Cash Cab (British game show)

*Cash Cab*
Cash Cab
	Canadian Cash Cab logo
Genre	Game show
Created by	Adam Wood
Presented by	Adam Growe
Country of origin	Canada
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	52
Production
Producer	Castlewood Productions
Running time	30mins (inc. comms)
Original release
Network	Discovery Channel
Release	September 10, 2008 –; present

*Cash Cab*
Cash Cab
	Australian Cash Cab logo
Genre	Game show
Created by	Adam Wood
Presented by	James Kerley (1-2, 4-); Charlie Pickering (3)
Country of origin	Australia
No. of seasons	4
Production
Producer	XYZnetworks
Running time	30mins (inc. comms)
Original release
Network	Channel V
Release	October 29, 2007 –; present

Cash Cab is a TV game show devised by Adam Wood that originated in the United Kingdom and has been licensed to television networks in numerous other countries. Passengers in a specially outfitted taxi are surprised and offered the chance to win money by correctly answering a series of general knowledge or trivia questions on the way to their destination.

Cash Cab by country

United Kingdom

This original version of Cash Cab was shown on ITV1 from 13 June 2005 to 2007.

Hosted by John Moody (a genuine qualified taxi driver), he drives around the major cities of the United Kingdom in a cab, picking up passengers who, until they step into the cab, did not know that they would be participating in a quiz show.

The contestants tell the driver their destination before getting into the taxi and are not allowed to change it. They then have the distance they need to travel to answer questions, ranging from £10 to £500, depending on the distance driven. If the contestant gets three questions wrong, they lose the money they have won up to that point and must leave the cab immediately.

United States

The original American version of Cash Cab airs on the Discovery Channel, and is hosted by comedian and licensed New York cab driver Ben Bailey. The cab takes passengers as normal fares, and once they agree to play, the driver asks a series of questions of increasing difficulty and cash value. Every wrong answer earns one "strike"; if the players get three strikes, they lose all of their winnings and are immediately put out of the cab. Contestants are given two "Shout-Outs," during which they can ask for help to answer a question, either by placing a mobile phone call or by asking a passerby on the street.

If the players have accumulated a certain amount of money when the cab stops at a red light, they play a "Red Light Challenge" bonus round, involving a question with several correct answers. Giving all of them within 30 seconds wins extra money for the contestants; there is no penalty for failing to do so.

At the end of the ride, the players can either leave with the money, or answer a single "Video Bonus" question for double or nothing. Regardless of the outcome of the game, the cab ride is free of charge.

In Seasons 1 and 2, the first four questions were worth $25 each, the next four were worth $50, and all questions after that were worth $100; a successful Red Light Challenge awarded $250. Early in 2007, the U.S. version also had a spin-off called Cash Cab: After Dark, filmed at night and played for double the amounts ($50/$100/$200), though Red Light Challenge questions were still worth $250. Starting with Season 3 in 2008, the daytime version switched to the payouts from Cash Cab: After Dark.

In 2009, the show added a new variation called the "Double Ride," in which certain games were chosen at random to have doubled payouts ($100/$200/$400, with $500 Red Light Challenges). At the same time, the difficulty of the questions does not increase.

In February 2011, Cash Cab: Chicago premiered, featuring host/driver Beth Melewski, a former touring member of Second City. Other than the new city and host, the format of the show is identical to the New York version, including much of the same idioms and commentary.

Both the Chicago and New York versions are currently airing on Discovery Channel in the U.S., while repeats of the New York version can also be seen on local stations in syndication.

Australia

The Australian version is currently airing its fourth season. James Kerley has been the host of the series, except for the third season, where he was replaced by Charlie Pickering. The first two seasons of the series were filmed in Melbourne, with the third being based in Perth and the fourth being currently based in the Gold Coast. The programme airs on the Australian subscription television music channel, Channel [V].

