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Genius (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Genius is a comedy
game show
on BBC Two
, adapted from the original radio series
hosted by the comedian
Dave Gorman
. On Genius, members of the public submit a range of unusual ideas and inventions for Gorman and guest celebrity judges to decide whether the idea is "Genius". The first series began airing on 20 March 2009, following the success of an unbroadcast pilot.
A second series started filming in May 2010, with quite a few changes to the format. Six episodes were recorded and began broadcasting on 27 September 2010. Genius was axed after the 2nd series by the BBC. When asked on Twitter if it was coming back Dave Gorman said, "Afraid not". There are currently no plans to bring the show back.
by making it symmetrical
.
The format was changed significantly between the two series
In the middle of the show, Gorman and the judge also read out a selection of rejected ideas, to give an idea of the kind of ideas Genius receives.
. The season one set was designed with a rotating stage on which the contestants enter and leave the studio - a reference to the game show Blankety Blank
.
wrote that, "it just about gets away with it - I'm going to give it another go, anyway. And that's because some of these guys' (they are all blokes, and probably always will be) ideas are actually pretty funny."
Anna Lowman from TV Scoop also commented on the show saying: "This isn't groundbreaking TV - if anything it felt slightly '90s in its Room 101
-ness - and the unnecessarily huge studio gave an strange atmosphere to proceedings at times. But it is a big-hearted, fun celebration of oddness which is no bad thing. And I've a feeling that the bit where they read 'rejected' ideas might become a highlight of each episode."
Aidan Smith from Scotland on Sunday
was more critical. He wrote that: "The show may have had charm on radio but now it's transferred to the box with Dave Gorman hosting, you can obviously see the would-be genii and they just look mad. Madder still, though, is the set designer who went to the trouble of creating the revolving stage complete with dry ice - and in the first edition, a model of a 100m running track to illustrate how lazy people would line up in running shoes 98.2 metres high and forward-flop over the finish line. Give me Sunday night telly over Friday post-pub bilge like this."
Caitlin Moran
from The Times
was one of the most damning. She described the show as: "like a light entertainment Wounded Knee
, but with a studio audience", and she also compared it negatively to another comedy that had begun earlier in the week, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
, saying: "The BBC amazes me. It takes four years for Stewart Lee
- a comedian with 17 years' experience - to get a six-part series; yet in Genius wholly inexperienced members of the public are expected to deliver five minutes of broadcast-quality improvised material at the drop of a hat. What, literally, is that all about?"
When the first episode was broadcast, it was watched by 1.67 million viewers, or 8.9% of the total viewing audience.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, adapted from the original radio series
Genius (radio series)
Genius is a BBC Radio 4 comedy gameshow presented by comedian Dave Gorman. Listeners send in 'genius' ideas which are considered by Gorman and a guest before a studio audience, with a different guest for each show...
hosted by the comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Dave Gorman
Dave Gorman
David James Gorman is an English author, stand-up comedian and presenter. He has performed comedy shows on stage in which he tells stories of extreme adventures and presents the evidence to the audience in order to prove to them that they are true stories...
. On Genius, members of the public submit a range of unusual ideas and inventions for Gorman and guest celebrity judges to decide whether the idea is "Genius". The first series began airing on 20 March 2009, following the success of an unbroadcast pilot.
A second series started filming in May 2010, with quite a few changes to the format. Six episodes were recorded and began broadcasting on 27 September 2010. Genius was axed after the 2nd series by the BBC. When asked on Twitter if it was coming back Dave Gorman said, "Afraid not". There are currently no plans to bring the show back.
Format
Genius involves various members of the public suggesting their ideas for strange and unusual inventions and schemes. The ideas are sent to the Genius website, www.bbc.co.uk/genius, and also sent to their email address, genius@bbc.co.uk. Ideas include fitting a second hood to coats in order to protect dates from the rain, comb-unders for men who cannot grow beards, and increasing tourism to the Isle of WightIsle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
by making it symmetrical
Symmetry
Symmetry generally conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection...
