Task 1 Unit 61 Research Report - Pointless

Game show research: Pointless

Pointless is a British quiz show that began airing on BBC Two in August 2009, but it was moved to BBC One in 2011. The object of the game is for contestants not only to provide correct answers, but also provide the most obscure possible correct answers. Each team consisting of two contestants. and in each round the team with the highest score is eliminated whilst the other teams proceed to the next round. The whole color scheme is based on purple/blue with red accents as shown in the image below: 

The show relies on your knowledge of the choosen category and it could be very informative for the audience watching. The whole studio was crafted without green screen. The center point of it, is the screen where the questions and categories would show for the contestants to choose from. Each couple has a screen which they stand behind it, and it shows their score.  On the left side, right side of the host there is a scoreboard which tells you if your answers are correct, not correct and pointless. Prior to the show100 people are each given 100 seconds to give as many answers as they can to the questions that will be asked to the teams during the show. Correct answers are given a point value equal to the number of panellists who gave them, so that less commonly given answers have lower values than those given by many panellists. "Pointless" answers are those correct answers that none of the 100 panellists gave, making them worth zero points. The lower you score the better for you. At the end of each round, the couple with the highest score will leave the show and those left will proceed to the next round, where again their score total will decided if they won the round. If you defeat all of the contestants, you will get to play for a jackpot. The jackpot starts at£2,500, but it goes to £5,000 in special episodes. All you have to do to win that jackpot is to answer 3 question with one of them being pointless, scoring 0 on the scoreboard. If you do not aquire that bonus jackpot, you will walk of with a pointless trophy. If that jackpot remains unclaimed it will be added to next weeks jackpot, increasing the total amount.

The format and gameplay changed slightly between series. The game consists of elimination rounds until two couples reach head to head round where they will be playing for the spot in the Finals. This format has been exported to other European countries. Fun fact: 4 episodes are recorded in a day, so when they say see you next week, what it actually means is: Have fun waiting for the next episode that will be recorded in the next hour or so.