The Great Australian Spelling Bee
| The Great Australian Spelling Bee | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Presented by | |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12(as of 9th September 2015) |
| Production | |
| Production location | Fox Studios Australia |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Shine Australia |
| Original release | |
| Network | Network Ten |
| Release | 3 August 2015 – present |
The Great Australian Spelling Bee is an Australian reality series on Network Ten. Hosted by Grant Denyer and Chrissie Swan,[1] and produced by Shine Australia,[2] the series premiered on 3 August 2015.[3] The series also stars Chris Edmund as pronouncer.[4]
The series is based on the spelling bee competition whereby contestants are required to spell presented words which vary in their degree of difficulty.
For the first season, the winner received a $50,000 education scholarship, $10,000 worth of equipment for his school, a Macquarie Dictionary, a Sprout computer, and a HP Pro Slate 8 tablet. In addition, the five runners-up received scholarships worth $10,000, a HP Pro Slate 8 tablet, and $1,000 of education goods for their school.[5]
On 19 August 2015, the series was renewed for a second season, set to premiere in 2016.[6]
Format
Individual Challenges
Speed Spell
One by one, spellers must stand inside the spell gate and spell as many words as they can in 45 seconds. Spelling a word incorrectly will end their turn regardless of time left.
This is usually the first challenge on elimination days. The top spellers, depending on the episode, will be safe from elimination.
Flash Cards
Prior to the challenge, the spellers are introduced to a theme of the words that are going to be spelled for the challenge, whether it'd be a band of instruments for the theme of music or a dinosaur for the theme of prehistoric.
Then the spellers receive a letter, whether it would be picking a token out of a bag, cracking a dinosaur egg to collect the token, grabbing a lollipop with a token on it, or finding it inside a bag attached to the speller's instrument. The tokens are either red or blue and has a letter spelt from A to all the way to the last letter depending of the number of spellers left. The spellers are then arranged in two lines: blue on one side, red on the other and in order of A, B, C and so on.
The challenge is to spell the word relating to the theme correctly by writing it on a tablet within ten seconds. The speller who spells the word correctly will be through to the next round and the other speller will not be safe. This continues for all pairs. If in any case the pairs spell the word correctly for six rounds, a tiebreaker round will happen. To win, the speller who finishes their word first immediately shows their flash cards to the pronouncer.
Spell Check
The remaining spellers are required to stand in front of their buzzer while a word is shown on screen. The word may be correct or incorrect in which case if it's incorrect, the speller who buzzes in first is allowed to spell the given word correctly. If correct, the speller is safe. If incorrect, or if the spellers buzzes in at a correct word, they are locked out and they go into the final Spelling Bee. A certain amount of spellers may be safe.
Spelling Bee
The remaining spellers follow normal Spelling Bee rules. Only two spellers may be safe in every round, while the rest are eliminated.
Show And Spell Individual Edition
Normal Show And Spell rules apply, except players don't earn points for their team, they do for themselves.
Letter By Letter Knock Out Mode
Normal Letter By Letter rules apply, except they are not in teams, and if you make a mistake, you're out of the round.
Dictionary Dash
This challenge featured dictionaries, which the competitors must find a word in. The first person to find the word in this challenge would get an advantage in speed spell, which is to select your theme first. The others followed in order of who won dictionary dash in the next rounds.
Team Immunity Challenges
Spellers choose a coloured token out of a bag in which that colour is the team they are in. In every challenge, a team will be knocked out and cannot get immunity for the next elimination.
Letter By Letter
The team members must spell a word, saying a letter one by one in the order they are in. If a speller thinks the speller before them spells the word wrong, they must say 'Next word.' to continue with the next word. They must spell as many words as they can within 90 seconds.
Show and Spell
Like Flash Cards, spellers are introduced to a theme of words the spellers must spell. The words, like Spell Check, are shown on a screen, Unlike Spell Check, all the letters except the 1st letter are not shown, and are replaced with underscores. The competitors must guess the word, following a series of clues, and after they guess, spell it correctly to gain a point for their team.
