21.10.08
Gotta get myself connected
Telly has been interesting recently. More specifically BBC4 has been.
They’ve had a few interesting shows on lately; the best being “The Story of Maths”. Great history programme even if you’re not a mathmetician.
Anyway they’ve got a game show. It’s unbelievable but ’tis true.
It goes by the name “Only Connect” and is utterly riveting for all the wrong reasons.
The main thing is that it’s somewhat (read “spectacularly”) up its own fundament.
Example 1: The name of the thing comes from the epigraph to EM Forster’s 1910 novel Howards End.
Example 2: Each game has a board from which the teams pick a tile. In most shows this board would be numbered. So that the team may ask for question 1 or 5 or whatever. In this game the tiles are all given greek letters. “We’ll try epsilon please”. Ugh.
Example 3: On failing to get the next number in the following list “23, 57, 1113,____” the team said “OMG we iz so dummzazzez”(or words to that effect) when being told the answer was “1719″ because “it’s all about prime numbers ain’t it”. And they meant it.
Victoria Coren hosts, I’m sure only for the cash, although she did also do “Balderdash and Piffle” the amazing self-criticizing game show.
But despite all its shortcomings it is actually a game show where you have to think. It’s not purely about knowing random stuff but using what you know and being made to think about context as well as pure recall.
Beeb 4 had a Have Your Say page and there are some magic missives:
“Fabulous. Really enjoying Only Connect. An intelligent, engaging and actually difficult game show.”
“I found this programme stimulating. Intelligent, challenging questions and Victoria Coren’s presentation is just right. It does not need audience or gimmicks; we have enough of this type of quiz show. It stands well on its own. Ignore the negative comments, this is good television.”
“Diamond amidst dross. One of very few quiz shows that does not dumb down. Only Connect and Victoria Coren palliate the pain of the ever-increasing TV License.” (this one is improved immeasurably by the knowledge that the writer is one “Hercules van Tonder”)
But there are some naysayers too:
“I turned over thinking this was a joke show – but it’s on again this week. Amazing. Why has Ms Coren risked her promising career for this drivel? It’s not as clever as it would like to think it is, as even the contestants couldn’t get the correct answers. One for the turkey drawer, me thinks.”
“Having seen the first episode, I have to express my incredulity that there will be a second. Pretentious subject matter delivered in an antiseptic package, rounded off by Victoria Coren fighting a losing battle with the autocue. Put this in the drawer with Eldorado and Brighton Belles.”
“That was scarily like the fictitious, and awful, Numberwang invented by Mitchell and Webb. Was it supposed to be funny?”
I like a good debate.