New game show will have you under its spell
THIS might just be the local television shock of the year – a new, original Kiwi comedy panel show that’s actually funny.
Forget all the reimagined 7 Days, its rip-off Have You Been Paying Attention?, the tortuous trans-Tasman rivalry of Patriot Brains and the exhumation of the truly-awful-when-it-firstaired-in-the-80s Give Us a Clue, Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee is the fresh, funny and fabulously conceived format we need in our sometimes troubled lives right now.
It’s an absolute hoot as 70s-throwback Montgomery puts four comedians through a series of increasingly unexpected and bizarre spelling tests on a set that looks like it was found in the same storage area as Grahame Thorne’s perm, Stu Dennison’s cap and Ian Taylor’s Spot On jumpers.
Montgomery initially plays things straight, although contestants quickly discover his responses may not be what they expected – or hoped for.
Brought to you by Colin’s (sic) Dictionary, round two’s Spell it Better asks each of the comics to come up with a unique way of making hors d’oeuvres more reflective of its meaning, before
Spell the Colour introduces Montgomery’s right-hand man – ‘‘human power point transition’’ Sanjay Patel – who has some questions hidden behind a quartet of panels. It’s at this point in episode one that the bubbly Abby Howells starts to lose her mojo – and cool – complaining that ‘‘you can’t get a nerd on the show and get her to spell marijuana’’, after she fails to get it right.
Brushing off her critique, Montgomery then segues to the programme’s pinnacle – ‘‘the reason hundreds of thousands of people aren’t watching this show’’ – the Social Media round.
Slight bewilderment turns to horror for the comedians, as Montgomery reveals each of them will have to answer a spelling question inspired by one of their own posts. For Josh Thomson, it involves Twitter and Koru Lounge cheese, for Hayley Sproull it’s Facebook and Toi Whakaari, and for Matt Heath it’s his decade-old Twitter reputation for wrongly predicting sporting events, while Howells has to relive a strongly-worded observation about potentially offensive bumper stickers.
It’s inspired, hilarious viewing. Still reeling, all four struggle to regain their composure for the fourth round, which involves trying to guess how a six-yearold has spelled particular words.
Of course, with ‘‘a noveltysized one-way ticket to defend their title next week’’ on the line (as well as the fear of having to sit in the Dunce’s Corner should they trail the field), it all ends with a ‘‘straight’’ quick-fire buzzer round with enough points to ensure even the current lastplaced contestant could still emerge victorious.
This is proof not only that Taylor Swift was right (‘‘Hey, kids! Spelling is fun!,’’ she told the world in 2019’s Me!), this is the comedy sensation Three have seemingly spent years searching for.
Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee debuts on Three at 7.30pm on Thursday, February 16.