The History of Game Shows

The first game show, Spelling Bee, was first broadcast on 31st May 1938. This was two years after the launch of the BBC. The show was light-hearted and the only task was spelling words. The first game show on commercial licensed television was Truth or Consequences which first appeared in 1941. During the 1950s as television became more popular and accessible there were more game shows on TV. The prizes on prime time game shows had become higher stakes and there were lower-stakes game shows on during day-time TV to appeal to new groups of people.  The prizes increased because of the money that was gained from adverts. Towards the end of the 1950s some game shows started to appear with more stunts and jokes. In the 1960s many of the popular games stayed as there where in the 50s with University Challenge being one of the few new successes. In the 1960s more technology started to be used in the shows. In the 1970s families appeared a lot more in game shows. Examples of this were The Generation Game and Ask the Family. Some game shows also became more futuristic like The Krypton Factor. During the 1980s game show became a lot more about action and went to different location. This is because of the developments in technology and the American influence. Sports game shows also became popular. In the 1990s game shows for children became popular but many game shows from the 80s became much less popular. Many game shows also became a lot more physical. During the 2000s many lifestyle game shows became very popular. This lead to game shows in cooking, housing and DIY. Game shows all started to go with the Lottery however the early attempts where not very successful. During the 2000s game shows became increasingly less popular with 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!' being the only new game show to be a major success.

Catchphrases and Gimmicks

Gimmicks and Catchphrases

Who said:

You are the weakest link. Goodbye, Anne Robinson, The Weakest Link
Would you like to phone a friend, ask the audience or 50/50? Chris Tarrant
I’ve started so I’ll finish. John Humphreys, Mastermind
Start the Clock, Countdown
What’s the scores on the doors? Bruce Forsyth, The Generation Game
They think it’s all over – it is now. They think It’s all over
Is that your final answer? Chris Tarrant, Who wants to be a millionaire?
Can I have a P please Bob? Blockbusters
 
What is the appeal of catchphrases?
They make it easy to remember the show

What is a gimmick?
An ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, especially one designed to attract attention or increase appeal.
 
What does a gimmick do and why is it necessary?
A gimmick makes a show unique and often funny so it means people remember it easily so more people know about the show.

The Crystal Maze

The crystal maze appeals to new fans by having celebrities from different areas of popular culture. For example there is Rio Ferdinand who is a famous footballer, Michelle Keegan who has appeared on soaps and Josh Widdicombe who is a comedian. The host, Stephen Merchant, is also new and a comedian so people who like him would also want the show. The comedians also attract news fans to the show as people will see the show because they think it will be funny. The graphics and outfits have also been changed to make the show look more modern so younger viewers won't be put off. The show is also made as a one of special for charity so more people are likely to watch it because they feel like they are helping charity and because people don't want to miss watching something if it probably won't happen again.
The crystal maze appeals to old fans because it is set out in a similar way to the original and all the zones are the same. The games in the show have also been in the show before so it similar to the original. There is also a cameo from the original host to attract old fans of the show.

Game Show Pitch

Game Show Pitch
My game show is called: Beat the Pleb
The Target Audience is:
Age: 12+    Location: Studio in Norwich   Ethnicity: N/A    Gender: Both
Demographic: C1-A
Psychographics – Reformers and Aspirers
The contestants will be: A panel of celebrities and one regular person who has very good trivia knowledge.
Demographic: C1-A
Psychographics – Explorers and Succeeders
Host – who will I audition and why?  Jack Whitehall, because we need a well-known celebrity that will react comically to the knowledge of the “Pleb”, and the ignorance of the celebrities.
Any other use of celebrities?
A panel of 4 B-list celebrities with one well known one as the team captain is set up.
What type of games / questions / rounds will you have?
There will be a selection of trivia questions which are catered towards the “Pleb” winning, and making the celebrities look ignorant. They are asked and the first to buzz in with the correct answer wins a point. If they get it wrong the answer passes to the other team. If they get it wrong, then no-one gets points and the next question is asked. This is round one. In round two there will be a team based game for the celebrities, where they have to compete as a team against the “Pleb” e.g. they have to dodge the “Pleb” firing eggs at them from an egg cannon for a minute. Whichever side wins gets 5 points. In the third round, the “Pleb” answers questions for points whilst the celebrities compete in a team based task for points. The final round has a random one of the celebrities go head to head with the “Pleb”. There is a random, completely pointless task that they have to complete to earn a massive 15 points. This gives the trailing team a chance to redeem themselves. It could be anything from who can drink a litre of undiluted orange squash the quickest, or scoop the most baked beans out of a tray into a bucket using their fingers. The team with the most points at the end of the show wins. The “Pleb” will win £5000, and the celebrity team gets £5000 for a charity of their choice.
USP
The USP of the show is that a normal person gets to compete against celebrities which makes the show unique because most game shows only put celebrities against celebrities. 
Synergy
The show  could work with other companies as the celebrity team could be made up of actors from a new TV series or film to advertise both shows. Also if a celebrity released a new product they could talk about it during the show. Some questions could also be about certain brands to advertise their products.

Reception Theory

The reception theory is a theory from Stuart Hall which states that different audiences interpret media differently to how it is meant to be interpreted or differently to how other people interpret this. How the audience interprets the media depends on there experience. The theory states that the more similar experiences the audience shares with the creator of the media the more likely the audience is to interpret the media in the intended way.

Pointless Case Study - Contestants

The contestants on pointless vary in age and demographic although there the majority of contestants are probably C1 or C2. There are often some students on the show but most contestants are probably above 30. The contestants are usually quite clever but nothing unusual. I would say this is targeted to most demographics because the show is similar to lots of day time TV because the show is cheerful and friendly but the show also requires lots of specific knowledge and it contains interesting facts which would appeal to higher demographics. I think the target psychographics are mainstreamers and resigned.

Game Show Contestants

The application for The Cube makes it seem like they are looking for very interesting and unique people because the questions want you to give answers different to other people. The application for Ninja Warrior UK also makes it seems like they are looking for an interesting person but another big part of the application is seeing if the contestant is physically strong enough for the show. The application for Countdown make it seem like they want interesting and very clever people on the show. All the shows ask about any crimes the people have committed; probably because the channels don't want to be seen giving prize money to someone with a criminal record as people would think worse of the channel.
If I was the producer I would ask people what interesting things have you done, if they think they could win the show and what they would do after they won.
I think the most important things that producers look for in contestants is them being interesting and charismatic and they want the group of the contestants to be diverse.
I think the target demographic for The Cube is from B to E as I think game shows are for slightly lower demographics however The Cube is done in away that makes it look more modern and sophisticated so I think it appeals to higher demographics as well. I think the target demographic for Ninja Warrior UK is C1 to E. I think the target demographic for Countdown is A to C1 because higher social classes are presented as prefer more intellectual shows.
I think the target psychographics for The Cube are mainstreamers, aspirers and succeeders. This is because it the show looks good and is done in a professional way, is quite exciting and tense for a gameshow but it still has most of the conventions of a typical game show. I think the target psychographics for Ninja Warrior UK are mainstreamers and strugglers. I think the target psychographics for countdown are resigned and reformers.