Silence is Golden
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(Review's cribbed from the Week, open to a complete rewrite. Editors may consider this for the Flops category.) |
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| + | [[File:Silence is golden title.jpg|300px]] | ||
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== Broadcast == | == Broadcast == | ||
| - | Yes Yes Media for U&Dave, 5 May 2025 to present | + | Yes Yes Media for U&Dave, 5 May 2025 to present<!--9 June 2025 (6 episodes in 1 series)--> |
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== Synopsis == | == Synopsis == | ||
| - | A | + | A group of about seventy people are invited to a theatre. They're given £250,000 between them, and asked to watch some comedy performances. |
| - | + | However, there's a catch. Every time someone makes a noise – a snigger, a guffaw, chortle, applause, cough, snore – whatever the noise, it'll cost the group £5000. If there's any money left at the end of the routine, and after an all-or-nothing finale, the cash will be split evenly between the audience. | |
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| + | <div class=image> | ||
| + | [[File:Silence is golden sssh.jpg|400px]] | ||
| + | ''Quiet at the back, there. And the front. And all of you lot! Shush!!'' | ||
| + | </div> | ||
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| + | To persuade the audience to titter and giggle, they bring on all sorts of comedians. Katherine Ryan, Seann Walsh, Fatiha El-Ghorri are regulars, and each shows just how funny they are. They get in some high-profile guests – [[Jedward]], Suzi Ruffell, Amy Gledhill, and that's just a couple of episodes. | ||
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| + | But the audience is to remain silent, and we viewers want the audience to remain silent. It's hearing a comedian tell jokes and they all miss the mark. Worse, it's ''wanting'' the comedian's jokes to miss the mark. | ||
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| + | <div class=image> | ||
| + | [[File:Silence is golden jedward visit the hen party.jpg|400px]] | ||
| + | ''Jedward dance around a hen party. You had to be there.'' | ||
| + | </div> | ||
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| + | ''Silence is Golden'' does feature some laughter, but it comes from the green room backstage. We the viewers are given hints about where to laugh, we can make some noise even if the studio audience is utterly silent. But the effect is weird, disconcerting, discombobulating. | ||
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| + | There are other ways for the audience collectively to lose money - there are stunts involving friends and family and heroes. Would someone take £5000 from the audience pot to hear a personal song from Robbie Williams? There's an auction for prizes: a year's supply of Marmite, a weekend in Magaluf, £200 cash. | ||
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| + | And there's an all-or-nothing finale: one member of the audience is given a minute with three of the night's entertainers. If the audience member makes a noise in that minute, everybody loses everything. Not that this ever happened. | ||
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| + | <div class=image> | ||
| + | [[File:Silence is golden final moments.jpg|400px]] | ||
| + | ''Less than five seconds in the final challenge, where the player is in a barber's chair for (um) reasons.'' | ||
| + | </div> | ||
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| + | At heart, there's an interesting question here. ''Silence is Golden'' takes the assumption that comedy on television needs a laugh track, and says – what if we show comedy where nobody laughs? It's an interesting question and a worthwhile experiment. | ||
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| + | Viewers thought, "well, it might be an interesting question, but we don't care to know the answer" and avoided the show in their droves. After all six episodes were released onto UKTV's U& player, linear broadcasts attracted few viewers, and the show was shifted from 9pm to 10.50. | ||
== Inventor == | == Inventor == | ||
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[http://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/silence-is-golden/ British Comedy Guide entry] | [http://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/silence-is-golden/ British Comedy Guide entry] | ||
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| + | == See also == | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Weaver's Week 2025-06-08|Weaver's Week review]] | ||
[[Category:Stunts and Dares]] | [[Category:Stunts and Dares]] | ||
[[Category:Comedy]] | [[Category:Comedy]] | ||
[[Category:Big Prize]] | [[Category:Big Prize]] | ||
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[[Category:Current]] | [[Category:Current]] | ||
Current revision as of 09:59, 8 June 2025
Contents |
Host
Co-hosts
Team captains: Katherine Ryan, Seann Walsh, Fatiha El-Ghorri
Adjudicator: Joanne Brent
Broadcast
Yes Yes Media for U&Dave, 5 May 2025 to present
Synopsis
A group of about seventy people are invited to a theatre. They're given £250,000 between them, and asked to watch some comedy performances.
However, there's a catch. Every time someone makes a noise – a snigger, a guffaw, chortle, applause, cough, snore – whatever the noise, it'll cost the group £5000. If there's any money left at the end of the routine, and after an all-or-nothing finale, the cash will be split evenly between the audience.
Quiet at the back, there. And the front. And all of you lot! Shush!!
To persuade the audience to titter and giggle, they bring on all sorts of comedians. Katherine Ryan, Seann Walsh, Fatiha El-Ghorri are regulars, and each shows just how funny they are. They get in some high-profile guests – Jedward, Suzi Ruffell, Amy Gledhill, and that's just a couple of episodes.
But the audience is to remain silent, and we viewers want the audience to remain silent. It's hearing a comedian tell jokes and they all miss the mark. Worse, it's wanting the comedian's jokes to miss the mark.
Jedward dance around a hen party. You had to be there.
Silence is Golden does feature some laughter, but it comes from the green room backstage. We the viewers are given hints about where to laugh, we can make some noise even if the studio audience is utterly silent. But the effect is weird, disconcerting, discombobulating.
There are other ways for the audience collectively to lose money - there are stunts involving friends and family and heroes. Would someone take £5000 from the audience pot to hear a personal song from Robbie Williams? There's an auction for prizes: a year's supply of Marmite, a weekend in Magaluf, £200 cash.
And there's an all-or-nothing finale: one member of the audience is given a minute with three of the night's entertainers. If the audience member makes a noise in that minute, everybody loses everything. Not that this ever happened.
Less than five seconds in the final challenge, where the player is in a barber's chair for (um) reasons.
At heart, there's an interesting question here. Silence is Golden takes the assumption that comedy on television needs a laugh track, and says – what if we show comedy where nobody laughs? It's an interesting question and a worthwhile experiment.
Viewers thought, "well, it might be an interesting question, but we don't care to know the answer" and avoided the show in their droves. After all six episodes were released onto UKTV's U& player, linear broadcasts attracted few viewers, and the show was shifted from 9pm to 10.50.
