Boggen's Advent Calender (Day 14 and 15) - And Our Survey Said... Game Shows at Christmas

What says Christmas more then giving away prizes? The television staple of game shows, always appear in the festive schedules and nowadays thanks to channels like Challenge we can see Christmas specials from the past. Though where now game shows used to the domain of the general public during the rest of the year, where mostly in prime time now the celebrities appear the most on them.

But back in the time before digital television and audiences in there many millions, come the festive season with the tinsel and turkey, celebrities lined up to have a go at what mere mortals would do. Though one of the most unfathomable game shows being 3-2-1, they first put the celebrities to the test in 1978. Well, actually 1979. But wait there's a reason for this, Yorkshire Television who made the programme were actually on strike over the Christmas period of 1978 and as such they could not broadcast it either leading to the Christmas Edition finally going out on the 27th of January. 

Though that's where we leave that edition, as since 1979 it has not been seen. But on the 23rd of December, Challenge TV are re-showing it again. All we know is that Jack Douglas appears with Rusty Goffe and three couples are Mike Channon teaming up with the then England women's cricket captain Rachel Heyhoe Flint, Clodagh Rodgers with Terry Wogan and Pat Coombs with Julian Orchard. Apart from that I don't even know what happens, so even it will come as a surprise to me.

Anyway for the next 3-2-1 celebrity special, we move on to 1987 with the contestants all coming from soap operas. Well, ITV and Channel 4 soaps anyway, the Skilbecks of Emmerdale Farm, the Duckworths of Coronation Street and the Grants of Brookside. Along the way, guest santas popped up to deliver the clues with former jockey Bob Champion and former swimmer Sharon Davies amongst them. Though is also notable for an appearance by voice-over man and continuity announcer John Benson at the end with the rest of the assembled cast.

There are stranger game shows though, how about Big Break? The show that brought snooker to the game show format, they were always quick to do something for Christmas. however how about the likes of Steve Davis set against the story of Alice in Wonderland? It happened in 1994, Mr Davis were joined by Marti Caine as the Queen of Hearts, Zoe Ball as Alice and Craig Charles as the Mad Hatter. Though what fellow snooker players John Parrott and Terry Griffiths thought of this is anyone's guess.

However this isn't the strangest edition, the next year they did a panto themed edition with Wendy Richard, Frank Carson and Diane Louise-Jordan as the guests and potting the balls were Ray Reardon, Jimmy White and Peter Ebdon. Cue lots of jokes about Cinderella going to the ball etc.

So when the celebrities are allowed to play anything can happen and it usually does.

A little Christmas present for you all... A bit of That's My Dog...

Hello and Merry Christmas to you all, here as a Christmas Present to you is an as yet unpublished bit of TV Nostalgia from the feature I write for... My take on that cream of game shows... That's My Dog... Be sure to look back in the next couple of days when I look at Eric Sykes and his silent films...

Some shows can claim to be award winners, while others cannot but for the lack of them, they can be a lot of fun. That's My Dog can be said to be the latter, a game show where the main contestants were canine! Where Norwich was famous for Sale of the Century, Plymouth was famous for this.

Backed up by their owners, they would both try and eventually win a top prize of £500 in the end game where the dog sniff out the money which had been covered in their owners own scent. Before that, the canines would go through a maze to see who did it in the quickest time to gain points as well as the human owners answering doggy based general knowledge questions both about breeds and when the show's vet came on about medical questions on their pet.

University Challenge it may not have been, but it amused viewers for almost five years between 1984 and 1988 as ex-New Faces host Derek Hobson and his hostess or as the programme called her a 'Kennelmistress'. The first series, had the family's surnames they had the dog's name on the front of their podiums, any viewer tuning in might have been confused as to why a family's surname would be called 'Rex' and that was half the fun of this strange, confusing show. That's My Dog, a show ready to roll over and have its belly tickled!

TV Nostalgia - Chain Letters

Here is the latest TV nostalgia column printed in the Portsmouth News on Saturday 16th June on Chain Letters... Enjoy!

"Change a letter, do it again and that's how you play Chain Letters.." An easy enough explaination of a gameshow, but this daytime show was a lot more then that. First broadcast in 1987 with Jeremy Beadle as host, it seemed like a cut price version of the letters round in Countdown.

Contestants were individually given words, and they must change one letter at a time to make new words. Though its never what it seems, from a simple four letter word, they would usual change it to what viewer at home was thinking about, usually leading to them using a different kind of four letter word instead!

Various hosts each had a go at presenting duties. From Jeremy's replacement, Andrew O'Connor to Dave or as he was billed back in 1997, David Spikey. Affable and genial, seem the words to describe him , at times though it did seem like he looked like he was caught in headlights! But he had needn't have worried as one of his main writers on the show was none other then a pre-Phoenix Nights Peter Kay, supplying the jokes for him. Though some good must have come out of it for Spikey and Kay, as they employed former host and warm up man for the show Ted Robbins and Spikey, made that version of himself into the character Jerry 'The Saint' Sinclair. 

Now who said that presenting gameshow wasn't good for the career, especially when you can get great material for future projects from them!