Team Spelling Bee
Normal spelling bee rules apply. The remaining two teams have their members spell alternating. Spelling incorrect will force the speller to be knocked out of the challenge. The team with spellers still left wins immunity.
Season 1 (2015)
Contestants
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2015) |
The series began with 52 contestants aged 8–13 years old.[2][4]
| Speller | Top 26 | Top 24 | Top 20 | Top 16 | Top 12 | Top 8[7] | Final[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anirudh | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Immune | Immune | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Letter By Letter) | Champion |
| Grace D | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Immune | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | 2nd |
| Mica | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Immune | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Show and Spell) | 3rd |
| Harrison | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Immune | Immune | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Letter By Letter) | 4th |
| Harpita | Safe (Flash Cards) | Immune | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | 5th |
| Marko | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Immune | Safe (Show and Spell) | 6th |
| Amelia | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Immune | Safe (Flash Cards) | Eliminated | |
| Peyton | Safe (Flash Cards) | Immune | Safe (Flash Cards) | Immune | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Eliminated | |
| Amanda | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Eliminated | ||
| Grace P | Safe (Spell Check) | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Eliminated | ||
| Harpith | Safe (Spell Check) | Immune | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Eliminated | ||
| Karl | Safe (Spell Check) | Immune | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Eliminated | ||
| Aimee | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Eliminated | |||
| Holly T | Safe (Spell Check) | Immune | Immune | Eliminated | |||
| Jye | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Eliminated | |||
| Stuart | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Immune | Eliminated | |||
| Holly R | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Flash Cards) | Eliminated | ||||
| Jack B | Safe (Speed Spell) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Eliminated | ||||
| Ryan | Safe (Final Spelling Bee) | Immune | Eliminated | ||||
| Tej | Safe (Flash Cards) | Safe (Speed Spell) | Eliminated | ||||
| Bella | Safe (Speed Spell) | Eliminated | |||||
| Ben | Safe (Speed Spell) | Eliminated | |||||
| Josie | Safe (Flash Cards) | Eliminated | |||||
| Timothy | Safe (Flash Cards) | Eliminated | |||||
| Josh | Eliminated | ||||||
| Jack H | Eliminated | ||||||
| Emma | Left Quit | ||||||
Other Spellers
- Blake
- Harriet
- Noah
- Drew
- Anika
- Lachlan
- Ariane
- Rachel
- Ava
- Emma
- Lachlan M
- Sebastien
- Katy
Episodes
Episode 1
This episode consisted of 4 person heats, with 2 in each group winning a spot in the top 26.
Episode 2
At the beginning of the episode it was announced that Emma had to quit the competition due to family reasons. Because of this Harpith (as the most successful eliminated contestant) was brought back into the competition. Josh and Jack also got sent home.
Episode 3
| Team | Spellers | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter by Letter | Show and Spell | Spelling Bee | ||
| Blue | Harrison | 7 points (4th) | N/A | N/A |
| Anika | ||||
| Anika | ||||
| Anika | ||||
| Anika | ||||
| Tej | ||||
| Green | Marko | 10 points (1st) | Lost Tiebreaker (3rd) | N/A |
| Grace D | ||||
| Bella | ||||
| Jack B | ||||
| Anirudh | ||||
| Timothy | ||||
| Red | Holly R | 8 points (2nd) | 3 points (1st) | 7th |
| Grace P | 4th | |||
| Aimee | 12th | |||
| Amelia | 5th | |||
| Josie | 11th | |||
| Ben | 2nd | |||
| Yellow | Harpith | 8 points (2nd) | Won Tiebreaker (2nd) | 1st |
| Karl | 10th | |||
| Peyton | 9th | |||
| Holly T | 6th | |||
| Harpita | 3rd | |||
| Ryan | 8th | |||
Episode 4
At the end of Speed Spell, the Top 6 were deemed safe from elimination. In no particular order, those spellers were Marko, Anirudh, Mica, Tej, Grace D and Jack B. The remaining 12 spellers went head-to-head in Flash Cards, where the theme was technology. The winning spellers, Harrison, Aimee, Amelia, Amanda, Holly R and Stuart were then safe from elimination. In the final spelling bee, 6 spellers spelling in multiple rounds to determine the 2 spellers who would be safe from elimination (Jye and Grace P). The other 4 spellers, Ben, Bella, Timothy and Josie were sent home.
