Game Show Memories – 1001 Things You Should Know.

1001 Things You Should Know (Channel 4, 2012-2013)

Often on game shows, there are questions that turn up rather frequently, and it is determined that there are particular things that you really should know if you want to succeed, and this one expanded on that idea. 1001 Things You Should Know was a daytime game show hosted by Sandi Toksvig, one of the now rather long list of shows that she has hosted over the years, on everything from CITV to BBC Radio 4.

Three contestants took part. There are 12 numbered categories on a rather brightly-coloured board. These change every day, but usually feature Film, Geography, Music, and so on, while the Mystery category always features. Once the category is chosen, the question is asked, not by Sandi though, but by a celebrity who is considered to be an expert in that area. This question also appears on the screen.

There is no money on offer for this one, as is considered to be something that they should know. If they do get it right, they are asked a more difficult supplementary question by Sandi for money. If they do get it wrong though, it is offered on the buzzer for an opportunity for their opponents to steal. Every contestant has three goes each. Questions in the first round are worth £100, in round two, they are worth £300, and in round three, they are worth £601.

In the final round, there are three categories remaining, so hopefully the contestants will have been able to save their favourites until last. The contestant with the highest score has the advantage, because if they answer both questions correctly, even if their opponents answer both their questions correctly too, they will be the one that wins.

Whoever does make the final will then play for the money, which is everything that the three contestants earned between them added together (usually around £2,000). One more question is asked that could be on anything. If they get it right, they win the money. If not, it will roll over to the next edition. Either way, the finalist returns next time as the defending champion.

There were two series of 1001 Things You Should Know (produced by the oddly-named Thames Scotland). Later editions featured a few tweaks, including dropping the numbers from questions, and they didn’t even get as far as actually asking 1,001 (although I don’t know if that was ever really the plan or not). This ended up simply being another show that came and went within the space of a few months.

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