Bruce Forsyth highlights

In tribute to Bruce Forsyth who died yesterday here is a rundown of 3 shows that he hosted to great success.

The Generation Game

Based on a Dutch format, Bruce hosted this show in 2 (1971-77 and 1990-94) stints. Each 2 pairs of family members competed against each other in a series of challenges in which after seeing a professor doing their skills and they try to copy them. The winners would then take in a memory test final round in which they had recall the objects that gone by them, usually including a cuddly toy. Larry Grayson and Jim Davidson both hosted the show but Bruce remains the one host everyone remembers.

Play Your Cards Right

An another show that Bruce hosted in multiple stints, this time 3 (1980-87,1994-99 and 2002-03) though in this case Bruce was the sole host. The show saw couples trying to guess whether the as yet to be unveiled card was higher or lower than the card that was on show before the winning couple tried their luck on winning a bonus prize like a new car.

You Bet!

Hosted by Bruce between 1988-90, You Bet! was a show with a sense of altruism. Each week a group of celebrities would sponsor challenges that could be mental or physical. The 100 strong audience would be asked if they thought the challenger would succeed. The other celebrities would also be asked if their fellow member's bet would succeed.  If the challenge was met with success, the celebs who thought it would get points based on many audience members backed and with those that did not vice versa. Unsuccessful sponsors would have to do a forfeit like flamboyant cocktail making. At the end of the show the winning celeb would be given a cash prize to donate to the charity of their choosing. Also hosted by Matthew Kelly and Darren Day. Simon Cowell created Red or Black that had many similarities with You Bet! only without the charity element, it was an absolute failure.

Michael Barrymore: the forgotten star

Today Michael Barrymore was awarded damages for his claims of wrongful arrest against Essex Police in charges they filed against him surrounding the death of Stuart Lubbock in 2001. It brings back into the spotlight a man who for many years the man who was without a doubt the biggest star on British TV. Born Michael Parker, Barrymore was always destined for a career in showbiz being a Butlins red coat, winning an edition of talent show New Faces and being the warm up act for Larry Grayson's Generation Game. His big break came in 1986 as the host for the game show Strike It Lucky where it was his interaction with the contestants than the actual game show element was the big draw to the audiences at home. At it's peak Strike It Lucky had viewing figures of over 20 million. In the 1990's Barrymore went from strength to strength. He had his own TV show bearing his (adopted) name which saw him interacting with members of the public and just like Strike It Lucky it was a massive success. Barrymore even made a sit-com, though Bob Martin was a far more introspective offering that any one would expect  from some one with such wide spread appeal as Barrymore but it had a sense of the autobiographical to it. Like many others who have brought joy and laughter to countless Michael Barrymore has had his share of personal demons. Like so many he had problems with the bottle and sometimes it came out in public, one particular incident being a speech he made at the National Television Awards. Barrymore also faced much tabloid speculation about his sexuality at a time when he was married. This came to a head when Barrymore took to the stage at a gay club and basically admitted he was gay. The death of Stuart Lubbock would become the biggest cloud to haunt Michael Barrymore's life. Lubbock's body was found in the swimming pool of Barrymore's home after a party. With only an Open verdict following Lubbock's death the case still hangs over Barrymore. In 2007 Barrymore and 2 other men were charged in connection with the death of Stuart Lubbock but were released without charge that led to the verdict today. Michael Barrymore has made the odd media appearance over the years but nothing like at the peak of his stardom.

Gaiman on screen

Following from the news that Good Omens the novel that Neil Gaiman co-wrote with Terry Pratchett is being made into a TV mini series here are some other productions to have bore Gaiman's name.

Neverwhere

This fantasy aired on BBC2 in 1996. Given that this was a time when the BBC was barely making any genre TV productions the fact that this tale of a hidden city beneath London got made at was a miracle. Despite featuring future Doctor Peter Capaldi as an angel the show was not a success. Though the idea has carried into the likes of comics and radio.

Stardust

Gaiman's graphic novel was made into a film by Matthew Vaughan in 2007. When a fairy crashes to Earth various parties go after her for various for various reasons. the cast includes Clarie Danes as the fairy, Michelle Pfeiffer as a witch, Robert de Niro as a cross dressing pirate and Peter O'Toole as an ailing King whose sons are jostling to take his throne.

Doctor Who

Gaiman wrote 2 stories for Matt Smith's Doctor. The Doctor's Wife's see the TARDIS given humanoid form when the Doctor answers a distress call, Suranne Jones plays the title character. Meanwhile in Nightmare in Silver finds the Doctor fighting his old foes The Cybermen inside his own mind. Warwick Davis and Jason Watkins are the guest stars in this episode.

American Gods

TV series based on Gaiman's award winning novel. A released convict finds himself in a war between old and new gods. Ian McShane plays Mr. Wednesday a character who may be more than he seems. Gillian Anderson plays the new god Media, the role sees her takes on guises of Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and David Bowie.

Omens of the future

Good Omens the 1990 novel co-written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is set to go into production as  a 6 part TV mini-series being co-produced by the BBC and Amazon. The plot which is a mickey take of The Omen sees the Anti-Christ being raised in a sleepy English village with an American airbase nearby. An angel and a demon team up to stop the Apocalypse happening. Michael Sheen will play the angel while David Tennant will play the demon. Good Omens should be seen next year.

Blown up Athena

In 1988 while hosting a segment from the military display event The Royal Tournament for the long forgotten Saturday morning kids show UP2U, Athena Turner found herself in a dangerous situation. Sitting on the back of a truck Turner was doing a piece to camera when she forgot that a motorcycle stunt rider would jump out of the truck with accompanying pyrotechnics. The resulting blunder left Turner with second degree burns though she did recovered to maintain a long career.

You can see the incident on Youtube

Goodbye Bren

This year's World Atheltics Championships will see the end of the track careers of 2 of the biggest names the sport has seen in recent years. Usain Bolt and Mo (though he will he still compete in road races) Farah. However off the track will see the retirement of someone after a 37 year career as an analyst. Foster began his career behind the microphone after years of competing as a high level athlete, among his many achievements were an Olympic bronze, European gold and being voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1974. Foster at one point was going to hang up the microphone after the 2012 Olympics but decided against it after seeing Farah win 2 gold medals. His reasoning was that Farah would provide even more moments like that and he was proved right with Farah adding even more gold medals. Thanks for giving us your views Bren.

Worst advert on TV just now

The title of the worst advert currently airing on UK TV goes without a moment's hesitation to the one that currently airs for Warner Leisure Hotels. For those who are not familiar with Warner Leisure Hotels it is a chain of hotels who operate an adult only policy. The current advertising campaign features guests saying how good it was to get away from their grandchildren before behaving in a childish manner. The reason why I hate this advert so much is the smug and self satisfied way the people act. Feel free to put in the advert you most in the comments section