Move on Up
Contents |
Host
Broadcast
Mike Mansfield Television in association with Flextech Television for Channel 5, 30 June to 26 September 1997
Synopsis
The first thing that strikes you is the theme tune. There have been many really atrocious theme tunes before, All Clued Up for example, but Move On Up takes the biscuit. It irritates intensely. And the intro titles were full of computerised bangs, flashes and lots of arrows pointing upwards. Subtle, no?
The studio is very yellow, as is Richard Morton's bleached hair, and looks like it's been made out of the left-overs of Last Chance Lottery (the studio, not the hair). There is a big set of stairs encompassing five platforms, each one with a buzzer and a contestant. The basic premise is that if you are on the top stage you get more points per question. But in only one or two of the rounds. And that's it. The idea of the five platforms is a reasonable one, but why wasn't so much more made of it? The whole thing lacks strategy. To get to the top step from anywhere you just have to get a buzz in question correct. Pointless.
Otherwise it's very standard question-and-answer fare, which seems to have nicked bits from every other quiz in existence. The excellent Talkabout, for example, and picking categories of questions is hardly innovative. However, this production comes to us courtesy of the double whammy of Channel 5 and Mike Mansfield (producer of such tasteful "late nite" shows such as The James Whale Radio Show and Funky Bunker) so it's to be expected really.
Move on Up? Move on Down more like.Four weekday winners went through with the highest scoring runner up to the Friday Final where they might win tickets for a London show and an overnight stay. The runners-up win a notebook (no, not a notebook computer - a notebook).
For no reason whatsoever, they introduce the contestants for the next day at the end of the show. This does nothing to make you watch the next show, and just gives the game away that they're recording five shows a day.
In short, awful set, awful prizes, awful format. Just plain awful.
Although Beadle isn't about it still is Richard Morton.Inventor
Devised by David Sankey.
