Small Fortune

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(Synopsis: O'Leary, like Mulhern yesterday, was woefully miscast in this. It needed a more serious host.)
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<div class="image">[[File:Small fortune title.jpg|300px]]</div>
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== Host ==
== Host ==
[[Dermot O'Leary]]
[[Dermot O'Leary]]
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== Co-host ==
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[[Brian Blessed]] (as "Big Voice")
== Broadcast ==
== Broadcast ==
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Youngest Media for ITV, 2 February 2019 to present
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Youngest Media for ITV, 2 February to 9 March 2019 (6 episodes in 1 series)
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== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
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ITV's press office tell us:
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Teams of three play this game. The objective is quite simple: complete three tasks to qualify for the final, then win the final to take home the money. There's a potential £150,000 to be won.
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Each task is a one-shot game: the competitor will either win and keep the money, or will lose and be out of the rest of the show. Lose all the players and your team isn't qualifying for the final; lose the one chance at the final and your team leaves with nothing.
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The tasks are little games, done in miniature. Here, for instance, is a model of Marble Arch. Here is a marble. All you've got to do is blow the marble through the arch in Marble Arch.
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[[File:Small fortune marble arch blow.jpg|400px]]
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''No delays on the central line.''
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After deciding who will play the challenge, and a free practice, there's a decision. Play for the full £50,000, or practice. Each practice takes 10% of the prize fund, so the amount of money can quickly go down.
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Once our player is confident enough to go for it, or the prize is so low that they may as well go for it, they'll press a button. The studio lights dim, all the gold drains away and we're left with just a cold blue outline. The big voice of Brian Blessed ramps up the tension, and the player takes their one meaningful shot.
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[[File:Small fortune final challenge.jpg|400px]]
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''The final is set in a model of the studio.''
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Assuming they qualify for the final, all of the team's remaining players get a free go at the challenge - to lift a ring off a pole without touching the sides. Each extra practice costs 10% of the ''total'' prize fund.
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''Small Fortune'' does a lot of things well: model makers Karen Britcliffe and Mauricio Elorriaga have made miniature works of art, the sets feel bright and playful. The models make for a sharp contrast with the extreme tension of the challenges - one moment we're looking at a lush model, the next moment we're throwing paper planes for £30,000.
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Viewing figures weren't huge - 3.5 million for the opening episode - and viewer reaction indicated there might be something more wanted from the show. ''Smallest Fortune'' was bought by NBC for the large North American market, so someone clearly likes it.
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[[File:Small fortune small trophy.jpg|400px]]
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''For the losers, a small trophy.''
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== Key moments ==
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The pop songs played after Blessed's explanations. What vibe are you trying to go for, serious or flippant?
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== Title music ==
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Dobs Vye, credited for "Music".
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== Trivia ==
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: Dermot O'Leary hosts brand-new prime time series Small Fortune, the world’s smallest gameshow, where teams of friends or family members take on tiny games to win big money.
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Voted the Worst New Show in this site's [[Poll of the Year 2019#Hall of SHAME 2019|Poll of 2019]]
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: Each game is set in a perfectly miniaturised world, from a shrunk down Stonehenge to a pint-sized Rovers Return. The games are designed so anyone could do them but they’re so small there’s no room for error. If players can hold their nerve and avoid the slightest mistake they could bank up to £150,000, but fail and it could be all over.
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== See also ==
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{{notaired}}
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[[Weaver's Week 2019-02-17|Weaver's Week review]]
[[Category:Family Game]]
[[Category:Family Game]]
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[[Category:Current]]
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[[Category:Flops]]
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[[Category:Awaiting Review]]
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Revision as of 19:39, 9 August 2020

Contents

Host

Dermot O'Leary

Co-host

Brian Blessed (as "Big Voice")

Broadcast

Youngest Media for ITV, 2 February to 9 March 2019 (6 episodes in 1 series)

Synopsis

Teams of three play this game. The objective is quite simple: complete three tasks to qualify for the final, then win the final to take home the money. There's a potential £150,000 to be won.

Each task is a one-shot game: the competitor will either win and keep the money, or will lose and be out of the rest of the show. Lose all the players and your team isn't qualifying for the final; lose the one chance at the final and your team leaves with nothing.

The tasks are little games, done in miniature. Here, for instance, is a model of Marble Arch. Here is a marble. All you've got to do is blow the marble through the arch in Marble Arch.

No delays on the central line.

After deciding who will play the challenge, and a free practice, there's a decision. Play for the full £50,000, or practice. Each practice takes 10% of the prize fund, so the amount of money can quickly go down.

Once our player is confident enough to go for it, or the prize is so low that they may as well go for it, they'll press a button. The studio lights dim, all the gold drains away and we're left with just a cold blue outline. The big voice of Brian Blessed ramps up the tension, and the player takes their one meaningful shot.

The final is set in a model of the studio.

Assuming they qualify for the final, all of the team's remaining players get a free go at the challenge - to lift a ring off a pole without touching the sides. Each extra practice costs 10% of the total prize fund.

Small Fortune does a lot of things well: model makers Karen Britcliffe and Mauricio Elorriaga have made miniature works of art, the sets feel bright and playful. The models make for a sharp contrast with the extreme tension of the challenges - one moment we're looking at a lush model, the next moment we're throwing paper planes for £30,000.

Viewing figures weren't huge - 3.5 million for the opening episode - and viewer reaction indicated there might be something more wanted from the show. Smallest Fortune was bought by NBC for the large North American market, so someone clearly likes it.

For the losers, a small trophy.

Key moments

The pop songs played after Blessed's explanations. What vibe are you trying to go for, serious or flippant?

Title music

Dobs Vye, credited for "Music".

Trivia

Voted the Worst New Show in this site's Poll of 2019

See also

Weaver's Week review

Feedback

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