Catchphrase is a British game show based on the short-lived U.S. game show of the same name. It originally aired on ITV in the United Kingdom between 12 January 1986 and 23 April 2004. A currently running revival premiered on ITV on 7 April 2013.
Catchphrase was presented by Northern Irish comedian Roy Walker from its 1986 premiere until 1999, airing weekly at night. Nick Weir took the programme over in 2000 and hosted it until the end of series 16 on 23 April 2004. Mark Curry replaced Weir for the final series, which moved to a daytime slot and ran from 24 June to 19 December 2002. When the series was revived in 2013, Stephen Mulhern was named presenter and it returned to its weekly nighttime period.
In the original series, two contestants, one male and one female, would have to identify the familiar phrase represented by a piece of animation accompanied by background music. The show's mascot, a golden robot called "Mr. Chips", appears in many of the animations. In the revived version of the show, the same format remains, but there are three contestants and there is no particular attention paid to gender.
Catchphrase was a creation of Steve Radosh, who created the American series that the British programme was derived from; due to this, he is given credit for creating this show as well (as was producer Marty Pasetta and distributor Telepictures).
Video Catchphrase (UK game show)
Format
Main game
In the main game, at the start of each standard round, one contestant stopped a randomiser consisting of money amounts by hitting his/her button. The value landed on would be the amount for the normal catchphrases in that round. At first, the minimum value for the first two rounds was £10 and £20 in each round thereafter. After the second episode, the minimum value reduced to £5 until 1994. The maximum value started at £50 in round one and increased £50 for each round thereafter. Until 1990, the maximum value remained at £150 from round three onward. In series 10, the values were £35 to £75 in the first round and £35 to £100 in round two. From series 11 to 13, the values were £50 to £100 in round one and £60 to £125 in round two.
In the Nick Weir series, there was no money randomiser; the cash prize was set as default to £100 in round 1 and £150 in round 2. In Weir's third and final series, the round 2 amount for a normal catchphrase was doubled to £200, and for the final series with Mark Curry, these were replaced with the corresponding points values.
The cash prizes of £100 and £200 respectively for the two standard rounds were retained for the revived Mulhern series in 2013. A third round was played in the celebrity special, where the cash prizes were worth £300.
Qualifying round
For the revived 2013 series, three contestants start the game instead of two. An extra round was therefore added in which the three contestants compete to guess catchphrases on the screen. The first two contestants to correctly guess three catchphrases would advance to the main game. This round is not used in the celebrity specials. In the first three revival series, contestants are frozen out if they give an incorrect catchphrase.
Normal Catchphrase
For the first round, the computer would slowly draw a catchphrase on the screen accompanied by background music (the 2013 series uses CGI computer animation). When most of the catchphrase had been revealed, a bell would sound and the contestants could then buzz in and try to guess the answer. If the player that buzzed in guessed incorrectly, the other player would be offered the chance to guess. If a player guessed correctly, he/she would win the predetermined amount and then have a chance to solve the bonus catchphrase.
When Nick Weir took over as host in 2000, not only would contestants win the money allocated but they would also win spot prizes if a sound was played after the contestant guessed a catchphrase correctly. During the 2001 series, this new feature was changed, with the (now different) sound to indicate a spot prize could be won being played before the catchphrase was shown, this was carried over into the revived Mulhern series. In Weir's final series in 2002, the spot prize was removed and instead, one catchphrase in the first round of the game was also worth a 'Travel Bonus' prize, which was generally a weekend/short break away in a European city. If one player got a normal catchphrase wrong and the other player incorrectly guesses the same catchphrase, the game would just continue with neither player getting the predetermined amount of money or a chance at solving the bonus catchphrase. There was no bell used for the first half of the game for the Weir/Curry/Mulhern era.
Bonus Catchphrase
A correct answer won the contestant the predetermined money amount, plus a chance to solve the bonus catchphrase, which was hidden behind nine squares with the show's logo on each (or random shapes in the Nick Weir/Mark Curry era). The contestant chose a square by hitting his/her buzzer to stop a randomiser on one of them. That square was then removed, and the contestant had five seconds to come up with an answer. If they were right, they won the amount of money in the bonus bank. If not, another normal catchphrase was played.
