Play TV (game show)
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| Play TV | |
|---|---|
| File:PLAY TV logo.png | |
| Created by | Telemedia InteracTV |
| Starring | JG Murphy, Derval Mellett and Fiona. |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| No. of episodes | 67 (as of July 30 2009) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Telemedia InteracTV |
| Original release | |
| Network | TV3 (Ireland) |
| Release | 25/05/2009 – Present |
Play TV is a late night/early morning phone-in quiz TV show produced by Telemedia InteracTV for TV3 (Ireland) Ireland. The show is broadcast live every night of the week, Monday to Sunday, from 12:00am to 3:00am. It is suspected that the show originates from outside Ireland, most likely from Malta or Budapest to circumvent Irish consumer law.
Time Slot
The show usually begins at 12:00am and ends at 3:00am, although the time slot sometimes changes due to the length of time shows aired before Play TV take up. The show usually lasts three hours, so if the show begins at 12:30am, it will usually end at 3:30am.
Calling the show
The idea of the show is that you must call the show and try to 'find the open line' so that you can talk to the presenter and give your answer.
Call Costs
The person wishing to take part in the show must call a premium rate (1516) number. This costs the caller €1.50 from an Eircom landline, regardless of whether or not they get through to the studio. The call costs are more expensive from other operators. Below is a list call costs from selected operators.
Landlines Eircom: €1.50 Perlico: €1.79 Talk Talk: €1.75
Mobile Phones Vodafone Ireland: €1.99 O2 Ireland: €2.00
Procedure
When you call the number, you are asked a 'simple yes or no question'. You will only be asked a question once every night according to the show but in reality you are asked on every call. If you call, but don't get through to the studio, you will be told 'No bullseye this time, please try again', or another phrase like this. If you get through, you will talk live to the presenter and if you give the correct answer you will be put through to another person who will take your details so that they know who to pay. If you win, your name will be displayed on the Play TV website along with the amount of money you have won.
Complaints
The show has resulted in articles in national newspapers and complaints to the BCC Broadcasting Complaints Commission. There have been eight complaints to the BCC as of June 25 2009. The first complaints will be adjudicated on by the BCC in September 2009. So far TV3's lawyers have defended the show saying that it is fully compliant with all applicable laws and statutes.
They are also being investigated by the National Consumer Agency for false and misleading advertising.
Games
The games range from spot the difference, to making a word out of jumbled up letters, to guessing words when given a clue. An example of the latter was when a clue was given that 'this thing is always white', after about an hour and a half of calls we were told the item could be found in the kitchen, and the item was revealed to be desiccated coconut. The producers never explain how they calculate the solutions citing the fact that they will reuse the same puzzle over and over many times.
The latest ploys are spot the difference competitions where no callers are connected for several hours. This results in many people calling in with no hope of getting connected. Eventually just as the show is due to end a caller is allowed through to the studio. By this time the show has recouped the prize fund many times over. This behaviour is currently being investigated by several state agencies such as the BCC and the National Consumer Agency.
Another spot the difference ploy is to say "Which picture differs from the rest". To anybody reading this sentence, this would mean only one picture is different from the rest. Not so on Play TV. A lady bird game with the caption "Which picture differs from the rest" was used, but this game had three pictures that were different from the rest. The caption didn't say What "pictures" differs from the rest, yet more than one was different. There was more than one difference but it used the word "picture" in the singular despite three pictures that were different. Adding to the confusion was the presenter asking the viewers to "spot which picture is different from the rest" without mentioning that there was more than one difference. It was only until the game had been going on for a while that the presenter alluded that there were three differences by offering different cash amounts for spotting more than one difference.
The majority of games played ask callers to answer a simple question, such as counting the number of 3's between 103 and 222, or adding up all the numbers shown on screen. However, there is always some ambiguity in the question, enough to suggest that there may be more than one plausible answer. For example, in an 'adding up all the numbers' type question, it is plausible that you would need to add the individual digits as well a the numbers shown on screen, indeed this can be the only explanation for some of the (unguessed) subsequently revealed answers.
Often, in the word games the answer, when it is revealed, could at best be described as strange, given the particular question. For example: Q. Something beginning with the letter 'C' to be found in ANY kitchen A. Coconut.
On the 30th of July 2009, there was a game based on the theme of Shrek where players were asked to count up i.e. add up all the numbers in the picture. No one guessed correctly. The answer was revealed to be 227. This is impossible as one of the numbers in the picture was 232.
On the 31st of July 2009, there was the matchstick game as depicted opposite. The premise of the game was to move to matchsticks to form the largest number possible. The correct answer was revealed as 36251 despite it being clearly possible to create bigger numbers such as 36351 and 36551. The correct answer would be 76851. One caller did give 76851 as the answer and was told it was incorrect.
Moments and Countdowns
The moment is an important part of the play tv show. Frequently the games involve a countdown from 10 moments. A moment in play tv terms is not a regular unit of time. It can vary anywhere from 5 seconds to minutes long. It is always promised that a puzzle will end when the countdown reaches zero moments but usually the game continues regardless. Also 2 minute countdowns are used as well to give the impression that a game is ending imminently thus encouraging more callers to call in.
Presenters
JG Murphy, from Dublin in Ireland.He studied Economics and Finance in University College Dublin. He travelled to Los Angeles where he worked in amateur adult movies but could not make the progression to professional as he couldn't keep it up!. He returned home and after spending time in Italy to learn Italian, he decided to concentrate on TV and Radio presenting and has a regular slot on East Coast FM. He‘s currently in 1st Option Model agency. A sports, travel and outdoor enthusiast, JG has an unnatural presenting ability and his obnoxious personality always shines through the camera.
Derval Mellett, from Northwest Dublin, has even less sense of the ridiculous than her male colleague. For the past few years she has been splitting her time between London and Dublin. Her television training began at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology before pursuing a career in acting by training at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff. Derval enjoys travelling and embraces new challenges and experiences. Her biting of the lip with a very concerned look is an irratating annoyance that is used by her fellow colleagues for the other shows around the world.
Fiona. Previous work and relevant qualifications unknown. Fond of wearing hideous dresses in hideous colours.