Challenge TV launched on Freeview!

I couldn't agree with you more, I was a regular in 1997 (check out the uploads on my YouTube channel, that says it all) and since Sky have been upping the content it's probably one of my most watched channels, much to the annoyance of my girlfriend.

Saw the end of 321 yesterday and good god it hasn't aged well at all, it shows why Challenge must keep a mix of old and modern shows (even if they're rubbish) to keep it fresh. I know some people are dying to see 1980's episodes of Catchphrase and Family Fortunes again, but nostalga aside these shows don't date very well, like 321 and seem slow by today's standards.

In the early days Challenge seemed to have shown pretty much all of the big gameshows, but at the time and still now I don't get why they've never repeated Countdown, or maybe that's just me.

And that not going to happen, Alas Catchphrase 1980's All clued up, etc are all in the hands of evil Disney, after there brought over Family channel.

THIS IS WHERE the problem started: Flextech brought out the rest of IFE share in 1996, there brought over Maidstone, Sky slot, BUT NOT the programmes Archive. Fair enough has it also held MTM etc. But I dont understand why there did not buy the UK programmes from TVS archive, that would have made since.




Same reason why DOND is not on Challenge, Ch4 does not want to dilute the brand

What 'O' is the generic word for any living animal or plant, including bacteria and viruses?

It was the orgasm/organism contestant on Blockbusters today. I'm sure he is pleased this is being shown again. The famous incident didn't happen on today's episode, (both the contestant and Holness were wearing different clothes to the ones worn in the famous clip, so it wasn't meant to be in the episode today either) I imagine it will happen in one of the episodes tomorrow.

I'm assuming that the 'outtake' did actually make it in to the show?

Looks like the crystal maze is on the ed tudor pole era, I do feel sorry for ed, he had a raw deal when he started in his first every episode, with Richard, mumsey and the computer in future zone all but gone It took him time to find his feet, starting with a christmas kids special didn't help as there was no atmosphere or interaction really with the audience or anyone in each zone. I think this definitely put me off watching it but unlike others I gave him the benefit of doubt and watched series 5 ep 1 it does start off slow but eventually elements are bought in for ed to interact with the viwers example in the ocean zone and the introduction of Barbara In the future zone.
Maybe a bit more interaction might have given him the same popularity as Richard with more banter and stories and interaction,
Richard was at his best in series 4 I think.

Really? I feel Richard seems a little downbeat in series 4 TBH, not really that enthusiastic in some episodes, probably knowing that this would be his final series and he is just going through the motions...

This is the 2nd time that Challenge have repeated all series of The Crystal Maze with Ed's episodes only shown a few mths ago. Will they replay it again so soon or put something equally as epic in its place once Ed bids farewell again in a few weeks time???

He works on Gala TV.

I often Google contestants who have been on shows like The Crystal Maze to see if they are still around.

Sadly a gentleman who featured on a episode of Gladiators shown today was murdered in the United States not long back.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-12414122

This question was edited out of the programme today and we heard Bob Holness ask another 'O' question instead (which the orgasm chap got correct).

The quality of the editing, you wouldn't even know the question was missing if you weren't familiar with the outtake, makes me think that this was probably edited by someone before it got to Challenge. Maybe it was edited by Central in the early 90s and this question was never included in the actual broadcast version of the programme.

It does raise some questions about the game though. When the first chap got the question wrong, it should have been passed over to the 2 players and if they didn't know the answer to "What 'O' is the generic word for any living animal or plant, including bacteria and viruses?" before, I'm sure they must have guessed when the Chesney Hawkes look-a-like said "orgasm".

I can only guess that the question was declared null and void at the time and they did a retake which is what we saw today.

Also of note, there were two 'O' questions on the gameboard in question. Not the only time this has happened, but it is quite rare.



Do contestants usually get a repeat fee? I assume not, it would make repeating Blockbusters very expensive and an administrative nightmare. How did this fella manage it? Is Bob Holness talking out of his backside?

It reminds me of the famous 'wan***s' outtake from Countdown. How was that episode broadcast? Were the contestants forced to declare other words or did they redo the whole round including choosing different letters?

I don't believe there are repeat fee for gameshows, I believe the fee is only for the Blooper/cock up shows

Contestants don't get fees at all in the UK. You may get all travel and accommodation paid, and there's usually someone on the production team with petty cash to reimburse you for taxis and food and that kind of thing.

But no fees, never mind repeat fees.

In the States you are paid for your appearance (hence Weakest Link USA's different catchphrase - "you just go away", as opposed to "you leave with nothing").

The single payment however is a release for the rights in perpetuity, meaning you don't get paid again when the show is rerun, or even if it goes into syndication around the globe.

I was watching Gladiators today and noticed the Challenge DOG was missing yet it was present on the programme beofre it (Blockbusters) .

Perhaps they're adopting the current Sky house policy of only having the DOG for a few seconds.