Bullseye

[Sparky]

Apr 12, 2020 8:32:14 GMT Three Litre said:

Apr 11, 2020 18:56:45 GMT Arthur Pringle said:

One thing that stands out about Bullseye in comparison with quiz shows today is how different the contestants are. Today contestants on The Chase & Pointless are fairly animated & upbeat, in complete contrast to the mostly reserved Bullseye contestants. The rise of reality tv & stardom for 'ordinary' people has changed the way the public behaves.

Being a darts show you got predominantly working class contestants & people who probably wouldn't apply to go on 'Family Fortunes' or 'Play Your Cards Right'. Contestants on BBC quiz shows like 'Blankety Blank' tended to be less rough, no blokes from Sunderland with tattoos on their forearms   & no women who told stories about punching people in the face.

You're right AP, people behave quite differently than when we were kids, in many ways.

Certainly on tv the participants want more involvement and aren't as deferential to the show stars and that's the same in the wider world as well.

I might start being rude to the guv and see what happens!

Indeed, though another major factor in todays Gasmeshow is the Producer.

It is they, along with their assistants who dig through all of the applications, sit through auditions and pick who will "make good tv" and if they fit in with the format of the show - look the part if you like.

There is a hell of a lot of this these days - compared to years back.

I always found BBC produced game shows a bit 'middle class' - besides, they had to be more restrained and "proper" as it was the BBC, and our licence fee they were spending to make it and on prizes. (It's why BBC shows never had big prizes - there was, possibly still is a cap on it).

[Arthur Pringle]

Yes it doesn't seem likely that Bullseye contestants went through any audition process   Of course at least one of the pair had to be fairly good dart players so their personality or looks wasn't much of a consideration anyway.

The Dave Sparkey re-boot of Bullseye was terrible partly because it's obvious by the low scores they got that none of the contestants are dart players. 

[Sparky]

Apr 12, 2020 14:18:07 GMT Arthur Pringle said:

Yes it doesn't seem likely that Bullseye contestants went through any audition process   Of course at least one of the pair had to be fairly good dart players so their personality or looks wasn't much of a consideration anyway.

The Dave Sparkey re-boot of Bullseye was terrible partly because it's obvious by the low scores they got that none of the contestants are dart players. 

Yes, the Spikey reboot keeps popping up on Challenge.

I never really liked it, as the new format seemed to take the p*** out of the whole thing.

Also - it was made in a much larger studio, so it was all a bit more spread out, and their being too much space.

In the original, the sets were closer together, so it felt a bit more "cosy" and warm.

The reboot seemed a like it was shot in a large cavernous wherehouse.

I think that may have been made at Maidstone Studios or one of the larger (old) Granada studios.

It certainly wasn't Birmingham or Nottingham!

[Arthur Pringle]

I've had a look at wikipedia, it says the Spikey version was recorded at Yorkshire TV's Leeds studio & that Spikey was a contestant on the original show, though I've watched many of the repeats on Challenge & haven't seen him.

[Sparky]

Apr 12, 2020 17:10:52 GMT Arthur Pringle said:

I've had a look at wikipedia, it says the Spikey version was recorded at Yorkshire TV's Leeds studio & that Spikey was a contestant on the original show, though I've watched many of the repeats on Challenge & haven't seen him.

I've never seen Spikey on the original Bullseye.

Sure he wasn't on as a "Celeb Dart Player" throwing for the Bendy Bully?

Being recorded at YTV makes sense, as around that time the studio was "mothballed" by ITV (their way of saying 'closed').

They moved Countdown over to Manchester, and a lot of staff got laid off.

When "Price it Right" returned with Brucie, that was recorded at YTV too.

ITV rented the studio space out for a little while; "League of Gentlemen" interiors were done there.

The local news moved back in a few years back and Emmerdale "interiors" are now back in there (having moved out of the old trouser factory across the road).

Not been up for a while.

When "Bully" began in the late summer of 1981, it was a cheap & cheerful ratings filler - as ATV needed something to fill a gap in the schedule.

The first recorded programme was never aired, but scrapped as it was that bad.

Jim Bowen even said himself, that episode set the TV industry back about 30 years.

[Del Boy]

I've not seen this reboot either.  The format is a winner if you ask me. I reckon it could score a ratings hit if they showed it over xmas as a six parter or something when the world championship darts is on. 

