Just A Minute

 
<<<<   2467   >>>>

Re: Panel games

Messages in this topic: 3 View All
MiriamJul 10, 2008
 

 
Thanks for posting this-- another reason panel game shows so rare in
the usa Radio wise is that Radio here is 99% commerical advertiser-
based so american radio is mainly commericals with some
music/talk/sports/news thrown in

--there are at least 2 panel type radio shows 0n National Public
Radio ( government/listener supported but not every city carries the
same programs)

-1. Says You which is a word play/triva show
( I have been a long time fan and went to a live taping last winter
here in Seattle- really enjoyed it.)

http://www.saysyou.net/



2. Wait Wait Don't Tell me- which is a News based-simular to The News
Quiz
http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/index.html



And I agree that panel games on radio or tv is more a 'british' thing-
I don't think american producers can imagine a 'game' show without
the promise of Lots of money/prizes/ and Contribed 'drama'- a show
based on Wit/knowledge/humor ??? They would never "Get" That.

I believe MTV tried to do Never Mind the Buzzcocks but it failed
quickly and I read that some usa network had the Rights to do an
American Have I got news for you but it never got off the ground-
Thank Goodness! Miriam


--- In just-a-minute@..., Dean Bedford <dbedford@...>
wrote:

>
> This is an interesting piece on why panel games are so British and

of

> course the comments apply just as much to radio panel games as TV

ones.

>
> I like Dara O'Briain's comment a lot - "There's an argument that

what

> these shows really are is soap opera, as you get to know the
> personalities involved". The soap opera element is certainly a

large

> part of JAM's success and I think why some people still hanker for

the

> shows with that king of drama queens, Kenneth Williams. But even

today,

> the clashes between say Paul and Nicholas are often the high points

of a

> show.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From The Daily Telegraph of July 10
>
> For an extra point, why are panel games so popular?
>
> Over the next two days, Serena Davies can find almost nothing to

watch

> except comedy quiz shows – which, she says, are a peculiarly

British

> pastime
>
> Cricket, drizzle, Yorkshire pudding: some things are

quintessentially

> British. To that list, you could add one TV format – the comedy

panel

> game. BBC2's Mock the Week is back for a sixth series tonight;

tomorrow,

> a second innings of Would I Lie to You? begins on BBC1. Also

tomorrow,

> there are mid-series editions of BBC2's QI and Channel 4's 8 out of

10

> Cats. Few formats can boast such abundance, loyalty or staying

power –

> and this in a week when the Big Daddy of them all, Have I Got News

for

> You (next series: number 36), isn't even on.
>
> Dara O'Briain, presenter of Mock the Week and past participant on

many

> another example of the genre, from Never Mind the Buzzcocks to

HIGNfY,

> thinks there are so many panel shows because, as he puts it, "They

have

> a format that can be pointed at anything." He says someone's even

come

> up with a comedy panel show about sudoku, though that claim proves

hard

> to verify.
>
> In the USA, cheap television is a national pastime, yet panel shows

are

> unheard of. "I think Americans like their funny delivered in a

different

> way," says O'Briain. "They do a lot more late night chat shows in
> America: the equivalent to getting on a panel show is getting on
> Letterman or The Daily Show. But we prefer the parlour game element

of

> the panel show; it suits our dry humour. Whereas Italians like the

giant

> variety show on a Saturday, we like people being wry and sardonic

about

> stuff."
>
> For the visiting guests, a panel show can be a less intimidating
> prospect than a chat show appearance. "8 Out of 10 Cats is very
> celebratory. We want the celebrity guests to have a good time,"

says

> Derek McLean, the series producer on both that show and Would I Lie

to

> You?. "We don't rip them apart. That's very much at the front of

our

> minds."
>
> Brits have also got panel shows down to a fine art. The genre plays

to

> the strengths of many of our most popular comedians – spontaneity,

and

> the ability to improvise. Viewers of BBC3's Rob Brydon's Annually
> Retentive – in which researchers for a fictional panel game sat

down

> before filming and fed one-liners to the guests – might imagine

that all

> shows are scripted. But the better shows are a lot less scripted

than

> you might think (barely at all in the case of Mock the Week and

Would I

> Lie to You?, although the participants do arrive with a few jokes

in

> their back pockets). "Basically, panel shows are a chance to do

stand-up

> on TV," says O'Briain. "There are three hundred comics out there

who are

> desperate to get on television, but there are very few shows where

you

> can just do stand-up – so you end up doing it in little chunks on a
> panel show." Experienced stars such as David Mitchell perform on so

many

> panel shows because, as O'Briain puts it, "David can produce

content out

> of air."
>
> It's the talents of these comedians that make or break a show. "The
> casting is so important," says producer McLean. "Ultimately what

you

> hope when a show's successful is that the format almost falls away.

All

> you notice is how the characters interact and you're almost not

aware

> there's a format anymore."
> advertisement
>
> The most famous example of this is Have I Got News for You, where

the

> banter between team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton – and their
> torture of each week's guest host – provides the dynamic of the

show,

> and the discussion of the week's news takes second place.
>
> "There's an argument that what these shows really are is soap

opera, as

> you get to know the personalities involved," says O'Briain. "There
> should be as much spontaneous stuff as possible, otherwise you

could

> just email in a series of one-liners and actors could read them

out."

>
> So the panel show may be a bit of a con, bluffing us into thinking

we're

> watching a show about the news, music, opinion polls or, er,

sudoku –

> when really they're sparring about nothing. ("Comedians are very

lazy,

> remember," says Mack, on this point). But with a dozen or so

currently

> thriving in the schedules, the time when we'll be watching actors
> reading out emails instead seems a long way off.
>

 
<<<<   2467   >>>>

Back to the Top