101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow

Synopsis

Q: Which runs for longer? An average series of Big Brother, or a single episode of 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow?

A: We don’t know. We’re still waiting for an episode of 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow to finish.

Clearly taking its cue from other recent physical game shows, such as Total Wipeout and Hole in the Wall, Steve Jones hosts as contestants are ejected from the programme in a variety of ways, from a mechanical tower somewhere in darkest Argentina.

In each round, one question is asked, with the same number of answers as there are players being displayed, with all but one of these answers being correct. When instructed, each contestant selects what he or she believes to be a correct answer. Once locked in, if any of the answers have been chosen by only one of the contestants, that answer then belongs to that contestant. If more than one contestant has selected any answer, then the two or more contestants must answer a question on the buzzer, with whoever answers correctly taking the answer they chose to the main question. The remaining contestants must then pick from the remaining answers, with additional questions being used to resolve any further instances of the same answer being selected by more than one contestant.

Once all of the contestants have an answer, they more forwards out of the studio area, which can move up and down the mechanical tower, and into the game area for that round. Here, the contestants are strung up, strapped in, or otherwise prepared for what might be about to come. One by one, the host reveals the correct answers to the question, and therefore who is safe. However this is done with interminably slow pauses before the answer is revealed. Worse, the host insists on giving us a five second countdown before the pause before the answer. Well it would be a five second countdown if the host didn’t add another long pause between each second. (In one instance, what was supposed to be five seconds between the start of the countdown and the answer being revealed was altogether a total of 23 seconds). After what seems like a week and a half, and with all but two of the contestants safely through to the next round, the host (eventually) reveals the incorrect answer, with the contestant that answer belongs to then being dropped, launched, or pushed, (amongst others ways) off the show, usually including an enforced dip into the pool.

There then follows a further three rounds that all play out the same. However, at some point between two of these rounds, an additional round is played called the Emergency Exit. In this round, the contestants sit on glorified swing seats, attached to a rotating merry-go-round type device. The host stands adjacent with a drum containing balls, one for each contestant. At random, the host picks a ball, and the contestant the ball relates to is spun around to the front, above a chute down to ground level. They are then asked a question. If they answer correctly, their ball is returned to the drum (meaning they could be picked again), and the host selects again. This process continues until one contestant answers their question incorrectly. If this happens, that contestant's swing is lowered down through the chute whilst hired goons throw gunge, mud, and various other unpleasant items at them, and they are eliminated from the show.

Once the various rounds have narrowed the field to three contestants, we move into the final, which is the same in every episode – The Trapdoor. Here, the rules are the same as the previous rounds, with each contestant selecting an answer to a given question. Once this is done, each contestant stands unrestrained on a trapdoor over a drop down into the pool below. After a few more interminable delays to which we have come to expect (but which have become no less irritating), two contestants are one-by-one disposed of through the trapdoors to leave one contestants standing who wins a rather minimal (as Saturday night game shows go) £10,000.

101 Reasons Not to Tune In

The biggest issue with the programme is that it is quite clearly a 30-40 minute game stretched out to an hour. There are many occasions where parts could be speeded up or cut out entirely, and be of no detriment to the programme. While a pause before a reveal is a standard part of many game shows, the countdown to the reveal is unnecessary, and feels like blatant filler to pad out the programme. In addition, the studio-based segment of the programme also takes far too long relative to what actually happens in terms of the game. Discussions with the contestants about why they picked each answer are hardly ever of interest to the viewer, and add very little to the show, and could easily be done away with.

Another change that would easily improve the programme would be to drop Steve Jones (preferably from the highest level of the tower, without a bungee cord). Although he is perfectly amiable on a number of other programmes, he comes across as quite smug in 101 Ways, and is rather unlikeable as a result. Given the choice, we would much rather see the talented, but under-used Nemone moved up to main presenting duties in his place.

A further problem is the lack of creativity in the 101 ways to leave the game show. Even a cursory glance at the 101 ways (listed below for your reading pleasure) shows that many of the ways are virtually the same as each other, with very minor tweaks. That’s not to say that some of them aren’t fun to watch, but even the most liberal observer would have to question whether it’s fair to claim 101 different ways to exit the programme.

Moving on from the 101 official ways to leave the programme, and another major issue is the Emergency Exit round. This round feels out of place in comparison to the other rounds, clearly hasn’t had much thought put into it, and feels like it only exists in order to eliminate another contestant without using up too much of the programme's running time (ironic given the time-wasting in the rest of the programme). Furthermore, gunge, foam, and other associated messy liquids might have been the mainstay of many a game show in the 1990’s. However for the most part, game shows have evolved, and have largely left that all behind. It is therefore disappointing to see it make a return here. Indeed, it does feel that the creators of a programme are somewhat out of ideas when they have to resort to the use of such things. The programme would be much better off without this round, and if some of the time-saving measures mentioned earlier were introduced, another proper round could be added, meaning the programme could still feature the same amount of contestants.

