That'll Test 'Em
Contents |
Host
Co-host
Matron: Pat Crowe
Language teacher: Simon Warr
Broadcast
Twenty Twenty Television for More4, 4 April to 2 May 2006 (5 programmes)
Synopsis
Quiz show extending the brand of Channel 4's docu-reali-edu-tainment thing, That'll Teach 'Em. A team of three kids take on their parents in a test of knowledge, comprehension and who's the best at stuff. Each round is based on a particular subject of the school curriculum (mostly with some sort of "practical" element to them), one involves a teacher from the C4 show coming in to ask questions (lest we forget why this spin-off exists), and the final round tests the teams on their memory of specific facts which have been seamlessly woven into the chairman's script during the course of the show.
Despite being a spin-off from That'll Teach 'Em, using students and teachers from the C4 show, it could easily work as a standalone series. Jeremy Hardy has just the right sort of deadpan humour to pull off the questionmaster/headmaster role, and a good time is had by all. Only one thing really gives the game away that this show isn't put together by a traditional Light Entertainment company - the woefully unbalanced scoring system (e.g. 1 point per answer in round 1, 5 points for a 50/50 guess in round 2...)
Trivia
Curiously, it was screened at exactly the same time as a very similar show: School's Out.
To strengthen the link to That'll Teach 'Em, the Matron from the series was wheeled in to do the scores. Also, Mr Warr, the languages teacher from series 1 and 3, asked the teams to spot phrases that he'd read out in alien tongues.
