All Over The Shop (BBC1, 1997-1999)
When it comes to game shows I do have a “try anything once” attitude, whenever I see a new game show announced because I am a big fan of them I always try to watch at least one or two editions to determine if I like it. When daytime weekday show All Over The Shop launched I was still at school so I set the video to record a few episodes. I found the old tape that they were on recently so I might as well review this show although I imagine it is little remembered now so here’s what happened.
All Over The Shop was hosted by Paul Ross (who had about five other shows on the go at the time) and it was a lighthearted consumer game show where various rounds were played to determine if you really do get value for money. Two teams of two celebrities took part every day, and lots of people took part, and if the names of people who were around at the time such as Ben Onwukwe, Howard Stableford, Annabel Giles, Mickey Hutton and Simon Biagi mean anything to you then that will give you an idea of what we’re dealing with here. 
In the first round a classic comedy clip from a show such as One Foot In The Grave was shown and the teams were asked what the character’s rights were if the situation had happened for real. In the next round the teams are given a bizarre object each and they have to work out what it is used for. 
Then there was a round where there were three items, and the price that they cost when they were first released. The teams had to match the correct price with the correct item for the points. The most memorable round was the taste test, three different items of the same thing such as orange juice or soup, usually a supermarket own-brand version, a branded version and a high-end branded version. In this round all the items can be tasted and the teams have to put the prices next to them, again with points on offer for correct matches, and the results were often surprising. 
The final round was on the buzzer, with questions usually about advertising. Get the question right and the team can answer a bonus question. Get the first question wrong though and the bonus goes over to the other team. At the end of this the winning team with the most points is revealed. There are no prizes on offer, just the hope that everyone had a good time. 
All Over The Shop wasn’t too bad as far as these shows go and it definitely gave the show on ITV at 9:25 a run for its money as it was shown in the same timeslot on BBC1. Although there were a couple of other game shows with a similar format, the show hasn’t been seen since it ended in 1999 and I’m fairly sure it hasn’t been repeated on any cable or digital channels since, and it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry which is rather disappointing because it was good fun.
ADAM'S NOSTALGIC MEMORIES 