Ejector Seat
| Ejector Seat | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show |
| Presented by | Andi Peters |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 30[1] |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production company | Remarkable Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV, STV, UTV |
| Release | 28 April – 22 June 2014 |
Ejector Seat is a British game show, presented by former Children's BBC presenter Andi Peters, that aired on ITV from 28 April to 22 June 2014.
The show features a £10,000 jackpot, and for it, contestants are required to sit in commodious armchairs and answer questions. If they answered their question correctly, they could 'sit tight' but if they did not, they would find themselves told 'you're on the move' and would move backwards towards 'the edge'; if they hit the edge, they will be ejected. In an interview with the Gloucestershire Echo, Peters stated that it was not answering the questions that was difficult; it was answering them whilst on the move that contestants struggled with.[2][3]
Format
Round 1
The first round is a qualifying round. Contestants need to buzz; if they get a question right, they will advance to the next round, but if they get a question wrong, then, they will be ejected. If five contestants get their questions right, then, the sixth contestant will be ejected.[2]
Round 2
For the second round, contestants play in order. Each contestant is asked a question; if they get it right, they may 'sit tight', but if they get a question wrong, then, they will start moving backwards until they do get a question right. The contestant who is ejected is the first person to reach the end of the runway. After every pass, the 'seat speed' increases to a maximum of four. If after four passes no player has been ejected, then sudden death occurs and round one repeats itself. Once the second contestant is ejected, the contestants' positions are reset and this process is repeated until the third contestant is ejected.[4]
Round 3
In round three, contestants buzz in to answer questions. If a contestant gets the answer right, the next question is for the other two contestants; if two consecutive questions are answered correctly, the third contestant starts moving and doesn't stop until that contestant answers a question correctly. After each pass, the seat speed is increased. This process repeats until a contestant is ejected, upon which, point the contestants' positions are reset and the intermediate step is omitted. This continues until a contestant is ejected.[2]
Final Round
The contestant who reaches the final has three runways to face; each runway is 45 seconds long and the contestant starts moving after each wrong answer. After each correct answer, the contestant stops moving. After each 45 seconds, the seat speed increases up to three and clearing passes 1, 2 and 3 is worth £500, £1,000 and £10,000 to the contestant. Upon winning it, the contestant is ejected.[5]
"Ejection"
The process of being ejected involves the seat moving all the way back (if it has not already done so, for example getting a panic button question wrong or getting a question wrong in the qualification round), blue sparks flying out the sides of the seat and the seat 'tipping' backwards, resulting in the contestant falling out of their seats.[6]
Filming
The series consists of thirty episodes, and was filmed next to Channel 4's Countdown. During filming, the seats malfunctioned and producers had to run on and off the stage in order to fix them. This left some audience members disgruntled, and they had to be bribed to stay by being given chocolates.[6][7]
Broadcast
The show forms part of a shake-up of ITV daytime programming; Tipping Point was replaced by Ejector Seat and The Chase was replaced by The Paul O'Grady Show. Good Morning Britain and Jo Frost: Family Matters were also introduced that week.[6][8] The Chase returned on 2 June 2014
Critical reception
The game show has been the subject of some criticism, with Marion McMullen of the Coventry Telegraph accusing that the idea of tipping over chairs had been stolen from The Graham Norton Show and was "a gimmick too far". She also stated that the show was an inferior replacement for Tipping Point. That said, the Digital Spy team called it a "delight" and said "[we] can't wait to see more people being tipped back into their Ejector Seat chairs".[9][10]
References
- ^ "ITV Orders Ejector Seat from Remarkable Television". Endemol UK. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ^ a b c "Episode 1". Ejector Seat. 28 April 2014. ITV.
- ^ "TV: Ex-Blue Peter Presenter Andi Peters Launches New ITV Game Show Ejector Seat". Gloucestershire Echo. 20 April 2014.
- ^ "Episode 3". Ejector Seat. 30 April 2014. ITV.
- ^ "Episode 4". Ejector Seat. 1 May 2014. ITV.
- ^ a b c Stephenson, David (27 April 2014). "Andi Peters on those happy Broom Cupboard years: 'Edd the Duck was three years of my life'". Sunday Express.
- ^ "Peters' ejectors fail on launch". pa.press.net. 14 April 2014.
- ^ "Ejector Seat". UK Game Shows.
- ^ McMullen, Marion (7 May 2014). "Eject the Ejector Seat". Coventry Telegraph.
- ^ Wightman, Catriona (27 April 2014). "Ejector Seat: Watch DS embarrass themselves in front of Andi Peters". Digital Spy.