Cheatspotting (Enemy Within, The)

Member Name: pje

Product:	Enemy Within, The
Date:	07/05/02 (181 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An intriguing test of your psychological detective instincts.

Disadvantages: The hairy gap between Nigel Lythgoe's trousers and socks.

Oh dear, how embarrassing. I'm addicted to a daytime TV show.
Worse still, it's presented by 'Nasty' Nigel Lythgoe of PopStars infamy!

Why? For the same reason that Channel 5's The Mole was one of my favourite shows of last year: one of the contestants is a plant - and we're not talking rhododendrons or chrysanthemums here. One of the five contestants has been given all the answers to the questions in advance. At the end of the show each contestant has to say which of their rivals they think is 'The Enemy' (Within). If, by a majority, they correctly identify The Enemy, then they get to keep the money they've won, plus the money won by The Enemy. But if they don't, The Enemy wins ALL of their money. (In the event of a tied vote, the studio audience have the casting vote.)

It goes like this:

In the first round, each contestant is asked three questions individually,
and then there is a buzzer round. Next Nige asks each contestant who
they think is the enemy. At this point, if you watch it when it goes out
(rather than on video at about midnight when there's nothing on) you can phone in, vote for who you think the Enemy is, and you could win £200 - whoopee. That must make Zenith North, who make the show, a few bob.

Round three sees each player being given three questions on a specific topic, about which they may know sweet FA, before Nasty Nigel divulges some embarrassing incident from each contestants' past which shows that they have been known to cheat in the past. Like the bloke who explained to a teacher that he'd been absent from school because his Mum had had to have her leg amputated. (And yes, he was the Enemy!) Lastly, there's the traditional buzzer round, and then after the audience and contestants have made their choices, the Enemy is revealed...

Nasty Nigel himself doesn't know who The Enemy is, which gives him free reign to cast his
beady eyes on the contestants and express his (and our) suspicions, interrogating them about any surprising answers they give
(right or wrong) or any easy questions which they fail to answer.

I enjoy trying to detect the Enemy by a process of elimination, or if that fails, by gut instinct. The Enemy will try very hard not to give themself away, but there are certain tell-tale signs that someone is innocent.
No-one chooses to make themselves look dumb, so even if the Enemy chooses to give an wrong answer, it will be a plausible one. If the correct answer is Rotterdam, the Enemy might pretend to guess Amsterdam, say. So, if someone gives the answer: "A fridge?" they've obviously misheard, or misunderstood the question and can be safely eliminated as a suspect. And the Enemy won't want to draw attention to themselves, so someone buzzing in and answering the most questions is almost never the cheat. Unfortunately the other contestants often don't believe that that person is just not as dumb as they are, presume he or she is the Enemy, and lose.
This is a bit frustrating, but then, shouting insults at stupid game-show contestants is one of the reasons I enjoy shows like this!

Occasionally the Enemy blows it of course, and I glean great satisfaction, in my own sad way, by picking up on something that gives them away.
Last week, a dumb lad called Dom aroused my suspicion by interrupting
the question: "Before Greg Dyke, who was Director General of the BBC?"
and answering: "Sir John Birt". I thought: Sir? Who would call him Sir? Unless you were just repeating something you'd read before the show...

The Enemy Within was devised by Paul Coia, who used to present Catchword, an irritating daytime word-game-show, in which contestants had to name the longest word they could starting with one given letter, and including two other given letters in the correct order. When the letters
they were given were, say: P, N, M (and such combinations recurred with monotonous regularity) they would smugly parrot out the longest word in the dictionary: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
(Isn't sesquipedalianism irritating? It's almost as bad as googlewhacking!)
The Enemy Within is currently being shown on weekdays after the midday news on BBC1. But as I said, I tape it and peruse it late at night when there's never anything to watch. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.

At the start of the show Nigel asks each contestant: 'Are you the Enemy?' amid the dramatic music and lighting effects that have become de rigueur since Who Wants To be A Millionaire. On one occasion, one bloke replied: 'No, but I wish I was', I immediately eliminated him from my enquiries.
It's certainly an advantage to be the Enemy, and know all the answers - plus you stand to win more...just as long as you don't give yourself away!

The show's producers are on the look-out for more contestants,
so if you fancy your chances, send a stamped self-addressed envelope to: The Enemy Within, P.O. Box 22122, London. SE1 9GL.
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