; Orders “Break the Safe”
While one BBC lottery game show appears to be going away, another one will be taking its place. BBC One has announced that they plan on shaking up its lottery game show lineup. The network will be resting the Wild Rover-produced Secret Fortunes. While they have no immediate plans for a new series they are not ruling out its potential return. This past series averaged in the area of four million viewers. In its place is the new quiz and intuition show Break the Safe. Each show sees contestants trying to win £100,000 as they stop a 40 minute clock within a predetermined limit. Click here to learn about the format and what to expect.
Read MoreView Comments (7)20Nov2012
BBC One Orders Three New Series of “Pointless”
BBC1's hit daytime quiz show Pointless just got a big episode order. The network has renewed the show for 183 episodes. This includes three daytime series and a new primetime celebrity run. Each episode of Pointless, hosted by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, sees teams of contestants trying to find answers to trivia questions that no one else found. The lower your score the better. Finding "Pointless" answers scores you 0 points, and finding a Pointless answer in the final round awards you the day's jackpot. Click here to learn more about the renewal and to hear from the show's executive producer.
Read MoreView Comments (7)13Nov2012
TBS Shoots Pilot for British Import “Have I Got News For You”
If a show is good enough, executives will keep hammering at the door until it opens up. Another door is starting to look open for the BBC1 news quiz Have I Got News For You. Cable network TBS shot a pilot for the long running game this past Friday. The US version of Have I Got News For You was hosted by Sam Seder and featured panelists Michael Ian Black and Sherrod Small. The comedy game sees panelists playing various funny games involving the week's headlines. Click here to learn more about the American version, the history of the British version, and to see a recept episode featuring Captain Kirk himself: William Shatner.
Read MoreView Comments (1)01Oct2012
There’s No News. Here’s This Week’s “QI”
When I say that there's no news, I literally mean there is absolutely no news anywhere today. I've checked all over and nothing has come up yet. We're still hunting. In the meantime, here's this week's episode of one of our favorite shows, BBC's QI. They've got some great new panelists coming soon like Tim Vine, Greg Proops, and many others among the regulars, so be sure to keep watching. If some actual news comes up we'll let you know, of course. Click here to watch.
Read MoreView Comments (2)25Aug2012
Weekend Replay: £100,000 on the Line on “Secret Fortune”
There's been so much going on recently that we're behind on some of our favorite game shows coming back. BBC's lottery quiz Secret Fortune is on for its third series. Hosted by Nick Knowles, the show gives contestants the chance to win £100,000 by removing checks attached to answers. It's been voted a massive fan favorite all around the web and is one of the best mixes of luck and quiz we've ever seen. We're a little bit behind on this and we'll have more of the show very soon, but last week's game was pretty exciting. Contestants Claire and Julie have been lucky enough to play for the £100,000 top prize with some other nice amounts available such as £30,000 and £22,000. Can they answer the final five questions correctly to be the third £100,000 winners; or are we on the way to massive heartbreak. It's an exciting finish. Click here to see the end game and see if they can win.
Read MoreView Comments (5)14Aug2012
“Don’t Blow the Inheritance” Debuts August 20th; “The Cube”, “Celebrity Chase”, and Other Return Dates
The United Kingdom has a wide range of game shows and other unscripted television formats returning in August and September. Odds are whether you like comedy, quizzes, or just general competition there will be something for you in the next few weeks. Upcoming shows include Pointless, Total Wipeout, Red or Black?, The Celebrity Chase, The Cube, Don't Blow the Inheritance, and Only Connect. Click here to find out when each show returns and for more information.
Read MoreView Comments (2)07Aug2012
BBC Four’s “Only Connect” Starts Sixth Series on August 27th
The smartest game show in the world is back. BBC Four's lateral thinking quiz Only Connect, presented by Victoria Coren, will start its sixth series on Monday, August 27th, at 8:30PM. This sixth tournament will run for 16 episodes. Each show sees two teams use their lateral thinking skills to reason out what comes next in a sequence of seemingly unconnected items. The fifth series was won by the Analysts team of Paul Steeples, David Lea, William De Ath. Only Connect has been a critical and ratings success for BBC Four since it began in 2008. Over 100 episodes of the series have been produced. The previous series ended in December 2011. Click here to read more, to play an online version, or to watch some of a recent episode.
Read MoreView Comments (2)02Aug2012
“Pointless” Returns to BBC One on August 13th
Endemol has announced their BBC One daytime quiz show Pointless will return on August 13th with new episodes. The series has been on break for the past few weeks for various programs including the currently-running 2012 London Summer Olympics. The new episodes will be a continuation of the sixth series which began in February 2012. Pointless sees four teams attempt to score as little as possible by guessing the least popular answers to trivia questions. If you guess a pointless answer, you score 0 and £250 goes into the jackpot which can be won at the end of the show. Pointless, which began in August 2009, is hosted by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osmand. Click here to learn more about the show and to watch some of a recent episode in case you've not seen it before.
Read MoreView Comments (5)12Jul2012
BBC One Pilots Objective Productions Game Show “Reflex”
Reflex, a game show judging people's quick reaction skills, is coming back from the dead. After Channel 4 passed on the Objective Productions-produced game in April 2011, BBC One has ordered a new pilot hosted by Jake Humphrey. The show sees players compete to be the fastest players to complete challenges. Games may include falling through eight foot high balloons, jumping through glass panels, and countless others. Reflex ends with one person playing a dramatic end game to win up to £50,000. The show will use super slo-mo cameras plus new technologies developed by the same team that makes the GameFreeze (Matrix-like stop motion cameras) for The Cube. Objective Productions also produces that show. Click here to learn more about the show and for a word from creator Adam Adler.
Read MoreView Comments (2)29Jun2012
BBC’s “Secret Fortune” Returns for Third Series on June 30th
BBC One's popular lottery quiz show Secret Fortune is back. The Nick Knowles hosted game returns for its third series starting tomorrow, June 30th, at 8:20PM UK (3:20PM ET) on BBC One. Secret Fortune was voted the second best game show of 2011 on BuzzerBlog's end-of-the-year poll and won best show in the UKGameshows Poll of the Year 2011. Each episode sees a team of two try to win up to £100,000 by answering various list-based trivia questions. Twenty four checks in envelopes are presented to the team. In each round select four envelopes and hope to eliminate the lowest valued checks by answering questions correctly. By the end of the show only one check will remain and be the team's Secret Fortune. The second series averaged around four million viewers against some tough competition. Click here to see a highlight from the second series and let us know what you think about the show and it's return.
Read MoreView Comments (4)18Jun2012
Ratings Report: “Figure It Out” and “Pointless Celebrities” are Last Week’s Winners
We've had a few new game shows pop up recently and I wanted to be sure to share the nice success stories we've had for the genre. The biggest recent success is Nick's revival of Figure It Out. It seems the new series left off where the old one did...it's a big hit. The show has been averaging over 2.5 million episodes for its debut week. Over in the United Kingdom, BBC's Saturday special Pointless Celebrities scored big for the network. The celebrity special of BBC's hit daytime quiz show scored 3.47 million viewers and a 19.2% share. We've also got syndicated ratings for you. Click here to read all the numbers and let us know what you think.
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