The Gadget Show

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The Gadget Show
Format Lifestyle, Technology
Starring Suzi Perry
Jason Bradbury
Jon Bentley
Dallas Campbell
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 8
No. of episodes 65 (as of 2 April 2007)
Production
Running time 45 minutes (Series 1-6),
60 minutes (Series 7-)
Production
company(s)		 North One Television
Broadcast
Original channel Five
Original run 2004 – present

The Gadget Show is a British television series focusing on the world of technology, currently in its ninth series. It airs for 1 hour on Five and is filmed at The Custard Factory on Gibb Street in Birmingham, UK. Repeats have also aired on Bravo. In Australia it is aired on The Lifestyle Channel.

Contents

[edit] Format

Each week, the show previews and reviews the latest gadgets, and broadcasts the latest technology news. The show is aimed at giving the mass consumer an insight into the gadget world and in addition, it aims to give enough information for the more "geeky" audience, but still making it accessible to the more casual viewer. The show has featured Blu-ray Discs, video cameras, MP3 players and other technologies. A segment showing viewers how to get the most out of their technology is also included along with a competition to win anything from £5,000 to £20,000 worth of new gadgets. Each series usually contains a special episode focusing on a particular technology conference or expo. Past conferences include CeBIT and The Next Fest.

Series 5 saw a slight tweak in the format, with the three presenters hosting from a studio base, although a lot of the show still takes place outside of the studio. A recurring theme in the updated format is a regular challenge between Jason and Suzi (and occasionally Jon), typically set around a particular gadget and their testing or use based around it. Another addition is that now the week's main featured gadget(s), typically reviewed by Jon, is given a 'G rating' from one to five. The seventh series started on 29 October 2007, and running for a longer time of 1 hour. Series 8 started on 31 March 2008.[1] The studio has been given a major makeover, consisting of a cool blue theme with a giant touchscreen PC monitor. There is now also a new "Top 5" feature which consists of the Top 5 gadgets in a certain category.


[edit] Presenters

[edit] Suzi Perry

Suzi Perry, having previously worked on BBC Two's short-lived revival of Treasure Hunt, and BBC One's revival of Superstars, has also presented for sports programmes such as Grandstand and TV coverage of Wimbledon and the London Marathon. A journalist, Perry is respected in the biking world for her pit-side reports. She currently also presents on The Discovery Channel and BBC Two. She also co - presented with Ian Wright on Sky One's Premier League all stars.

[edit] Jon Bentley

Jon Bentley's television career has mostly concentrated on the world of motoring television. Between 1987 and 1998, he was producer and editor of BBC Two's Top Gear and was series producer of Fifth Gear from 2002 to 2004. In recent seasons, Jon seems to be phasing out of the show gradually, only appearing in his own segment in the show and one or two mini-segments whilst most of the show is fronted by Suzi and Jason.

[edit] Jason Bradbury

Jason Bradbury's career in entertainment began in the stand-up comedy circuit. Television programmes he has presented include Top Gear GTi (a spin-off show from the BBC motoring show Top Gear, shown on UKTV People[2]), The Air Show, Mercenaries and The Web Review. He also presents a show on Discovery Kids called Gross!. According to the 30 October episode of The Gadget show, Jason is also a keen robot enthusiast demonstrating his robot building abilities in the 20 November episode of the show.


[edit] Dallas Campbell

Dallas Campbell joined the team in June 2008, his career to date has been as an bit part actor in shows such as Casualty, Doomwatch and A Touch Of Frost and also on stage in shows such as The Warp, the longest play, running at 29 hours.

[edit] Other presenters

Tom Dunmore, the editor-in-chief of Stuff magazine, presented a weekly section called 'The Critical List' in the fourth series, talking about a group of gadgets in a specific field. From the fifth series, this section was presented by Suzi, Jon and Jason. During one of the challenges during the sixth series, Tom Dunmore was mentioned, but was not actually seen, and no nod to his previous relationship with the show was given.

[edit] Website

The Gadget Show website contains information on topics and products discussed in the show. The site is updated with information from the last showed aired. In addition, the site contains product reviews, how-tos and news. The show launched a campaign for free WiFi access across the country. Viewers were urged to register their support on the show’s website; Jason Bradbury promised to take the issue to 10 Downing Street if the need arose, which it did, but got a reply rejecting his petition after over 30,000 names were sent in. Instead, Jason is appealing to businesses to set up their own free Wi-fi. Jon Bentley has also set up A Basic Website designed by Jon for a "How To" feature in series 2

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Gadget Show
  2. ^ Top Gear: The GTi Years. Retrieved on May 9, 2006.

[edit] External links