Neighbour knowledge
Rocco de Villiers and Vincent Mofokeng are testing family, friends and neighbours’ knowledge on Beter Assie Bure.
Season 1 Fridays (from 20 January) SABC2 (*192) 20:00
Music gameshow Noot Vir Noot (1991- current) is the most recognisable Afrikaans reality show on SABC2 screens. But from Friday 20 January, a new pretender to the crown emerges in the shape of Beter Assie Bure (2017- current, which means “Better Than The Neighbours” in Afrikaans). The gameshow will see two teams consisting of family members, friends and even neighbours take on each other in a series of general knowledge and music-related rounds. Local piano king Rocco De Villiers (from Klop Die Klawers, 2009- current) and SABC sports anchor Vincent Mofokeng will be handling the presenting duties.
FUN FOR THE FAMILY
“This is a real gameshow for the whole family,” explains 27-year- old Vincent. “Every contestant had fun during filming and you can see their bonds growing stronger as the rounds progress.” While Noot Vir Noot and other SABC2 gameshow Musiek Roulette (2014- current) are purely music based and contestants need a serious knowledge to play, Beter Assie Bure’s diverse nature means anyone can take part. “And we also don’t have a giant timer counting down the seconds and adding to the nerves,” says 46-year- old Rocco. “Especially when you have to answer horrible questions like how many grains of sand are there in the Kalahari!” The music portion of Beter Assie Bure is Rocco’s favourite. “And not just because I can play every single line of music on the piano. I was involved in the conception of the games on the show and with their development right from the start,” he explains.
BUILDING THE SEASON
There are 13 episodes in the first season and each episode consists of six rounds of mini games (see right for more on what to expect). After the fifth round, the team with the most points is declared the winner – aka better than their neighbours – and the losing team leaves. They’re fighting over “loads of cash prizes,” says Wilna van Schalkwyk from the show’s pro- duction company Okuhle Media. The season was filmed in the Western Cape in October 2016 and Vincent says that it was a rush – literally and physically. “We had seven days to shoot all 13 episodes… we took eight hours for the first episode but thankfully it got a lot quicker as we went along.”