Quiz Shows Introduction

What is a quiz show? A quiz show has contestants. The contestants have to use their knowledge to answer questions. There is a winner. They aren’t game shows. Numeracy - elimination

Quiz show or game show? Quiz shows use contestants’ knowledge. The contestants have this knowledge before they go on the show. Game shows use contestants’ skills and abilities, to do something on the show.

Quiz show or game show? Who wants to be a millionaire? QI Deal or No Deal? All Star Mr. and Mrs. Are you smarter than a ten year old? Countdown X Factor Weakest Link

Did you get it right? QUIZ SHOW Millionaire QI Smarter than a ten year old. All Star Mr and Mrs. Weakest Link GAME SHOW Deal or No Deal. X Factor Countdown Can you explain why each one is a quiz show or a game show?

What does a quiz show need? A host Contestants Questions and rules to establish winners and losers A format (the order in which things happen) Something entertaining, so the audience will watch Something unique, to make it different to other quiz shows.

Choose a quiz show you know, or watch an episode. Describe the following – Who is the host? Who are the contestants? What is the set like? What sort of questions are there? What is the format? What makes it entertaining? What makes it unique?

Highbrow or lowbrow? Quiz shows often have different approaches. Some are ‘highbrow.’ They expect contestants to have advanced knowledge, that you might gain through a lot of study or university education. Some are ‘lowbrow,’ or ‘popular,’ and contestants need knowledge that you might gain in everyday life, often including knowledge about TV shows, sports, or celebrities. Some shows are in between!

Put these in order… Put these shows in order from highbrow (number 1) to lowbrow (number 6). They think it’s all over… QI Mastermind University Challenge Millionaire All Star Mr and Mrs Weakest link

Audience Quiz shows, like any other TV or radio show, are aimed at a specific group of people. Not everyone likes the same type of thing, so programme makers try to make their programme suit a smaller group of people – the target audience. The programme could be aimed at a certain age group: children, teenagers, young people, middle aged people, the elderly. Or it might be aimed at a type of person: football fans, the family, students, young men and so on.

What sort of audience are you? Profile yourself: Age; Gender: Interests: Are there any quiz shows aimed at you, or people like you?

Who do you think is the target audience for these shows? Who Wants to be a Millionaire? QI Are you smarter than a ten year old? All Star Mr and Mrs The Weakest Link Mastermind Never Mind the Buzzcocks University Challenge

Why do people like quiz shows? Blumler and Katz suggested people use the media to satisfy their needs. This is called The Four Needs theory. It has four main parts – Escape and diversion from everyday life Surveillance and information Personal relationships Personal identity

The Four Needs 1.Quizzes provide an escape from everyday life; the audience get involved and try to guess the answers, they get carried away with the drama and the excitement and forget about their worries for a while. 2. Surveillance: Quizzes provide information about the world; the audience can learn things, and find out the answers to questions.

The Four Needs 3. Personal relationships: the audience can chat about the questions and the quiz; they can compete or work together; it provides an opportunity for social interaction. 4. Personal identity: audience members can compare themselves with the contestants and see how their knowledge or memory compares; they can imagine they are the contestant.

Why do you watch quiz shows? Decide which of Blumler and Katz’s Four Needs you most want to satisfy when you watch quizzes, or other kinds of TV. Escape / diversion from everyday life Surveillance and information Personal relationships Personal identity

Representation The choice of host is very important for quiz shows. The host is often the link between shows, and the person the audience most closely identifies with and recognises. The contestants change from week-to-week but the host usually stays the same. Hosts are often chosen because they are already famous. Each host will convey certain ideas to the audience and attract a certain group of people to watch the show.

Hosts Choose three adjectives to describe each of these people, to sum up their appeal. Steven Fry – clever, witty, upper-class. Fern Britten – Fern Cotton - Chris Tarrant – Chris Moyles - Jimmy Carr –

Hybrid Genres A lot of shows are hybrids – a mixture of different types or genres. This can make shows more unique or more entertaining. Shows can mix elements of quiz and game shows, or quiz and comedy, or quiz and reality TV, or quiz and…just about anything!

What are these shows hybrids of? Never Mind the Buzzcocks = Quiz show (questions and answers about song lyrics etc) + game show (performing songs) + comedy (the host’s script, comedians on the panel) + music (knowledge of bands, musicians on the panel, music played) 8 out of 10 cats Have I Got News For You

Task Choose a hybrid show you know well. Describe what different elements it has, and explain how each one links to a different genre.

Summary Quiz shows are different to game shows. Quiz shows can be highbrow or popular. Each host has a different appeal to the target audience. Each quiz show appeals to different target audiences. The audience ‘use’ quiz shows to satisfy different needs. Quiz shows can be hybrids, using aspects of other genres and types of programme.