Sunday, January 8, 2017

Different, Yet The Same Week: Blankety Blank (1979)

On a recommendation from contributor Mike Doran, we close "Different, Yet The Same Week" with the BBC version of Blankety Blank, which launched in 1979, right around this time of year, in fact, and outlasted its Australian & American forebears, as the first series ended in 1990.

Again, the series is modeled after the 1973-82 Match Game, but with the format tweaked ever so slightly. You'll see what I mean. Now, let's meet host Terry Wogan and the panel.....



Wogan lasted six "series", and was succeeded by Les Dawson. A subsequent revival helmed by Lily Savage bowed in 1997, but didn't have the staying power. They are, however, attempting another relaunch, perhaps emboldened by the return of Match to American screens last summer, as a Christmas special aired last month. Wogan, however, is no longer with us.

Rating: A-.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It's always nice to be acknowledged, so thanks for that.

Just for fun, though, I wish you'd put up one of the Blankety Blank shows with Les Dawson as host. You want to talk about the least likely game show host ever ...

Also, for the record, just before his passing last year, the depicted host became Sir Terry Wogan.

You know, you can get a whole blog out of the celebrities who appear on British game shows - I could guarantee that Yanks like us wouldn't know who any of them are (or were), but all of them had followings in the UK, for varied reasons.
(Bearing in mind that any British visitors to blogs like this would have the same problem with US game show regulars ...)

hobbyfan said...

That's something to consider down the line.