Blockbusters (game show)

Blockbusters was a television game show in which contestants answered trivia questions to complete a path across a game board of hexagons.

Broadcast history

United States

The original US version of Blockbusters, hosted by Bill Cullen, ran from October 27, 1980, to April 23, 1982. A second version, hosted by Bill Rafferty, ran from January 5 to May 1, 1987. Both versions aired on NBC, and reruns of both versions currently air on GSN.

Related Topics:
US - Bill Cullen - October 27 - 1980 - April 23 - 1982 - Bill Rafferty - January 5 - May 1 - 1987 - NBC - Rerun - GSN

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

United Kingdom

Blockbusters had a more successful run in the UK, where it was shown from 1983 to 1993 on the ITV network with Bob Holness hosting. The show, made by Central Independent Television, was played by sixth form students with prizes accrued for the students and their colleges. The theme music for this version was by Ed Welch. As a career actor Holness played up the role of being an 'old duffer' to the young contestants that won him a cult following amongst students. After finishing on ITV, the show continued for a few years on the satellite channel Sky One, though some ITV regions continued to show the series. Reruns from 1992 were shown on Challenge between October and December 2004, and were shown again throughout March 2005. Carlton Select also showed old shows, while that channel was still operational.

Related Topics:
UK - 1983 - 1993 - ITV - Bob Holness - Central Independent Television - Sixth form - Students - Ed Welch - Sky One - 1992 - Challenge - 2004 - 2005 - Carlton Select

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Subsequent series have been made for adult contestants, broadcast by BBC Two in 1997 (presented by Michael Aspel) and Sky One again in 2000 (presented by Liza Tarbuck). These versions failed to capture the same degree of popularity as the Holness incarnation.

Related Topics:
BBC Two - 1997 - Michael Aspel - Sky One - 2000 - Liza Tarbuck

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other countries

There was even a version for kids in Australia, and a German version called Super Grips.

Related Topics:
Australia - German

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~