The programme lives and dies on a sense that he just loves the show.
In a time when the “entertainment” section of TV streaming platforms is dominated by Phillip Schofield vehicles, knackered Cowell franchises and endless reruns of Pointless it can feel as if the grand tradition of shout-at-the-screen, primetime TV has fallen by the wayside.
Perhaps this is why ITV is currently riding a lot of its hopes not on a new, over-complicated game show – but on a classic of the genre. Who Wants to be a Millionaire? returned to our screens on Saturday, with a host who has successfully won over the sceptics. When Jeremy Clarkson took over hosting duties of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? back in 2018, it barely piqued my interest. I assumed it was just a desperate, hackneyed shot at reviving a known format, a one-series wonder. A few years later, and I’m quite sure it’s the best non-scripted show on TV.
To me at least, it feels like the only show on television.For a moment in time, it really was the only thing on the box. Like so many other questionable hobbies, I first fell into it during lockdown. As the scheduled recordings of other programmes began to rapidly drop off, WWTBAM? had reserves in the arsenal – lasting well into banana bread season. My girlfriend and I started to watch it, for no other reason than to bear witness to the recent past; to hear the sound of a live studio audience, to see bear hugs and handshakes, to watch something that felt vaguely alive.By the time the unaired episodes dried up, we were hooked – moaning about contestants who played it too safe, tapping into strange gambler’s fallacies and saying “she’s gonna go all the way” at anyone who got the £64,000 question right.
0 Comments