Weaver's Week 2024-09-08

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Our ongoing run through every game show with lots of episodes (500 in total, or 100 primetime editions) by the end of 2023. Last time took us through Love Island, Masterchef, Let the Peoples Sing, and Mastermind. This time: topical news, music and names, and the most difficult single piece of research in the entire project.

Contents 1 The game shows with the most episodes (part 12): 1.1 The Million Pound Drop Live 1.2 Mock the Week 1.3 Mr and Mrs / Sion a Sian 1.4 My Music 1.5 Name That Tune 2 Totals so far 2.1 All shows 2.2 Primetime only 3 Phil Swern 4 In other news 4.1 Quizzy Mondays

The game shows with the most episodes (part 12):

Kicking off with three daytime shows that could have had very long careers, but didn't.

Masterteam (1) was promoted as "O-level Mastermind", a precise teatime quiz, hosted by Angela Rippon who was pin-sharp on the questions and welcomed the contestants. A very good quiz and a very friendly quiz at teatime, it took far too long for someone to remember the idea and invent The Chase. Only ran for 135 episodes before Neighbours occupied the spot. Even if we count the 112 episodes in the mid-90s when it was reskinned as The Great British Quiz, the fact it's 247 daytime episodes precludes inclusion on our final lists.

May the Best House Win. Basically, Come Dine with Me for the property-owning classes. Ran for 151 daytime episodes about a decade ago, but squeezed out of daytime by Tipping Point.

Memory Bank, the forgotten companion to Brainteaser in Channel 5's early call-and-lose daytime stable. 150 episodes in 2004, and then it was consigned to the oubliette.

The Million Pound Drop Live

Davina McCall hosts as contestants are given one million pounds, and all they have to do to keep it is answer eight general knowledge questions correctly, live on TV. But how certain can you be of an answer when £1 million rides on it?

Lots of bickering as contestants try to workout whether the right answer is Huey, Dewey, or Louis. Lots of frantic shuffling of real £25,000 bundles as they literally stack up the cash on trapdoors. And, because it's all done live, there's just a little more tension.

Flavour of the month circa 2010, and one of the first shows to allow viewers to play along in an app. Sold tremendously internationally, too. Came back in 2018 for a few series in daytime, for a smaller top prize. Wonder if they might do a revival soon.

136 primetime episodes, and 256 episodes in total.

Mock the Week

Dara Ó Briain, Hugh Dennis, and a rotating cast pass comment on the news and make fun of the powerful. "Scenes We'd Like to See", "Dara's Wheel of News", "Headliners", and many more rounds.

Almost all comedians of the last two decades passed through Mock the Week, and it's a time capsule of the talent from that era. Sooner or later, someone will write a book-length memoir, "The Real Story of Mock the Week", and it'll be a fabulous read.

Ran from 2005 to 2022 – 244 primetime episodes, plus one webcast for 245 episodes in total.

The Mole is often mentioned as one of the greatest shows of the century. Give people strange missions to complete, but the task will be sabotaged by the mole. The players' task is to identify the mole, and remember as much as they can about that player. 18 primetime episodes in two series. Don't bother with the version on Netflix, it is rubbish.

Monday Movie Quiz A mixture of voices, music, and sounds to test your knowledge of the world of films, with a prize or two to be won. Mostly hosted by Ray Moore, with Chris Serle stepping in when Ray fell ill, and Chris Stuart finishing the run in a double-bill with his Saturday afternoon Film 2 show. 219 episodes in 19 series.

Moneybags. A very simple game: does the answer fit into a category, or does it not? Never find its feet on Channel 4 daytime, just 60 episodes.

The Movie Game was a very decent CBBC production: stars of the day (Phillip Schofield, Jonathan Morris, John Barrowman) put teams through their paces, answering questions and doing fun stunts. 98 episodes.

Mr and Mrs / Sion a Sian

Two couples are each separately asked three multiple-choice questions selected from pink envelopes fanned out tantalisingly by the host, regarding their knowledge of their partner's everyday habits. Meanwhile their other half sits in a soundproof booth self-consciously listening to some "nice" music through some big headphones. Six out of six correct answers earned the couple the jackpot prize which rolled over by a tenner with each unsuccessful couple, thus sometimes into three figures. Everyone got a marvellous carriage clock. A very pleasant show, and it ran for ages.