My daughter kindly made me a blackboard and painted a Bully on it for me for my home set up.  (I'm crap at Darts though) I know i'll hit it going for double 3 

[Sparky]

Apr 14, 2020 23:15:48 GMT Del Boy said:

I've not seen this reboot either.  The format is a winner if you ask me. I reckon it could score a ratings hit if they showed it over xmas as a six parter or something when the world championship darts is on. 

My daughter kindly made me a blackboard and painted a Bully on it for me for my home set up.  (I'm crap at Darts though) I know i'll hit it going for double 3   

Did your Daughter paint the "Bully"?

That's amazing. Fantastic job.

[Sparky]

Not sure if I mentioned it earlier - but there is a funny tale concerning the rights over the "Bullseye" brand and look.

Back in 1981, the show was commissioned by ATV from an idea by Andy Wood & Norman Vaughan (the comic) - initially only for one series, so they could fill an awkward part of the early evening Schedule during the late Summer / Early Autumn.

As we know, on 31/12/81, ATV - became "Central" - so the series would cover ATV; and then it was up to Central to sort their schedules.

ATV Graphic Designer - Chris Wroe (who was still working for Central when I was there) designed the Bull, the Lettering/Typeset, and Brand for the show's Graphics and Set.

Just before Christmas 1981, he brought the rights for His designs and style from "ATV" quite cheaply.

In 1982, "Central" discovered that ratings for the series were pretty good and better than ATV had expected, so commissioned another series. And on it went.

Fast Forward to when the various Reboots, Games Machines, T-Shirts, Board Games, DVDs and Merch appear on the market.

The rights to the SHOW had reverted fully back to Andrew Wood, and Chris still owned the rights to the Brand/Graphics.

They both make a killing out of it all now.

Fair play to them.

I think Chris Wroe had the foresight in 1981 - possibly helped along by the series ratings, that the series may become quite popular.

So, while ATV couldn't be really bothered (they were going out of business anyway), he brought his designs of them at a good rate.

I'd have done the same.

[Del Boy]

Apr 15, 2020 9:42:14 GMT Sparky said:

Apr 14, 2020 23:15:48 GMT Del Boy said:

I've not seen this reboot either.  The format is a winner if you ask me. I reckon it could score a ratings hit if they showed it over xmas as a six parter or something when the world championship darts is on. 

My daughter kindly made me a blackboard and painted a Bully on it for me for my home set up.  (I'm crap at Darts though) I know i'll hit it going for double 3   

Did your Daughter paint the "Bully"?

That's amazing. Fantastic job.

Yes she painted the board with blackboard paint then did Bully in Acrylic. 
Great info on the Bullseye design Sparky. I'm really glad to hear that the lads have done well out of it. Quite often people don't get their worth with this sort of thing. 

[Dirty Epic]

Apr 12, 2020 16:52:54 GMT Sparky said:

Apr 12, 2020 14:18:07 GMT Arthur Pringle said:

Yes it doesn't seem likely that Bullseye contestants went through any audition process   Of course at least one of the pair had to be fairly good dart players so their personality or looks wasn't much of a consideration anyway.

The Dave Sparkey re-boot of Bullseye was terrible partly because it's obvious by the low scores they got that none of the contestants are dart players. 

Yes, the Spikey reboot keeps popping up on Challenge.

I never really liked it, as the new format seemed to take the p*** out of the whole thing.

Also - it was made in a much larger studio, so it was all a bit more spread out, and their being too much space.

In the original, the sets were closer together, so it felt a bit more "cosy" and warm.

The reboot seemed a like it was shot in a large cavernous wherehouse.

I think that may have been made at Maidstone Studios or one of the larger (old) Granada studios.

It certainly wasn't Birmingham or Nottingham!

I certainly don't dislike Dave Spikey by any means but I just can't get into/watch the rebooted series with as much enjoyment as I do for the Jim Bowen ones.

It's a shame they didn't approach Jim for the reboot, maybe they did, maybe he didn't want to or health wise wasn't in great shape but it just feels a bit thrown together and lacks the chemistry Jim and Tony Green had on the original series.

True what you say about the contestants too on the older quiz shows like Bullseye they were more rough and ready and/or unpolished, reserved, nervous etc. which makes everything feel much more natural than I'd say the professional, slick, media savvy contestants you see now. As for The Chase FFS is that NEVER off the television it's on sodding ITV1, ITV4, Pick and Challenge sometimes nearly all day sometimes... show something else!