| Beat the Crusher | |
|---|---|
The Crusher, as seen in the first episode. |
|
| Format | Game show |
| Starring | Freddie Starr and Melinda Messenger |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes (Including advertisements) |
| Production company(s) | Tiger Aspect |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Sky One |
| Original run | Friday 8th January 1999 8.00pm – Friday 12th March 1999 8.00pm |
Beat the Crusher was a game show airing on Sky One during 1999 in the United Kingdom. It was hosted by comedian Freddie Starr, with assistant Melinda Messenger. The show was noted for its bizarre end game, which featured two couples gambling their automobiles for the chance to win a new one. The winning team received the new car, while the losing couple's car was dropped into a car crusher (or more specifically, a modified Lefort Mobile Baler) and destroyed, with their bus fare home being given as a consolation prize.
The show would usually begin with an audience member being called out, and a large item of personal value being put in the crusher, such as a garden shed or a kebab trailer. In one episode a man was asked to sing one of his favourite songs to stop his garden shed from being crushed.Even after he had sung the song, his garden shed was crushed anyway.
After this there would be a competition to find the "coolest" man in wherever that particular show was being held, such as Wood Green or Port Talbot. There would be three contestants who claimed to be the coolest man in their town, they would go through a scientific "test" to find the coolest man. The men would be connected to heart monitors and a scary story would be told, as the story was being read Freddie would usually do actions to the story, such as hitting one of the men over the head with a tray or making noises to simulate thunder and wind, pouring tomato ketchup over someone's head to simulate blood, and pouring ice down the back of someone to simulate chills down the back of the neck.The man with the lowest heart rate would be claimed the coolest man in the area and would receive a cloak and giant medallion.
Then, the 'Babies Win Prizes' contest would follow. The contest would be nine toddlers and one of their parents competing to win a toy car. Three heats would be held to narrow the number of toddlers and parents down to three, the toddlers would have to do certain challenges, some of the challenges were:
After the heats followed the 'Clash of the Clans' contest. This consisted of two families competing to win a giant trophy, usually manufactured by a nearby steelworks factory, in a talent contest. The round required the demonstration of various talents, such as dancing, singing, and stand-up comedy. There would be three judges in charge of buzzers, if all three buzzers were pressed, the contestant would have to leave the stage. The family who spent the most time on stage would win the trophy. The show would then return to the Babies Win Prizes semi-final.
The three winners of the heats would then compete in a semi-final, one of the semi-final challenges was Ready, Steady, Blaghh! In this challenge the toddlers would have to feed their parents freezing cold food, which according to the commentator, he cooked himself. The two toddlers who fed their parents the most food would get through to the final. All the losers would win a goody bag and a certificate.
Then, the final event, 'Beat the Crusher', would begin. All the number plates in the car park outside the place where the show was being filmed would be entered into a computer, two number plates would be selected at random, and the couple the car belonged to would have to play Beat the Crusher. While the two coupled prepared for the final game, the show would return to Babies Win Prizes for the final.
In the final the two remaining toddlers would have to go through an obstacle course, the one who completed the course in the fastest time would win the toy car, the runner-up would win a bike.
Then Beat the Crusher would begin. The two couples, now ready for the game, would have to answer multiple choice general knowledge questions, if a couple got a question wrong, their car would move up a level on a moving platform and closer to the crusher. If they got the question right, the opposing couple's car would move up a level. If they got a question wrong when they were above the crusher, known as the 'Danger Zone', or the opposing team got a question right, the loser's car would be dropped into the crusher and it would be destroyed, and they would receive their bus fare home as a consolation prize. The winning couple would then have a choice of two new cars, either a luxury estate car, or a stylish four-door saloon.