Shooting Stars

:"This page is about the comedy game show. For other uses, see "shooting star."Infobox television
show_name = Shooting Stars


country= UK
caption =
format = Comedy panel game
picture_format =
runtime = 30 minutes
creator = Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer
starring =Bob Mortimer
Vic Reeves
Ulrika Jonsson
Mark Lamarr (1995-1997)
Will Self (2002-03)
Johnny Vegas (2002-03)
Matt Lucas
channel = BBC Two
first_aired = 1995
last_aired = 2008
num_episodes = 49
producer = Alan Marke (1995-1997)
Lisa Clark (2002-03).
related =

"Shooting Stars" is a UK television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two. Created by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it is both a parody of the game show format, and an experiment in dadaist television. The first series was broadcast in 1995, and the most recent in 2002 (the second series to be shown that year). From Monday 7 January 2008, "SHOOTING STARS" is showing on the UK digital channel Challenge. The shows run for half an hour on Challenge, and because the channel broadcasts adverts (which the original BBC channel did not), the repeated episodes are cut down to approximately 20 minutes with adverts. It has been confirmed that a Christmas Special and a clip show would be broadcast during Christmas 2008. [cite news|last=Holmwood|first=Leigh|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/16/bbc.television|title=Shooting Stars back for one-off special|publisher="The Guardian"|date=2008-07-16|accessdate=2008-07-16]

Format

The basic format of the show is that of a conventional panel game. The hosts (Reeves and Mortimer) and the two teams of three sit behind desks. The hosts ask questions of the two teams, and points are awarded for "correct" answers. As is common with British panel games, the scoring is largely arbitrary and simply a device to give a structure to the proceedings. Reeves will almost always perform a "leg rub" in front of a beautiful female guest seated directly to his right, to indicate his attraction to her.

Rounds include "true or false", the filmclip round, the impressions round and "The Dove from Above" (later briefly replaced by "The Crow From Below", "The Vest From The West", "The Fly From Upon High", "Donald Cox, the sweaty fox" and "The Beast From The East" using the head of Ron Atkinson as well as various other one-off ideas). In the impressions round contestants have to guess what song Vic Reeves is singing "in the club style" - so stylised (or perhaps drunkenly slurred) as to be incomprehensible.

"The Dove from Above" is a large and shoddy prop animal suspended above the contestants merely for the purpose of bearing six key words for further questions. Guests would be prompted to "coo" down the dove. In 2002, the Dove was replaced by "the Wonderful, Wonderful Car", which was a tiny red car with buttocks on the bumper which fired out its questions at Mortimer. In the following series, the car was replaced by "Donald Cox the Sweaty Fox", a large, drunken, tentacled fox (again, suspended from the ceiling) who was voiced by Rhys Thomas.

In the "Dove From Above" round, and subsequent versions of the same round, if a contestant answers incorrectly, Vic shouts "UVAVU" (u.'vɑː.vu) and pulls a silly face. If the contestant chooses a certain, prize-winning option, Vic will pull another silly face and yell "ERANU" (ɪə.'ɑː.nu) The prize is invariably a bizarre and practically useless device, an example of which would be eye-spoons, consisting of spectacle frames with teaspoons attached where lenses would be. These are to be used should one's eyes pop out of their skull when visiting a nudist beach. Another example of bizarre and practically useless prize was a fartridge, which was part fart, part partridge. Vic often tells a poor joke before this round, followed by silence, a howling wind, and a tumbleweed blowing across the set, accompanied sometimes by the Grim Reaper walking across shot to the sound of death knells. Occasionally, as an act of mercy, Lamarr or Mortimer would sacrifice their reputations and tell the joke, at which point it becomes exceptionally funny and is almost worshipped by the audience and guests, much to Vic's disgust. Occasionally, this was shown as a dream sequence, and Vic would wake up, convinced the joke would be a success, only to be greeted by the usual silence.

Occasionally, there would be a "Maverick Round" where a guest would have to stand centre stage and represent something "via the medium of dance." They would then be judged by scorekeeper George Dawes (Matt Lucas), who would invariably award them no points.

The true purpose of the show is as a vehicle for the surrealist humour of the hosts, Vic and Bob. Some guests "get it", others do not. The title of the show is a pun on the fact that much of the humour is at the expense of the guest stars. To prove this point in the pilot episode, on the final line of the opening song (".. and let's start Shooting Stars"), Vic and Bob actually produced shotguns from behind the presenters' podium and fired them at the panels where the guests sat (although, according to Vic, they succeeded only in accidentally shooting a pig owned by a woman standing backstage for no apparent reason)

Participants

There are two teams -Team A and Team B. Each team has a regular team captain - originally, Mark Lamarr and Ulrika Jonsson - and two celebrity guests on each team. Lamarr left the series in 1997 as he disliked being in too many quiz shows at once (at the time he was hosting "Never Mind the Buzzcocks"), and was replaced by novelist Will Self when the series returned in 2002. At the same time comedian Johnny Vegas was brought in as a regular guest on Jonsson's team, where he had a pint of Guinness on his desk where all the other contestants had water (in reference to his famous drinking habits). Contestants are often addressed by their surnames, in reference to "University Challenge".

