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1955 hot tot pot currency11/27/2023 Long-range communications played their role in Top of the World and Treasure Hunt, and Ultra Quiz took contestants to places a UK game show had never been to before. The advances in technology also allowed larger-scale projects to become feasible. Meanwhile back on ITV, the unashamedly highbrow University Challenge was perhaps the most surprising hit of the decade.Īnneka Rice races for the clues in Treasure Hunt It wasn't until near the end of the decade that the BBC finally came up with a hit game show in the somewhat low-brow form of Jeux Sans Frontiéres. The introduction of a second BBC channel in 1964 did little to alter the outlook, since it had been created to provide alternative higher-brow programming than mere quiz shows, and for several years Call My Bluff was the channel's only game show of any note. With Take Your Pick and Double Your Money maintaining their remarkable headlock on the audience figures until their unfortunate demise, very few other shows were able to get a look-in. It's less well known that Twenty One was dropped by Granada in the UK when a contestant here also claimed that he had been given "definite leads" to the answers. Crackerjack provided panto-style fun for schoolkids from 1955.Ĭrackerjack's signature game, "Double or Drop"Īs documented in the Robert Redford film Quiz Show, Twenty-One in the USA caused the great "Quiz Swizz" when Charles van Doren was found to have been given the answers to questions in advance. People are Funny and Make Up Your Mind showed early signs of using stunts and practical jokes - a key theme of the mid 1980s onwards. In fact, the only reason these two shows ever ended was due to Associated Rediffusion losing their regional licence in a local franchise reorganisation ordered by the government. But none of these matched the success of Take Your Pick and Double Your Money, which both ran until 1968. The big money shows didn't all have their way - celebrity panel games such as I've Got a Secret and Tell the Truth also added to the mix. Many of these shows were imported from the USA, a trend which only slowed down in the 1970s. The long list of hit shows during this decade included Criss Cross Quiz, Dotto, the The 64,000 Dollar Question, Concentration and Twenty-One. Game show fever reached its height in the autumn of 1958, when the ITV network was putting a quiz out in prime time six nights a week (from Sunday to Friday: Dotto, Keep It in the Family, Twenty-One, Spot the Tune, Double Your Money and Take Your Pick). In the mid to late 50s, Britain went quiz show mad, reflecting the similar fever in the USA. Although there are still a few anomalies in the Scottish regions, in general all prime time game shows in the UK can be seen throughout the country. Since the content of such programmes is frequently non-dependent on the area in which the show is broadcast, this is still something of an anomaly for the game show fan - but nevertheless a better situation than is currently endured in the USA where few programmes are syndicated. This localised nature led to some game shows being shown in some parts of the country but not others, a situation which still exists today. Its two defining characteristics were that it would carry commercials and be formed from a number of local companies. The BBC's monopoly was broken in 1955 when the government decided that a commercial station (ITV) should come into being. The programme was the first US import of a Goodson and Todman show - many more were to follow. It was another simple panel game, nevertheless it ran in numerous different versions on two different channels through to the mid 90s. The first game show whose name still means anything to anyone is What's My Line?, which ran on the BBC from 1951. Television closed down during the Second World War, and even when the service returned most of the programmes shown throughout the rest of the 1940s were largely forgettable. It was not until the late 80s that children were treated as young people rather than schoolkids. The host was bedecked in schoolmaster garb as a way of adding kudos to what was otherwise a light-hearted quiz - a technique that countless other shows would use throughout the century. Hosted by Freddie Grisewood, the panel of guests were asked to spell a series of words. Spelling Bee was broadcast on 31st May 1938, transmitted live from the BBC studios at Alexandra Palace.
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