So How Badly Did The UK Wreck '500 Questions'?
Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:26 pm
Taped on the set of the German version of the show, which has also gone two seasons so far, the new Brit version of the hit ABC quizzer debuted this week on ITV Television, and it became clear to those who were able to follow it that, thanks to some changes to the established format, it's already in trouble.
1.) ITV reportedly ordered just four episodes, all airing on consecutive nights this week. Not exactly a strong vote of confidence from the network still trying to find a worthy successor to the original UK WWTBAM.
2.) Host Giles Coren, a UK breakfast TV personality and food critic, has been described by one source as 'the epitome of metropolitan elitist smarm' (inews.co.uk), and even has some irritating catchphrases of his own ('You must clear the strike against your name!' 'You have eradicated a wrong!' And to those who lose, 'No more questions for you!'). Sounds like Richard Quest is already well on the road to forgiveness.
3.) They reportedly only do one round of 50 questions per episode, and they don't restart at question 1 each time a genius is eliminated. [thecube]Purpose of the whole show ... Daa-Feeted![/thecube] As a result, the payout of winnings is different from other versions, with an eliminated genius losing everything to the incoming challenger, regardless of how far (s)he's come. So under the revised format, someone coming in and starting on question 49 automatically wins the night without needing to do any work. Not sure if they bank those rolling winnings at the end of each show.
4.) The popular 'Lightning Round' introduced on ABC this past season is no longer a bonus round, but a regular recurring question type like 'Battle' and 'Triple Threat' (brought back for the UK version). Contestants must answer two minutes worth of questions from all the categories on the board, and get a strike (and can be eliminated) if they miss three LR questions in a row.
5.) Because of all the different rules for the various rounds, the British press has been having a field day all week with how people on Twitter are comparing the UK's '500 Questions' to 'Bamboozle', Joey's favorite fictional and non-existent quiz show featured on 'Friends'.
I'm sure there'll be more as the week progresses, but this appears to be another example of the golden 'If It Ain't Broke' rule being gloriously ignored.
1.) ITV reportedly ordered just four episodes, all airing on consecutive nights this week. Not exactly a strong vote of confidence from the network still trying to find a worthy successor to the original UK WWTBAM.
2.) Host Giles Coren, a UK breakfast TV personality and food critic, has been described by one source as 'the epitome of metropolitan elitist smarm' (inews.co.uk), and even has some irritating catchphrases of his own ('You must clear the strike against your name!' 'You have eradicated a wrong!' And to those who lose, 'No more questions for you!'). Sounds like Richard Quest is already well on the road to forgiveness.
3.) They reportedly only do one round of 50 questions per episode, and they don't restart at question 1 each time a genius is eliminated. [thecube]Purpose of the whole show ... Daa-Feeted![/thecube] As a result, the payout of winnings is different from other versions, with an eliminated genius losing everything to the incoming challenger, regardless of how far (s)he's come. So under the revised format, someone coming in and starting on question 49 automatically wins the night without needing to do any work. Not sure if they bank those rolling winnings at the end of each show.
4.) The popular 'Lightning Round' introduced on ABC this past season is no longer a bonus round, but a regular recurring question type like 'Battle' and 'Triple Threat' (brought back for the UK version). Contestants must answer two minutes worth of questions from all the categories on the board, and get a strike (and can be eliminated) if they miss three LR questions in a row.
5.) Because of all the different rules for the various rounds, the British press has been having a field day all week with how people on Twitter are comparing the UK's '500 Questions' to 'Bamboozle', Joey's favorite fictional and non-existent quiz show featured on 'Friends'.
I'm sure there'll be more as the week progresses, but this appears to be another example of the golden 'If It Ain't Broke' rule being gloriously ignored.
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