Talk:Countdown (game show)

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"Indeed the current prize fund tends to be a board game and assorted junk for every contestant and a full Oxford English Dictionary for the series winner, which is highly extravagant in terms of the show's overall history."

Eh? What does that last bit mean? Anyway, "highly extravagant" doesn't sound very NPOV to me, so I'll remove it. -- Oliver P. 19:22 Feb 5, 2003 (UTC)

I meant to say that the prizes were previously even smaller. I could be wrong, but I've a feeling that the goody bag for every single contestant is a recent addition. I'll go and rewrite it now. Bagpuss
Aha, okay, thanks for clarifying that! -- Oliver P. 18:16 Feb 7, 2003 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Clarification (History section)

"After the death of Whiteley, Sir Jeremy Isaacs, the then head of Channel 4, said that he* had been the one to decide to bring over the French programme and had only then learnt of YTV's programme."

Does that "he" refer to Richard, or to Isaacs? -- 16:32, 28 January 2006 82.112.132.33

Good question. I had to read that sentence a few times before giving up. Here is the edit which added that statement to the article: [1]. The edit summary was alternate according to Isaacs in radio interview.
Anyway, Richard was presenting YTV's programme, wasn't he? So he couldn't have "only then learnt of YTV's programme". Aaron McDaid 21:32, 28 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] US Version

Why is there no US version of this show? I had heard of Countdown from my British friends when the host passed away and recently saw and became addicted to Des Chiffres et des Lettres while on holiday (albeit I don't speak a word of French). Has there been any unsuccessful attempts on this side of the pond? It would seem natural considering us Americans will throw just about any kind of game show on television and multiple times at that (ie Fear Factor, Match Game).

According to [2], "In the mid 80s a pilot for an American version of Countdown was made, but was scrapped after being considered too brainy." --Q4 12:47, 31 January 2006 (UTC)
It just seems to be a very British thing, and I can't imagine many Americans enjoying it. --Nathan (Talk) 13:26, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
Are there any 'intellectual' game shows on US TV? --MartinUK 17:52, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
Ahem, we are the homeplace of Jeopardy, albeit with a Canadian host. The show does muster a cult following.Stephen 04:53, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Letters game image

Interesting thing: the example still of a letters game is the selection from a famous round in 1991 in which both contestants came up with the word "wankers". (There's nothing longer available, though there are a couple of alternative sevens.) The clip is very well-known in the UK, having been endlessly repeated on out-take shows ever since. --Bonalaw 14:10, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Yea, ideally another clip should be used, although this incident definitely deserves a mention. --MartinUK 17:42, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

I didn't mean it should be removed. I just thought some Wikipedians might find it an interesting bit of trivia. --Bonalaw 10:58, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
I personally think more modern pictures should be used - the letters game is from 1991, and the numbers game from the early 2000s (the set shown was used from 2000 to 2002). There's nothing in the article that says the pictures are old, either- you have to click on them to find out. BillyH 15:30, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Numbers game image

I'm amazed neither player did better on this. I got 666 immediately: (9-2)x9+3X10+6 and later 669: (9+2)x6x10+9. Can anyone solve it? --MartinUK 17:47, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

There is only one solution to this numbers game. This is the following
9+3=12
12×9=108
108+2=110
110×6=660
660+10=670. Bobo. 07:12, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] First show on channel 4

According to Richard Whiteley's bumblings on the show, the first episode had 8 million viewers, but the second had 0.8 million. I don't have a written source, but if someone finds one, maybe it's worth a mention.--Nathan (Talk) 13:30, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Anyone who's been on the show (or at least applied) out there?

I sent back the application form just under two weeks ago and I'm wondering when I'm going to hear back from them.

