WHO'S HOUSE IS IT????... (Finders Keepers)

Member Name: MarcoG

Product:	Finders Keepers
Date:	18/07/08 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Kids are actually allowed to trash rooms!

Disadvantages: Messy messy messy

Finders Keepers is a children's TV gameshow that started in the 90's (although it has also been updated more recently too). The show is set in, what can only be described as, a giant doll's house. There are two teams of two, and each team take it in turns to find various objects within each room of the house to gain points. The winning team, then go through to the 'Super Search', where top prizes can be won!

To review this, for me, is more of a nostalgic thing more than anything else, as not only did I used to love this show, but I was also on it when I was 11...all those years ago!

The show originally was presented by Neil Buchanan (who also did 'Art Attack' - if you've never heard of that show, then shame on you). The two teams of two (one boy and one girl) were 'The Yellow Perils' and 'The Green Meanies' (I was yellow, raaah). Once the teams have been introduced, they go over to the Garage doors. It is here that the teams 'battle' it out to 'win' a room in the house to search (don't worry, it isn't a free for all, with kids all over the house trying to find random rubbish). The way this is done is by a big video screen, split into nine squares. Within each square is an answer, but it is hidden with numbers from 1 to 9. Neil would then tell the teams which room is up for grabs and ask a question such as 'Who wore a coat of many colours' (I was actually asked that) and then the teams would take it in turns to pick a square, if the square revealed the correct answer then you 'won' that room to search (of course, I found Jason Donovan straight away, gutted he wasn't there waiting in the room though). In the first round, only 4 rooms are up for grabs.

Once the rooms have been claimed, then the relevant team would go to that room with Neil, where he would read them a clue about an object, then that object would have to be found. For example, in the Junk Room (I'll come onto all the different rooms later) a clue was 'You have to scrum down to find this ball'...if the kids were clever enough then, they would know they had to find a rugby ball - then they had 30 seconds to find it. Not wanting to show off, but our team got that clue, and I found it in 4 seconds (oh yes!) - well it was buried under a load of balls in this box in front of me, so I 'scrummed' down and found it (how proud I am, as I look back). So, at the end of Round One, the teams would have been awarded points for every item they found.

There are eight rooms in the house, and in Round Two, the teams go back to 'the Garage doors' where the four remaining rooms are to be claimed. The rooms in the house are as follows (they often change from series to series, but here are the rooms I had at the time...) the Living Room, the Kitchen, the Study, the Store room, the Bathroom, the Kids bedroom, Mum & Dad's bedroom (to which everyone would go 'oooo' because no-one is really allowed to go in there are they?...apparently) and the best one...the Fantasy Room. The Fantasy Room was different for every show, for example it varied from a Circus Room, A Space Room, A Pirate Room...but for my show, it was the Fortune Teller's Room (lots of crystal balls everywhere). So, in the Second Round the teams get to 'win' the rest of the rooms...which they go on to raid. After this round, the scores are added up and the team with the lowest score goes home with a goodie pack (a bag, wallet, frisbee, pen and hat) and the winners go on to...The Super Search.

The Super Search is where the whole house gets put back together (it was funny watching all the show's runners cleaning up haha - but no-one at home never saw this, obviously), with more hidden objects added. The winning team, then have two minutes to answer clues and find the objects, that will tell them which room they have to run to next, and answer another clue etc. When the two minutes is up, they get a prize equivalent to the number of rooms successfully raided. Needless to say, we got the star prize (wooop wooop!!) which was a colour TV, with remote control (I was the envy of all my friends). But prizes would vary from a games console, to a day trip, other games etc.

I always remember the show being quite iconic, especially for it's various catch phrases that Neil Buchanan would shout to the audience. At school, we could shout out 'Who's house is it?' and everyone would shout back 'Our house!'. Or...'What time is it?'...'It's room-raiding time!'. Ahhh the memories! There was also a big blue arrow that would flash up on the screen showing everyone at home, where the object was hidden...so we could all shout at the screens where they should be looking!

There was also another host, who no-one ever saw...'Jeremy the Voice', who would announce the prizes and what the week's Fantasy Room was. He was rather annoying and had a strange banter with Neil in every show...often cringe-worthy moments, but sometimes they could occasionally raise a smile.

When I was at school, everybody loved this show. I think it's because kids are actually allowed to trash the house, and then win prizes for doing so. The reaction to trashing Mum and Dad's room was always very taboo, and very amusing for that reason. Neil often asked 'why aren't you allowed in Mum and Dad's room?', of course you couldn't say the proper reason (if, indeed there is one), it was always because 'it's just Mum and Dad's room'. I'm sure generations beyond mine will continue to enjoy the sense of fun and authorized 'naughtiness' with this TV show.

As always, shows get updated, and the show got rebranded and brought up to date in the last few years. The presenter changed to Jeff Brazier (Jade Goody's ex-husband), there was gunge involved (there was no gunge back in my day) and the prizes got bigger. But let's face it, nothing is as good as the original...

...All together now...

'WHO'S HOUSE IS IT??...'

Summary: Fun kids TV show, where they can go crazy in a giant doll's house!