Spicks and Specks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Spicks and Specks | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Quiz show |
| Starring | Host Adam Hills Team Captains Alan Brough Myf Warhurst |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Production | |
| Running time | 27 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original run | 2005 – |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
This article is about the Australian TV show Spicks and Specks. For the Bee Gees album of the same name, see Spicks and Specks (album).
Spicks and Specks is an Australian music-themed quiz show. It airs on the ABC at 8:30 on Wednesday nights. 2007 marked Spicks and Specks' third season, with the first episode airing on Wednesday the 14th of February. The show is hosted by stand-up comedian Adam Hills and features two permanent team captains, New Zealand-born actor/comedian Alan Brough and Triple J announcer Myf Warhurst, along with two different guest panelists each. Regular guests include Ross Noble, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee, Frank Woodley, Colin Lane, James Morrison, Renée Geyer, Ella Hooper, Meshel Laurie, Dave O'Neil and Ali McGregor.
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[edit] Games
The show sticks to a simple quiz-show format, with host Hills asking the teams varying music-themed questions. Some rounds are played on an "open-to-all" basis, ie, both teams can answer the questions, but in most rounds each team gets their own questions to answer - although the other team may answer the question if Hills is satisfied that the original team doesn't know it. Scores are kept, but the prize for the winners is simply personal satisfaction. Regular segments include:
- Substitute, where one panellist from each team sings three well-known tunes, substituting words from a text provided by Hills. This is usually a technical manual or some kind of text humorous given the context (texts used have been "Datsun 180B Service Manual", "2004 Australian Government Tax Pack" and "A guide to Yabbie Farming"). The other panellists of that team then guess the songs. This game is loosely based on One Song To The Tune Of Another from the BBC Radio 4 panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
- Know Your Product, where each team chooses one of four given topics - three questions around this topic are then asked which either team can answer. The questions are usually ordered by points allocated and the number of answers needed. (eg. first question is worth 1 point, but only 1 answer is needed, the second question is worth 2 points and requires 2 answers, and the final question is worth 3 marks and has 3 answers). This game is always played first in an episode.
- Samplemania, where 5 or 6 songs are edited into one short 30-second clip. Players must identify the different songs in the soundclip after they have all been played, and are not allowed to take notes.
- Please Please Tell Me Now, in which Hills presents part of a music video clip, and the teams must answer questions about the video.
- Musician or Serial Killer, in which each panellist is shown a photograph and asked to choose whether the subject is a musician or a serial killer.
- Sir Mix'n'Matchalot, where each team is given three famous people and three facts about each of these people. They have to match the fact with the correct person.
- Bottom 100 in which Hills provides each team with a choice of two awful songs and asks them to determine which was rated worst by a given group or list.
- Common People in which the teams identify the commonality between three musicians.
- Malvern Stars on 45 in which a single contestant rides a bicycle which powers a record player. The speed each record plays at is determined by the speed at which the contestant pedals. The contestant must continue to ride until their panel correctly guesses as many songs as possible in the time limit.
- Cover Versions in which one contestant is chosen to draw a picture (in silence), representing either a song title or an album cover, as their panel attempts to guess which song it is. Contestants are not allowed to use words or numbers.
- Mondegreens - which are misinterpreted song lyrics - is where the contestants are asked to guess which song contains the mistaken lyrics.
- Looking for Clues, where teams have to guess the name of a band from a cryptic clue given by Hills.
- Look What They've Done... (To My Song, Ma!), where song clips have been changed and the players must identify the tracks. Most commonly, a guest artist or group is used to play the tracks in a different style to the original, however the songs have also been played through headphones played to maximum volume, through ringtones, backwards, etc.
- Something's Missing, where the teams are shown album covers with an item or word blanked out, and they must identify the missing item.
- One out of Three Ain't Bad, where teams are given a famous musical story and are presented with three possible endings. Teams must select the true ending to the story.
- Word Up, in which teams are given five words from the lyrics of a song, and they must then identify the song.
- All Shook Up, in which each team is shown a series of anagrams of musicians' names (eg "Bomb Early" - "Bob Marley"), and they have to unscramble the anagram. If nobody guesses the anagram immediately, Hills will give a clue.
The final round of each program, The Final Countdown, is devoted to a generic musical quiz.
Many of these rounds have proved more popular than others. For instance, Substitute has been used consistently throughout the history of the show, and appears in almost all episodes, where Looking for Clues is used much less. Some other segments have proven to be popular early in the show's history but have been used less or even abandoned later in the season: Musician or Serial Killer and Bottom 100 were both commonly used early in 2006 but at some point within the year both have stopped appearing on the show.
Despite points being awarded for each round, there are usually no prizes involved. One exception to this occurred after comedian Rich Hall demanded to know what the prizes were, he was offered a John Butler Trio hat and some thongs, items belonging to audience members which were later returned.
[edit] Specky Christmas
Since 2005, an annual hour-long Christmas episode, entitled "A Very Specky Christmas" in 2005, and then "Another Specky Christmas" in 2006, has been screened the Sunday night before Christmas. While these episodes remain true to the standard format with three members on each team, adaptions are made to allow more guest stars to appear. Additional or notably different games have included:
- Mistletoss, a physical challenge in which the teams are required to throw Christmas presents into a goal in a given time limit. In 2005, the teams threw CDs into the chimney of a model house; in 2006, wrapped gifts were thrown into celebrities' Christmas stockings of different sizes.
- Sir Mix'n'Matchalot is adapted so that three additional celebrities appear and are arbitrarily given Christmas presents by the show. The panel then asks questions and attempts to allocate the presents.
- Substitute is adapted so that trained choirs sing the tunes of Christmas songs with the words from famous quotes and works from the past year, such as controversial pieces of legislation or political speeches. Particularly memorable was a batting card from Australia's losing 2005 Ashes campaign, sung to the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
[edit] Theme and Titles
The show's theme music was performed and produced by The Dissociatives, a duo consisting of Silverchair singer Daniel Johns and dance musician Paul Mac. Mac once appeared on the show as a panellist.
Spicks and Specks is also the first hit song by the pop group The Bee Gees from which the TV show takes its name and which the show's theme music is based on.
The show's opening title sequence was created by Animal Logic, a well-known visual effects company based at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia.
[edit] Frequent guest appearances
(As of 4 October 2006)
- Hamish Blake 16 episodes
- Dave O'Neil 12 episodes
- Frank Woodley 11 episodes
- Colin Lane 10 episodes
- Ross Noble 8 episodes
- Denise Scott 7 episodes
[edit] External link
- Spicks and Specks official website.
