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I just looked on on the wiki to see if there was any information on how many pre-recorded episodes of Countdown are left to broadcast, and learned that
wiki wrote:As a result of the filming disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, this series is expected to take a break after episodes run out on 1 May. While transmission of new episodes is on hold, reruns of the 30th Birthday Championship, will replace them from Monday 4th May.
The 30th BC thing is cool; I didn't know that. When/where was that announced? (side note: maybe the wiki should have a citation index like wikipedia)
Anyway, that's something to look forward to as I never saw 30BC at the time so it'll be good to have an opportunity to watch it. No spoilers please.
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
James Robinson wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:08 am
I would personally like them to show all the special episodes that still haven’t been shown, they haven’t got an excuse not to show them now!!
I suspect there are complications with Richard Whiteley's estate, and with those episodes not being in HD - ditto the Supreme Championship.
James Robinson wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:08 am
I would personally like them to show all the special episodes that still haven’t been shown, they haven’t got an excuse not to show them now!!
I suspect there are complications with Richard Whiteley's estate, and with those episodes not being in HD - ditto the Supreme Championship.
I'm talking about the other ones that have been done since then, there are at least a couple done in Nick's time (and I think possibly in Jeff's time too).
Matt Morrison wrote: ↑Fri Apr 10, 2020 10:47 pm
Weren't they all sex offenders?
The ones that got replaced with specials, or just removed were sex offenders, but I have a feeling the people invited back for the specials certainly weren't....
- 3 regular episodes
- 4 specials
- 6.4 Masters games (32x5min of each)
One of these regular episodes had to be pulled because Covid references. The other two feature sex offenders so can't be shown (or would have to have the contestant severely pixelated, voiced by an actor, and their name bleeped from all dialogue...), one of which is from 1997 so is a) 30 mins and b) a RW episode (see below).
Everything else, other than two Stelling specials, was all presented by Richard Whiteley. There's still 2 Whiteley specials (x45mins) that we haven't seen and things may well have changed by then, because C4/Countdown has had plenty of opportunities to air them since then: it only takes one of Whiteley's family, Kathryn Apanowicz, Channel 4, Carol Vorderman, Susie Dent, or whoever, to veto them being showed, I would have thought.
On top of this, the Masters games would be horrid to slide into the schedule given they're effectively 32 5-minute episodes which wouldn't be able to be spliced together easily I would have thought, and even so would be 25 minutes in length anyway.
And of course, none of the above is in HD. Given that quite a fuss was made when I was on set about specks of dust showing up on a black shirt in HD, I imagine C4 would not like to broadcast SD programmes if they can't be upscaled (which is apparently much harder on studio videotape than it is on film).
Last edited by Rhys Benjamin on Mon May 04, 2020 2:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Because the vetting process obviously didn’t see it.
RuPaul’s Drag Race is having a similar problem with one of their contestants on the current series. Whilst they’ve not been convicted, they’ve admitted to the allegations, and is therefore being hastily edited out as much as possible.
Well, someone claiming to be Damian (it seems to be him) has put on the Wiki that the following schedule is this:
4-8th May: Special Episodes (with the pulled episode from March being shown on the 5th).
11th May-3rd July: 30th Birthday Championship
6th July onwards....: Who knows
I'm not dead yet. In a rut right now because of stress from work. I'll be back later in S89. I also plan to bring back the Mastergram - if I can find a way to run a timer or clock through pure MediaWiki without having to upload to Vimeo every time.
Johnny Canuck wrote: ↑Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:53 pm
Why don’t you broadcast Series 1?
Whilst I don't profess to be an expert...
Rhys Benjamin wrote:it only takes one of Whiteley's family, Kathryn Apanowicz, Channel 4, Carol Vorderman, Susie Dent, or whoever, to veto them being showed, I would have thought [...] none of the above (bar that one episode being shown on 5 May) is in HD. Given that quite a fuss was made when I was on set about specks of dust showing up on a black shirt in HD, I imagine C4 would not like to broadcast SD programmes if they can't be upscaled (which is apparently much harder on studio videotape than it is on film).
They had those episodes on Challenge long after Richard's death. No-one veteoed them then. Why would they veto them? Why do we even think they could? Would they have had it written into their contracts that they or their families could stop repeats being shown? Why would it even be a thing? Why don't all old films never get shown for the above reasons?
HD doesn't matter when you know you're watching old footage.
I think the 45-minute timeslot is the best reason that's been given. Plus also they probably don't think that that many people (apart from hardcore fans) would particularly appreciate ancient episodes being shown.
Last edited by Gavin Chipper on Fri Apr 17, 2020 4:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
James Robinson wrote: ↑Wed Apr 15, 2020 6:54 pm
Well, someone claiming to be Damian (it seems to be him) has put on the Wiki that the following schedule is this:
4-8th May: Special Episodes (with the pulled episode from March being shown on the 5th).
