Online Pick of the Week (10/16): Blankety Blank

Another fun British game show to enjoy. This time it's Blankety Blank, their take on the classic US game Match Game, which has, for all of its incarnations on the BBC, have been based on the 1973-82 version of the series. The show has had its fair share of hosts: Terry Wogan (1979-83), Les Dawson (1984-90), and Lily Savage (1997-2002).




As seen by the caps here, they've gone through a different share of sets, but the game remained the same. There are 2 contestants and 6 celebrities, just like our version. Two rounds with "A" and "B" questions. Questions have blanks to them, naturally, just like our versions did.

The prizes don't quite match up with our version though. They play the SuperMatch round for prizes, and the losing contestants get that old Blankety Blank chequebook and pen. What I like about this version is that while it doesn't have the budget that the US versions had, it's still worth a good laugh. Also, the lack of a big budget really comes in handy for Les Dawson, who is featured as host on this particular episode; who as seen on other clips throughout YouTube, had no problem cracking some great jokes at its expense. And well, who are we kidding anyway? While Match Game, and especially Match Game PM had a perk of offering large sums of money in the SuperMatch rounds, the bigger reason most watch the show is for the comedy, and there's a really good supply of that here.

The episode is from 1988, and as mentioned features the second host, Les Dawson at the helm. Les had a dry, sarcastic wit with his version of the run. It's like he realized the show was comedic and not to be taken too seriously, and with that notion, he ran with it.

Blankety Blank, my online pick of the week!