Just a reminder really that Fifteen to One returns to our screens at 5:15 today with Sandi Toksvig. Seen some clips and the set looks quite nice, much better than first Adam Hills fronted celebrity special. The lights are back to green now, podiums are similar. The prize for winning the series is £40,000.
Would be interesting to see some thoughts on this.
The questions are still difficult. Preferring Sandi in the role to Adam Hills she's got the right mixture of authority and friendlness. Of course it's slower paced than the original but gameshows are these days. I personally quite enjoy the extra titbits after a question you learn more that way I don't really feel it's that badly padded out, the contestant chatter certainly isn't excessive.
Big mistake dragging it out for an hour - they can just about get away with it for the celeb versions but this just kills the show. 45 minutes would have been a fine compromise and get it back alternating with Countdown.
I think it was lovely from a presentation point of view, can't really fault anything which shows they improved upon everything from the pilot. The set design works really well.
In terms of the pacing you need to compare it to other programmes of a similar type today, not the Fifteen to One of the past and I think it's good in that respect. The questions haven't been dumbed down either.
45 minutes would have been a fine compromise and get it back alternating with Countdown.
I'd feel that could damage Countdown even more though as the existing audience would get out the habit of watching it and might end up not coming back.
In terms of the pacing you need to compare it to other programmes of a similar type today, not the Fifteen to One of the past and I think it's good in that respect.
Why? It makes more sense to compare it to the same format than something completely different.
In terms of the pacing you need to compare it to other programmes of a similar type today, not the Fifteen to One of the past and I think it's good in that respect.
Why? It makes more sense to compare it to the same format than something completely different.
Because it's competing in today's market not the market of 11 years ago. So it has to adapt to the commercial realities of today.
Of course people are entitled to compare it to the original though.
45 minutes would have been a fine compromise and get it back alternating with Countdown.
I'd feel that could damage Countdown even more though as the existing audience would get out the habit of watching it and might end up not coming back.
The trouble is thanks to the wise folk at C4 Countdown is struggling now so actually less may be more in the short term at least. It would be quite wrong IMO for C4 to axe Countdown considering most of it's current problems are of their making, but scaling down the number of episodes would make sense.