.
The format was changed significantly between the two series
Series One
The potential "genius" delivers their idea from a podium while Gorman and his guest talk about the merits of the plan, performing some experiments concerning the idea. The celebrity judge then decides whether the idea is "Genius or not", which is done by pressing one of two buttons. If the player is declared a genius, the judge pushes the white button and the stage revolves clockwise, where the player enters a white door and is declared "Genius". If the player is not a genius, the judge pressed the red button and the stage revolves anticlockwise, where the player enters a red door and is declared "Not a genius". When all of the ideas have been heard, the judge is then given 10 seconds to decide which of the genius ideas is the most genius. The creator of the winning idea is awarded with the Genius Trophy.In the middle of the show, Gorman and the judge also read out a selection of rejected ideas, to give an idea of the kind of ideas Genius receives.
Series Two
Series two changed the format such that a greater number of ideas could be considered within the program. For each episode, a number of potential "geniuses" sit in the front rows of the studio audience and during the course of the show a number are called upon by Gorman and two or three celebrity guests to share their ideas. Whilst ideas are declared "genius" or "not genius" by the panel, there are no "winners" or trophy as in season one.Production
The television version of Genius is an adaptation of the original radio version created by Ali Crockatt and David Scott, and produced by Simon NichollsSimon Nicholls
Simon Nicholls is a radio and TV comedy producer at the BBC.When Ed Reardon approached Nicholls about an idea for a new radio show, "he was delighted...
. The season one set was designed with a rotating stage on which the contestants enter and leave the studio - a reference to the game show Blankety Blank
Blankety Blank
Blankety Blank is a British comedy game show based on the 1977–1978 Australian game show Blankety Blanks ....
.
Reception
Genius received mixed reviews when it was first broadcast. Sam Wollaston for The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote that, "it just about gets away with it - I'm going to give it another go, anyway. And that's because some of these guys' (they are all blokes, and probably always will be) ideas are actually pretty funny."
Anna Lowman from TV Scoop also commented on the show saying: "This isn't groundbreaking TV - if anything it felt slightly '90s in its Room 101
Room 101 (TV series)
Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities were invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to a fate worse than death in Room 101, named after the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is...
-ness - and the unnecessarily huge studio gave an strange atmosphere to proceedings at times. But it is a big-hearted, fun celebration of oddness which is no bad thing. And I've a feeling that the bit where they read 'rejected' ideas might become a highlight of each episode."
Aidan Smith from Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by The Scotsman Publications Ltd and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate The Scotsman...
was more critical. He wrote that: "The show may have had charm on radio but now it's transferred to the box with Dave Gorman hosting, you can obviously see the would-be genii and they just look mad. Madder still, though, is the set designer who went to the trouble of creating the revolving stage complete with dry ice - and in the first edition, a model of a 100m running track to illustrate how lazy people would line up in running shoes 98.2 metres high and forward-flop over the finish line. Give me Sunday night telly over Friday post-pub bilge like this."
Caitlin Moran
Caitlin Moran
Caitlin Moran is a British broadcaster, TV critic and columnist at The Times, where she writes three columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, a TV review column, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch"...
from The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
was one of the most damning. She described the show as: "like a light entertainment Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre happened on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, USA. On the day before, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M...
, but with a studio audience", and she also compared it negatively to another comedy that had begun earlier in the week, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle is a comedy series created by Stewart Lee.The BBC Two series debuted on 16 March 2009, and featured stand-up routines and sketches performed by Simon Munnery, Kevin Eldon and Paul Putner amongst others. Peter Serafinowicz recorded voice-over parts. The series is...
, saying: "The BBC amazes me. It takes four years for Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
- a comedian with 17 years' experience - to get a six-part series; yet in Genius wholly inexperienced members of the public are expected to deliver five minutes of broadcast-quality improvised material at the drop of a hat. What, literally, is that all about?"
When the first episode was broadcast, it was watched by 1.67 million viewers, or 8.9% of the total viewing audience.
Series 1
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Series 2
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