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Re: Panel games

Messages in this topic: 3 View All
roseysaidwhatJul 13, 2008
 

 
When I first starting watching British television, I always wondered
what "panel games" were. The first panel game I watch (and basically
the only one I watch) is Have I Got News For You. I was surprised to
find many other shows of the same format! There is nothing like this
in the US. I still don't understand the appeal, but it's lovely to
watch these in opposition to the crap on our tellys. Probably because
of the inability to improvise.

--- In just-a-minute@..., "Miriam" <delmelza@...> wrote:
>
> 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.
> >
>

 
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