Weaver's Week 2001-02-20
20th February 2001
Iain Weaver reviews the latest happenings in UK Game Show Land.
Those of you relying on the Tuesday repeat of The Mole need to know that international football means it moves to *Monday* at 7 this week. That starts a Mighty Monday of quiz and game shows. At 8, the next episode of...
The chance of an all Yorkshire final is possible, with Hull taking its place in QF3 alongside Sheffield Hallam today. But with colleges in QF1, 2 and 3, it's looking like Oxford should have at least one rep in the final.
QF1: University Oxford, the oldest institute (founded 1189) takes on Sheffield Hallam, founded as a polytechnic in the 60s, becoming a university in 1992.
It was as one-sided as they come in the first half. Then Sheffield came back a bit, Univ got one wrong, and the sides were level. But Univ pulls away, thanks to their intimate knowledge of the Monopoly board, and the game is won.
Box Scores - Personal: Score +10 for a correct starter, -5 for an incorrect interruption. +1 for a correct bonus for each team member, +2 for the person who got the original starter.
Format: Person (Starters) Total eg Paxman (55) 76
Team: +10 starter, -5 interruption, +5 bonus.
UNIVERSITY (29 bonuses)
Callaghan (15) 47
Gunatillake (85) 131
Gerrard (20) 54
Graham (20) 53
SHEFFIELD HALLAM (14 bonuses)
Berry (20) 36
Wickert (10) 26
Picalli (40) 61
Boyce (20) 37
UO 60 60 60 105 = 285
SH 35 35 75 15 = 160
Then, at 8:30, we move to BBC ONE for...
Will Annie be trying to ape Chris Tarrant on the fast fading Millionaire? This from last week was good: "It *is* difficult if you don't know the answers."
This, at the end of the show, was impossibly weak: "Coming up next on BBC ONE, [whatever the next show was]."
But that's in the future, this is...
Aggregating the two weekly shows is giving ratings around 2 million. That's not much, but it's the biggest rating *ever* for a series (as opposed to film or sport) in Channel 5's four year history. And it's enough to star t up the process leading to The Mole II. Watch out for adverts for fake game shows in the press over the coming months.
Week Seven, and the Famous Four: Zi Khan, 32, double-crossing his speciality, Doncaster Jennifer Waller, 37, like banging your head against a brick wall, Darlington David Buxton, 35, the world's worst bad cop, and we love him for it, London Sara Lee, 24, squeals louder than something squealing loudly, Droitwich
And so to this week's events... After a fallow day (after the night before) the four gather on the seafront. Glen is looking for a volunteer. Someone who will blend into any crowd. Mrs Curly (Jennifer) is volunteered.
Challenge 16: Pictures of experts in bowls, fencing, jetskiing. Each contestant picks an expert and a sport to challenge them at.
David goes jetskiing against Marcia. Sara picks Jackson, quite a young hunk. No-one is surprised. They will go bowling. Which leaves Zi fencing against John.
If the opponents have chosen well, they play against someone who knows nothing about their chosen sport. If not, it's challenger against champion. Two must win to pick £5000 for the team. Cue footage of the contestants in training. Good to watch, and gives me a break :)
David on his jetski: it's a time trial over the same course. Marcia, the champion at something, goes first. She's competent, but that could just be in the editing. 36 seconds. At the fencing, Zi takes on John in a dual to 15 points. John gets to a 3- 0 lead, but is pegged back to 3-3.
Sara plays the best of three bowls ends against Jackson. First shot is too heavy, just like her putting. But she wins a loose end to go 1-0 up. David gets hit by a wave, misses a buoy, and has to turn back. 39 seconds. His challenge is lost. "Good experience." Zi is confident, but trailing badly.
Jackson has the final bowl in end two, but it goes long. 2-0 to Sara, her challenge is won, and it's all down to Zi.
14-11 down, Zi loses. "Maybe he was lucky... maybe he was holding back." And the challenge is lost.
Jackson was the jetskiier, beaten by Sara. David "unluckily" (according to him) lost to Marcia, that top fencer, but she does jetski as a hobby. Which means Zi lost to a bowler. Who had never fenced. Well done, everybody. Now, can Jennifer blend into a crowd, in...
Challenge 17. Jennifer is somewhere in St Helier on a Saturday afternoon. Two hunters will be on the roof, the other on the ground. Catch her in ten minutes, win £5,000. Fail, Jennifer gets a pass to next week's final.