On the whole, the programme does show a few signs of promise, but there is much to be worked on.

Catchphrases

'I'm going to reveal the wrong answer in.....5.....4.....3.....2.....1.........................(wrong answer)'

Trivia

In case you're wondering, 33 of the 101 ways to leave the game show are listed below. Sadly (Ed: Not sure that's the word I'd use) the programme was dropped (geddit?) long before all the 101 ways to leave the game show had a chance to be used. As such, we'll likely never know what the other 68 imaginative (cough...cough) ways to leave the game show were. Shame.

• 1 - Balls of Doom - The contestants are strapped into the centre of open metal spheres. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their sphere rolled down a ramp into the pool.
• 3 - Punch Dunk - Contestants stand facing backwards on the edge of a platform over-hanging the pool. The contestant with the wrong answer is punched in the torso by a boxer, knocking them off the edge of the platform, and into the pool below.
• 4 - Dunk and Disorderly - The contestants lay down on diving boards, with bungee cords attached to their feet. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their diving board retracted, dropping them upside-down into the pool.
• 7 - Take the Plunge - The contestants each lay down on diving boards with a wire attached to their back. The boards, on the edge of a platform, and facing away from the pool, are tilted 45 degrees from vertical, meaning the contestants have their feet above their head. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their diving board rotated forwards, allowing them to slide off the end, to hang far above the pool for a few seconds, before the brake on the wire attached them is released, allowing them to fall into the pool.
• 9 - The Hang - The contestants lay down on diving boards with their feet attached to a wire. The boards, on the edge of a platform, are tilted backwards 45 degrees from vertical, and face away from the pool. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their diving board rotated backwards, allowing them to slide off the end, and hang upside-down for a few seconds, before the brake on the wire attached their feet is released, allowing them to fall, still upside-down, into the pool below.
• 12 - Freefall - Diving boards over-hang the pool. The contestants, attached to bungee cords stand, facing backwards, on the ends of the boards. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their diving board retracted, dropping them into the pool.
• 15 - Rubbish Dump - The contestants, attached to bungee cords, stand in wheelie bins at the top of a ramp over-hanging the pool. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their wheelie bin released, allowing it and them to wheel down the ramp, and drop into the pool.
• 17 - Saddle Sore - The contestants, attached to bungee cords, sit on bicycles at the top of a ramp over-hanging the pool. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their bicycle released, allowing it and them to wheel down the ramp, and drop into the pool.
• 19 - Supermarket Smash - The contestants, attached to bungee cords, sit in supermarket trolleys at the top of a ramp over-hanging the pool. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their trolley released, allowing it and them to wheel down the ramp, and drop into the pool.
• 22 - Bang on Target - Contestants kneel down below a sheet of plasterboard with a bullseye painted on it, with a wire attached to their back. The contestant with the incorrect answer sees the wire attached to them pulled at high speed, launching them upwards and through the sheet of plasterboard.
• 23 - Chopper Pull - Contestants stand on the ground with a wire attached to their back. The other end of the wires is attached to a helicopter. The contestant with the wrong answer sees the helicopter take off, pulling them up into air, for a flight whilst dangling from the end of the wire.
• 26 - Human Wrecking Ball - A row of plasterboard walls lines the edge of a platform. Each contestant stands with their backs to one of the walls, with a wire attached to them that feeds through the wall. The contestant with the incorrect answer sees their wire pulled at great speed, pulling them backwards through the plasterboard wall and off the edge of the platform.
• 33 - Evil Anvil - Contestants stand on the edge of a platform over-hanging the pool. Suspended out over the pool, and attached to each of the contestants via a cable, is an anvil. The contestant with the incorrect answer sees the anvil they are attached to released, pulling them off the edge of the platform and into the pool.
• 36 - Rip-Off - Contestants wearing Velcro suits lay down on boards covered in Velcro, tilted back at 45 degrees from vertical. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their board tilted forwards until the Velcro pulls apart, leaving them to fall, attached to a bungee cord, into the pool below. (We question whether the BBC should really be mentioning the brand name Velcro though. Shouldn't they be saying 'hook-and-loop fabric fastener'?)
• 38 - Scoot Chute - The contestants, attached to bungee cords, stand on scooters at the top of a ramp over-hanging the pool. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their scooter released, allowing it and them to wheel down the ramp, and drop into the pool.
• 42 - Glued to Your Seat - Contestants sit in a row of chairs suspended 100 feet above the pool. The contestant with the incorrect answer sees their seat tip forward, allowing them to fall, attached to a bungee cord, into the pool below.
• 46 - Flippin' Wreck - Contestants are each strapped into a stunt car alongside a stunt driver. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their driver speed along a short road towards a stunt ramp, which flips the car, allowing it to roll along the rest of the road.
• 51 - Deadly Dangle - Contestants lay down on diving boards, with their feet attached via a wire to a zip-line overhead. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their diving board dropped, resulting in them being hung upside-down, before gravity takes over, and they descend the 250 foot zip-line to the ground.
• 52 - Concrete Boots - Contestants are suspended on the end of a wire, with a heavy concrete block attached to their feet. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their wire released, dropping them into the pool below, where they must release themselves from the concrete block under the water.
• 56 - Human Fling - Contestants each sit unrestrained in a chair attached to the end of a pneumatically-powered arm. The contestant with the incorrect answer sees the arm attached to their chair swing upwards at speed, before stopping dead in mid-air, ejecting them forwards and into the pool.
• 61 - Big, Giant, Colossal Hammers* - The contestant stand on the edge of platform over-hanging the pool, with over-sized hammers behind them. The contestant with the wrong answer sees the hammer behind them swing forwards, knocking them off the edge and into the pool.
• 65 - Aqua Cars* - Contestants each sit in scrap cars at the top of a ramp. The contestant with the incorrect answer sees their car released to roll down the ramp and into the pool.

