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onthebuzzer-blog · 9 years ago

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REVIEW: Bullseye - You Can’t Beat It

So, we're starting this brand new blog with a review of possibly one of the greatest television game shows of all time.

Jim Bowen was your host for this combination of darts and general knowledge which was a staple of the ITV schedule for nearly 15 years.

The game was played by three couples, one a darts player, the other answering the questions. Over two rounds, the three couples would be whittled down to just one.

Round 1 was the Category board. 10 categories round the edge of the board, and three possible scoring zones for the players to hit. Cash values were £30, £50 and £100. However, if the dart player hit the bullseye, they'd win £200!

However, should the dart player hit the wrong category, they didn't get the bonus. Once a subject was played, it dropped out of the game, meaning if it was hit again, the player would lose their turn.

Categories in this round ranged from History to Spelling. The spelling category was always a favourite of mine, just to see the show's iconic mascot Bully strolling across the screen with the correct spelling.

At the end of the round, the couple with the lowest score then departed the show. In later series, this was changed so that all three couples played in Round 2.

Round 2 was Pounds for Points. The dart players would compete in three rounds of darts. The player with the highest score won a question for their partner, the question being worth the score they threw. If they got it wrong, it'd go to the second highest score, and so on. Play this three times to get a winning couple, who went through to the second half of the show.

After the break, we'd have the Bronze Bully challenge, where a professional dart player (or in the earlier series, a famous celebrity) would throw 9 darts. Whatever they scored went to a charity of the winning couples choice. If they scored 301, the money was doubled.

Now, the big part of the show. Bully's Prize Board. 9 prizes hidden in the red sections of the board. The prizes were cheap and tacky, but that was to be expected really. 6 darts for the dart player and 3 for the non-dart player to try and grab the prizes. However, if you hit the same prize twice, you lost it, so you had to be careful.

Once that was done, the winning couple then had to make a choice. Gamble the prizes (and in later series, the cash they'd won as well) on the star prize "hiding behind Bully".

To win the star prize, they had to score 101 or more in 6 darts, with the non-dart player going first. If they did it, prizes, cash, the lot. If they failed, they kept the money (in the later series they'd lose the money too and get BFH. Bus Fare Home.)

The star prizes varied. Mostly speedboats, which were great prizes for someone who lived in a 5th floor council flat in Wolverhampton. The producers did a deal with a speedboat company apparently. There were some other decent prizes though, including cars and holidays. One later episode awarded a £5,000 cash prize!

The original series was fronted by Jim Bowen from 1981-1995. We shan't discuss the Dave Spikey revival in 2006, as it's just too painful...

So that was Bullseye. Sunday afternoons just aren't the same anymore without a bit of Bully...

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