Bob's Full House

Bob's Full House
Genre Game show
Presented by Bob Monkhouse
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 6
No. of episodes 110 (inc. 7 specials)
Production
Producer(s) Geoff Miles
Location(s) BBC Television Centre, London
Running time 35 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel BBC1
Picture format 4:3
Original run 1 September 1984 – 27 January 1990
Chronology
Related shows Lingo
Lucky Numbers
One to Win
The Biggest Game in Town

Bob's Full House was a popular and influential quiz programme hosted by Bob Monkhouse which was based on the popular game Bingo and aired on BBC1 from 1 September 1984 until 27 January 1990.

Gameplay

On Bob's Full House, four contestants competed to fill in their Bingo-style card. Correct answers to questions covered up a number but incorrect answers cause the players to sit out the next question (this was classified as getting wallied).

Unlike a normal bingo card, which has numbers running from 1 to 90, the numbers on a contestant's bingo card run from 1 to 60 only.

The show would begin with a lengthy topical stand-up comedy routine from Monkhouse.

Round One (Four Corners)

In the first round, the object was to fill in the four corners of the board. The first person to do so won a prize choice.

Round Two (Monkhouse Mastercard)

In this round, player raced to clear the middle row of numbers on their cards. They would be shown a game board with categories next to a list of numbers. Contestants would be asked a question unopposed, but an incorrect answer gave the other players a chance to buzz in and answer (Bob referred to it as "Open to Others"). In this situation, a correct answer gives that player any number on his or her middle line; contestants buzzing in with an incorrect answer are wallied (a player who selected the question is never wallied), and either cannot buzz in for the next question or lose their turn, depending on whether or not they were next in line to choose a question. Also, during this round, if the player in control found his/her "Lucky Number" and answered a question correctly, he/she won a special prize.

Round Three (Full House)

The third and final round was played like round one, except the object was to fill the remainder of the bingo board. The first person to do this won the game, and a chance of a holiday in the bonus round.

Bonus Round (Gold Card)

In the Gold Card round, the winning contestant faced a board of 18 squares with numbers from 1 - 60 under each, and stars on some. The winning contestant had 60 seconds (one minute) to answer a series of questions (15 is the max). Each correct answer chose one of the numbers and earned that number in pounds. Behind some of the numbers were letters in the name of a holiday, and if the contestant can reveal all the letters before the time ran out, he/she won the holiday.

The show was famous for Monkhouse blatantly trying to help contestants win the holiday. Despite this, if a contestant didn't win any prizes then they were given a hamper as a consolation prize.

Legacy

UKGameshows.com noted that although the series is "quite old", it has had an enduring legacy, noting its influence on three further bingo-based game shows, One to Win (BBC One, 1991–92), Lucky Numbers (ITV, 1995–97) and The Biggest Game in Town (ITV, 2001),[1] but noted Bob's Full House was "the original and by far the best" of the four.[2]

Lucky Numbers in particular was amongst the first UK game shows to use a viewer-based interactive element where viewers play along with a certain part of the show with a "gamecard" given with the series' sponsor, The Sun newspaper. The series is also sometimes seen as a reply to BBC One's The National Lottery Draws, with ITV having just lost the bid to host the draws. The Biggest Game in Town also used a viewer interactive element.

The website's overview concluded that Bob's Full House was "a very enjoyable and entertaining show, just right for its Saturday-night slot, thanks mainly to Bob's excellent hosting and the fact that it was very easy and fun to play along with!"[3]

Transmissions

Series

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 1 September 1984[4] 1 December 1984[5] 14[5]
2 7 September 1985[6] 21 December 1985[7] 16[7]
3 6 December 1986[8] 25 May 1987[9] 16[9]
4 5 September 1987[10] 30 January 1988[11] 21[11]
5 3 September 1988[12] 4 February 1989[13] 21[13]
6 2 September 1989[14] 27 January 1990[15] 22[15]

Specials

Date Entitle
26 December 1984[16] Christmas Special[16]
8 April 1985[17] Easter Special[17]
26 December 1985[18] Christmas Special[18]
31 March 1986[19] Easter Special[19]
27 December 1986[20] Christmas Special[20]
26 December 1987[21] Christmas Special[21]
24 December 1988[22] Christmas Special[22]

International versions

Country Local Name Host Network Year Aired
 Finland Megavisa Jukka-Pekka Palo Kolmoskanavalla
MTV3		 1991-1992
1993-1995
 Germany Bingo (Sat.1) Wolf-Dieter Herrmann Sat.1 1991-1992
Kinder-Bingo 1992
 Greece Mega Banca George Polyhroniou Mega Channel 1992-1994
 Portugal Casa Cheia Frenando Pereira (1990–1992)
Carlos Ribeiro (1992-1994)
Serenella Andrade (1995–1997)		 Canal 1
RTP1		 1990-1997
 United States Trump Card Jimmy Cefalo Syndication 1990-1991

Video games

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Bob%27s_Full_House
  2. ↑ http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Bob%27s_Full_House
  3. ↑ http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Bob%27s_Full_House
  4. ↑ "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 1 September 1984". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 1 December 1984". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 7 September 1985". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 21 December 1985". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 6 December 1986". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 25 May 1987". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 5 September 1987". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 30 January 1988". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 3 September 1988". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 4 February 1989". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 2 September 1989". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Bob's Full House - BBC One London - 27 January 1990". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Bob's Christmas Full House - BBC One London - 26 December 1984". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Bob's Easter Full House - BBC One London - 8 April 1985". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Bob's Christmas Full House - BBC One London - 26 December 1985". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Bob's Easter Full House - BBC One London - 31 March 1986". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Bob's Christmas Full House - BBC One London - 27 December 1986". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Bob's Christmas Full House - BBC One London - 26 December 1987". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Bob's Christmas Full House - BBC One London - 24 December 1988". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2015.

External links