New Zealand Listener – March 02, 2018

MARCH 10 2018 LISTENER 15

Off-peak game shows are

cost-effective, says McDon-

ald. “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 expen-

sive 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 excel-

lent 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. Get-

ting 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 epi-

sodes, there appear to be no

plans to make more episodes

with a new host.

“Great hosts enable the

talent to shine. They are inclu-

sive and not thinking about

themselves and they wrap the

contestant into this world of

success,” says McDonald. “Dai

Henwood is fantastic at keep-

ing 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 popu-

lar 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.” l

1. What was the name of the local
   music quiz show hosted by Jaquie
   Brown?


2. Bruce Forsyth asked which hostess
   on The Generation Game to “give
   us a twirl”?


3. Who was the host of the New
   Zealand version of The Weakest
   Link?


4. Name the panel show hosted by
   Paul Henry that was a local version
   of a UK series.


5. The Chase host Bradley Walsh is
   going to become an assistant in
   which UK TV series?


6. Name the local series starring
   Nathan Rarere, Oscar Kightley and
   Petra Bagust as the quizmaster.


7. What method did Charles Ingram
   use to cheat on Who Wants to Be a
   Millionaire? in 2001?


8. What was the title of Selwyn Too-
   good’s autobiography?


9. Name the segment on panel show
   7 Days in which musicians sing
   about a news story.


10. Who was the winner of the 2016
    series of New Zealand Master-
    mind? Answers on page 20

The quiz quiz

“You need a

well-known and

popular host to

bring people to

a new show.”

1. Dai Henwood
   and contestants
   in Family Feud.


2. US Wheel of
   Fortune hosts
   Vanna White,
   left, and Pat
   Sajak. 3. Alan
   Davies and new
   QI host Sandi
   Toksvig. 4. Eddie
   McGuire hosts
   Millionaire Hot
   Seat in Australia.

2

4

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