Contestants are asked several trivia questions (mainly music questions) in various verbal, audio and video based questions for the duration of their trip. After being asked 5 questions, players are asked to choose The Loot or the Boot. Contestants have the opportunity to keep "the loot" they have won so far, or trade it all, depending on how many questions they answered correctly, for what is "in the boot". Boot prizes may be worth substantially more or substantially less than their current winnings. By choosing "the boot," the contestant's winnings are reset to $0 and the prize is theirs to keep, even if they use up their three strikes. On rare occasions, the host may give an opportunity to the contestant to win some of their money back by doing a 30-second dare relating to their substantially less valuable "boot" prize. Contestants are entitled to 2 "Shout Outs", one 30 second phone call to a friend on the phone (a "Mobile Shout-Out") or to ask someone random off the street (a "Street Shout-Out") that they are travelling on. When contestants reach their destination, they are asked if they want to "Double or Nothing" in which they can choose to walk away with what cash they have won, or to sit and watch a video clip and be asked an observation-based question. If they correctly answer, they walk away with double the winnings of the trip, but if they get it wrong, they walk away with nothing. A parody of this show appears on Balls of Steel Australia which is also hosted by Kerley.

Japan

In Japan, the show is titled キャッシュキャブ (kyassukyabu, "Cash Cab" written in katakana) and airs on Fuji TV, premiering in March 2008. It is hosted by Shinya Ueda and Teppei Arita of Cream Stew; Fuji TV announcer Toshihiro Ito hosted the first 3 episodes.

Unlike most international versions, the value of each question is based on the number of correct answers, instead of the number of questions asked:

The first 2 correct answers are each worth 10,000 yen, for a running total of 20,000 yen.
The next 3 correct answers are each worth 20,000 yen, for a running total of 80,000 yen.
The next 4 correct answers are each worth 30,000 yen, for a running total of 200,000 yen.
Each subsequent correct answer is worth 50,000 yen, up to a maximum running total of 500,000 yen after 15 total correct answers.

The show uses video game-style "lives" instead of strikes; players start with three lives and lose one with each incorrect answer, and losing all three prompts the driver to pull over and kick the players out empty-handed.

Players are given three "Rescue Chances", which are the counterpart to the US and Canadian versions' "Shout-Outs":

Asking Chance: The cab pulls over and players are given the opportunity to ask passers-by the question, much like the Street Shout-Out.
Telephone Chance: Players may call a friend on a mobile phone, like the Mobile Shout-Out.
Bookstore Chance: The cab pulls over in front of the nearest bookstore, and the players get to go inside and pick one book to buy, which they may then use to look up the answer. Players must pay for the book at their own expense.

At the end of the game, contestants are offered a "Double-Up Chance" similar to the US and Canadian versions' Video Bonus, where they may risk their winnings on a final double-or-nothing question. If the players opt to take the chance, they pick one of three envelopes, each containing a different question which may vary greatly in difficulty. Like international versions, correctly answering the question doubles the player's winnings, while failing to do so means the player leaves empty-handed.

Canada

The Canadian version is produced by Castlewood Productions and began airing on September 10, 2008 on Discovery Channel (Canada) and Discovery HD, hosted by comedian Adam Growe. Filming on the second season was recently completed, with 26 new episodes that premiered in September 2009. It airs in Canada instead of the American version of the series, which airs on the affiliated US Discovery Channel network.

The Canadian version closely mirrors the structure of its US counterpart, retaining familiar features like "Shout Outs", "Red Light Challenges", and the "double or nothing" Video Bonus option at the end of each game. However, the Canadian version differs in its heavier focus on questions of science, technology, nature and adventure, as opposed to purely general knowledge. Regular questions are worth $25, $50, $100; while Red Light Challenge questions are worth $75. In the second season, a third "life line" was added: when contestants reach the $100 questions, they have the option to "swap out" a question, and the Cash Cab dispatcher will give them a new question.

The Canadian Cash Cab uses eight high definition cameras: five different angles within the cab, two mounted on the roof, and one mobile camera that records on the street or from the follow van. It is also the first Cash Cab format to be taped and broadcast entirely in High Definition. The first two seasons were filmed in downtown Toronto. The cab used is a Toyota Sienna.

