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
- What was the name of the local
music quiz show hosted by Jaquie
Brown? - Bruce Forsyth asked which hostess
on The Generation Game to “give
us a twirl”? - Who was the host of the New
Zealand version of The Weakest
Link? - Name the panel show hosted by
Paul Henry that was a local version
of a UK series. - The Chase host Bradley Walsh is
going to become an assistant in
which UK TV series? - Name the local series starring
Nathan Rarere, Oscar Kightley and
Petra Bagust as the quizmaster. - What method did Charles Ingram
use to cheat on Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire? in 2001? - What was the title of Selwyn Too-
good’s autobiography? - Name the segment on panel show
7 Days in which musicians sing
about a news story. - 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.”
- Dai Henwood
and contestants
in Family Feud. - 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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