• 69 - The Big Zipper - Contestants stand facing backwards on diving boards, whilst holding onto a zip-line overhead. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their diving board retracted, allowing gravity to take over, and they descend the 250 foot zip-line to the ground.
• 70 - Four-Wheel Dive - Contestants each sit in scrap cars which are each attached to a wire. The contestant with the wrong answer sees the wire attached to their car pulled at high speed, accelerating their car towards a ramp which launches the car into the air, before it plunges into the pool.
• 73 - Rocket Sledge - Contestants each sit unrestrained, straddling a rocket. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their rocket launch forwards up a shallow ramp, before stopping dead at the end, leaving them to be ejected forwards and down into the pool below.

• 77 - Massive Maces* - The contestant stand on the edge of platform over-hanging the pool, with over-sized Medieval maces behind them. The contestant with the wrong answer sees the mace behind them swing forwards, knocking them off the edge and into the pool.
• 84 - Total Carnage - Scrap cars are suspended above the pool with each of the contestants sat on the bonnet of one of the cars. The contestant with the incorrect answer sees their car, and them, dropped into the pool below.
• 87 - The Human Cannon - Contestants each lay down on a board inside an over-sized cannon. The contestant with the incorrect answer sees the board inside their cannon launch forwards before stopping dead at the end of the cannon, leaving them to be ejected forwards and down into the pool below.
• 90 - Metal Coffins* - Contestants are strapped, lying down, in metal cages. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their cage dragged at high speed along a stretch of road by a racing car.
• 94 - Ejector Seats* - Contestants each sit unrestrained on a seat. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their seat launch forwards up a shallow ramp, before stopping dead at the end, leaving them to be ejected forwards and down into the pool below.
• 97 - Armchair Armageddon - Contestants sit in armchairs which have been placed facing backwards on the edge of a platform over-hanging the pool. The contestant with the wrong answer sees their chair flipped backwards by pneumatics, ejecting them head-over-heels into the pool below.
• 99 - Steve's Big Boot - Contestants stand on the edge of a platform over-hanging the pool. The contestant with the wrong answer sees the host, wearing a comically over-sized boot, walk up behind them, and kick them in the backside, knocking them off the edge of the platform, and into the pool.
• 101 - The Trapdoor - The contestants stand on trapdoors. The trapdoors below the contestant(s) with the wrong answer(s) are opened, dropping them into the pool.

Note - Not all of the ways to leave the game show were given proper names on the programme. In these cases, marked by a *, a description used in the programme of a key piece of equipment used in that way to leave the game show has been listed as the name.

Originally due to be filmed in Cambridge, production was moved to Argentina after the pool burst, flooding the set.

The programme contains 102 ways to leave, as the unnumbered 'Emergency Exit' round, which sees a contestant eliminated, is clearly a way to leave the game show.

Voted the Worst New Show in this site's Poll of 2010

Pictures

Web links

BBC programme page

Wikipedia entry

See also

Weaver's Week review

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