Two shows scrapped, canned laughter having to be used, strange format changes that didn’t have a point, it doesn’t seem a great backdrop to a new show.
It was always going to rate well, but with only two episodes you won’t get a good feel if it will rate well as a series unless they actually commission the series.
I wonder if a full series is planned for the auttum. Could do nicely at 6pm running into SCD at 7pm.
With a few tweaks and a properly thought out endgame (the sketches were rarely good, even in the old series), it could be much improved and certainly not a bad addition to early Saturday evenings. Would make a change from bloody Pointless!
Is it confirmed that four were recorded but only two are being shown?
Yes. For some baffling reason in the first two episodes recorded rather than casting two decent pairs of contestants in advance, they decided to pick two pairs out of the studio audience - despite having no idea whether or not they’d actually make good television. The result was the show was full of painfully dull couples and the episodes were so bad they had to be scrapped.
I can only assume they added this as a format point to make it feel a bit different from the original but what an awful mistake. The other two episodes had a proper casting team.
That somewhat answers the question I was going to ask about which of the four episodes was transmitted last night then. Presumably there would have also been an off-air pilot prior to filming these four too.
I do think the trick with revivals is to trust the format that made it a success in the first place - so adding a panel (and therefore losing a key point of difference to other weekend entertainment shows) was one of the most stupid ideas they could have had.
As for Mel and Sue - do agree that nowadays they seem to work better apart than together and Saturday night entertainment doesn't seem to be the right vehicle for them as a double act. They are a talented pair and it was great to see them get a second shot in the limelight with Bake Off - perhaps it helped that was an original format whilst everything else they've done since has been a reboot.
A show like this needs to be hosted by a professional performer who can react instantly and humourlessly to events as they twist and turn. Mel and Sue are nice enough I’m sure, but they strike me more as being professional presenters rather than performers. Saying ‘ready steady bake’ in a funny voice week in week out is one thing, being genuinely funny in unpredictable circumstances is a different talent altogether.
It needs a combination of both really - as well as ad libbing and reacting to the unpredictable they also need to be able to run the show, and that is probably where the likes of Paul O'Grady would fail.
Really all the issues being raised about the Generation Game should have been sorted in pre-production. Makes you wonder whether that phase has almost been eliminated in BBC light entertainment now and it pretty much goes straight from commission to studio to screen.
It does seem like a lot of W1A-esque behaviour has got in the way of the show.
However, as has been pointed out, the first show got a shedload of viewers through the door. It's too early to tell whether that means it would be a long-term success, because people who tuned in for the first show and hated it won't come back, but if it stabilises at five million then I think that can be considered a success in this era.
There's time for the BBC then to go away and work out how they'd make a full series fly.
That clip from earlier on Bruce Forsyth's return though ... history does just keep repeating itself, doesn't it? The continuity announcement of "After a generation away..." etc etc.
What do we know? The Generation Game was the most watched television programme last night outside Countryfile! It launched with over 5 million viewers and remained stable throughout, beating The Durrell's on ITV.
It's a very dated show. Even in the 90s that was the case but there was nothing else on and you had to make do with it. I tuned in last night expecting the worst and while it wasn't a total disaster, I can see why they cut it back to two episodes.
I rate Mel and Sue, but they need the right format. This wasn't it. I loved Light Lunch but that was 20 years ago. Since then it's been hit and miss. The Generation Game is all about the presenters having a fantastic rapport with the audience and taking the mic out of contestants; this incarnation could be best summed up with safety goggles.
I wonder how Miranda would've fared if she hosted it....*insert falling over gag*
Is it confirmed that four were recorded but only two are being shown?
Yes. For some baffling reason in the first two episodes recorded rather than casting two decent pairs of contestants in advance, they decided to pick two pairs out of the studio audience - despite having no idea whether or not they’d actually make good television. The result was the show was full of painfully dull couples and the episodes were so bad they had to be scrapped.
I can only assume they added this as a format point to make it feel a bit different from the original but what an awful mistake. The other two episodes had a proper casting team.
That somewhat answers the question I was going to ask about which of the four episodes was transmitted last night then. Presumably there would have also been an off-air pilot prior to filming these four too.
The first of the four might have been intended as a TX pilot but I’m not so sure, it’s not unusual to order things straight to series, it depends how confident the commissioning team is in what the finished programme would be. Don’t forget there was in effect a non TX pilot of Gen Game a few years ago fronted by Miranda Hart.
On YouTube, there's the pilot for Larry Grayson's Gen Game. More talent and production in that 1978 edition, even when they're doing scripted segments than on last night's show.
It needs a combination of both really - as well as ad libbing and reacting to the unpredictable they also need to be able to run the show, and that is probably where the likes of Paul O'Grady would fail.
Really all the issues being raised about the Generation Game should have been sorted in pre-production. Makes you wonder whether that phase has almost been eliminated in BBC light entertainment now and it pretty much goes straight from commission to studio to screen.
I agree, the BBC needs a decent light entertainment producer, such as Michael Hurll, but they are very rare these days. Its all about flashy sets and image over substance.
What do we know? The Generation Game was the most watched television programme last night outside Countryfile! It launched with over 5 million viewers and remained stable throughout, beating The Durrell's on ITV.
Good ratings don't necessarily mean a good show.
Absolutely, but they do or may indicate that interest in a show is still there, and if so, there is the potential to tweak things and make them better.