Bruce and Larry's versions of The Gen Game were its pinnacle. It really did start to turn BBC1 around on Saturday nights. I was one of the many that switched to Game For A Laugh. It felt new, exciting and Beadle made that programme fly. It burnt out quickly though with a Sunday move and change in presenters.

Nothing about when series 4 of The Voice has been confirmed. It's ratings were virtually identical as to when it aired against BGT so Spring could be lined up for The Voice as there is no sport. I wouldn't mind betting that a brief 6 week series of The Gen Game will launch in the New Year to test the water and as a run up to the 6 Nations. If successful we could then see this next year:

Jan-Feb The Generation Game (6 episodes)
Feb Pointless celebrities (6 episodes)
Mar - June The Voice
June - September The Gen Game (8 eps) with Prized Apart and/or Tumble
September - December SCD with DW and Atlantis (if recommissioned)

The Gen Game continued to work with Larry as he was a complete 180 to Bruce. He was movably inept but it was still mainly about the contestants. Turning it into a vehicle for the host is why I think Jim Davidson's version didn't work as well.

Bruce always did his asides into camera 5 which was recorded separately and edited in later - let's hope someone tells Miranda. Slightly worried that as a self-confessed fan of Morecambe and Wise (where Eric used the same technique) she is now a self-confessed fan of GG. Celebrity GG would kill it.

Great to hear that the Generation game is coming back with a quirky, funny and entertaining talented host. I think they realise weak unimaginative formats like Tumble are tired formats and that hosts chosen for their looks even though they have bland personalities aren't guaranteeing ratings.

Some interesting news to come out of BBC One - hopefully to be followed by more from all channels as the Edinburgh TV Festival gets underway.

Naturally, the Generation Game will grab all the attention. It was always going to happen at some point in time - but it's interesting as to why they're going for it now with Miranda. I'm reserving criticism for 'unoriginality', because I've long since decided that 'original' ideas don't really exist in light entertainment. With hundreds and hundreds of shows under their belts between them, BBC and ITV are always going to find themselves playing a variation on one theme or another.

More interesting, to me, is the move to bring some of the BBC's biggest factual faces onto BBC One. I think that's welcome and they shouldn't be afraid to let someone like Brian Cox loose with the mainstream audience. Serious takes on factual subjects shouldn't just be restricted to nature - I want to see proper, ambitious science, history, geography, music and more too. I always feel like too many of these subjects are often reduced to just the 'greatest hits' on BBC One - e.g. Pompeii & the World Wars for history. They won't always excel in the ratings and a few of them are liable to make Samuel annoyed, but it's what the channel should be doing.


Absolutely. As much as I was a fan of TV Burp, Harry Hill is nothing like a surefire winner.

In fact, his CV since he left the show has been awful. His movie bombed badly, and his X Factor musical was even worse!

I think "The Voice" may have gone lower in Spring to be honest. That slot isn't good for it. It remained stable because it was in Winter up against weak ITV opposition and had Kylie on the team. Be interesting to see its figures next year, and probably disaster if it doesn't get a Winter slot. "The Generation Game" would also be best for Winter too, but doubt that it will be in production in that short space of time. I don't know how long it takes to ready it for a series. It will definately launch well that's for sure.

Wasn't the Voice up on last year?

Surely they wouldn't run two series of Atlantis in the same year? (Presuming the coming series goes in January).

Sorry Ant and Dec are weak competition?

Oh yeah sorry that's right it faced the "Ant and Dec Saturday Night Takeaway", I thought it went against " Splash" but I think only for its first weeks.

Yes. How can the 3.2M that watched CBB at its peak this January possibly compete with the 780K that C4's most recent entertainment show is getting. Clearly a minnow these days. Meanwhile Tumble's 3.3M will grow, don't worry about it.

The Ratings Thread entirely consistent in its theories, as ever.

Sound similar to Prize Island to me.

Yes - but your not supposed to say it on here - it scares the natives !!

The way that formats are so thin on the ground we are due for another batch of recommissions if "The Generation Game" becomes successful. Its a very worrying trend. None of the channels new shows are surviving its the old familiar titles that the viewers are going to. must be reassuring for Simon Cowell that there is nothing ITV can replace him with.

Lol Yorkie and that's alright johnnymc it did face Splash at the start, but the rest of the Voice was up against SNT. It's amazing how people seem to conveniently forget this when they talk about the Voice.

Yeah do not remember it going against "Ant and Dec" they certainly challenged it. It needs a good line up this time to replace Kylie.

Although to be fair a lot of these gameshow revivals have also suffered in the ratings recently so maybe people are not as enamoured as we first thought.

Different time of year, but the way the weather has turned ratings could be up across all channels. It's likely CBB will do quite well in Channel 5 terms, 2-2.5 million is very good for them, and it is a format that works better than the civvy version. No doubt people find someone like Katie Price making an idiot of herself more interesting than an unknown who will fade away after a couple of weeks.

Celebrity Squares begins soon, and by the looks of it "Stars In Your Eyes" , I think there will be more if ITV sense BBC one leading with a 70's game show against there new shows. How long before they run out of the old formats?

This is the problem. Since many new entertainment formats have stiffed big time, broadcasters are harking back to the so called golden age. The Gen Game should work for a few years, but it's not a solution to the ills of modern LE.

Miranda's just tweeted:

Apparently it's 100 per cent cert I am doing Gen Game. First I've heard of it. Mulling some ideas about it might be more accurate.

BBC PR Disarster!

Thats bad for the BBC!

This is genuinely the funniest thing BBC1 has done in months!

Oops. Still on the BBC's official twitter feed: www.twitter.com/aboutthebbc

What a massive balls up... Some serious crossed wires! Hope this doesn't scupper it.