The "score" is kept by George Dawes, a bizarre, overgrown, ranting, drumming baby played by comedian Matt Lucas. (Occasionally George's "mother" Marjorie Dawes - also played by Lucas - appears instead. She also appears in "Little Britain".) He would also provide a sound effect to signal the end of timed rounds: in earlier seasons this was a simple scream, but later became random phrases ("Leakage"), sometimes in regional accents ("That's it I'm turning the car around and we're going back to Dorset!"), or advertising slogans ("Have you ever been to a Harvester before?"). In the later series he would also perform "George's Song," on which subject questions would follow. These included "Lesbians", "Everybody's Talkin' About Football", "Hip Hop Is The Best" and even a renditon of the "Rentaghost" theme song. Arguably the most memorable song was "Peanuts", which involved George wearing glasses, a wig and a green tracksuit and shouting "Peanuts" at regular intervals (Lucas corpsing as he sung). This costume would be part of the inspiration for Lucas's "Little Britain" character Andy Pipkin.

Questions

Examples of the impossible-to-predict questions (and answers) are:
*True or False: Bill Cosby was the first ever black man. "(False, it was actually Sidney Poitier)"
*Macaulay Culkin is a child, but can you name an adult? "(This was not as easy as it seemed, as the only acceptable answer was Tom Petty)"
*True or false - Cupboard doors open outwards. "(This proved to be true as Vic asked the question from "the perspective of a trapped cat")"
*True or false - A Bounty bar is the exact same size and weight as a human thumb? "(The answer was true, as demonstrated by Vic)"
*Helmut, Braun, Tankard, Rifle? "(The correct answer was Parsnip, Belltoupe, Carnival, Nectarine)"
*True or false - William Shatner's real name is Bill Shit? (it turned out to be false)
*True or False: Paul Daniels' head is wider than it is tall. (This was proven to be true due to measurements from a composite sketch)
*True or False: Inside every cat there is trapped a rabbit, and when a cat says "miaow", it is actually the rabbit saying "get me out".
*True or False: Jeremy irons? "(sic)" "(false; but there is not a given answer.)"
*Who's a cheeky boy then? (Sid Owen simply answers 'Me.' Robbie Williams gave the same answer to 'Who's a pretty boy then?' and was also marked right.)
*Who would win in a fight between a steel octo-bear and some sort of strange man fungus?
*Name a type of bee that produces milk. "(The correct answer was 'boobies')"
*A dog has three puppies, but what was the name of the mother? "(This trick question recurred in many formats - the name of the mother is 'What' (see Who's On First?). These sections usually end with a bemused Vic asking Bob 'heh heh...well...what was it?"'
*True or False: Snakes are used as belts by some Hindus.
*True or False: Shoes from Dundee can be moved by the power of the mind. "(This was proven true, as demonstrated with guest Clare Grogan's shoe)"
*Name a junction on the M6 "(The guest star almost always got the answer wrong)".
*True or False: In Judo there is a move where in which the recipient of the blow reaches instant orgasm, leaving them wide open to attack.
*True or false: Can Michael Barrymore swim?
*How old is Joan Collins? "(Russell Grant failed to get the correct answer, leading Mortimer to say "His powers are weak!")"
*"Love me for a reason and let that reason be..." "(It was answered "love", as the correct title of the Boyzone song. However, Bob replies "No, my 27 and a half inch penis")"
*The Lady in Red is about;:a) Chris de Burgh's recently murdered wife
:b) Chris de Burgh's recently un-murdered wife
:c) A granary loaf
:or d) A & E
"(Correct answer was b) Chris De Burgh's recently un-murdered wife)"
*Who is the latest gameshow host to say "Come on down, the Price Is Right"? "(It was answered with Bruce Forsyth, but Vic Reeves replied with "No. It was me... just now.". In reality, Forsyth never actually said the catchphrase in the show, though he was the latest host)"
*Name a sheep dog
*True or False: Pavarotti has two stomachs; one for food and one for drink.
*Who is TV's most famous doctor ?( the answers in the question ) The answer is Doctor Who. to which Vic Reeves repeatedly asks Bob "Doctor Who ?"
*True or false: Jeremy Clarkson? to which Ulrika replies by moving her hands in a circular motion, which Bob finds correct.

Catchphrases

*'UVAVU' better meaning 'Wrong answer'
*'ERANU' better meaning 'star prize'
*'What are the scores George Dawes?'
*'We really wanna see those fingers'
*'Ulrika-ka-ka-ka!'

The Final game

The winning team ultimately nominates one of its members (usually one of the bewildered guest stars) to perform the final game, which is generally something completely bizarre and different for each show.

