The Rich List (Australian game show)

"For other versions of the show, please see The Rich List."

infobox television
show_name = The Rich List


genre = Game show
picture_format = 576i (SDTV)
audio_format = Stereo
runtime = 60 minutes
("Including commercials")
creator = 12 Yard
presenter = Andrew O'Keefe
country = AUS
location = HSV-7 in South Melbourne, Victoria
network = Seven Network
first_aired = January 29 2007
last_aired =
num_seasons = 2
num_episodes = 24 (As of May 31, 2008)
website = http://au.blogs.yahoo.com/therichlist/
imdb_id = 0949796
tv_com_id = 69227

"The Rich List" is an Australian game show which is based on the format initially created for transmission in the United Kingdom created by 12 Yard. The game consists of two teams who name as many items relating to a topic as they can while competing against each other for a no-limit cash prize. For its first season, it was shown on Monday Nights at 7:30pm on the Seven Network but moved to Saturday nights in the same timeslot for the second season.

The show premiered in its regular Monday timeslot on January 29, 2007 at 7:30pm and continued with a special episode on January 30 to give people a chance to watch the show who opted to watch Steve Irwin's last documentary Ocean's Deadliest which went up against The Rich List on Monday the 29^th on the rival station, the Nine Network. The show is recorded at the South Melbourne HSV-7 studios. This version follows the basic rules of other versions of the show.

The program is hosted by the Deal or No Deal host Andrew O'Keefe. The pilot episode was taped on October 18, 2006. The show began taping episodes for air on December 11, 2006 and auditions for contestants for the show continue.

The first series of "The Rich List" ended on June 25, 2007. A second series began airing May 24 2008 in the new night of 7:30 p.m. Saturdayscite web |url=http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/05/returning-rich-list.html |title= Returning: The Rich List|accessdate=7 May |accessyear=2008 |publisher= David Knox, TV Tonight] , although just 721,000 viewers tuned in to the season premiere episode, placing the Seven Network fourth out of five in its timeslot. After two episodes of poor ratings, the Seven Network pulled "The Rich List" from the schedule, and is set to resume after the Beijing Olympic Games.

Gameplay

The Gameplay is similar to the format used in the United Kingdom (although, despite the fact that an entire series was filmed with Eamonn Holmes as host, it has never been aired). It consists of two rounds. A best of three no money amount lists followed by "The Rich List" where a team can win $250,000 for completing each list with 15 answers. There is no limit to how many "Rich Lists" a team can partially or fully complete and therefore, teams are capable of winning an unlimited amount of money.

Best of three lists

Two teams of two players, one of which are the champions from the previous episode and the other are a new pair of challengers, are presented to the audience. The two teams, who have not met before the show, are placed in separate soundproof isolation booths, with audio that is turned on or off by the host. He announces the category for the list, such as "Wimbledon Mens Singles champions" or "Squares from a Monopoly board" then asks the challengers to place a bid on the number of items they must name to win the list. The host switches the audio on and off between the booths as the bidding continues. Note that if players do not feel they can bid higher than their opponents' bid, they can choose to bluff their bids (as the opponent side cannot hear the team's conversations) in an attempt to pressure the opponents to raise their bid further. The host turns both audios on when one team has challenged the other to fulfill the bid.

The challenged team must list in a row as many items as their bid in order to win the list. If the team makes one mistake along the way, the list is awarded to their opponents.

The first team to win two lists has won the best of three and goes on to play "The Rich List".

Tiebreaker

If each team wins one list apiece, a sudden death tiebreaker is played. The host gives the category, both booths are switched on, and the teams alternate their answers. In order to win the list and the best of three, one team must give an incorrect answer while the other team gives a correct answer.

The Rich List

The winning team moves on to play "The Rich List" where Andrew gives the team a new category and the chance to supply up to 15 correct answers. Winnings increase after every third correct answer is given, according to the chart to the right.

If a wrong answer is given at any time, the team loses all accumulated money they won from that "Rich List", but all winnings from previous "Rich Lists" that the team may have completed are safe. After every third answer, they can choose to stop playing, winning all the money accumulated from the current "Rich List" or play on, until the team lists all fifteen answers, therefore winning $250,000. Regardless of the outcome, the team then returns to the isolated soundproof booths to play the game again against a new pair of opponents. Only a loss when playing "The Best of three lists" can eliminate teams from the show.

Errors

A few lists in the show are known to have mistakes or inaccurate information in them. The list about countries adopting the euro contained a country called "Holland", which is in fact a region of the Netherlands. There have also been other mistakes in lists such as “Island Nations” where the list included nations that share the land territory of the island with other nation-states, and “Top 20 countries with the most land area”. A list of nation's common names beginning with B listed Bermuda, which is a British Overseas Territory, and Britain, which is the name of the islands off the western coast of Europe on which the United Kingdom, except Ireland, is situated. A list of countries beginning with A also accepted America, as it "is the way most Australians would say it", despite the country in question actually being called the United States.

Ratings

The show's premiere on January 29 placed fourth in daily ratings and second in its timeslot "Ocean's Deadliest" on Nine Network, which aired at the same time as "The Rich List", attracted about 250,000 more. However, the show performed better in the next episode. Despite attracting less viewers than "1 vs. 100" in the first few weeks, the show attracted 40,000 more viewers on March 5.

The show is usually in the top 20 most watched programs each week according to ratings measuring company OzTAM.

List of episodes

eason 1 (2007)

:¹ There was no April 9 2008 episode due to the Easter long weekend.

Total prize money given away during season one: $2,705,000

Total prize money given away during season two: $0

Total prize money given away overall: $2,705,000

References

External links

* [http://au.blogs.yahoo.com/therichlist/ Official website]