Go Go Stop
Encyclopedia
Go Go Stop is a televised children's quiz show, produced by the Australian Seven Network
, and fronted by former The Big Arvo
co-host Jesse Tobin. Each week, three schools compete to win a weekly prize. One student from each school appears on the show daily. The program is currently on hiatus; however repeats are shown at 2:30pm on weekdays during the NSW
school holidays.
make up the gamezone, arranged in a rectangle five screens wide and six screens high. The players have to answer questions with two multiple-choice answers with control pads attached to their wrists. They can take their time, and only the correct-answering players are allowed to move down the gamezone.
At one time in the 2004 season, the audience was allowed to yell out the answer, but this was soon cancelled as the players all ended up with the audience's answer. Players cannot lose points, and the correct-answering players score points. The first player to answer correctly is the first to have a turn. Before the round, the players take up a space at the top of the gamezone, and when they answer correctly, they can take a step onto a plasma screen. Their plasma screen lights up a command. The player must obey this command.
The three players must be lined up in front of the three plasma TVs where there are three white dots.
In this round the 2 remaining players stand on the right and left dots in front of the plasma TVs.
The round lasts for 60 seconds. The player stands on a category, which are on the five plasma screens at the front of the game zone. They then must yell out the name of the category, and the host reads the question to them. Once the question has been read out, the player must run to the other end of the game zone and jump on a screen that says "true" or "false" and yell out the word.
If they are correct, the player can jump on screen they think has a prize. The player must yell "STOP" to reveal the screen. If it has a prize, the player wins it. If not, the category cannot be used again, and the contestant, if time permits, whether they have won a prize or not, can choose another category. The round ends when time runs out, when the player has won all five prizes, or when all categories have been used.
After all rounds players and the host must stand in the position marked on the ground by white dots.
Although never actively mentioned during the show, the questions become significantly easier, almost to be point of being blatantly obvious, to promote correct answers when the game is taking too long.
, presented by Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill, for TG4
. The shows are recorded in the Black Box Theatre in Galway, around April, for broadcasting in January to June of the following year. The fourth series was recorded in April 2010 and is currently (2011) being broadcast on TG4
on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 4:30 pm.
For the first series, five students from each school took part, with the shows being broadcast Monday to Friday, featuring three different schools each week. Later, the schedule was changed to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with six students from each school competing, and with three schools being featured for two consecutive weeks.
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, and fronted by former The Big Arvo
The Big Arvo
The Big Arvo was an Australian television series that was broadcast on the Seven Network from 1999 until 2005. It starred four hosts, who hosted the show in a large model bus. They had segments such as "cool job" and "dare" to amuse younger viewers and to teach viewers who had outgrown Play School...
co-host Jesse Tobin. Each week, three schools compete to win a weekly prize. One student from each school appears on the show daily. The program is currently on hiatus; however repeats are shown at 2:30pm on weekdays during the NSW
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
school holidays.
The game
Thirty plasma screensPlasma display
A plasma display panel is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays or larger. They are called "plasma" displays because the technology utilizes small cells containing electrically charged ionized gases, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent...
make up the gamezone, arranged in a rectangle five screens wide and six screens high. The players have to answer questions with two multiple-choice answers with control pads attached to their wrists. They can take their time, and only the correct-answering players are allowed to move down the gamezone.
At one time in the 2004 season, the audience was allowed to yell out the answer, but this was soon cancelled as the players all ended up with the audience's answer. Players cannot lose points, and the correct-answering players score points. The first player to answer correctly is the first to have a turn. Before the round, the players take up a space at the top of the gamezone, and when they answer correctly, they can take a step onto a plasma screen. Their plasma screen lights up a command. The player must obey this command.
The contestants
Each of the three schools has eight students selected via auditioning at the school, five students for each day and three reserves for sick, injured or unavailable students. Sometimes having clothes with brand names on them can force a contestant to be replaced with a reserve. The students which are going to be competing are seated at the very top row of each school.Game-zone commands
| Name | Command | Appears in rounds |
|---|---|---|
| Go | The player takes another step forward, diagonally forward, or to the side | 1,2,3 |
| Stop | The player stops on that screen, ending their turn | 1,2,3 |
| Bonus Screens | Award 10 or 15 points, depending on which round it is, then act as a stop screen | 1,2 |
| Miss A Turn | The player cannot answer the next question, and also must end their run | 1,2,3 |
| Arrows | The player must go to the screen the arrow is pointing at | 1,2,3 |
| Back Two | The player must go back two screens (directly back, not the last two screens the player was on) | 2,3 |
| No Entry | The player cannot enter the game zone at that screen, and must select a new entry position (only on the top row of screens) | 2,3 |
| Start Again | The player must step off the game zone and start the game again (without losing points) | 3 |
| Swap Places | The two players on the game zone must switch places. In the 2004/2005 seasons, the players took each other's turns and this screen acted as a stop, but in 2006/2007 this screen meant nothing but to swap places, so runs were continued. | 3 |
| Try Again | The player must go back to the bottom of the gamezone and select a new question. He/She has not won a prize for the preceding question | 4 |
Round 1
Round 1 is called Three-Way Scamble, because there are three players. Answering a question correctly scores 10 points, and stepping off the game zone scores 25 points.The three players must be lined up in front of the three plasma TVs where there are three white dots.
