Come On Down
They're cheap, they're cheerful, and they fill up hours of broadcasting time. You find them on the radio, on TV... even on the Internet. You can win loads of money... or nothing at all. The Quiz show has been with us since the twenties... and it's not likely to go away now.
The Early Days
The earliest quiz show that I could track down started in 1926 on the BBC's original 2LO radio station, and was called The Query Programme. It has to be said that this was not the most exciting quiz programme in the history of broadcasting. Unbilled artistes had to be listed in correct Radio Times (the BBC's listings magazine) order. Perhaps not surprisingly, the show only lasted for eight editions.
It wasn't until 1937 that the BBC tried any more experiments with quizzes, when Puzzle Corner was broadcast. Suddenly, the potential for entertainment became obvious, and commercial and state radio stations joined in the quiz game.
In America, popular shows included Take It or Leave It, where the prize money was doubled until a massive total of 64 dollars was reached. When the show later transferred to television the amount became 64 THOUSAND dollars. Other quizzes included Get Rich Quick, 20 Questions, and Double or Nothing.
Some of the shows transferred across the Atlantic to Britain (and via the World or Empire Services, to the rest of the world). Twenty Questions (based on the old party game of "Animal, Vegetable or Mineral") began 52 years ago in March 1947, with Canadian sports commentator Stewart Macpherson in charge. Nearly thirty years later, the show unveiled its last mystery object, in July 1976 - not a bad outing for what was only ever billed as a "radio parlour game."
A Star Is Born
Quiz shows were one of the first places to produce stars in the world of broadcasting. Up until they began, the stars of radio were usually imported ready made from other spheres of entertainment. But quiz shows demanded something extra from a host - they had to be able to ad-lib. Sometimes, they had to do nothing BUT ad-lib. Perhaps the most popular British radio personality of all time was a former Yorkshire builder, Wilfred Pickles. He was the first newsreader on BBC radio to have a regional accent. But it was the quiz show Have A Go which turned Pickles into a major star. The simple format - a member of the public is brought up to the microphone for a long interview and a short quiz - was made to look far easier than it actually was by Pickles,
Latest Articles