Unbeatable (game show)

Last updated
Unbeatable
Genre Quiz show
Presented by Jason Manford
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes95
Production
Running time30–45 minutes
Production companies 12 Yard, Possessed and BBC Scotland
Original release
Network BBC One
BBC Two
Release10 May 2021 (2021-05-10) –
12 May 2023 (2023-05-12)

Unbeatable was a British quiz show that had aired on BBC One and BBC Two from 10 May 2021 to 12 May 2023 and was hosted by Jason Manford.

Contents

Moneymaker

In the moneymaker round six answers appear, and - in their head - the contestant needs to rank them in order. The contestant picks one of the answers, and it comes down to the massive video floor in the middle of the studio. If they think they've picked the Unbeatable answer, the show we saw first, they can push their button. £1000 if they're right, £0 if they're wrong. Otherwise, our player can pick off single answers for £100 each – but if they pick off an answer that beats theirs, they'll again score nothing for the round. A player can bank the money they've won rather than select another answer.

In our example, the player has chosen The Thick of It as the earliest show. And they've chosen not to call it "Unbeatable", so will be playing for £100 per correct answer. The Inbetweeners might be later, so that comes down to the floor. A graphic appears, lines rush towards each other, and the losing show is pulverised into a squillion tiny brickettes. Our contender plays on, with Gavin and Stacey and Not Going Out, and eventually stick on £300.

After all of the players have had their individual moment in the spotlight, whoever's got the most money picks their opponent for the next round.

Head-to-head

On each question board, the players choose an option they feel best answers the question. The player with more money starts the first board, their opponent starts the second. If either player believes they've picked the Unbeatable answer, they can buzz in and claim £1000 if they're right – get it wrong and they hand £100 to the opponent.

Should neither player believe they're Unbeatable, the round plays out like the first – three head-to-head battles for £100, with first picks alternating. Whoever wins two battles (or gets the Unbeatable answer) wins the board, and whoever wins two boards wins the round.

The two winners then take their places in the final eliminator.

The Decider

In this final eliminator, both players are trying to find the single Unbeatable answer to the question on the board. Whoever has the most money picks first, and there's £1000 if they can find it first time out. Fail, and the opponent can have a go for £800 from the remaining answers. If necessary, the leader will return for £600, the opponent for £400, and the leader gets final crack for £200. In the rare instance that a player is left with the last answer then they win the board by default, but add nothing to their prize pot.

Whoever wins two boards goes through to the cash round. This player might occasionally not have the most money, but it's clear they've earned their place on the show.

Final round

The cash round is one final Unbeatable grid, albeit with two possible questions – and the contestant picks the question they'd rather play. This round plays like the first. The player selects their Unbeatable answer, and then chooses alternatives to go up against it. Win two of these little battles, and the contestant can retire with half their banked money – £1000 or so.

Or the player can press on and take four battles for the entire amount they won in the main game. And if the player has the unbeatable answer, and the confidence to play all five other possibilities, they'll double their money. But if any of the selected answers beat the "unbeatable" answer, our finalist loses and leaves with nothing. The potential top prize is £10,200, but it's rare for more than £5000 to be on offer. In most shows we've seen, the winner takes some money home.

Transmissions

SeriesStart DateEnd DateEpisodes
110 May 2021 [1] 1 October 2021 [2] 50 [2]
25 September 2022 [3] 12 May 2023 [4] 45 [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Weakest Link</i> (British game show) British television quiz show

The Weakest Link is a British television quiz show, mainly broadcast on BBC Two and BBC One. It was devised by Fintan Coyle and Cathy Dunning and developed for television by the BBC Entertainment Department. The game begins with a team of nine contestants, who take turns answering general knowledge questions within a time limit to create chains of nine correct answers in a row. At the end of each round, the players then vote one contestant, "the weakest link", out of the game. After two players are left, they play in a head-to-head penalty shootout format, with five questions asked to each contestant in turn, to determine the winner.

<i>Street Smarts</i> American Game Show

Street Smarts is an American game show that featured two in-studio contestants trying to predict the outcome of interviews of people who were found on the street. The show, which was hosted by Frank Nicotero, aired in syndication from 2000 to 2005. Nicotero would be on locale with the on the street contestants, virtually any and everywhere in the United States. The in studio gameplay however, was at G4 and TMZ, headquarters, Victory Studios, in Glendale, California.

<i>Celebrity Squares</i> British television series

Celebrity Squares is a British comedy game show based on the American comedy game show Hollywood Squares. It first ran on ITV from 20 July 1975 to 7 July 1979 and was hosted by Bob Monkhouse, then—also hosted by Monkhouse—from 8 January 1993 to 3 January 1997.

On July 1 2024 Isko Moreno was announced as the host of the revival of the show

Shafted was a British game show that aired on ITV from 5 to 26 November 2001 and was hosted by Robert Kilroy-Silk.

Keynotes is a British game show that aired on ITV from 13 March 1989 to 18 December 1992 and hosted by Alistair Divall. The aim of the game was for "two teams of players, to try to put the right words in the right songs and see how well they can follow the bouncing ball to solve our puzzle song."