When you applied, how long did it take you to receive a reply, and was it by email, snailmail, phone or what? And what is the timescale like between applying, being auditioned, playing for real and the programme being broadcast? -- Smjg 22:39, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I've been on and stuff... after I applied it took about 2 weeks for a reply, which was by mail, then it was about a week before my audition, which was about a month before i played for real, which was about 2 and a half months before it was broadcast. It varies quite widely though, I think. The forum [3] is full of people like yourself, so you can go there and ask if you need any more advice. Jono 22:57, 13 May 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, I was the contestant who was selecting the letters which spelt 'FART' at the beginning of a letters game. My brothers were on separately too (one of whom got 'ORGASMED'), so I can confirm that there are big variations in how long it takes between filming & broadcasting. It was months before their shows made it on, whereas mine only took a couple of weeks or so. My memory of the whole thing is that it all took quite a bit longer than it did for Jono, but I'm afraid I wasn't taking notes. --Oolong 10:54, 26 May 2006 (UTC)
I was a contestant way back in '92 (filmed Jan 14, shown Feb 18 & 19). Won one game, lost second.

I've been on 15-to-1, The Weakest Link and Mastermind since, but Countdown remains my favourite TV experience. The hospitality was great, lovely hotel (Queens in centre of Leeds), drinks on Mark Nyman's expense account all the previous evening, with Richard Stilgoe and Freda Thornton. Still got the card with my name anagrams on it (M Thirstyman and Mr Tiny Maths) that Richard did. Very friendly people, put you totaly at ease, made it a very welcoming day. Only sour note was that I was seeded to be an octochamp (in case you hadn't guessed as a viewer, the best players in the auditions are kept apart). Unfortunately I had a mare in my second game and got beaten by somebody who was meant to be fodder for me. I was the guy in the Aston Villa jumper for those with extremely long memories....:-) Martyn Smith 10 June 06

I've been on it, although I obviously wasn't as important as the above poster, as I was in a hotel on my own and certainly didn't get 'drinks on Mark Nyman's expense account all the previous evening' - I got hotel and train expenses only. You could make 'wank' out of my first selection of letters though. And I forgot my smart shoes, so had to buy a new pair in Leeds before the filming. Didn't get them on expenses either.FlubClub 16:44, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rude Words (wankers)

I'm not convinced about 'wanker'/'wankers' having been broadcast on the show, despite the vehemence of one contributor. It shouldn't be impossible to find a reference to this - there has been plenty of coverage of other rude words appearing, and having been personally involved in one of those appearance, and keeping an eye on this as a result, I'd be surprised to have missed it entirely. The word 'wanker' certainly wouldn't normally appear on tea-time television. Does anyone else think they've seen this, and not just repeats of the famous excised clip? --Oolong 11:02, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

I've removed this bit, in the continued absence of anything to back it up (I can't find any non-Wikipedia-based references to it on the internet, which seems extraordinary). --Oolong 13:37, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately it's going to be one of those things I'm never going to be able to find in order to give it a citation, aside from the fact that I can say that from memory it has happened. Sadly the memory doesn't really count as a primary source, but we can easily leave it out. Bobo. 20:26, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
Thanks Bobo. I hope some other source turns up; I would love for it to have appeared! --Oolong 10:20, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

When I was on the show in '92, shortly after the 'wankers' incident, Mark Nyman related over drinks in the hotel the night before recording that initially they *were* going to allow the 'wankers' round to be broadcast. Yes it's a rude word, but it's in the dictionary. However Gino Corr (hilarious bloke) when asked what seven letter word he got, replied 'You've got a right pair of wankers here, Richard!' An executive decision was made to pull (as it were!) the round. Martyn Smith 10 June 06

How can you "edit out" or "pull" a round in a game of Countdown? Did they film a fake extra round to replace it with? Chris Henderson, 11 September 2006
From what I've heard, they just re-record the declaration process with the contestant offering a different word of the same value. Never seen it happen though. Jono (talk) 23:54, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
I watched a clip on youtubes.com of the letters natraully spelling c*ntflaps (not sure whether i should censor that). Should this be added? WhoIzzet
Since it's quite obviously not genuine, I would say NO. --Bonalaw 09:58, 13 June 2006 (UTC)
Besides of which, "cuntflaps" only has two vowels in it, and thus a selection which spelled out this word would nowadays be illegal. Whether this was a much older episode or not, I don't think this would have applied, but this is certainly true. Bobo. 12:29, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