Round 2
Round 2 is similar to round 1, except correct answers are worth 15 points. In round 2, there are more hazards on the game zone, which makes it harder to get to the end of the gamezone. This is the first elimination round of the game, and the player with the lowest score leaves.Round 3
Round 3 is called Head to Head. There are only two players in this round in result to the name head to head, as one was eliminated in round 2. Answering a question correctly is worth 20 points, and stepping off the game zone is worth 50 points. The player with the lowest score is eliminated. In the event of a tie, two different games have been played. In 2004/2005 the tied players stand facing away from each other, with the host between. He asks a true or false question, and the players put thumbs up for true, and thumbs down for false. When one player gets the question correct, they win, hence they move on. In 2006/2007 the host would read a series of clues for a famous person or thing. If a contestant thinks that they know the answer, they yell the name of their school, to get the host's attention, and then they will have the chance to answer. A correct answer results in the player winning the tiebreaker. An incorrect answer would win it to their opposition.In this round the 2 remaining players stand on the right and left dots in front of the plasma TVs.
Round 4
Round 4 is called Run for Fun. The top scoring player goes to Round 4. This round is for the winner to win prizes for themselves. There are five questions in five categories to choose from, which are true or false questions. Five prizes are hidden in the game zone, and before the round begins are revealed for a few seconds.The round lasts for 60 seconds. The player stands on a category, which are on the five plasma screens at the front of the game zone. They then must yell out the name of the category, and the host reads the question to them. Once the question has been read out, the player must run to the other end of the game zone and jump on a screen that says "true" or "false" and yell out the word.
If they are correct, the player can jump on screen they think has a prize. The player must yell "STOP" to reveal the screen. If it has a prize, the player wins it. If not, the category cannot be used again, and the contestant, if time permits, whether they have won a prize or not, can choose another category. The round ends when time runs out, when the player has won all five prizes, or when all categories have been used.
After all rounds players and the host must stand in the position marked on the ground by white dots.
Questions
Questions on Go Go Stop are always asked with a multiple choice of two answers. Typically, these questions are fairly trivial, and often ask the children a comparative question about two unrelated quantities — e.g. which is heavier: the largest gold nugget ever found, or an average gorilla? — or a true or false question. As such, children with a high level of general knowledge do not necessarily have an advantage in the game.Although never actively mentioned during the show, the questions become significantly easier, almost to be point of being blatantly obvious, to promote correct answers when the game is taking too long.
Trivia
- In the 2005 and 2007 seasons, question text was bolded as opposed to 2004 and 2006 seasons when it wasn't.
- Five student's prizes have only been given away once, in the 2005 season.
- Jesse Tobin often invites players to do unusual things which are mentioned in their player's profile.
- When contestants are locking in their answers, a graphic appears at the bottom of the screens showing question options, abbreviating them to usually one word. These have occasionally been fairly humorous.
- One time in a game, a player stepped on a Back Two square, normally that square the player gets redirected is a Stop. However, it was a Go square (since that player already stepped on it in the run) and as a result, the board was cleared and the run continued. This brought criticism as that player could intentionally go in an infinite loop and keep the game going on and on. As a result, every time somebody goes to a Back Two square, it will always be a Stop, or a Bonus Screen.
- Players are allowed to sidestep. However, when one contestant took a side step in the first row, it was No Entry. This is a contradiction, since that player already entered into the game zone, but had to be off anyway.
- Despite a square showed Go Back in the introduction, this square was never implemented in the game since an arrow pointing backwards also did the same thing.
Belgium
Kanakna produced a version in Flemish, also called Go Go Stop, presented by Peter Pype. The series was broadcast on Ketnet, on weekdays at 6:30 pm, beginning in November 2007.Ireland
Abú Media produces a version in Irish, called Bog StopBog Stop
Bog Stop is a televised Irish language children's quiz show, produced by Abú Media for TG4, presented by Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill, and shown on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each fortnight, three schools compete to win a trophy....
, presented by Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill, for TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
. The shows are recorded in the Black Box Theatre in Galway, around April, for broadcasting in January to June of the following year. The fourth series was recorded in April 2010 and is currently (2011) being broadcast on TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 4:30 pm.
For the first series, five students from each school took part, with the shows being broadcast Monday to Friday, featuring three different schools each week. Later, the schedule was changed to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with six students from each school competing, and with three schools being featured for two consecutive weeks.
External links
- Kanakna Productions, Belgium, producer of Flemish version.
- Ketnet, Belgium, broadcaster of Flemish version.
- Abú Media, producer of Irish version, Bog Stop
- TG4, broadcaster of Irish version, Bog Stop