Now You See It
Contents |
Host
Johnny Beattie
Broadcast
Scottish Television (regional), 1980?
Scottish Television for ITV, 1981?-6?
Kids version: STV, late 80s?
Synopsis
Quite enoyable word game which migrated south of the Border after a few successful seasons in Celticland. Four players answered questions which were hidden in four lines of letters which contain a number of overlapping words, like so:
SCOTLANDISCOVERYEAR
The game board was electronic and not dissimilar to Mr Babbage of Family Fortunes fame. There was a grid of numbers around the outside so that you could give the co-ordinate of the correct answer.
You had to identify the numbered square of the first letter and name the answer. For example, if the question asked "Who won the 2006 Tour de France?" you might say "Line 2, position 5, LANDIS". The score for each question was the co-ordinates multiplied, so in this example you'd score 2 x 5 = 10 points.
In part 2, the top three players went on to play a cryptic round, the winner being the first to score four correct answers. The top two players went on to Round 3, which - imaginitively enough - was exactly the same as Round 1.
At the end, everybody was presented on camera with their engraved crystal decanter and four glasses; the top three were given their additional winnings in cash (£100 for first place). As soon as the credits had rolled, the contestants had to hand back the cash and wait for a cheque in the post!
Inventor
Based on a Talbot Television format.
Quite a few years later, it returned in a kids version for Scottish TV hosted by Fred MacAulay. The board was replaced by computer graphics.