How long? Sadly, our search has run into something of a wall, owing to the sheer complexity. Between 1964 and 1988, Mr and Mrs was made by the Welsh ITV franchise, and by Border, and with a series on Anglia. Our best reckoning says 37 series across the regions, and very approximately 375 episodes, of which at least 62 were shown in primetime on HTV or Border. Further research is required to establish precise totals for the 1960s regional runs.

In the 1990s, there were 52 primetime episodes on the Living channel, and a short-lived revival with Julian Clary lasted for 6 primetime episodes on ITV. Then there was a one-shot in the Gameshow Marathon series, which gave birth to the celebrity edition All Star Mr and Mrs with Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton – that made 79 primetime episodes.

And then there's the Welsh-language original, which ran for 37 series between 1964 and 2016. We are confident in 161 primetime episodes on S4C, and at least 134 primetime shows on TWW and HTV. Again, further research is required, our access to Welsh sources is not as good as it ought to be.

As the shows were pretty much the same format, just in a different language, we're happy to combine them. With a larger-than-normal health warning – our research has been defeated by the Everest of programmes – we reckon at least 361 primetime episodes, and about 808 episodes in total.

Any danger of a revival? Almost certainly, we'd be amazed if ITV haven't been offered Stephen Mulhern and Josie Gibson's Mr. and Mrs. by next Friday.

There are a lot of dramas about murders: grisly, cosy, inexplicable, based on innocent-looking old ladies and holy reverends and visitors from Europe with a permanently-raised eyebrow. And there are lots of game shows (see evidence passim). So there's been a huge game show about murder, right?

Wrong. The Murder Game managed to grill choc-ices under the grill for 16 primetime episodes. Murder in Successville ramps up the humour in 18 primetime episodes. Murder Island compared amateurs with the police across 6 primetime episodes. Murder Most Famous tried to write a book in 5 primetime episodes. Murder Weekend had 5 primetime episodes across three nights.

None of them lasted long, and only Murder in Successville made a second series.

My Music

BBC4 has recently started to show some very gentle competitions – Call My Bluff and Going for a Song at the moment. Perhaps they might like to dig out episodes of this show next.

Four regular panellists took part in a quiz, with questions tailored to each star's tastes and abilities. There were rounds where they tried to identify a tune just from the rhythm, or something like that. Halfway through the programme, the quiz stopped, and the panel each performed a song accompanied by host Steve Race at the piano. Points were scored, almost as an afterthought.

There were 524 episodes on the radio. 109 episodes made it on the television, but these appear to be editions of the radio show also recorded for the television. Which is a very good way of filling half an hour, and something the BBC might have done a little more.

My Music was a spin-off from My Word!, and the two shows got together for a pair of Christmas specials in the early 1970s. My Word! was quotations and etymologies, and most often some shaggy dog stories setting up the most terrible puns. Just misses our list: 474 episodes in total, and 53 primetime editions.

Naked Attraction slips into this site's purview; 73 primetime episodes of Anna Richardson's dating show.

Name That Tune

"I'll name that tune in two, Tom". The show where contestants – who had passed a tough qualifying exam – tried to win money and prizes by identifying famous tunes. Included the round where Tom O'Connor would give a clue to a song, and contestants said they'd name the tune in fewer notes.

And it had the one with the Double Bubble, more shows need a Double Bubble. There was also a round where the hostess sang something for our contestants to name. And the final round with the contestant locked in their soundproof booth, where they could just watch as someone banged away on the piano.

Contestants could walk away with £1200 and a brand new car. The orchestra would walk away with about £1200 each, because Thames had to pay a fee for each musician every time they played a different tune. Nevertheless, Name That Tune proved popular enough to spin out from light entertainment omnibus Wednesday at Eight into its own standalone series.

A revival on Channel 5 was delayed by Princess Diana's unexpected death, and never quite caught light – mostly because it was on Channel 5 when very few people could watch it even if we wanted to. Appearances on Gameshow Marathon and Epic Gameshow didn't catch the zeitgeist.

Approximately 40 episodes in Wednesday at Eight and London Night Out, then 82 as a standalone show on ITV. Even in their early years, Channel 5 were incapable of giving a show a regular slot, and although we've counted 27 episodes, we may have missed some here and there. Three revival episodes this century give a total of about 152 primetime episodes.