*Jarvis Cocker was given the task of throwing mini Baby-Bel cheeses at a giant blow-up poster of Judy Finnigan, with £5 awarded for each hit to the eyes, and £10 for each hit to the mouth, with the additional proviso that Cocker had "to throw them in the style of a girl".
*Damon Hill was buried in a large tub of mushrooms, and was given the task of throwing out as many bags of crisps from the container as he could (while the rest of the team and audience left the studio and the lights were turned out, leaving Damon 'looking' at his watch whilst still covered in mushrooms).
*Johnny Vegas had to see how many vacuum attachments he could stick to his face.
*Ulrika Jonsson had to wipe dandruff from a car windscreen using any of her four cheeks.
*Mark Lamarr, armed only with a child's plastic shield, was forced to fend off various stuffed animals, in increasing size, that were swung at him by Vic from the 'Garden of Tanktata'. The animals ranged from a dormouse to a grizzly bear. He later had to fend off a series of different-sized timepieces, from a wristwatch to a stuffed cow wearing a wristwatch. This format was repeated again for an episode featuring guest Clare Grogan, who was pelted with fruit, culminating in the World's Biggest Fruit, a very camp man/fruit called Soft Alan, who was played by David Walliams.
*Mark Williams was forced to lie on top of a cupboard while Vic and Bob tried desperately to knock him off by hitting him with brooms and slamming their bodies into the side of the cupboard.
*Gordon Burns from "The Krypton Factor" had to knock detergent bottles off a wall made up of dogfood cans with a trombone, providing it was playing a note, unless it was a bottle of Jif, in which case he was to intentionally miss it.
*Lisa Stansfield had to insert a stick of celery between her legs and reverse towards Vic's "lovely dog John" in order to entice him with a series of Greek dips.
*Paul Daniels was locked in an Iron Lung and had to place sweets in his mouth before dropping them onto the body of Ken Tussle (Charlie Higson), the only man capable of letting him out, who was asleep on the floor and could only be woken up with sweets. Ken Tussle had an enormous false nose supported by a wheel, which swept from side to side across his stomach.
*Dervla Kirwan had to put on an enormous ginger wig, crawl in and out of a viaduct, catch mice in her hair and shake them into a series of potties.
*Norman Pace was shot in the backside with increasingly powerful pellet guns, in order to see if he could remain silent.
*Richard E. Grant was placed in a barrel and rolled towards the "Valley of the Plum," which, as Bob informed us, was made up of mostly Victorian fruits, "damsons, greengages and of course, wedlocks!"
*Stephen Fry had to climb into a large wheeled tortoise shell, and collect the various components of a fried breakfast from the floor of the studio.
*Ardal O'Hanlon had to karate chop a bread stick, a celery stalk, a cucumber and a marrow in 10 seconds, he then went on to chop a mans wooden leg in half
*Griff Rhys Jones had to climb down a flight of stairs face down and collect marshmallows in his mouth on the way.
*Martin Clunes had to balance roast chickens on Les Dennis's back in "Journey to Fowl Mountain".
*David Baddiel had to stand on a vibrating platform with a plate covered in Brussels Sprouts, after the platform had stopped vibrating, he won a pound for each sprout still remaining on the plate.
*Myleene Klass was placed in a box where she could not see anything below her neck and was told she had to spend a minute with a monkey attacking her lower half when in actuality it was Vic
*Janet Street-Porter had a large piece of wood strapped to her back and was asked to walk towards a large fan which could only be switched off with her face, calling for "Ken, the elderly security guard in the local Osram factory", to help her.

Most appearances

Apart from the Team Captains, Johnny Vegas made the most appearances with 16 as he was a permanent panelist on Ulrika's team during the last series. Carol Vorderman made a total of 3 appearances and Jarvis Cocker, Stephen Fry, Zoe Ball, Les Dennis and Sara Cox each made two appearances.

Alternative versions

*The format was successfully copied to Danish television channel TV2 Zulu (with suitable alterations for Danish cultural consumption) in 2004, hosted by Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam, ex-of Pythonesque series "Casper & Mandrilaftalen". Team captains were singer Maria Montell and stand-up comic Mikael Wulff. The show went for one season. The show used identical sets.

*Dutch television broadcasts a similar series called the "Mike & Thomas Show". Starting in 2005 it is now in its 3rd season. The most notable difference is that the show is presented from behind two grand pianos. Although it is remarkably similar to "Shooting Stars" the credits do not mention it.

pin-Offs

*In November 1996 the first "Shooting Stars" VHS was released entitled "Shooting Stars - Unviewed and Nude".

*1996 saw the release of the "Shooting Stars" book and CD game. Published by BBC Books in hardcover, this 120 page book retailed at £9.99, and featured various rounds from the shows, as well as a 45 minute CD of the Club Singer round, allowing you to play a full game of "Shooting Stars" in your own home.

*In March 1999 the second "Shooting Stars" VHS was released as a double VHS along with the first one. It was called "Shooting Stars - Unviewed And Nude & Unpicked And Plucked".

Episode Guide

"main|List of Shooting Stars Episodes"

References

External links

* [http://vicandbob.madpage.com/ It's Reeves and Mortimer!]
* [http://www.ukgameshows.com/index.php/Shooting_Stars "Shooting Stars"] at UKGameshows.com
*bbc.co.uk|id=comedy/shootingstars|name=Shooting Stars