The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: uncamark on October 08, 2007, 05:57:53 PM
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Hollywood Reporter's got an article about Fremantle expanding its European operations:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/conten...9ea18c1e5386d3b (http://\"http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i450ef4cf79b6d94bc9ea18c1e5386d3b\")
In the article, which I'd quote except that the HR doesn't allow you to C&P their copy, there's a bit about a format from their Japanese division called "Hole in the Wall," where contestants try to get through a moving hole in a wall or get knocked into a swimming pool.
Fremantle CEO Terry Cohen is quoted as saying, "It's not one of our brainier formats, although we do brainy very well." (Present U.S. version of "Sale of the Century/Temptation" notwithstanding.) "But I've yet to show it to a room where people don't instantly start laughing."
Hoo boy...
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THIS (http://\"http://youtube.com/watch?v=84_QL1kEmH4\") BS is Fremantle's as well?
Good lord.
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It looks like it should be part of someone's variety show, not a stand-alone product. How this will fill an hour is beyond me.
I thought our rendition of Takeshi's Castle (not MXC) definitively showed the result of importing Japanese concepts to the States.
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I do wonder if this show will be a glory to behold?
(Seriously, I'm betting they're buying this because the two original YouTube vids have a few million views between them.)
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Agreed. It's funny, but after a while, it's repetitive. How they'lll filll an hour is beyond me.
/$1,000,000 Hole in the Wall!!!!!!!
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Joe Mello wrote:
I thought our rendition of Takeshi's Castle (not MXC) definitively showed the result of importing Japanese concepts to the States.
Hey! I'm the one person who liked Ultra Quiz. :-)
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Was there a US version of Ultra Quiz?
IIRC, the real prize of the Japanese Ultra Quiz didn't lie at the end, but was the journey itself, which means it would be hard to successfully replicate.
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[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'166001\' date=\'Oct 8 2007, 06:40 PM\']
Was there a US version of Ultra Quiz?
[/quote]
Yes. (And there were at least two, Ted.)
IIRC, the real prize of the Japanese Ultra Quiz didn't lie at the end, but was the journey itself, which means it would be hard to successfully replicate.
Well, guess what they did.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'165984\' date=\'Oct 8 2007, 06:30 PM\']
Agreed. It's funny, but after a while, it's repetitive. How they'lll filll an hour is beyond me.
[/quote]
Well, how they'd fill an hour picking numbered cases on "Deal or No Deal" was beyond me too.
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[quote name=\'TheLastResort\' post=\'166005\' date=\'Oct 8 2007, 07:37 PM\']
Well, how they'd fill an hour picking numbered cases on "Deal or No Deal" was beyond me too.
[/quote]
Note, please, that Matt is *not* holding DoND up as the gold standard of television.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'166002\' date=\'Oct 8 2007, 09:47 PM\']
[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'166001\' date=\'Oct 8 2007, 06:40 PM\']
Was there a US version of Ultra Quiz?
[/quote]
Yes. (And there were at least two, Ted.)
[/quote]
Aired in 1981.
(Co-?)hosted by Dick Martin, IIRC.
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[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'166038\' date=\'Oct 9 2007, 07:26 AM\']
(Co-?)hosted by Dick Martin, IIRC.
[/quote]
Co-, indeed. Dan Rowan, as usual, was right by his side.
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ULTRA QUIZ
I guess this is as good a place as any to discuss Ultra Quiz a bit. I was a contestant on Ultra Quiz. I and hundreds of others arrived at Dodger Stadium (in Los Angeles) and went through an initial processing which included showing our passports. (A total of 932, according to the "Encyclopedia.") We assembled on the field and were asked our first question. If you think the answer is "A" go there; if you think the answer is "B" go there. I forget the exact question, but I got it right. The second question was "When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, the first foot that touched the surface was: Right? Left? Again, all the "rights" went to one place, the "lefts" to another. I came with my fellow game show aficionado Jeannie Graff. She went to the "left" group; I went to the "right"—that way one of us will go on. The answer was "left" so Jeannie went to the next stage, held at LAX. Contestants were paired off, were read a question, had to dash to the end of a short "track" and pull on a rope or something to ring a bell. Jeannie won her "heat" which was somewhat remarkable, since she was anything but "slim."