Totals so far

All shows

Show	Episodes
Countdown	8732
Bamboozle	5900
Big Brother	4183
Deal or No Deal	3011
Fifteen-to-One	2683
Come Dine with Me	2432
The Chase	2247
Eggheads	2239
Bargain Hunt	2085
The Big Quiz (1)	2000
Brain of Britain / What Do You Know	1592
Blockbusters	1586
100%	1546
Mastermind	1426
Masterchef Goes Large	1202
Brainteaser	1200
Just a Minute	1065
Four in a Bed	1058
Going for Gold / One to Win	1058
Call My Bluff	1047
Dickinson's Real Deal	1025
Antiques Road Trip	905
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!	846
Fighting Talk	835
Mr and Mrs / Sion a Sian	808
Love Island	746
Great British Menu	741
Family Fortunes	717
Mallett's Mallet	700
Let the Peoples Sing	695
The Brains Trust	691
Can't Cook, Won't Cook	685
ITV Play	650
Coach Trip	630
Have I Got News for You	613
Hold Your Plums	600
Games World	590
Catchphrase	583
Richard Osman's House of Games (3)	582
Going for a Song	569
Have a Go	567
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue	557
My Music	524
Criss Cross Quiz	508
Fame Academy	500

Assuming it's back next year, Love Island will overtake Mr and Mrs, and there's some sort of moral to be had there.

Primetime only

Show	Episodes
Big Brother	4173
Mastermind	1384
Masterchef Goes Large	1025
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!	816
Love Island	746
Family Fortunes	647
Have I Got News for You	611
Call My Bluff	542
Catchphrase	531
Double Your Money	470
Great British Menu	469
The Apprentice	468
Juke Box Jury	461
Come Dancing	431
The Generation Game	425
Blind Date	416
The Brains Trust	416
Love at First Sight	400
Games World	390
Have a Go	390
Britain's Got Talent	383
Bullseye	369
The Great British Bake Off	368
Blockbusters	366
Mr and Mrs / Sion a Sian	361
It's a Knockout / Jeux Sans Frontieres	340
The Golden Shot	339
ITV Play	321
Blankety Blank	320
The Krypton Factor	295
Celebrity Juice	271
Dragons' Den	269
Big Break	252
Fame Academy	251
Mock the Week	244
Dinner Date	242
8 Out of 10 Cats	232
Jacpot	223
Ask the Family	221
Criss Cross Quiz	220
Celebrity Squares	210
A League of Their Own	201
What Do You Know?	200
Masterchef	200
Dancing on Ice	189
Looks Familiar	180
Artist of the Year	175
Going for a Song	175
In It to Win It	172
Face the Music	166
The Chase	163
Eggheads	160
Gladiators	160
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown	157
3-2-1	154
Name That Tune	152
Joker's Wild	150
BBC New Comedy Award	149
Every Second Counts	142
Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway	141
Cardiff Singer of the World	141
Jet Set	139
Britain's Next Top Model	138
The $64,000 Question	137
The Million Pound Drop Live	136
Laughlines	135
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral	131
Jeopardy!	130
Gamesmaster	129
The Crystal Maze	124
Flying Start	123
Do I Not Know That?	121
Bob's Full House	117
Eurovision Song Contest	112
Ask Me Another	109
Busman's Holiday	103

Slightly more episodes of Mock the Week than its commercial rival 8 Out of 10 Cats.

And that is where we will stop the count for a little while. This feature's going on hiatus for a few weeks – we want to review The Answer Run and Password, and take a bit of time off.

Phil Swern

Phil "The Collector" Swern has died. The man was lucky enough to live his passion for music, as a record producer and radio producer and as a researcher. He was responsible for hours of tapes for the Marathon Music Quiz on Radio 1, researched Pick of the Pops for almost four decades, and was jointly responsible for fathering Popmaster.

Swern's collection of records included every hit single since the invention of the charts, and he could provide forgotten tunes for dramas and documentaries. He started his collection after going to a recording of Many a Slip; the programme's pianist was Steve Race, who lived just down the road from Swern. Talking after a recording, Race said that he did a weekly programme where he got masses of records sent in. "I don’t use them, so you can have what you want!"

After school, Swern went into hairdressing and worked under Vidal Sassoon for some time; his clients included pop stars The Walker Brothers and singer Mama Cass. He wrote and produced dozens of hits, including Polly Brown's "Up in a puff of smoke" and R&J Stone's "We do it", the latter is Tony Blackburn's favourite song.

Swern turned his talents to promoting records, then moved into radio production after contributing ideas to You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet, an eclectic show of bizarre and unexpected gems at Capital Radio. He was the consultant and guiding genius behind Capital Gold's successful launch in 1988; later that year, he incurred controller Richard Park's ire when he moved with Roger Scott to Radio 1. At the BBC, he produced review show Round Table, and introduced Bob Harris to a new generation.

