The Murder Game (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = The Murder Game


caption =
show_name_2 =
genre = Reality / Murder mystery
creator = George Verschoor, Robert Fisher, Jr., and Gordon Cassidy (for FOX)
writer =
director = Ewen Thomson
creative_director =
developer = FOX/BBC
presenter = Kate Humble
starring =
voices =
narrated =
theme_music_composer =
opentheme =
endtheme =
composer = Sophia Morizet, Helene Muddiman
country = UK
language = English
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 8
list_episodes =
executive_producer = Conrad Green
co_exec =
producer = Ewen Thomson, Nichola Hegarty, Aidan Hansell (reality producer), David Newcombe (drama producer)
sup_producer =
asst_producer =
cons_producer =
co-producer =
editor = David Tibballs
story_editor =
location = Brentwood, Essex, England, UK
cinematography = Janet Tovey
camera =
runtime = 60 mins
network = BBC One, BBC Three
picture_format = PAL (576i)
audio_format =
first_run =
first_aired = 29 March 2003
last_aired = 17 May 2003
preceded_by =
followed_by =
related = "Murder in Small Town X"
website = http://www.bbc.co.uk/murdergame/
production_website =
imdb_id = 0360290
tv_com_id = 18355

"The Murder Game" was a British reality television series that aired on BBC One from March through May 2003. The show was based on the American FOX television show "Murder in Small Town X". Though classified as a reality television series, it was more accurately a hybrid of reality TV, game show, and mystery drama. The presenter of the show was Kate Humble.

Premise

In the town of Blackwater a fictional woman named Catherine Prior had been murdered. Ten contestants from the British public were set the challenge of becoming investigators and finding the killer. The investigators were led by Bob Taylor, known as the "Chief Investigator" or "Chief", who was in real life a retired Detective Chief Superintendent from the West Yorkshire Police [cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/03_march/11/murder_game.pdf |title="The Murder Game" Press Kit |publisher=BBC |format=PDF |accessdate=2008-08-30] . The people from the town, played by actors, formed the suspects, some of whom later became victims.

At the beginning of each episode, one investigator would be appointed as the "Lead Investigator", who would have specific responsibilities and powers. The investigators would be split into teams by the Lead Investigator, and sent down different lines of inquiry determined by the Chief. These lines of inquiry would involve hidden tests, which the teams would either pass or fail as judged by the Chief. The investigators from all the failing teams would be put to a group vote, where one of them would be chosen as a contestant to play the "Killer's Game". All of the living investigators could cast a vote, with the exception of the Lead Investigator. The Lead Investigator would then choose a second contestant for the Killer's Game.

At the end of each episode, in the Killer's Game, the two selected contestants would be sent to two different remote locations completely alone, with their movements recorded only by a head-mounted camera. One of the contestants would discover a further clue to the mystery, whereas the other one would be eliminated from the show as a "murder" victim, with his last seconds seen from the point of view of the "killer" in the manner of classical slasher films like "Psycho".

The eliminated contestant would choose the Lead Investigator for the next episode, by means of a prerecorded "last will and testament".

The Investigators

Suspects

Killer's Game

The Murder Game was the Epic part of the show, The rules are that when any of the investigators from all the failing teams would be put to a group vote, where one of them would be chosen as a contestant to play the "Killer's Game". All of the living investigators could cast a vote, with the exception of the Lead Investigator. The Lead Investigator would then choose a second contestant for the Killer's Game, The chosen players will have to pick an envelope to chose who will go where for example "The Power Museum", Then "The Chief" Says to the Players that they Have one hour to pack their bags and get ready to "Play the Killer's Game"

At the end of each episode, in the Killer's Game, the two selected contestants would be sent to two different remote locations completely alone, with their movements recorded only by a head-mounted camera. One of the contestants would discover a further clue to the mystery, whereas the other one would be eliminated from the show as a "murder" victim, with his last seconds seen from the point of view of the "killer" in the manner of classical slasher film like "Psycho".

After the losing player's camera is cut off signalling the end of the run for them, The survivor of the two comes through the doors at the entrance and notifying that he or she chose correctly and will continue on until they are out of the game and the player that was "killed" picks the Lead Investigator for the next week

Andrew Weaver who was the winner of the show won seven times in the Killers Game.

Production

The town of Maldon, Essex was used as the fictional town setting of the series, "Blackwater" [cite web |url=http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php/The_Murder_Game |title="The Murder Game" |publisher=UKGameShows |accessdate=2008-08-30] . The Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker was also used in the series. Before playing the game, the investigators were sent on a four day training course at the Police Training Centre in Wakefield.

Viewer interaction

Using Sky, Cable or Freeview, viewers could watch additional parts of the show using BBCi's digital interactive features. One feature entitled "Blackwater TV" was based around reviewing the case and showing mock television news reports. The "React" feature was where viewers could vote for whom they thought was the killer; the voting results would then be shown the following week. The "Investigators" section featured exclusive footage from the Chief commenting on the contestants' current handling of the case. The fourth interactive feature was the "Case File" which held all of the details of the case which had currently been uncovered, including timelines, locations, relationships of suspects, and evidence.

References

External links

*
* (No longer active)
** Official|http://web.archive.org/web/20030409201635/www.bbc.co.uk/murdergame/ at the Internet Archive, dated 9th April 2003