All the winners then boarded a plane (TWA I think) bound for an unknown destination. Jeannie told me that Dick Clark was warm and gracious, serving tea, etc. Dick Martin was affable and outgoing, while Dan Rowan pretty much kept to himself. Jeannie thought that being a diabetic might have had something to do with that. During the flight, everyone was given a written "quiz" of questions to answer.
The plane made an unannounced landing in Little Rock, and everyone had to deplane. However, at the end of the stairs, there was a light or buzzer which signalled if you passed the test or not. Jeannie passed; many others did not. She went on to Washington DC, the "failures" were flown back to LAX.
Jeannie "failed" in Washington, and as a "punishment" had to go running through the streets of DC in her shorts. This was shown on TV. The "winners" then went on to various cities in Europe, competing until only two remained, a young "hot shot" and a more "seasoned" contestant.
The final championship round was televised live from the NBC studios November 17, 1981. I was in the studio audience, along with Jeannie and many of the other contestants. One of them had a bunch of tee shirts made which said "I Survived the Little Rock Massacre," hoping to sell them to the "survivors" to recoup his expenses. His investment paid off, and Jeannie any many others bought one. It was a very emotional reunion, for you all know about how fellow contestants "bond."
The producers decided that adding Richard Simmons and Jayne Kennedy as commentators would add some "pizazz" to the show. (Shades of Dennis Miller and Amanda Byram?) The older guy, Craig Powers, won, perhaps illustrating that under pressure, veteran experience will prevail (As in some Super Bowls?) Unfortunately, this was up against "10" with Bo Derek on CBS and got creamed in the ratings.
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Great story, Clanky. Thanks for sharing.
[quote name=\'clanky06\' post=\'166064\' date=\'Oct 9 2007, 01:53 PM\']Unfortunately, this was up against "10" with Bo Derek on CBS and got creamed in the ratings.[/quote]
Surely Ultra Quiz wasn't the only thing that got creamed that night.
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[quote name=\'MikeK\' post=\'166093\' date=\'Oct 9 2007, 06:20 PM\']
Surely Ultra Quiz wasn't the only thing that got creamed that night.
[/quote]
Hang up dem phones, 'cuz the LINES ARE CA-LOSED!
ObGSF: Bed Bath and Beyond was around in 1979....
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ULTRA QUIZ SAGA CONTINUES
Unfortunately, Jeannie passed away a few years ago, a victim of breast cancer. I still have her Ultra Quiz contestant name tag, and would be willing to donate it to a deserving collector.
Jeannie appeared on Whew!, paired with an equally large celebrity, and she said she could hardly breathe in the contestant "box." She was also involved with a horse racing theme based game show produced by Bill Carruthers and pitched to NBC. It was to be broadcast live, but NBC passed on it, saying that live broadcasts were too risky. I guess the Ultra Quiz final was the last major live game show broadcast. Right?
Here's a bit of OT to cap this off. Jeannie was a pastor's wife, and a missionary who had served in the Orient gave a talk in which she mentioned that chicken feet are considered a real delicacy. This created a running "chicken feet" joke among Jeannie and her friends. Fast forward to Jeannie's return home after her Ultra Quiz adventure. My wife and I had a bunch of people over to the house for ice cream sundaes to celebrate Jeannie's successes in getting as far as she did. But guess what we buried in her sundae! You got it. We all watched Jeannie eat her sundae, doing all we could to suppress our giggles. When Jeannie finally discovered her "buried treasure" we all howled; everybody but Jeannie that is!
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[quote name=\'clanky06\' post=\'166110\' date=\'Oct 9 2007, 09:31 PM\']I guess the Ultra Quiz final was the last major live game show broadcast.[/quote]
Paranoia's episodes were live.
/OK, so the premiere was major for me.
//Still have the eMachine tower even though it hasn't been used in over 18 months.
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[quote name=\'clanky06\' post=\'166064\' date=\'Oct 9 2007, 10:53 AM\']The final championship round was televised live from the NBC studios November 17, 1981. [/quote]I'd like some closure: what did the championship entail?
And for that matter, was each round "a quiz that happens to be contested in an exotic city"?
/Was all of 14 months old when it aired
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[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'166444\' date=\'Oct 11 2007, 07:56 PM\']
I'd like some closure: what did the championship entail?[/quote]
A straight back-and-forth quiz, if I remember rightly.
And for that matter, was each round "a quiz that happens to be contested in an exotic city"?
Yeah, pretty much. There were no location-based games, if that's what you're getting at. Everything could have been done in a studio with no loss in actual gameplay.