The Game Show Forum

The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: tommycharles on January 12, 2004, 11:11:21 PM

Title: What was this game show?
Post by: tommycharles on January 12, 2004, 11:11:21 PM
I can't figure this out: on what game show did you have to answer questions 1 question after it was asked?

Example:

HOST: "What is your name?"
CONTESTANT: silence
HOST: "What is the capital of Spain?"
CONTESTANT: Thomas Bullock
HOST: "The tragic space shuttle Columbia was enroute to Earth from where when it blew apart?"
CONTESTANT: Madrid

and it would continue like that. Any clue? It might have been a kids show.

Thanks
T
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: Jimmy Owen on January 12, 2004, 11:48:31 PM
That could have been "The Spanish Inquisition."
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: inturnaround on January 13, 2004, 12:30:52 AM
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jan 12 2004, 11:48 PM\'] That could have been "The Spanish Inquisition." [/quote]
 I never expected that for an answer.
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: bricon on January 13, 2004, 12:25:18 PM
Quote
HOST: "What is your name?"
CONTESTANT: silence
HOST: "What is the capital of Spain?"
CONTESTANT: Thomas Bullock
HOST: "The tragic space shuttle Columbia was enroute to Earth from where when it blew apart?"
CONTESTANT: Madrid

It sounds like "Lose A Million", a show that aired in the UK and was also piloted several years ago for FX here in the US.
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: GS Warehouse on January 13, 2004, 04:22:51 PM
[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Jan 13 2004, 12:30 AM\'] [quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jan 12 2004, 11:48 PM\'] That could have been "The Spanish Inquisition." [/quote]
I never expected that for an answer. [/quote]
 Nobody expects The Spanish Inquisition!
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: Mark McNeil on January 13, 2004, 06:21:24 PM
Could it be "It Pays To Be Ignorant"?
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: Matt Ottinger on January 13, 2004, 10:52:28 PM
[quote name=\'Mark McNeil\' date=\'Jan 13 2004, 07:21 PM\'] Could it be "It Pays To Be Ignorant"? [/quote]
 No.  That was a scripted comedy program that didn't have contestants answering questions at all.  

I've never heard of an American game show that exclusively used that one-off questioning system, but I've seen it used as one element of an old B&W game.  I want to say the original Dollar A Second that's floating around used that system in one round.  Some old show like that, anyway.
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: Jay Temple on January 13, 2004, 11:53:54 PM
I only remember it as the basis of a sketch on The Benny Hill Show.  It was a fictitious light news show, along the lines of Entertainment Tonight, and they were having trouble with the transmission.

"Do you still watch our show, Lady Elvira?"  (I don't remember the actual character name.)
Silence.
"How is marriage to Lord Smythe?"
"I don't get it as often as I used to."
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: Strikerz04 on January 13, 2004, 11:59:57 PM
I thought The spanish inquisition was a Monty Python skit.
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: clemon79 on January 14, 2004, 12:12:12 AM
[quote name=\'Strikerz04\' date=\'Jan 13 2004, 09:59 PM\'] I thought The spanish inquisition was a Monty Python skit. [/quote]
 Wow.
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: Jimmy Owen on January 14, 2004, 06:03:48 AM
Benny Hill also had a spoof of "Mastermind" called "Masterbrain" which had questioning similar to the above.
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: uncamark on January 14, 2004, 04:36:32 PM
Another British show where silence was a virtue was Michael Miles' "Take Your Pick," which ran in the 50s and 60s on ITV (and allowed producer Rediffusion to fill the later hours with serious documentaries and Harold Pinter plays).  The show opened with "The Yes-No Interlude," where each contestant came out--if they could make it through Miles' interview without saying "yes" or "no" once, they'd get to play the game.  Of course, his questions were designed to elicit those words without thinking--and if they did say "yes" or "no," announcer Bob Danvers-Walker, who was standing behind them, would raise his miniature gong to their ear and bang on it, eliminating them from the game.

If you recall the Python sketch where John Cleese plays the oily emcee being patronizing to the "Pepperpot" playing for "tonight's star prize, the bump on the head," the sketch was inspired by "Take Your Pick."  (To fill in the details, on the real show the contestant who went to win the quiz would them get to pick from 14 boxes, hoping to find the star prize instead of the booby prize.)

The show was revived briefly in the early 90s on ITV, hosted by the veteran entertainer and current Regis to Melanie Sykes' Kathie Lee/Kelly on ITV daytime Des O'Connor.
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: DrBear on January 14, 2004, 06:35:05 PM
It seems the bit could have been done for I've Got A Secret at some point...

You mean there was a Spanish Inquisition BEFORE Monty Python?
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: tomobrien on January 14, 2004, 10:04:08 PM
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jan 13 2004, 10:52 PM\'][quote name=\'Mark McNeil\' date=\'Jan 13 2004, 07:21 PM\'] Could it be "It Pays To Be Ignorant"? [/quote]
No.  That was a scripted comedy program that didn't have contestants answering questions at all.  

I've never heard of an American game show that exclusively used that one-off questioning system, but I've seen it used as one element of an old B&W game.  I want to say the original Dollar A Second that's floating around used that system in one round.  Some old show like that, anyway.[/quote]
Matt's right. On the Jan Murray-hosted "Dollar A Second" (brought to you by that fine, refreshing Mogen David Wine), that "delayed question" shtick was used as one of the lead-in games to the stunt portion of the show.
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: tommycharles on January 15, 2004, 12:26:23 AM
I'm pretty sure I was thinking of "Lose a Million." Thanks for the help.
Title: What was this game show?
Post by: dougal18 on January 17, 2004, 05:37:29 AM
Take Your Pick had a choice of 10 boxes plus Box 13.

There was a thing on the radio called Viaduct that had the same rules as the OP's query.  Chris Moyles used to do it on BBC Radio 1.