Episode 5
| Team | Letter By Letter | Show and Spell | Final Spelling Bee | Grace P, Tej, Amanda, Jack B and Marko | Out | N/A | N/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holly R, Jye, Harpith, Harpita and Karl | In | In | Out | ||||
| Amelia, Ryan, Aimee, Grace D and Peyton | In | Out | N/A | ||||
| Mica, Stuart, Holly T, Anirudh and Harrison | In | In | Win |
Ratings
- Colour key:
- Highest rating episode during the series
- Lowest rating episode during the series
| Episode | Original airdate | Timeslot approx. | Viewers | Rank (Night) |
Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode One" | 3 August 2015 | Monday 7:30 pm | 921,000 | #7 | [9] |
| 2 | "Episode Two" | 4 August 2015 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 801,000 | #8 | [10] |
| 3 | "Episode Three" | 10 August 2015 | Monday 7:30 pm | 655,000 | #16 | [11] |
| 4 | "Episode Four" | 11 August 2015 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 642,000 | #12 | [12] |
| 5 | "Episode Five" | 17 August 2015 | Monday 7:30 pm | 662,000 | #16 | [13] |
| 6 | "Episode Six" | 18 August 2015 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 616,000 | #16 | [14] |
| 7 | "Episode Seven" | 24 August 2015 | Monday 7:30 pm | 665,000 | #16 | [15] |
| 8 | "Episode Eight" | 25 August 2015 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 589,000 | #16 | [16] |
| 9 | "Episode Nine" | 31 August 2015 | Monday 7:30 pm | 639,000 | #19 | [17] |
| 10 | "Episode Ten" | 1 September 2015 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 624,000 | #14 | [18] |
| 11 | "Episode Eleven" | 7 September 2015 | Monday 7:30 pm | 662,000 | #16 | [19] |
| 12 | "Grand Final" | 8 September 2015 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 755,000 | #11 | [20] |
| "Winner Announced" | 901,000 | #7 | ||||
References
- ^ Knox, David (26 April 2015). "Chrissie Swan, Grant Denyer to host The Great Australian Spelling Bee". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ a b Knox, David (24 March 2015). "TEN spells out The Great Australian Spelling Bee". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (20 July 2015). "Airdate: The Great Australian Spelling Bee". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ a b Thomas, Sarah (30 July 2015). "The Great Australian Spelling Bee to highlight smart's of the nation's brightest kids". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ Bowden, Ebony (8 September 2015). "The Great Australian Spelling Bee gives winner surprise $50,000 scholarship". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (19 August 2015). "Renewed: The Great Australian Spelling Bee". TV Tonight. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (8 September 2015). "Great Australian Spelling Bee finalists". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Cronin, Seanna (8 September 2015). "Anirudh wins epic battle to take out Spelling Bee trophy". The Chronicle. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (4 August 2015). "Monday 3 August 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (5 August 2015). "Tuesday 4 August 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (11 August 2015). "Monday 10 August 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (12 August 2015). "Tuesday 11 August 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (18 August 2015). "Monday 17 August 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (19 August 2015). "Tuesday 18 August 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (25 August 2015). "Monday 24 August 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (26 August 2015). "Tuesday 25 August 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (1 September 2015). "Monday 31 August 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (2 September 2015). "Tuesday 1 September 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (8 September 2015). "Monday 7 September 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Knox, David (9 September 2015). "Tuesday 8 September 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 September 2015.