Bog Stop

Bog Stop (pronounced "BUG STUP", meaning "Move Stop") is a televised Irish language children's quiz show, produced by Abú Media for TG4, presented by Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill,^[1] and shown on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

History

Six shows are recorded in one day, to be broadcast over six days (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for two weeks). Six students from each school compete on the game show, one for each day. Each series consists of 66 episodes,^[2] with 33 schools taking part. Each fortnight, three schools compete to win a trophy.

The shows are recorded in the Black Box Theatre in Galway, over 11 days around April, for broadcasting in January to June of the following year. The fourth series was recorded in April 2010^[1] and was broadcast in 2011^[3] on TG4 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 4:30 pm, with a repeat of the previous three episodes on Sunday mornings. It is a version of an Australian show called Go Go Stop.^[4]

For the first series in 2008, the shows were broadcast Monday to Friday, with five students from each of three schools taking part over one week. Three different schools would compete the following week. Since the second series in 2009, the schedule has been Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with six students from each of three schools taking part over two weeks. Three different schools compete every two weeks.

The game

The players walk on an inclined surface called the "Zone", which is made up of thirty plasma screens arranged in a rectangle five screens wide and six screens high. The players have to answer questions with two multiple-choice answers with control pads attached to their wrists. Only the correct-answering players are allowed to move down the zone.

Before the round, the players take up a space at the top of the zone, and when they answer correctly, they can take a step onto a plasma screen. Their plasma screen lights up a command. The player must obey this command.

The contestants

Six students from each of the three schools compete over the fortnight.

Game-zone commands

Rounds

Round 1

In Round 1 there are three players. Answering a question correctly scores 10 points, and stepping off the game zone scores 25 points.

Round 2

Round 2 is similar to round 1, except correct answers are worth 15 points. The player with the lowest score is eliminated in this round.

Round 3

Round 3 is called Faoi Dhó. There are only two players in this round as one was eliminated in round 2. Answering a question correctly is worth 20 points, and stepping off the game zone is worth 50 points. The player with the lowest score is eliminated.

Round 4

Round 4 is called Gluais is Duais. The top scoring player goes to Round 4. This round is for the winner to win prizes for themselves. There are five questions in five categories to choose from, which are true or false questions. Five prizes are hidden in the game zone, and before the round begins are revealed for a few seconds.

The round lasts for 60 seconds. The player stands on a category, which are on the five plasma screens at the front of the game zone. They then must yell out the name of the category, and the host reads the question to them. Once the question has been read out, the player must run to the other end of the game zone and jump on a screen that says "fíor" (true) or "bréagach" (false).

If they are correct, the player can go to a screen they think has a prize. If it has a prize, the player wins it. The round ends when time runs out, when the player has won all five prizes, or when all categories have been used.

Questions

Questions on Bog Stop are always asked with a multiple choice of two answers.

References

External links

• Abú Media
• TG4
• Ambience Entertainment, rights holder.