11th May-3rd July: 30th Birthday Championship
6th July onwards....: Who knows
Just been informed that this account is not Damian..., so back to Square 1...
Just looked on the episode guide for Countdown on All 4 (https://www.channel4.com/programmes/cou ... sode-guide), and noticed that for the episodes you can't play, they've got the first week of the 30th BC (presumably because they're going to show it), but also 3 other random episodes from 2013. Thursday 18th April, Friday 18th October and Thursday 19th December. I expect this means they'll show these episodes too, but I wonder why these ones specifically...
Toby McDonald wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 6:14 pm
Just looked on the episode guide for Countdown on All 4 (https://www.channel4.com/programmes/cou ... sode-guide), and noticed that for the episodes you can't play, they've got the first week of the 30th BC (presumably because they're going to show it), but also 3 other random episodes from 2013. Thursday 18th April, Friday 18th October and Thursday 19th December. I expect this means they'll show these episodes too, but I wonder why these ones specifically...
Great spot! I reckon someone has made an error and dragged them over accidentally while copying and pasting the 30BC episodes over, or something like that.
I thought that whoever managed to upscale today’s episode into HD did a remarkable job, given (or at least I thought this was the case) it was filmed in SD.
I think there’s a difference between repeating Whiteley episodes and showing the two unseen Whiteley specials. Channel 4 had cricket in 2005 after Richard’s death and there were gaps in that summer’s Ashes series for an opportunity to show them, but they didn’t do so.
Rhys Benjamin wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:06 pm
I thought that whoever managed to upscale today’s episode into HD did a remarkable job, given (or at least I thought this was the case) it was filmed in SD.
I believe the 30th Birthday Championship episodes were the first Countdown episodes to be filmed in HD, although perhaps some of the series 67 finals were HD as well. It was around the time they were moving from Granada to MediaCity - they hadn't moved from Granada yet, but they wanted to film it in HD, so they had one of those modern broadcast trucks in the car park doing the job of the older equipment in the studios.
Hmmm, OK. My understanding was the two things were contemporaneous, but evidently not. The lighting on "today"'s show was significantly darker, I noticed, compared to how it looks in Salford. Which was nice, because it showed off the gloss a little more.
According to the DVD features on the Doctor Who story Dragonfire, the "correct" way to light for television back then was to set up a pole and floodlight it until you can't see any shadows. Judging by some of the lightning at MediaCity's editions of Countdown I don't think anything has changed...
James Robinson wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:08 am
I would personally like them to show all the special episodes that still haven’t been shown, they haven’t got an excuse not to show them now!!
I suspect there are complications with Richard Whiteley's estate, and with those episodes not being in HD - ditto the Supreme Championship.
Rhys Benjamin wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 11:26 pm
And of course, none of the above is in HD. Given that quite a fuss was made when I was on set about specks of dust showing up on a black shirt in HD, I imagine C4 would not like to broadcast SD programmes if they can't be upscaled (which is apparently much harder on studio videotape than it is on film).
Rhys Benjamin wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:06 pm
I thought that whoever managed to upscale today’s episode into HD did a remarkable job, given (or at least I thought this was the case) it was filmed in SD.
Toby McDonald wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 6:14 pm
Just looked on the episode guide for Countdown on All 4 (https://www.channel4.com/programmes/cou ... sode-guide), and noticed that for the episodes you can't play, they've got the first week of the 30th BC (presumably because they're going to show it), but also 3 other random episodes from 2013. Thursday 18th April, Friday 18th October and Thursday 19th December. I expect this means they'll show these episodes too, but I wonder why these ones specifically...
Just checked again. They've been taken off now, so must've been an error.
James Robinson wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:08 am
I would personally like them to show all the special episodes that still haven’t been shown, they haven’t got an excuse not to show them now!!
I suspect there are complications with Richard Whiteley's estate, and with those episodes not being in HD - ditto the Supreme Championship.
Rhys Benjamin wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 11:26 pm
And of course, none of the above is in HD. Given that quite a fuss was made when I was on set about specks of dust showing up on a black shirt in HD, I imagine C4 would not like to broadcast SD programmes if they can't be upscaled (which is apparently much harder on studio videotape than it is on film).
Rhys Benjamin wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:06 pm
I thought that whoever managed to upscale today’s episode into HD did a remarkable job, given (or at least I thought this was the case) it was filmed in SD.
Rhys, why are you obsessed with HD?
Probably because I've only just got an HD TV in the last few months.
Thomas Cappleman wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 2:21 pm
CoC XIV due to follow the 30th Birthday Championship (starting 25th June based on email I just received).
Before we write this in our diaries, does Ashton Hancock have your e-mail address?
Thomas Cappleman wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 2:21 pm
CoC XIV due to follow the 30th Birthday Championship (starting 25th June based on email I just received).
Are you sure? 25th June is a Thursday and the day before the 30BC final is due to be repeated. Surely Monday 29th would be the most logical date.