Following the success of the first season, Canada's host Adam Growe was invited to host a special season premiere episode of the American Cash Cab on December 23, 2008, which promoted the feature film Frost/Nixon.

In Summer 2009, Cash Cab is broadcast in a programming block with Qubit.

A French Canadian version is also aired on V (formerly known as TQS) and is filmed in Montreal. It is known as "Taxi Payant" (Paying Taxi) and uses a Dodge Grand Caravan.

International versions

Country	Name	Host	Channel	Premiere
Arab World	كاش تاكسي Cash Taxi	Hisham Abdel Rahman	MBC 1	2008
Australia	Cash Cab	Charlie Pickering James Kerley	Channel V	29 October 2007
Brazil	Taxi do Milão	Supla	Rede TV!	2010
Canada Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang\|en}} instead.	Cash Cab	Adam Growe	Discovery Channel Canada	10 September 2008
Canada Template:Fr	Taxi Payant	Alexandre Barrette	V	3 September 2009
Colombia			CityTV
Czech Republic
France	Taxi Cash	Alexandre Devoise	W9	23 October 2010
Germany	Quiz Taxi	Thomas Hackenberg	Kabel 1	18 April 2006
Greece	Taxi Girl	Vicki Stavropoulos	Mega TV	2008
Hungary			Viasat 3
India	Airtel Cash Cab	Munish Mukhija	UTV Bindass	2007
Indonesia	Taxi Selebritis	Ulfa Dwiyanti	antv
Italy	Cash Taxi	Marco Berry	SKY Uno Cielo	2009
Israel	מונית הכסף Monit Hakesef	Ido Rozenblum	Channel 2 (Keshet)	19 May 2007
Japan	キャッシュキャブ Kyassukyabu	Toshihiro Ito	Fuji TV	March 2008
Lithuania	Pinigų taksi	Karina Krysko	LNK	30 June 2008
Malaysia	Teksi Tunai	Bob Lokman	Astro Prima	2008
Mexico	Taxi Cash	Andrés Bustamante	Televisa	28 January 2008
Netherlands	Cash Cab	Kurt Rogiers Edo Brunner	BNN	2006
Poland			TV4
Russia	Такси Taxi	Alex Kulichkov Eugene Rybov	TNT	20 December 2005
Serbia	Кеш такси Keš taksi	Ivan Ivanović	Fox televizija
Spain	Taxi Madrid	Joan Domínguez	Telemadrid	2009
Spain	¡Taxi! Andalusia	Manolo Sarria	Canal Sur 2	18 January 2010
Sweden		Fredrik Belfrage	Discovery Channel
Taiwan	黃金計程車 Golden Taxi	Cheng-Ping Chao, Ho-Chuen Liang, and Gui Gui	ECT	22 April 2009
Ukraine	Таксi Taxi	Gregory Herman	1+1
United Kingdom	Cash Cab	John Moody	ITV1	13 June 2005
United States	Cash Cab	Ben Bailey (New York City)	Discovery Channel	5 December 2005
United States	Cash Cab	Beth Melewski (Chicago)	Discovery Channel	14 February 2011

Controversy

There was some minor controversy regarding two participants in the US version of Cash Cab, who alleged that certain aspects of the show were staged. According to the participants, the cab did not carry any cash for liability reasons and they were mailed a check a short while after their appearances. They also alleged that, contrary to the portrayal on the show, passengers on the Cash Cab were not randomly selected but actually recruited beforehand. The fares for daytime version were prearranged by the production company before anyone ever boarded the Cash Cab.^[1]

On July 16, 2011, a 61 year-old man was struck and killed in downtown Vancouver by a vehicle used for the Canadian version of Cash Cab. The incident happened while the producer was driving the cab back to the storage facility after filming.^[2]

Notes

[1] ttp://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/how-to-get-on-cash-cab_b7692

[2] ttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/16/entertainment/main20080111.shtml

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