A Comedy of Errors (Family Fortune)

Member Name: W Shakespeare

Product:	Family Fortune
Date:	18/06/01 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Subtitled questions for hearing impaired, It makes you feel much more intelligent, Simple format

Disadvantages: Les Dennis stooped being funny in 1983, 1980's set design, Families have to share prizes

Who are these 100 people they survey every week? What world do they inhabit? Probably the same one most of the families do and, I'll give you a clue, it's not in our galaxy.

If you don't know the format of Family Fortunes then let me explain. Two families with the average IQ of a small houseplant are given name badges (so they don't forget who they are) and proceed to show the world just how far down the evolutionary scale homo sapiens still are, by incorrectly guessing the answers 100 people gave to a particular question.

"We asked a 100 people, name a food that begins with a 'B'". You or I might say bread, beef or bagels. A contestant on Family Fortunes would respond 'honey'.

Occasionally - just as if you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of typewriters one would eventually write the complete works of Shakespeare - someone gets an answer right but more often than not, Mr Babbage (the show's resident computer) responds to contestant's answers with the message:

X X
X X
X X
X
X X
X X
X X

"UH-UUH"

Les Dennis's famous catchphrase "If it's there, I'll give you the money myself" is wheeled out WITHOUT FAIL every single episode. This must be the only game show with a catchphrase based on the stupidity of its contestants.

The winning family have to answer 5 questions and amass 200 points to win the star prize. Thankfully things have moved on since the days of Bullseye when pub darts players were rewarded with a speedboat - not very much use when you live in Burnley - and this is often a car or a holiday.

But Family Fortunes has great comedic value. While the format does involve the viewer and can be quite fun, I honestly feel its appeal lies more i
n the fact that the audience feel safe in the knowledge that there are people out there who are much more stupid than they are. And the contestants prove them right time and time again.

Finally, I asked a 100 people, "How the hell has this programme managed to avoid the ITV axe for all this time?" Now that IS a difficult question...

Summary: