Pointless (game show)
| Pointless | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Also known as | Pointless Celebrities |
| Genre | Game show |
| Directed by | Nick Harris Julian Smith |
| Presented by | Alexander Armstrong |
| Starring | Richard Osman |
| Theme music composer | Marc Sylvan |
| Country of origin | England |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 16 |
| No. of episodes | 872 (as of 23 January 2017[update]) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Pam Cavannagh (BBC) Tom Blakeson and David Flynn (both Brighter Pictures then Remarkable Television) |
| Producer(s) | Michelle Woods |
| Location(s) |
BBC Television Centre (2009–12) Elstree Studios (2013–) |
| Editor(s) |
|
| Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
| Running time | 45 minutes (regular) 50 minutes (celebrity) |
| Production company(s) | Brighter Pictures (2009) Remarkable Television (2010–) |
| Distributor | Endemol UK |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC Two (2009–11, 2014, 2016-17) BBC One (2011–) |
| Picture format |
576i (16:9 SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 24 August 2009 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Beat the Nation Family Fortunes |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Pointless Celebrities | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Game show |
| Directed by | Nick Harris Julian Smith Stuart McDonald |
| Presented by |
Alexander Armstrong Richard Osman |
| Theme music composer | Marc Sylvan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 135 (as of 21 January 2017) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Pam Cavannagh (BBC) Tom Blakeson and David Flynn (both Brighter Pictures then Remarkable Television) |
| Producer(s) | Michelle Woods |
| Location(s) |
BBC Television Centre (2011–12) Elstree Studios (2013–) |
| Editor(s) |
|
| Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Remarkable Television |
| Distributor | Endemol UK |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format |
576i (16:9 SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 4 July 2011 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Pointless is a British quiz show produced by Endemol UK for the BBC, hosted by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman. Contestants on the programme, who play in teams of two, are tasked with finding correct but obscure answers to general knowledge questions based on pre-conducted public surveys of 100 people from the UK. Correct answers that were not given by any survey participants are termed "pointless" and are the most desirable. In the main game, a pointless answer adds £250 to the jackpot; in the final a pointless answer is needed to win the jackpot.
The series was first broadcast on BBC Two on 24 August 2009 before it transferred to BBC One in 2011, although on occasion of news and sport events it occasionally transfers back to BBC Two. To date, there have been 16 series, plus 10 celebrity series. Recording for series 15 ended in July 2015. The show has a peak audience of over 7 million viewers and the format has been exported to other European countries.
The object of the game is for contestants to provide answers which are not only correct but also as obscure as possible. The game features four teams (previously five), each consisting of two contestants. In each round, the team with the highest score is eliminated; the other teams proceed to the next round. In the final round there is the chance to win the jackpot prize. Teams can appear on the show twice (only once if they have made it to the final round on their first attempt). The show's assistant is Richard Osman, whom Armstrong describes as his "pointless friend" during a humorous introduction at the start of the game. During the course of the game, he gives information about the answers that are given, as well as statistics at the end of each round on the most common and most obscure answers.
Prior to the show, 100 people are each given 100 seconds to give as many answers as they can to the questions that contestants will be asked during the show. Correct answers are assigned a point value equal to the number of panellists who gave them, so that less commonly given answers have lower values than those given by many panellists. Contestants try to give answers worth as few points as possible, aiming to have the lowest score amongst the contestants in each round. If an answer is correct, its value is revealed by a display of a score counting down from 100 in time with thin discs being removed from a vertical stack (the latter of which forms the I in the programme's logo).
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