What constitutes a quiz show? – Deal or No Deal is a game show as is The National Lottery Games like Winning Streak where luck plays a major role. Quiz shows are where questions and their answers whether general knowledge or specialized decides the winner.
In 2013 the British channels BBC, ITV and Channel 4 broadcast numerous quiz formats especially on their afternoon schedules. RTE do not broadcast any except for quizes aimed at the youth audience. TV3 broadcast Junior Mastermind, while TG4 broadcasts Ceist GAA. None of these shows offer major cash prizes for successful contestants.
RTE began its broadcasts in 1962 and in the more than fifty years since Irish TV has broadcast a wide range of quiz shows.
QUIZ SHOW TITLEBROADCAST TIME INFORMATIONPRESENTER/HOSTBROADCASTER
COUNTY QUIZ
7.15 p.m. Tuesday July 10th 1962
Donagh McDonagh
RTE
County Quiz was a general knowledge show that pitted County teams against each other attempting to answer questions on each others counties. A newspaper reviewer reported it as ‘ a tedious 45 minutes’.
JACKPOT
6 January 1962 - 9 June 1965
Gay Byrne / Terry Wogan /Suzanne MacDougalL
RTE
Within days of going on air RTE broadcast its first quiz show 'Jackpot'. The original host was Gay Byrne who was also presenting The Late Late Show. Gay left RTE to try his luck in the UK and was replaced by Terry Wogan. As with all early quiz and game shows the presenter was accompanied by a hostess usually a model. Terry was assisted by Suzanne McDougall.
See also Jackpot 1986
WHAT'S WRONG
1963
Unknown Presenter / Adrienne Ring
RTE
Participants had to find the errors in a number of visual presentations
TAKE MY WORD
Al Byrne (Brother of Gay Byrne)
January 2nd 1964 - 1965
RTE
Take My Word' was essentially a charades-style quiz show featuring personalities from Irish theatre on opposing teams.
QUICKSILVER
1965 - 1981
Bunny Carr
RTE
Quicksilver was the longest running quiz show in RTE history. It was developed by its host Bunny Carr. The show gave rise to the catchphrase ‘stop the lights’. The contestants came from the studio audience as their ticket was picked out of a drum. Blue tickets for the men and pink tickets for the ladies. Contestants would have to answer questions it win cash prizes starting at two pence and rising to five pounds. They could pass on a question and stop the timing lights diming on the game board by stopping the lights. There were thirty lights on the board and the quicker they answered the question that more lights left still on for the next question. If they were playing for 10p and there were 18 lights left on that meant that they had won 18 x 10p, one pound eighty. Often the nerves or panic would set in an they would leave with that amount without going any further.
To assist the often shy contestants Norman Medcalfe would sit at the piano and offer musical clues. Sometimes the musical clues were so obscure that even host Bunny Carr did not understand them.
MARK TIME
1966 – 1967
Chris Curran
RTE
An early schools quiz show.
CEIM AR AGHAIDH
Saturday nights 8pm 1967
Liam Devally
RTE
CEIST AGAM ORT
1968 March 1969 7.25pm 30 minutes
Liam Devally / Mary Finan
RTE
Devally was a popular tenor singer during the 1960s and is currently a Circuit Court judge in Dublin. Mary Finan is now a businesswoman in the area of public relations
MATCH PLAY
September 26th 1968 - ?
Malcolm Kellard
BBC NI & RTE
This quiz show featured golf clubs North & South of the border with two club players assisted by a local celebrity.
CROSS COUNTRY QUIZ
Peter Murphy 1969 - 1973
Liam Devally
Jim Sherwin
RTE
'Cross Country Quiz' was a weekly quiz programme, which featured competing Macra na Feirme clubs from around Ireland. Peter Murphy set the questions and presented the programme for the first three-and-a-half years of its run. He was replaced as host by Liam Devally but Peter continued to set and adjudicate on the questions. Towards the end of the series run it was presented by sports commentator Jim Sherwin.
EYE CUE
1969 (One Season)
Brendan Balfe & Mary Casey
Created by John Murphy
'Eye-Cue' was a inter-county television quiz series with an emphasis on visual questions, in 1969.
END OF PART ONE
i was a contestant on rte 2 s off the beat,which was hosted by brendan balfe. i was on frank hall s team against hugh leonard s team. i came second and won £80. that was in 1980/1981
ReplyDeleteI have a vague recollection of my father appearing on an RTE Quiz Show. The name I have in my head is "Xs and Os" or "Noughts ad Crosses" but it may have had another name. Anyone got any ideas.
ReplyDelete