Due to the current Coronavirus situation and filming restrictions, Channel 4 will be repeating past episodes of Countdown. We wanted to let you know that the episodes you appeared in, originally broadcast in 2016, are due to be shown again on
25th June and 7th July 2020. Dates may change due to scheduling. We hope you enjoy watching it again.
I think that may well be a typo. In another thread, it's quite clearly stated that the 30BC final is on 26 June (spoiler alert there) so unless one of the 30BC shows has had to be cut for some reason I suspect someone's just got the calendar wrong.
I've had a look at my TV guide for the next couple of weeks. It appears that Tuesday 19th May's episode, which I expected to be the repeat of Chris Hawkins v Jill Bright, http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_5626 has been replaced by http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_6613, the 25th anniversary of Susie's first appearance. The rest of the 30BC episodes, up to and including my game against Graeme, 28th May, (that's as far as it goes for now) appear to be still on, though. If CoCXIV starts on 25th June as stated, there must be at least two more 30BC episodes to be axed.
Mark Deeks wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 2:37 pm
I'm under 70, let's do this.
In all seriousness it's genuinely not a bad idea to have former contestants doing the presenting. They know the program better than any stand-in celeb might do and thus would have a shorter acclimatisation period, those of us who gratuitously chalk up media appearances know how television works more or less... yeah, there are worse ideas, actually.
Mark Deeks wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 2:37 pm
I'm under 70, let's do this.
In all seriousness it's genuinely not a bad idea to have former contestants doing the presenting. They know the program better than any stand-in celeb might do and thus would have a shorter acclimatisation period, those of us who gratuitously chalk up media appearances know how television works more or less... yeah, there are worse ideas, actually.
I'm not a TV industry expert, but for that very reason I would expect that fronting a TV show - and doing it well - is harder than you or I would imagine it to be. It's not like hosting a game at COLIN - being a competent TV game show presenter is more than just knowing the rules.
(Mark Deeks, however, should still host Countdown.)
Atta boy. I'mma get you a massive clock neckless and a loudhaler; head up my bandwagon. Drive the Deeks Train to Host Town. Choo - and I cannot stress this enough - choo.
Eoin Monaghan wrote:
He may not be liked on here, but you have to give some credit to Mark
Mark Deeks wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 11:08 pm
Atta boy. I'mma get you a massive clock neckless and a loudhaler; head up my bandwagon. Drive the Deeks Train to Host Town. Choo - and I cannot stress this enough - choo.
Jack Worsley wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2020 2:54 am
I've had a look at my TV guide for the next couple of weeks. It appears that Tuesday 19th May's episode, which I expected to be the repeat of Chris Hawkins v Jill Bright, http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_5626 has been replaced by http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_6613, the 25th anniversary of Susie's first appearance. The rest of the 30BC episodes, up to and including my game against Graeme, 28th May, (that's as far as it goes for now) appear to be still on, though. If CoCXIV starts on 25th June as stated, there must be at least two more 30BC episodes to be axed.
They've sent out updated emails, with CoC XIV now starting on the 29th.
Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 6:16 pm
29th May or June? This all seems very strange.
June would seem most likely.
As alluded to above, two 30BC episodes seem to have been pulled, and presumably the original dates given for the CoC assumed they wouldn't be replaced with other episodes, which we now know they will be.
The first replaced episode, Chris Hawkins v Jill Bright, would have been shown tomorrow. I don't know definitively why it's been replaced, but if we look at Robbo's recap from the time we can see that Susie's OOW bit was about the Black Hole of Calcutta. While they could probably get away with the odd disease-related word cropping up having made clear it's an old episode, you can imagine why a story about cramming a large number of people together in a confined space to die might be viewed a bit less sympathetically.
Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 6:16 pm
29th May or June? This all seems very strange.
June would seem most likely.
As alluded to above, two 30BC episodes seem to have been pulled, and presumably the original dates given for the CoC assumed they wouldn't be replaced with other episodes, which we now know they will be.
The first replaced episode, Chris Hawkins v Jill Bright, would have been shown tomorrow. I don't know definitively why it's been replaced, but if we look at Robbo's recap from the time we can see that Susie's OOW bit was about the Black Hole of Calcutta. While they could probably get away with the odd disease-related word cropping up having made clear it's an old episode, you can imagine why a story about cramming a large number of people together in a confined space to die might be viewed a bit less sympathetically.
Of course, no-one actually watching the show would be offended by it or anything. Obviously one risks coming across as the "political correctness gone mad Nigel Farage" type, but cancelling the show because of this is pretty mental - if that is indeed the reason, as opposed to them spilling hot coffee over the master tape of it and ruining it.
I think I can resolve the mystery of today’s episode for you, in a slightly disappointing manner.
Basically, although he’s ok, Chris put in a request that his two games not be reshown for personal reasons. Obviously it was a big ask, so he’s grateful to the producers for their understanding and being able to accommodate.
I haven't really got anything more than that, but that's the reason for the substitution.