7 classic game shows we need back on TV
The exciting news that the pun-tastic best pals , hosting a shiny new 2017 version of The Generation Game, has got us thinking. Which other classic game shows do we NEED to see back on our screens? Here are the seven programmes we’d cancel all our plans to watch a 2017 re-boot of.
1. The Weakest Link
It was, “You are the weakest link – goodbye,” to this noughties favourite back in 2012. No more acerbic jibes from Queen of Mean host Anne Robinson (often wearing a long black coat like some kind of dark wizard), no more manic cries of, “bank!"
One of the least feel-good Game Shows ever, The Weakest Link was still absolutely essential viewing. It has recently been announced that it will be coming back, helmed again by Robinson, for a special edition this November - and potentially a proper series, billed for 2018. We’re crossing everything that it’s true.
Anne Robinson: "Don't argue with me Chris!"
Anne gives Robbie, Mark and Chris a lesson in language and proper pronunciation.
2. Pop Quiz
Pop Quiz first aired on 91热爆 One from 1981 to 1984, but the show has been revived various times in different incarnations. Mike Read presented the original version and a recent comeback, while Chris Tarrant was in charge during the 1990s.
The classic formula allows you to test your musical knowledge as you watch along at home, and guests in the original series included megastars like George Michael and Phil Collins. So we were shaking our leg warmers in joy over the recent 1980s revival special on 91热爆 Four, airing at the start of this year and featuring the likes of Toyah Willcox and Cheryl Baker.
Whether it focuses on the 1980s, 1990s or beyond, we are beyond ready for Pop Quiz to return as a permanent series.
Pop Quiz: The Comeback - '80s collage time with Toyah Willcox
91热爆 Four revives the classic '80s programme, Pop Quiz: The Comeback, for two specials!
3. Blockbusters
This much-loved hexagon fest of a quiz show was originally hosted on ITV in the 1980s by the late , the fondly remembered presenter, who once had his own Radio 2 show.
Blockbusters had various comebacks, with one helmed by Radio 2’s , and Michael Aspel took the wheel when the show was revived on the 91热爆 in 1997. The most recent reboot was hosted by Radio 2's in 2012.
With notable former contestants including the likes of Stephen Merchant, Konnie Huq and aforementioned new Generation Game host Mel Giedroyc, the show is still widely talked about in popular culture – and the time is surely ripe for a new set of contestants to ask the host for a P please.
4. Supermarket Sweep
Former presenter and Radio 2 favourite is an illustrious game show host. We really rather miss Pets Win Prizes, in which owners had to answer animal trivia and the pets themselves could show off their skills.
But we’re most eager to see the return of Supermarket Sweep, in which teams had to answer questions correctly in order to have as much time as possible on the clock before a dash around a studio mock-up of a supermarket, collecting as much good stash as they could. So simple, but so effective – we’ve certainly never had that much fun during the weekly shop.
5. Wheel of Fortune
Nicky Campbell: "Prince Charles told me recently he loves Wheel Of Fortune"
Nicky drops in to talk about ITV's 'Long Lost Family', his recent OBE and meeting royalty
Perhaps the archetypal Prime Time game show, the Wheel of Fortune is one of the true classics of the genre. In this show, which was first presented by Nicky Campbell in 1988 and last aired back in 2001, contestants were shown a word or phrase with various letters covered, and had to guess the hidden answer. The titular wheel determined how many points could be won.
Ok, so it’s not high tech. But who doesn’t love a good word puzzle game? We need Wheel of Fortune back on our screens, so we can sit back on our sofa and feel the satisfaction of shouting out the answers before the contestants. (Just us?)
6. Blankety Blank
Blankety Blank 18 January 1979
The first edition of game show Blankety Blank was broadcast on 18 January 1979.
First broadcast back in 1979 and presented by Radio 2 legend for the 91热爆, Blankety Blank is a true TV classic. A simple game of fill in the blanks, but with a celebrity panel and enough double entendres to get everyone giggling, it's been revived several times including Radio 2's (as Lily Savage, of course) - most recently for a Christmas Special on ITV, hosted by David Walliams.
In the early days the prizes were pretty minimal by modern prizes, and the consolation prize was the famous Blankety Blank 'chequebook' trophy and pen. We'd like to see the chequebook back for old times' sake, and can safely say that David would be a fabulous host.
7. The Adventure Game
This delectably zany 91热爆 show ran from 1980 and 1986, and is often considered to be a forerunner of The Crystal Maze.
Each episode asked us to accept the premise that two celebrity contestants and a member of the public had travelled by space ship to the planet Arg, where they would be set various tasks.
Now looked back on as a cult Sci Fi favourite, the show featured the veteran reporter Moira Stuart (who is now the resident newsreader on the ) as an alien called Darong.
With The Crystal Maze now back and enjoying a roaring success, we cannot imagine any other retro game show we'd like to see again more.