<i>Miljoenenjacht</i> Dutch television game show

Miljoenenjacht, officially Postcode Loterij Miljoenenjacht, is a Dutch game show, sponsored by the country's postcode lottery, where a contestant and at-home viewer could win up to €5,000,000 or as little as €0.01. The show is broadcast at various times, spanning across six episodes for each set. The program was originally shown by TROS on NPO 2, but moved to creator John de Mol's channel Tien in 2005. After the channel was discontinued after its sale to the RTL Group, the program moved to RTL 4. In 2019, the program moved to SBS6 due to the transfer of Linda de Mol from RTL to SBS.

<i>1 vs. 100</i> (Philippine game show) Filipino TV series or program

The Philippine version of 1 vs. 100 was first aired on ABS-CBN on August 25, 2007. It is hosted by veteran Filipino quiz host Edu Manzano, from Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba? and Weakest Link. A single player goes up against 100 other contestants. The One gains money for each mob member eliminated, but if the One answers incorrectly at any point of the game, the game ends and he or she leaves with nothing. The grand prize of the show is ₱2,000,000.

La ruleta de la fortuna or La ruleta de la suerte is the Spanish version of Wheel of Fortune. The first incarnation ran from 1990 to 1992 in Antena 3, the second one from 1993 to 1997 in Telecinco, and then, after a nine-year hiatus, a revival has been made on Antena 3 beginning in 2006. The show also airs internationally via Antena 3 Internacional.

<i>Bingo America</i> American game show broadcast by Game Show Network

Bingo America is an American game show broadcast by Game Show Network. The series follows two contestants as they try to compete to win up to $100,000. Additionally, the series lets at-home viewers print bingo cards online that allow them to play along with the show to win small amounts of money for themselves.

<i>A Question of Genius</i> British TV series or programme

A Question of Genius is a game show hosted by Kirsty Wark and produced by BBC Scotland. The show was broadcast on BBC Two. It was recorded at BBC Pacific Quay in Glasgow. It ran from 16 March 2009 to 4 June 2010.

<i>Pointless</i> British television quiz show

Pointless is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Entertainment for the BBC hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode, four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to four rounds of general knowledge questions, with the winning team eligible to compete for the show's cash jackpot.

Family Game Night is an American television game show based on Hasbro's family of board games and EA's video game franchise of the same name. The show was hosted by Todd Newton. Burton Richardson was the announcer for the first two seasons; he was replaced by Stacey J. Aswad in the third season, and Andrew Kishino was hired for the fourth season. The 60-minute program debuted on October 10, 2010, on The Hub ; it was previewed on October 9, 2010, on its sister channel, TLC. Seasons 1 and 2 contained 26 and 30 episodes respectively. Seasons 3, 4 and 5 each contained 15 episodes. Season 2 premiered on Friday, September 2, 2011, with additional games being added. The games added to the second season included Cranium Brain Breaks, Green Scream, Ratuki Go-Round, Simon Flash, Operation Sam Dunk, Trouble Pop Quiz, and Spelling Bee. However games from the previous season were still kept.

1001 Things You Should Know is a British game show that aired on Channel 4 from 12 November 2012 to 31 May 2013 and hosted by Sandi Toksvig.

The Edge is a BBC game show that aired on BBC One from 16 March to 13 November 2015. On the show, contestants answer quiz questions and bowl balls to get prize money, but if the ball rolls over the Edge, the player is out.

Emogenius is an American game show that is broadcast by Game Show Network. The series features two teams of contestants who compete as teams against each other by decoding emoji-themed messages. The main game consists of three rounds of various themes. The team that accumulates the most money in the main game wins the game, keeps their bank, and advances to a bonus round, where their winnings can be increased to up to $10,000 if they can solve five messages within the time limit. The series was first announced March 17, 2017, it premiered nearly three months later on June 14, 2017. It is hosted by Hunter March, grandson of The $64,000 Question host Hal March.

<i>Impossible</i> (game show) British game show

Impossible is a British television quiz show created by Hugh Rycroft and produced by Mighty Productions for BBC One. Hosted by Rick Edwards, the show has a maximum prize of £10,000 and features questions in which some answer choices are "impossible" or inconsistent with the given category.

<i>And Theyre Off!</i> BBC game show

And They're Off! is a British television programme hosted by Ore Oduba with commentary from Dave Lamb and demonstrations from Daryll Neita and is shown on BBC One, featuring contestants predicting which celebrity will win a physical challenge to raise money for Sport Relief. The show features contestants in the BBC Pacific Quay studio answering questions to bet on which celebrity will win in a physical challenge. If their celebrity loses, they go home. The winner wins a prize donated to Sport Relief, for example: Cirque du Soleil tickets.

<i>The Tournament</i> (game show) British game show

The Tournament is a British television game show, first broadcast on 8 November 2021. It is screened on BBC One, produced by QITV and hosted by Alex Scott. It was devised by James Rawson and Dan Schreiber. On 16 May 2022, the BBC renewed The Tournament for a second series, which premiered on 20 September 2022.

Jeopardy! is an American quiz game show in which contestants use certain strategies and skills to increase their chances of winning each game, win the most games, and ensure large winnings.

References

  1. ↑ "Unbeatable – Series 1, Episode 1". BBC Online . Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Unbeatable – Series 1, Episode 50". BBC Online . Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Unbeatable – Series 2, Episode 1". BBC Online . Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Unbeatable – Series 2, Episode 45". BBC Online . Retrieved 27 November 2023.
Union flag tv.svg

This article relating to a television programme from the UK is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.