He also invented competitions. The Chart Quiz was a quiz about this week's top 20: written from Sunday, recorded on Thursday, broadcast the following Sunday. He also ran Pop of the Form, a knockout quiz for schools; Pop the Question on Channel 4, and That's Showbusiness on BBC1. As "Doctor Pop", he gave facts of surprisingly tedious irrelevance on the first two episodes of CD:UK; never mind the history lesson, we'd rather see Steps.

Phil Swern was recruited to the panel of Radio 2's Pop Score by his friend Tony Blackburn: the captain of one team, Blackburn asked Swern to sit in the front row for some not-very-covert conferring. Opposing team captain Terry Wogan was alert to Blackburn's unsubtle tricks, and made sure that he was sitting next to Phil for the next recording. Later, Swern was taken on as producer of Pop Score, where he met Ken Bruce, with whom he went for a boozy lunch and invented Popmaster. Once they'd sobered up, and written down the bits of the format they could remember, a legend was made.

Renowned for his anecdotes, his generosity of time and spirit, and with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of pop music, Phil "The Collector" Swern was 76.

In other news

Brian Trueman has died. Broadcaster, film-maker, actor, presenter. Brian's best known as the writer behind Danger Mouse, Chorlton and the Wheelies, Jamie and the Magic Torch, and many other animations. As a genial contributor to Granada Television, he hosted business show Flying Start before it was touched by Tony Wilson's magic. Brian also presented the BBC film quiz Screen Test for five years in the early 80s, asking questions about film and cinema to eager young children, and bigging up the Young Filmmaker of the Year award. Brian Trueman lived 92 years of happiness.

We're sorry to hear that TV Cream is closing later this month. A repository of nostalgia, a cheery look at the past, a site not afraid to call a spade a spade. TV Cream had a voice, made more clear by in-depth subsidiary Off The Telly. By being so active in the early part of this century TV Cream has helped to shape how the whole culture views our shared past: with honesty, and awareness of how values have changed. Fundamentally, TV Cream was filled with quality writers who knew their subject, something for this column to aspire to and attempt to replicate.

Best of the Web It's sometimes said that Blockbusters was invented by Bob Holness when he was looking at a pot of honey over breakfast one morning. This is not correct: Blockbusters was actually invented for NBC, where it was on air from 1980-82, before Bob got the call. There was a big champion on the NBC run, John Hatton completed 20 (twenty!) gold runs, and took the show's maximum possible prize of $120,000. Our friends at Buzzerblog tell the tale of John Hatton: The Master of Blockbusters.

Bloomin' 'eck! "Let's bloom" is the slogan for this year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Seventeen songs will compete for the title in Madrid. They won't include the BBC, which is a desperate shame – after winning the televote in 2022, and a spectacular visual display last year, we reckon that victory was "when" not "if". Sadly, a Saturday night slot opposite Strictly Come Dancing, and general indifference from an ageist public who don't care for talented youngsters, have ensured the Beeb are out.

We might just cheer for SMRTV instead, the broadcaster from San Marino makes a welcome return after nine years away. CyBC return after seven years, letting us dream about what Cyprus is like in the autumn. Defending champions France Télévisions, everpresents NPO, perpetual threats AMPTV, and many others will compete for the win on 16 November.

Quizzy Mondays

"Unbelievable, Jeff!" Mastermind saw a win for Chris Kamara, who beat Jeff Stelling by £70. We weren't aware that Mastermind involved people buying antiques, or driving a sports car, but every day is a learning day. More cricket next week, Mastermind should be back to its normal form on the 16th.

A superb come-from-behind win for the Cat Cows on Only Connect. Trailing 9-6 to the Harmonics after Sequences, and 15-10 after the walls, the young team of yoga fanatics blitzed Missing Vowels to win 19-17. Spot of the night came from the Harmonics, who got the French-language words for "Harder, better, faster, stronger".

Warwick defeated UEA on University Challenge. Thomas Hart the star buzzer, nine of the teams starters including a spectacularly early get on "Mandate of Heaven". For a team that was never headed, and had the game won shortly after the second picture round, Warwick looked a little shaky – at 65.8%, the lowest bonus conversion rate of any winning side so far this series.

Great news for all Taskmaster fans, the new series starts this week (C4, Thu). New episode of Tipping Point Lucky Stars on ITV (Sun). Next Saturday brings us the Strictly Come Dancing Launch Show, as the various celebrities are paired off with their professional partners.

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