We well remember the game shows of our youth - Wheel of Fortune, The Price is Right and Saaaaaale of the Century.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wheel of Fortune was ... well ... a game of fortune. The Price is Right was all about Ian Turpie's moustache and super-excited mums. Sale of the Century was about brainiacs and the enthusiasm of Tony Barber.
For the uninitiated, it's somewhat of a puzzling show. The contestants go up against the chaser in answering various questions.
The most high-profile chasers are Anne Hegerty, a stern-looking matronly woman nicknamed The Governess, and Mark Labbett - who's nicknamed The Beast.
The chaser's job is to catch up to the contestants and eliminate them from the game by capitalising on mistakes they make before they can bank their money.
If the contestant successfully banks the money, this goes into the team's prize pot to be contested in the final round.
Luke Huckstepp, of Warners Bay, appeared on the show on Monday.
"It was awesome. It was kind of surreal actually," Luke said.
"It was kind of strange standing in front of [host] Andrew O'Keefe. It felt like I was inside the TV."
As we chatted about the show, we told Luke that we "found it a bit puzzling".
"It's funny you should say that - I'd say almost half the people I knew that watched it had never seen it before. They had no idea what was going on," he said.
Luke decided to go on the show after a mate had done so.
"He did it about three years ago. That planted a seed, then I just applied," he said.
"They moved the filming from Melbourne to Redfern because of COVID."
His episode, which was on TV on Monday night, was filmed in October.
Luke did well on the show, winning $10,600.
"The game is to beat the chaser, who is a bit of a whiz, then you win the prize and split it three ways [the trio of contestants won about $32,000 overall]," Luke said.
We told Luke the story would appear in the Herald's Topics page, next to the letters page.
"OK, next to the obituary," he quipped, as we cracked up laughing.
Seriously though, game shows will never die.
Non-Viral Jokes
What do you call a psychological game show? Family Freud.
What is the most popular game show in Norway? Family Fjord.
What do you call a game show in which the prizes are supermarket gift cards? Family Food.
What do you call bugs on a game show? Contest-ants.
IN THE NEWS:
For faster access to the latest Newcastle news download our NEWCASTLE HERALD APP and sign up for breaking news, sport and what's on sent directly to your email.