In series 1, the bonus bank would start at £100 and increase by £100 each round for the first two episodes and for the rest of that series, it would start at £50 and increase by £50 each round. However, in series 2, the third bonus catchphrase was worth £50. This format carried on from series 2 until series 9. In series 10 (the first Carlton series), it would start at £150 and increase by £50 each round, but £10 would be deducted for each square removed. From series 11 until series 15, it would start at £200 and increase by £50 each round, again with £10 deducted for each square removed but in series 16 (Nick Weir's third and final series), in the first half of the game, the bonus bank still started at £200 and would increase by £200 in round 2. In rounds 1 and 2, it would still eliminate £10 for every random shape removed. In the second half, it would start at £1,000 and increase by £1,000 in round 4. In round 3, it would reduce by £100 and in round 4, it would reduce by £200. For the final series (with Mark Curry), the pound values were replaced with corresponding point values.
If the bonus catchphrase was not solved after all nine squares had been removed, normal catchphrases would be played without the bell, the first contestant to buzz in and answer correctly winning the amount of money remaining in the bonus bank.
Depending on how long it took to solve the bonus catchphrase, another game would be played with a higher possible amount in the randomiser and a larger amount in the bonus bank.
In the revived 2013 series, the bonus catchphrase is set at £500 for round 1 and £1,000 for round 2, but does not reduce when a square is removed (just like in the TVS years). On the celebrity specials, a third bonus catchphrase earned £1,500.
Quickfire Round
From series 2, (the Roy Walker era) a new feature which was not seen in the US version, the "Ready Money Round", was introduced. This round followed a similar structure to a standard round, except that all catchphrases were worth a fixed amount of money (originally £50) and there was no bell, so the contestants could buzz in and answer them whenever they wished and as many times until the puzzle is solved or time runs out. In the TVS series from 1986 to 1994, this round was played only after the second normal round, subsequent rounds being played as standard with the bell and money randomiser. In the Carlton series from 1994 to 1999, however, all of the rounds in part two (up until the end of round klaxon) were ready money rounds. The amount for a normal catchphrase in the first Ready Money round increased to £100 for series 11 and £125 for series 12-13. From series 11-13, each catchphrase would be worth £150 in the second Ready Money round. If the end of round klaxon sounds and the bonus catchphrase had yet to be solved, the panels would be gradually removed until a player buzzed in with an answer. If neither player guessed correctly, a normal catchphrase would determine who won the bonus bank money.
In 2000, when Nick Weir took over as host, this round was replaced by the "Cash Countdown", in which the amount for each normal catchphrase started at £250 before quickly counting down £1 every .08 of a second. The quicker the contestants could answer, the more money they would win. In 2001, the starting value was increased to £500 minus £1 for each .04 of a second (£25 per second).
This round was retained in the Mark Curry series, but renamed the "Catchphrase Countdown" due to the show having abandoned pounds in favour of points.
The Mulhern series adopts a similar format to the "Ready Money Round", renaming it as the "Quickfire Round". All catchphrases in this round are worth £500, but no bonus catchphrase is played in this part of the game. The round instead ends straightaway upon the sounding of the time out klaxon.
The player with the most money won the game and played the Super Catchphrase. Both players kept their money. In the Curry series, the player with the most points won £250 but the player who didn't win was given a consolation prize, usually a digital camera.
Super Catchphrase
In the Super Catchphrase, the winning contestant faced a 5 x 5 board of 25 squares, each marked with a letter from A to Y in ascending order. The contestant chose a square and attempted to solve a catchphrase behind it. During the Roy Walker era, the aim was to get five squares in 60 seconds.
In the TVS years, if the contestant got five squares in such a way that they made a row or column (horizontally or vertically) on the board, they would win a prize such as a TV or a microwave oven. However, if they could make a row, column or diagonal through the central "M" square (which Walker often claimed was the most difficult), they would win a holiday somewhere in the world. If they ran out of time, they won a smaller prize (such as £25 in series 1 and from series 2 until 9, a camera or a food processor) for each correct square. However, from series 5 until 9, four or more correct answers awarded a more valuable consolation prize.
