| The Colour of Money | |
|---|---|
The Colour of Money Logo. |
|
| Format | Game show |
| Presented by | Chris Tarrant Millie Clode |
| Narrated by | Jon Strickland |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Andy Culpin Michael Mannes Matt Walton David Young |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | 12 Yard Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV (ITV1/UTV/STV) |
| Picture format | PAL (576i, 16:9) |
| Original run | 21 February 2009 – 11 April 2009 |
The Colour of Money was a British game show, broadcast on ITV between 21 February and 11 April 2009. The programme was produced by 12 Yard Productions, and hosted by Chris Tarrant and Millie Clode. The format was originally devised by Paul Brassey and Daniel Moody in 2006, and developed by Jim Cannon, Samuel Pollard, Andy Culpin and David Young.
A total of eight episodes were produced but only seven of these were broadcast, due to poor viewing figures. Subsequently, the programme was axed by ITV on 18 April 2009. The game-show later survived as a board game manufactured by games-giant Drummond Park. [1]
Contents |
In the studio are twenty stylised "cash machines", each with a different coloured screen (hence the title of the show). Before each game, each machine is loaded with a different amount of money. These amounts range from £1,000 to £20,000 in increments of £1,000. The contestant, hosts, audience and viewers are all unaware of which amount of money is in which machine.
At the beginning of the game the contestant is given a choice of three "cash cards", each of which has been credited with a cash value from £50,000 to £100,000. The value on the card the contestant selects becomes their target for the game.
The contestant proceeds to select cash machines one at a time. The host starts each machine, at which point the money inside begins counting upwards on the screen, at a rate of £1,000 per second. When this figure passes the total amount that the machine contains it 'locks down', signified by an alarm and flashing screen. The contestant must stop each machine before it locks down by shouting the word "Stop". If the contestant stops the machine then the amount displayed on the screen at that point is added to a running total. If, however, they fail to stop the machine before it locks down then no money is added to the total.
The contestant can select up to ten of the twenty machines. If they add enough money to their total to reach their target then they win the game, and get to take the money home. If they fail to reach their target after selecting ten machines, or if at any point in the game it becomes mathematically impossible for them to do so, then the game ends, and the contestant gets relegated from the show with nothing.
Co-host Millie Clode provided contestants with a statistical rundown between the machines being played - informing them of their running total, how much money they still needed to take, how many machines they could still select and how much money they needed to take, on average, from each of these remaining machines to reach their target.
Each episode of the show featured two consecutive games.
The series was filmed at The London Studios, with the first episode airing at 6:35pm on Saturday 21 February 2009.[2][3] The second, third and fourth episodes were broadcast at the slightly later time of 6:45pm. The fifth episode, on Saturday 28 March, aired at 8:20pm. The sixth episode, on Saturday 4 April, aired at 7:55pm. The seventh episode, on Saturday 11 April, aired at 9:15pm. The eighth and final episode, that was scheduled to air on 18 April, was rescheduled for 29 December, but again was not shown.[4]
| Show | Date | Contestant | Target | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 February 2009 | Diane Dawson | £64,000 | Won |
| Ryan Goode | £66,000 | Lost | ||
| 2 | 28 February 2009 | Nick Rotherham | £72,000 | Won |
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Won | ||
| 3 | 14 March 2009 | Sumera Shahaney | £75,000 | Lost |
| Rachael Marsh | £57,000 | Won | ||
| 4 | 21 March 2009 | Alison Thompson | £74,000 | Lost |
| Phil Morris | £63,000 | Won | ||
| 5 | 28 March 2009 | Angela Baker | £73,000 | Won |
| Michael Appia | £79,000 | Lost | ||
| 6 | 4 April 2009 | Peter Rose | £55,000 | Won |
| Hannah Byers | £77,000 | Lost | ||
| 7 | 11 April 2009 | Diane Middleton-Perkiss | £78,000 | Lost |
| Andrew Barnes | £67,000 | Lost |
Episode viewing figures from BARB[5]:
| Show | Date | Audience (millions) | Viewing share (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 February 2009 | 3.99 | 18 |
| 2 | 28 February 2009 | 4.43 | 20 |
| 3 | 14 March 2009 | 4.24 | 20 |
| 4 | 21 March 2009 | 4.23 | 20 |
| 5 | 28 March 2009 | 2.71 | 12.3 |
| 6 | 4 April 2009 | 2.5 | 12.1 |
| 7 | 11 April 2009 | 2.86 | 12.5 |
Prior to the show going on air, former ITV Controller of Entertainment Duncan Gray, writing in The Independent, suggested that ITV executives were hoping for an audience of around 5 million viewers.[6]
The programme received a largely negative response from critics. The Times said that it was "tedious",[7] while The News of the World branded it "exactly the kind of cynical crowd-pleasing guff we’ve come to despise ITV for".[8] One of the few positive reviews came from Charlie Brooker, writing in The Guardian, who called the show "so compelling, tense and yet ultimately random, it's likely to be a huge worldwide hit."[9] In his review of 2009, Brooker described this as the "Most Off-The-Mark Prediction" of the year. [10] Readers of UKGameshows.com named it their worst new game show of 2009 in their "Hall of Shame" poll. [11]
An online version of the game is available to UK residents[12]. Targets in the online game range from £55,000 to £155,000.