Zi has a radio, the others have cameras to control. Sara spots someone looking like Charlie Chaplin. It's not Jen, coz it's a him. Some kids have spotted the cameras. Jen's not on a unicycle, but she could be just by that. Maybe not. Five minutes. Sara's spotted a woman holding a child, but it's not her. Who's juggling? She's moved. Not Jen. David and Sara are having a nightmare! Two minutes to go, Zi gets out of the van. Zi's now out of contact. He's guessing in the last minute. Needle, haystack, anyone? Game over.
Jen is in a short grey wig, dark glasses and jacket, but we didn't see David or Sara pick her out until time was over.
In the diaries, Sara is depressed that David lost. David is more disappointed in his loss, but knows Zi is awfully quiet about his.
Finding Jen in a crowd? Not a chance. She cut off the length of her hair to fit under the wig, and Zi got very hacked off. Zi is b*g*ered that he's the only surviving contestant who hasn't been offered a pass, and takes it out on David and Sara. (Zi is evidently forgetting the night on the island, when he could have fought David and Sara for the components of the mobile phone.) He reckons he can't win, and would happily take a flight home. David spots people are getting cranky. Sara's going back to Zi as the mole, based on the anger. My nomination remains Jen.
Challenge 18: A stretch limo takes the four to a silver service lunch. £15,000 is in the offing, but not till after lunch. Let's get our priorities sorted here!
Then to the roulette wheel. Four envelopes. Personal challenges. Red is harder than black. One relates to painting in (or as) a nude. One to piercing. One to shaving or dying hair. One to do all three.
Zi gets first pick. The red envelope. Be painted in / a nude. It's black. Paint a nude.
Jen goes next. She's not getting her head shaved. Green. She's... having something done to her hair... Black. Dye it.
David, blue envelope. The triple header. He'll have his hair shaved. And his ear pierced. *And* be painted as a nude. Result!
Which leaves Sara with the yellow envelope, and her piercing will be ... red. In her nose or eyebrow. She's had it done before!
Sara and Jen got their heads together, it later emerges, and would have declined the triple-header on sight. Jen thought the game was "sick," and the dye will be a nice peroxide blonde. She can always get it changed back when she gets home.
Zi is getting on with his artwork already. Not doing very *well*, but he's trying.
Sara has gone to the piercing studio early, and looked at the guy doing the business. Another hunk. Does Sara collect these, or something? David calls his other half, and backs out. It would spoil his business too much. Jennifer is resigned to her fate, and reading fashion mags. Zi is finding it a new experience. He's never had a live model before.
[Interesting to note that 5 has not fuzzed out the model as they did on Fort Boyard.]
Jen has a cut, blowdry, the colour doesn't quite take, but she's pulled through. Sara has blood down the back of her throat, a *very* pleased mother, and a nice nose ring. "It's not very attractive, no good at pulling the men. Not that I was anyway," Sara comments. She reckons no-one else has come through. Zi reckons he's not the greatest artist. Not as bad as me!
Back to the posh hotel, and David comes down to the de-brief. With hair. Sara comes sweeping down the stairs, with nose ring. "I look like a bull." Don't go to Spain, advises Glen. She might show up the contestants on the US edition. Zi has a picture. Don't all laugh at once, he says. They do. Jennifer has her - rather fetching! - new look. Not the most radical change in history, but it's been done.
The challenge is a success, bringing the total to £100,000. But someone is about to leave with nothing.
Jennifer claims she's been given a pass to be a loser or a winner. *Or the mole*, you dope! She plumps for Zi, he's underperforming. As he has been for the past five episodes.
+ Zi - David, excuses to not get his head shaved, and quitting the interrogation. It's not manly. [Not David, not Sara] + Jennifer - Not playing [Zi, Zi, Zi, Zi, Zi] + David - Zi, still. There are clues being missed in Glen's introductions, after the hostage fiasco. David says he'll win. [Zi, Zi, Zi] + Sara - David, Zi's temper is natural. [Zi, Zi, David]
David should be safe, logic eliminated him as the mole in week 3. Sara... holds hands with Zi and Jen next to her... you have to leave us.
MOLE HUNT NOTES
Boo. There's no justice in this game, as the MVP of the team leaves a week early.
Very few clues in this week's episode, perhaps David wasn't as good with the waves as he could have been, but he could easily have caught an unlucky breaker. Zi may have had Hobson's choice of sport.
Jennifer not playing to be caught in the street? The pass would be useful, but a genuine contestant might well have gone for the £5000 and reduce the suspicion.
Absolutely no new clues from the final challenge; Sara does what she has to, Jen bleats but does it, David plays sensible, Zi does what he likes.
So, with my bet for the series win falling at the final fence, what does next week hold? Jennifer is the mole, I'm sure of that. David looks set to vote for Zi, Zi has changed his vote every week, but not yet voted for Jennifer. No-one has. Next week is the time to suss her out.