How about the "Gobshite" incident, where Richard exclaimed "Look, it's just a job for you; it's a career for me"? (look it up on youtube if you want to see)

[edit] Odd code in Edit view

If you click edit and scroll down there is some odd code, is there a need for that. pjb007 14:18, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ricky Tomlinson lookalike

Was the appearance of the contestant who is a professional RT lookalike on the show today *really* a complete coincidence.....? Martyn Smith 21:37, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Knowing Damian Eadie, no. Jono 21:45, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
He didn't do very well, so it might not have been coincidence --MartinUK 11:06, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Example game

Instead of that example game, can we use the recent one from the CoC Final with Paul and Mark's words and scores printed beside it? This was a much more impressive performances, hetairas aside, and contains (as far as I remember) only one contestant-beater throughout the whole show. What do we think?

And while I'm asking about that particular CoC game, is the word pembina in the new word Bible by any chance? Bobo. 06:36, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

I don't think the example game should be too amazing - a more typical one would be a better measure of the programme. --MartinUK 14:06, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
How about this one? A quality DC guest, a very good champion, who came up with one impressive nine-letter word, one very hard numbers games, coupled with two fairly easy ones, and quite a nice conundrum in SELLFAUST. Bobo. 14:42, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Citation spot check

As part of this project, I randomly checked a few footnotes from this article. Results were as follows:

  1. Footnote 9. "unlike almost any other game show hostess of the time, however, the advertisement also made it clear that the applicants' appearance would be less important than their being a talented mathematician."
    • Checks out, I guess. From site: "Vorderman found work as a graduate management trainee, but it was her mother who saw a newspaper ad asking for a woman with good maths to appear as co-host on a quiz show for the fledgling fourth terrestrial channel."
  2. Footnote 12. "since her debut in 1992, Susie Dent has become synonymous with the role, and has now made over a thousand appearances."
    • Checks out, although the source only covers the last part of the sentence. From site: "Susie Dent (SD, Series 24 to 55 & Specials, 1,367 appearances)"
  3. Footnote 14. "Countdown's longevity is often considered to be a consequence of it having a cult status;"
    • Iffy From site: "a daily afternoon quiz show that gained cult status almost from its inception in 1982"
      • The source is certainly related to the statement in the article, but doesn't provide evidence for either for the "often considered" statement or the longevity being attributed to this.
  4. Footnote 20. "In keeping with the show's friendly nature, contestants compete not for money but the Countdown winner's teapot, which is custom-made and can only be obtained by winning a game on the programme."
    • Checks out. From site: "The fabled Countdown teapot, which is not for sale anywhere. The only way you can get one of these collector's items is to appear on the show and win a game."
  5. Footnote 68. "When contestants Gino Corr and Lawrence Pearse[67] both declared the word wankers, one of the contestants quipped, "You've got a couple of wankers here!". This was edited out of the programme but has since appeared on many outtakes shows."
    • Problem. The source offers several different possible speakers and phrasings, and mentions only a single appearance on an outtakes show.

All in all, there seems to be a problem here with supporting the articles statements with sources that relate to but don't actually support what the article says. This needs fixin'. --RobthTalk 16:19, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

I've had a go at fixing the worst of these, footnote 68, with a second reference that better supports both the phrasing and the multiple appearances on outtakes shows. I will have a look through some more of the references to see if there are any more cases of weak ones later on. Regards, CountdownCrispy 10:30, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Game example

This page looks a lot better. I wasn't a big fan of that example game, I know that for the Scrabble category someone did an example of a tournament game, the article was then submitted for wikifying which was a bit silly IHMO. Bearing that in mind, perhaps it would be better to find a nicely presented game on the web (Gary Woodward comes to mind) and link to that as an external link.

Mglovesfun 22:51, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Piles of Numbers

They don't have the numbers in piles, they have them laid out on a table in different columns and rows. Some of the rows or columns are large numbers, the others are small, I can't remember the exact lay out, but they're definately not in piles.--Jcvamp 23:54, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

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