- This page is about the comedy game show, for the atmospheric phenomenon see Meteor.
Shooting Stars is a UK television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC TWO. Created by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it
is both a parody of the game show format, and an experiment in dadaist television. As
such it is possibly one of the most bizarre programmes ever regularly aired. The first series was broadcast in 1995, and the most recent in 2002.
Format
The basic format of the show is that of a conventional panel game. The hosts
(Reeves and Mortimer) and the two teams of three sit behind desks. The hosts ask questions of the two teams, and points are
awarded for "correct" answers. As is common with panel games, the scoring is largely arbitrary and merely a device to give a
structure to the proceedings. Reeves will almost always perform a "leg rub" in front of a beautiful female guest seated directly
to his right, to indicate his attraction to her.
Rounds include "true or false", the filmclip round, the impressions round, "The Dove from Above", and others. In the
impressions round contestants have to guess what song Vic Reeves is singing "in the club style" - so stylised (or perhaps
drunkenly slurred) as to be incomprehensible. "The Dove from Above" - later replaced by "The Most Wonderful Car In The World" (a
tiny car with buttocks on the bumper) and then "Donald Cox the Sweaty Fox" - is a large and shoddy prop animal suspended above
the contestants merely for the purpose of bearing six key words for further questions.
If a contestant answers a question wrongly, Vic shouts "UVAVU!" and pulls a stupid face. A correct answer causes Vic to say
"ERANU!" and pull another stupid face. Vic often tells a poor joke before this round, followed by silence and a howling wind.
Occasionally, as an act of mercy, Lamarr or Mortimer would sacrifice their reputations and tell the joke, at which point it
becomes exceptionally funny and is almost worshipped by the audience and guests, much to Vic's disgust.
The true purpose of the show is as a vehicle for the surrealist humour of
the hosts, Vic and Bob. Some guests "get it", others do not - in many cases these often provide the best comedy. The title of the
show is a pun on the fact that much of the humour is at the expense of the guest stars.
Participants
There are two teams -Team A and Team B. Each team has a regular team captain - originally, Mark Lamarr and Ulrika Jonsson - and two celebrity
guests. Lamarr left the series in 1997 as he disliked being in too many quiz shows at once,
and was replaced by novelist Will Self when the series returned in 2002. At the same time comedian Johnny Vegas
was brought in as a regular guest on Jonsson's team.
The "score" is kept by George Dawes, a drumming baby played by comedian Matt
Lucas. (Occasionally George's "mother" Marjorie Dawes - also played by Lucas - appears instead. She also appears in Little Britain.)
Questions
Examples of the impossible-to-predict questions (and answers) are:
- True or False: Bill Cosby was the first ever black man. (False, it was actually Sidney Poitier)
- Macaulay Culkin is a child, but can you name an adult? (This was not as easy as it seemed, as the only acceptable answer
was Sarah Ferguson)
- True or false - A bounty bar is the exact same size and weight as a human thumb? (The answer was true, as demonstrated by
Vic)
- Artichoke, Melon, Tanktater, Pomegranate? (The answer was something equally stupid and nonsensical)
- True or False: Inside every cat there is trapped a rabbit, and when a cat says 'miaow', it is actually the rabbit saying 'get
me out'.
- Who would win in a fight between a steel octo-bear and some sort of strange man fungus?
- Name a type of bee that produces milk. (The correct answer was 'boobies')
- A dog has three puppies, but what was the name of the mother? (This trick question recurred in many formats - the name of
the mother is 'What' (see Who's On First?). These sections
usually end with a bemused Vic asking Bob 'heh heh....well...what was it?)
The final game
The winning team ultimately nominates one of its members (usually one of the bewildered guest stars) to perform the final
game, which is generally something completely bizarre and different for each show.
- Jarvis Cocker was given the task to throw mini Baby-Bel cheeses at a
giant blow-up poster of Judy Finnigan, with £5 awarded for each hit to
the eyes, and £10 to the mouth, with the additional proviso that Cocker had "to throw them in the style of a girl".
- Damon Hill was buried in a large tub of mushrooms, and was given the task
of throwing out as many bags of crisps from the container as he could (while the rest of the team and audience left the studio
and the lights turned out, leaving Damon 'looking' at his watch whilst still covered in mushrooms).
- Johnny Vegas had to see how many vacuum attachments he could stick to
his face.
- Ulrika Jonsson had to wipe dandruff from a car windscreen using any
of her four cheeks.
- Mark Lamarr, armed only with a child's plastic shield, was forced to fend
off various stuffed animals, in increasing size, that were swung at him by Vic from the 'Garden of Tanktarter'. The animals
ranged from a dormouse to a grizzly bear.
- Mark Williams was forced to lie on top of a cupboard while Vic and
Bob tried desperately to knock him off by hitting him with brooms and slamming their bodies into the side of the cupboard.
Alternative versions
- Recently, the format has been successfully copied to Danish television channel
TV2 Zulu (with suitable alterations for
Danish cultural consumption) and the show is hosted by Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam, ex-of Pythonesque series Casper &
Mandrilaftalen. Team captains are singer Maria Montell and stand-up comic Mikael Wulff.
- In early 2005, an obvious rip-off of Shooting Stars, called the Mike & Thomas Show, was broadcast on
Dutch television, the most notable difference being that the show was
presented from behind two grand piano's. [1] (http://www.omroep.nl/vara/tv/mtshow/)
External Link
UK Gameshows Page: Shooting Stars (http://www.ukgameshows.com/index.php/Shooting_Stars)
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