Panel beating
Panel shows are not game shows, although comedians who appear on panel shows have been known to front up on game shows in the name of charity.
But panel shows and game shows do have one thing in common: they both began on radio. It’s thought that the earliest panel show was Information Please, which began on NBC Radio in the US in 1938.
Nowadays, it’s the British who are the undisputed kings of the panel show. The UK is so awash with them, on both radio and television, that they often seem like makework schemes for comedians. On radio, there is The News
Quiz, The Now Show and Just a Minute, which began in 1967 and is still hosted by Nicholas Parsons. The wonderful John Lloyd, creator of QI, hosts
The Museum of Curiosity, in which guests donate to a virtual museum. It’s really a vehicle to talk about interesting things. The Infinite Monkey Cage, hosted by Robin Ince and Brian Cox, is a science panel show. We recommend downloading podcasts of all of these.
Some of Britain’s panel shows turn up on television here: on Sky’s UKTV, Would I Lie to You?, 8 Out of 10 Cats and QI run on weeknights. But Anglophiles may wish that current events shows Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You also screened. The fact-based comedy science show Duck Quacks Don’t Echo is currently screening on TVNZ Duke. Our only local panelshow success has been 7 Days, the news-based comedy show that began in 2009. Its popularity has been immensely valuable to the local comedy scene. laughter. Contestants seem to be more comfortable in front of cameras than they used to be, which can lead to a better programme.”
McDonald says that, in general, game shows are an easy watch that don’t demand a lot of the viewer.
“Game shows work particularly well in the 5.306.00pm slot when people are just home from work and it doesn’t take as much focus and attention as a reality show or a drama.
“Game shows also give viewers the chance to see everyday Kiwis win stuff – and who doesn’t like seeing people win stuff?”
Off-peak game shows are cost-effective, says McDonald. “The set never changes, the lighting doesn’t change and you can film quite a few in one day.” But prime-time game shows are another kettle of fish. Slater credits the success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? for the growth in “super-quiz shows, with bigger prizes and grander sets, and playing in prime time”.
The trouble is, they’re costly if you want to make a local version. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? New Zealand, made in 2008 and hosted by Mike Hosking, was “a very expensive show to make, both the production aspects and the cost of insurance to cover the potential prize levels. The one series we made was an excellent production, but did not perform well enough to justify the cost.”
Similarly, our version of The Weakest Link, hosted by Louise Wallace, “performed well on launch, but again did not sustain viewer numbers to the level necessary given the cost of production”, says Slater.
TVNZ doesn’t have any plans to make a local version of The Chase. Why would it, given the strength of the UK show?
“That version is particularly loved by viewers because of the popularity of host Bradley Walsh,” says Slater. “We trialled the Australian version here, but it didn’t achieve the same level of popularity. Getting the right host is crucial to the success of game shows.”
Indeed it is, as Three has discovered with Family Feud. Apart from the All Star episodes, there appear to be no plans to make more episodes with a new host.
“Great hosts enable the talent to shine. They are inclusive and not thinking about themselves and they wrap the contestant into this world of success,” says McDonald. “Dai Henwood is fantastic at keeping his energy up and getting everyone on board.”
The host can make or break a game show, says Slater. “You need a well-known and popular host to bring people to a new show and to be the kind of person that can manage the game as well as get the best out of the contestants.
“You can’t build a game show around a personality alone, but without the right host a show can easily fail.”
“You need a well-known and popular host to bring people to a new show.”