The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 24. Cyberzone (1993)

Virtual reality insanity with Craig Charles

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: Cyberzone;
• Presenter: Craig Charles;
• Made by: Broadsword Productions and BBC North for BBC Two (1993);
• First shown: Monday 4th January 1993.

In 1993, computer gaming was only a few years away from being a mainstream hobby instead of a niche interest. It was seen as something nerds or teenagers did on their Commodore 64s, SEGA Master Systems or Amiga 500s. Other than that, it was Space Invaders on the Atari VCS or down the local amusement arcade.

The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 23. All Clued Up (1988 – 91)

TVS’ top class letters based quiz with an oversized keyboard

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: All Clued Up;
• Presenter: David Hamilton;
• Made by: TVS Television for ITV (1988 – 91);
• First shown: Sunday 17th April 1988.

Twenty years before this show made its debut, ‘Diddy’ David Hamilton was the voice of ABC Television. Up until August 1968, he was a continuity announcer for the aforementioned ITV contractor who had the weekend franchise in Northern England (May 1956 – July 1968). By the 1970s, he was a famous name on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, as well as Thames Television.

The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 22. First Class (1984 – 88)

Computer games without frontiers and spinning discs

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: First Class;
• Presenter: Debbie Greenwood;
• Made by: BBC Scotland for BBC One (1984, 1986 – 88);
• First shown: Wednesday 3rd October 1984 (BBC One Scotland); Wednesday 8th January 1986 (BBC One).

Back in 1984, the BBC liked its iconic 8-bit computer. As well as being the tie-in computer of Making the Most of the Micro, and Micro Live!, the BBC Model B’s graphics was used in title sequences and on-screen graphics. Most notably, the vortex round of The Adventure Game and (before The Broom Cupboard) Children’s BBC’s continuity graphics.

The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 21. Sporting Triangles (1987 – 90)

The forgotten rival to A Question of Sport

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: Sporting Triangles;
• Presenter: Nick Owen (1987 – 89), Andy Craig (1989 – 90);
• Made by: Central Independent Television for ITV (2003);
• First shown: Wednesday 7th January 1987.

1987 was an unforgettable year on both a personal and not-so-personal level for me. On a less personal level, the Shopping scenario as per The Pet Shop Boys’ Actually LP was in full swing with the Tories’ popular capitalism and privatisation in full swing. Competition was everything: British Telecom v. Mercury; GM Buses v. The Bee Line Buzz Company; All Saints v. Duki High; Thatcher v. Kinnock; and A Question of Sport v. Sporting Triangles.

The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 20. I’m The Answer (2003)

Dale Winton’s forgotten ITV quiz show

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: I’m The Answer;
• Presenter: Dale Winton;
• Made by: Unique Television for ITV1 (2003);
• First shown: Sunday 5th October 2003.

Nearly a year into ITV’s formation as a single entity, the unified broadcaster was still reeling from the ITV Digital debacle. It also tried to find its feet in the teatime slot, a position where it had lost some ground to the BBC, Channel Four, and satellite television channels.

The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 19. Dirty Money (2002)

12 Yard’s Share Or Shaft style game show

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: Dirty Money;
• Presenter: Marcus Bentley;
• Made by: 12 Yard for Sky One (2002);
• First shown: Monday 15 April 2002.

In 2002, the internet had yet to make inroads into our viewing habits. With dial-up being the norm for most households, it was known as the World Wide Wait in the UK. We still went to pubs, we discussed our favourite telly programmes by the office water cooler. We got our celebrity gossip from the Daily Mirror‘s 3am column or The Sun‘s Bizarre column. That was shared experience before Facebook entered our lives.

The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 18. Tarby’s Frame Game (1987 – 89)

From golf links to missing word links by Jimmy Tarbuck and friends

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: Tarby’s Frame Game;
• Presenters: Jimmy Tarbuck (“I already told you in the first verse…”) and Sharon Moulden;
• Made by: Yorkshire Television for ITV, 1987 – 89);
• First shown: Sunday 24th May 1987.

35 years ago, Jimmy Tarbuck was almost everywhere on our screens. Sunday nights meant Live From Her Majesty’s or Live From The Piccadilly by LWT. On weeknights it meant Yorkshire Television’s Winner Takes All, which had been on our screens for ten years by then. On F.A. Cup Final Day, he appeared on ITV’s build up to the final tie via World of Sport or the like. He also flogged microwave ovens for the sponsors of the 1983 and 1985 F.A. Cup Final Winners, Manchester United. On Saturday night, there was also his chat show, Tarby and Friends.

The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 17. Hole in the Wall (2008 – 10)

Bring on the wall…

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: Hole in the Wall;
• Presenter: Dale Winton;
• Made by: Talkback Thames for BBC One;
• First shown: Saturday 20th September 2008.

Physical dexterity and making a fool of yourself has been de rigeur in the world of Saturday night television. So much so that The Generation Game was called Fat Ladies’ Embarrassment Game in an End of Part One sketch in 1980.

The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 16. Going For Gold (1987 – 96)

Who Am I…? I’m a quiz that covered 14 European nations that went out on BBC One and Super Channel

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: Going For Gold;
• Presenter: Henry Kelly;
• Made by: Reg Grundy Productions for BBC One and Super Channel (with BBC Elstree, 1990 – 93; then BBC North, New Broadcasting House, Oxford Road, Manchester, 1992 – 96);
• First shown: Monday 12th October 1987.

With the exception of football and song contests, European competitions are a rare beast in TV land. One exception is Jeux Sans Frontiers, the European version of It’s A Knockout (which are domestic heats to the former). The other exception to this rule has an amazing theme tune. Before being noted for the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack and the theme from Backdraft, Hans Zimmer’s best known work was arguably the Going For Gold theme tune.

The Ghost of Quizmas Past: 15. Turnabout (1990 – 96)

Connect 4 in quiz form

Our Clip of Quizmas Past:

• Quiz: Turnabout;
• Presenter: Rob Curling;
• Made by: Turnabout Productions for BBC One (with BBC Elstree, 1990 – 93; then BBC North, New Broadcasting House, Oxford Road, Manchester, 1993 – 96);
• First shown: Monday 26th March 1990.

As we found with Everybody’s Equal, simple formats are easy to understand for telly addicts of all ages. On screen, it makes the game show fun to watch and play along at home.