When Carlton picked up the show in 1994, the top prize remained a holiday, but the lesser prizes were replaced by cash. Each correct square was worth £50, while any five at random that did not make a row, column or diagonal through the "M" square earned a bonus £50. In early 1998, the amount for a correct square was doubled to £100 and the bonus was also doubled to £100. In late 1998, the bonus was worth £500. In series 10, the star prize was always a holiday around the world, flying to eight different locations. From series 11 onward, the star prize holiday was chosen by one of the contestants at random, using a similar style to the random money selector at the start of each game.
When Nick Weir took over as host in 2000, the format of the super catchphrase changed considerably. Now, in a similar fashion as on Blockbusters, the contestant had to make their way from the left-hand side of the board to the right (in a horizontal line), making adjoining moves and passing on a square meant that they would be blocked and would have to find an alternative path (excluding diagonals). This format was also used in the Mark Curry series. As before, the top prize was a holiday. In Weir's first series in 2000, the holiday randomiser remained, but from series 15 (2001), this was dropped and instead both contestants each nominated a location of their choice to go to if they won, revealed at the beginning of the show. In the Curry daytime series in 2002, this feature was still included but the choice was limited to somewhere in Europe, and these choices were revealed before the second round of the main game. Each square was worth £100 if the contestant was not successful in getting all the way across the board.
In series 10 until 14, a contestant who won the holiday was given extra money to spend, in series 10, it was £1,000 in series 11, it was £2,000, from series 12 to 14, it was £3,000. If the contestant failed to win the super catchphrase, the money that the squares were worth was added to the contestant's money he/she won in the main game.
In the Stephen Mulhern era, there were 15 numbered squares in the form of a pyramid (with 15 at the top) with each row, starting at the bottom, being worth a higher amount of money (£2,500/£5,000/£10,000/£25,000/£50,000). Number 11 in the middle was starred and correctly answering it awarded a bonus prize, which is usually a luxury holiday. Even though this new format means the contestants always win no matter what level of the pyramid they have completed, only two contestants have managed to complete the round successfully, on 9 July 2016 (Adei) and 30 July 2016 (Andrea).
Maps Catchphrase (UK game show)
Production history
Catchphrase was originally made by TVS in association with Action Time at their Maidstone Studios from 1986, produced by Graham C Williams and executive produced by John Kaye Cooper. In 1994, the format was picked up by Carlton Television and fully produced by Action Time Productions, in 1996 (series 11), Catchphrase moved to Carlton's (formerly Central Independent Television) studios in Lenton Lane, Nottingham where it stayed until the show's demise on 19 December 2002.
Roy Walker left the show in 1999 and was replaced by Nick Weir in January 2000, whose first moments as host saw him tripping on the stairs; the next moments were from when the taping resumed a day later, with Weir using a cast and crutches. After three series and two years of presenting, Weir was dismissed due to unpopularity and was replaced by ex-Blue Peter presenter, Mark Curry. This was a move from weekly nighttime to a daytime series with changes such having no audience (using Canned Audience) and by re-using Catchphrases going as far back as the Walker era.
The daytime series ran until the end of 2002, but was typically re-run sporadically afterwards up to at least 2005. A third series (series 17) that Weir recorded in 2001 prior to his departure was originally scrapped from transmission, but later aired over the course of a two-year period from late 2002 until early 2004. These were usually shown in late afternoon/early evening slots on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Catchphrase ended on 23 April 2004 after 18 years due to declining ratings, and many viewers felt that Walker's departure had seen the quality of the show suffer.
On 27 August 2012, a revived pilot was made by STV Productions and Digital Rights Group with new host Stephen Mulhern. The original format remains, although there are now three contestants instead of two, and the show has also been updated with new 3D graphics and a new concluding game.
On 9 October 2012, ITV announced that it had ordered a full series after a successful pilot.
Transmissions
Original
Ratings
Revival
Ratings
Series 5
Series 6
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments