Hole in the Wall (Australian game show)

Hole in the Wall
Genre	Game show
Presented by	Jules Lund
Country of origin	Australia
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	5
Production
Location(s)	Melbourne Central City Studios
Running time	30 minutes (including commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	Nine Network
Picture format	576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Audio format	Dolby Digital 5.1
Original run	6 August 2008 – 17 September 2008
Chronology
Related shows	Brain Wall
External links
Website

Hole in the Wall was an Australian television game show hosted by Jules Lund, based on the Japanese game show Brain Wall. In the show, contestants are required to fit though holes in a polystyrene wall that moves towards them.

Produced by FremantleMedia, the show began airing on the Nine Network from 6 August 2008.^[1][2]

Format

Each episode features two teams consisting of three celebrity contestants, with each team competing for a charity. The contestants, fitted with hard hats and spandex, stand on a rectangular strip called the "Play Area" as a polystyrene wall moves towards them. The aim is to assume a position that will best allow their bodies to fit through a shape or a number of shapes cut into the wall. The wall measures 4 metres (13 ft) by 2.3 metres (7.5 ft) and travels along a 15 metres (49 ft) straight path that approaches at varying speeds. If contestants fail to fit through the hole, they are pushed back into a 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) deep pool of water behind them.

The game consists of four rounds plus a final round that decides the winner. The first round has three contestants on the strip. A point is awarded to each contestant who fits through the hole. The second round has two contestants. For two points to be awarded, both contestants must fit through the hole.

The third round is variable in the number of players and the scenario played, differing in each episode. For example, scenarios have included facing the wall blindfolded, being forced to rely on the studio audience to guide a contestant, and facing the wall with either a prop or a guest contestant. These guests have included members of the audience and Jules Lund himself. The fourth round sees all three contestants having to face a wall travelling at double speed. Five points are awarded if all contestants fit through the hole, but otherwise no points are scored.

The last round has the team with the most points being given the choice of either facing the wall or forcing the other team to do so. The winner is based on the success of the team that is chosen to face the wall. This brings up controversy since all the points accumulated are worth nothing and the winner of the last round wins the whole show.

German TV company RTL Television, broadcast two episodes of a spin-off called Ab durch die Wand in 2008, then it was cancelled.

Episodes

Episode 1: Beauty and the Beasts (6 August 2008)

Audience: 1.555 million^[3]

	Beasts Scott Cam (captain) Mark "Jacko" Jackson Tim Smith	Beauties Tottie Goldsmith (captain) Brodie Harper Kelly Landry
Round 1	Scott assumes the left position standing up, Tim the middle position lying down on his back with legs curled back and Mark the right position standing up, although none assume the correct position by the time the wall approaches. They are pushed into the water as the middle section of the wall breaks off. (0)	All in a sitting position, Totti assumes the front position facing ahead, Brodie the middle position facing ahead and Kelly the back position facing to the left. Totti and Brodie make it through but Kelly is pushed into the water on account of facing to the left instead of straight ahead like the other two. (2)
Round 2	Mark and Tim play in round 2. The wall is revealed and Tim, seeing the difficulty of the approaching wall, turns around and jumps into the water voluntarily, leaving Mark on the Play Area. With one player left, the wall seems easy to get through but Mark assumes a slightly angled stance and is pushed into the water. (0)	Kellie and Brodie play in round 2. They stand back-to-back, with Brodie on the left and Kelly on the right and get stuck in the wall and are carried away by it. The wall stops above the water and they are both still attached. (0)
Round 3	Scott and Tim play in round 3, with Scott holding an oversized hammer on the left and Tim crouching down on the right. Scott makes it through and Tim gets pushed into the water. (0)	Tottie and Kelly play in round 3. Kelly holds an oversized cricket bat on the left and stands on the right. Both make it through. (3)
Round 4	All standing up, Scott assumes the left position, Tim the middle and Mark the right. The wall breaks in half and Mark and Tim make it through but Scott is pushed into the water. If it weren't for the wall breaking, it is likely that Mark and Tim would have also been pushed into the water. (0)	All standing up, Tottie assumes the left position, Brodie the middle and Kelly the right. All three attempt to jump through: Tottie gets stuck and is carried away by the wall, Brodie lands hard on the Play Area but slips into the water and Kelly lands very hard on the Play Area and makes it through. (0)
Points total	0	5
Final round	The Beasts win by default.	Tottie is pushed into the water; the Beauties lose.

Episode 2: NRL vs AFL (27 August 2008)

Audience: 1.188 million^[4]

	NRL Paul "Fatty" Vautin Paul "Chief" Harragon Matty Johns	AFL Garry Lyon James Brayshaw Billy Brownless
Round 1	(2)	(2)
Round 2	(0)	(0)
Round 3	(0)	(0)
Round 4	(0)	(5)
Points total	2	7
Final round

Episode 3: Battle of the Sexes (3 September 2008)

Audience: 1.143 million^[5]

	Guys Richard Reid Jason Dundas Luke Jacobz	Girls Giaan Rooney Jaynie Seal Bianca Dye
Round 1	(1)	(2)
Round 2	Players: Jason, Luke (2)	Players: Giaan, Jaynie (0)
Round 3	(0)	(0)
Round 4	(2)	(0)
Points total	3	2
Final round		Girls win by default.

Episode 4: TV Stars vs Radio Stars (10 September 2008)

Audience: 1.145 million^[6]

Also known as 'Blondes vs Brunettes'

	Brunettes	Blondes
Round 1	(2)	(1)
Round 2	(0)	(0)
Round 3	(0)	(0)
Round 4	(5)	(5)
Points total	7	6
Final round

Episode 5:Actors vs Reality (17 September 2008)

Audience: 1.040 million ^[7]

	Actors Ian Stenlake Kate Kendall Simon Westaway	Reality Brodie Young Sara-Marie Fedele Zach Douglas
Round 1	(2)	(1)
Round 2	(0) Ian Stenlake Simon Westaway	(0) Brodie Young Sara-Marie Fedele
Round 3	(0) Kate Kendall	(0) Brodie Young
Round 4	(0)	(0)
Points total	(2)	(1)
Final round

Notes

• Number inside brackets denotes number of points obtained for that round

Production

Casting

The search for a host for Hole in the Wall was tough for producers, with a late-withdrawal of the hosting job meaning another search had to made in the last weeks before recordings began.^[8] Quite a number of personalities had auditioned for the hosting role, including Colin Lane, Jason Dundas, Jules Lund, Shura Taft and Dan O'Connor.^[8] It was believed that Shura Taft had landed the job when he was in the hosting role for early recordings of the show.^[9] Taft was in fact a stand-in host for early production shoots to trial the shows' format while producers were still finding a suitable host.^[10] Lund was eventually named as the host,^[11] several weeks after actual recordings were scheduled to start.^[11]

Filming

Hole in the Wall began recording episodes in mid-May 2008, after being delayed from late April 2008 at Melbourne Central City Studios at the Docklands. The pre-show buzz was highlighted when bigger studio audiences than anticipated turned up at the first shoots and some had to be turned away.^[12][13] The later episodes' audience numbers were adjusted to cater for the overwhelming demand.^[12]

External links

• Hole in the Wall official website
• Hole in the Wall official YouTube site
• Hole in the Wall at the Internet Movie Database
• Hole in the Wall at TV.com

References