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Crothian · Oct 18, 2002

Tallarn said:
One from the top, and another other five, Carol.

(This is a UK joke, apologies)

Explain, please.

alsih2o · Oct 18, 2002

i, um, i must be in the wrong thread, excuse me please.....

Sir Osis of Liver · Oct 18, 2002

i, um, i must be in the wrong thread, excuse me please.....

Oh, uh, no problem! Come back anytime.

Brown Jenkin · Oct 18, 2002

Mathew_Freeman · Oct 19, 2002

Crothian said:
Explain, please.

Okaaay...

I was inspired by the "I'd like to buy a vowel". We have a similar sort of gameshow in the UK called Countdown, whereby two people pick consonants and vowels and then make words out of them. The longer the word, the more points, if you can't make a word that's in the dictionary, no points. Thirty seconds to come up with your word.

There are also two rounds in which a three digit number is generated, and then six cards are drawn, each with a number on it, and you have to use the six numbers drawn to make the big number. Doing this gets you ten points. Again, thirty seconds only.

The hostess is called Carol Vorderman. Take note.

When choosing the six numbers, those on the top row are, I think, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100...and one other, can't remember, the others are all 1-9. Therefore, most people choose "One from the top, and any other five please Carol" as the easiest option that gives them a good chance of getting to the number in question. Some smart alec clever people choose all six big numbers to show off.

Hence.

The show is pretty popular in a "its the middle of the afternoon and I have no lectures" student kind of way, and also for mothers that aren't keeping track of children, and retired types that like wordplay and exercising their brains. Good fun.

(Phew, never thought explaining <i>Countdown</i> would be so complicated!)

Crothian · Oct 19, 2002

Tallarn said:
(Phew, never thought explaining <i>Countdown</i> would be so
complicated!)

THanks

Mathew_Freeman · Oct 19, 2002

It also has a special charm in that the host, Richard Whitely, has the most amazing ability to create a really bad pun out of almost any situation. And wear bad ties, too.

Any comparably awful-yet-good US gameshows? Not the big glitzy, huge prizes kind, more the small, but reasonably clever kind?

Mr Fidgit · Oct 19, 2002

Tallarn said:
Any comparably awful-yet-good US gameshows? Not the big glitzy, huge prizes kind, more the small, but reasonably clever kind?

nope. besides, most of our gameshows are english imports anyway....

Mathew_Freeman · Oct 19, 2002

Really? Which ones?

I can't believe we get the best US drama/sci-fi etc etc and you get our gameshows! Someone did a good deal over here.

Mr Fidgit · Oct 19, 2002

in the last couple of years, the biggest gameshows in the U.S, have been Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and...arrg!..i just lost the name of the other one. it's the one where the short haired English gal insults the contestants for getting the trivia questions wrong, and the contestants are eliminated round-by-round

there was another one too...a contestant sits in a chair and watches questions (or categories) scroll by on a huge screen...

can you tell i don't watch game shows much?

my favorite English import converted-to-an-American-show has been Who's Line Is It Anyway?, we get re-runs of the original WLIIA on Comedy Central