The Button is a British game show produced by Avalon Television. It aired on BBC One and features teams of families who participate in challenges at random intervals throughout the day for cash prizes. The families interact with "the button" who sets the challenges. At the end of the episode, the family which has won the money can choose to keep it and not appear on the next episode, or can appear next time but risk losing the money they have won.
| The Button | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Game show |
| Directed by | Andy Devonshire[1] |
| Voices of | Alex Horne |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Sallie Clement |
| Editor | Nicola Bitton[3] |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera setup |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Avalon Television Ltd[4] |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One[5] |
| Release | 20 April – 8 June 2018 |
The show was promoted as "a cross between Gogglebox and Taskmaster",[6] and was created by the same team that created Taskmaster.[7][8]
History
editIn August 2017, producers were looking for contestants to take part in the programme. The show was scheduled to start filming in October 2017.[9] It first aired on 20 April 2018 on BBC One.[5]
Participants
editBold indicates that the participants won the episode.
Italic indicates that the participants won the previous episode but returned and lost the episode.
Bold/Italic indicates that the participants won and took the money.
| Episode | Date | Family 1 | Family 2 | Family 3 | Family 4 | Family 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 April 2018 | The Garstons | The Halls | The Ward/Mills | The Marchants | The McCulloughs |
| 2 | 27 April 2018 | The Garstons | The Halls | The Ward/Mills | The Marchants | The McCulloughs |
| 3 | 4 May 2018 | The Garstons | The Utleys | The Ward/Mills | The Marchants | The McCulloughs |
| 4 | 11 May 2018 | The Garstons | The Utleys | The Ward/Mills | The Marchants | The McCulloughs |
| 5 | 18 May 2018 | The Garstons | The Utleys | The Ward/Mills | The Marchants | The Mohammeds |
| 6 | 25 May 2018 | The Garstons | The Utleys | The Ward/Mills | The Marchants | The Mohammeds |
| 7 | 1 June 2018 | The Garstons | The Utleys | The Ward/Mills | The Marchants | The Mohammeds |
| 8 | 8 June 2018 | The Garstons | The Utleys | The Jacobs Medleys | The Marchants | The Mohammeds |
Game
editWhen the Button turns from green to red the contestants have to hit it to be set a challenge. All five families have to complete the same challenge, and the family to complete it the fastest will win the prize money for that challenge.[10] There are five challenges per episode with the first challenge being worth £1,000, the second being worth £2,000 and so on. The family who wins the most money in an episode can choose to exit the series banking their prize money. However, they can also choose to play the next episode rolling over their prize money with an additional £10,000 bonus but if they lose the next episode then they lose all their money.
The challenges themselves are all completed in the families living rooms where the Button is placed. The challenges vary greatly, some examples include:
- Building a tower from pillows, books and cans
- Bouncing a ping-pong ball into a cup
- Reciting the alphabet backwards without vowels
- Naming the 5th Harry Potter book
- Finding a person called Gary
Reception
editThe List gave the game show 3/5,[11] The Custard TV said that "the game show borrows heavily from Gogglebox",[12] The Guardian gave the game show 2/5,[5] and Radio Times said that "[v]iewers had provoked a strong reaction, with many taking to social media to express feelings of deep hatred or love for the series opener".[13]
Transmissions
edit| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 April 2018 | 8 June 2018 | 8 |
See also
edit- Ant & Dec's Push the Button, a game show presented by Ant & Dec
References
edit- ^ "BBC One – The Button, Series 1, Episode 1 – Credits". 27 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "BBC One Orders Grenfell & Stephen Lawrence Documentaries, Obesity Season, 'The Button' Gameshow & More". TV Wise. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ Bitton, Nicola. "Nicola Bitton on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "Hot Picks: The Button". Broadcast Now. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ a b c "New family game show The Button commissioned for BBC One". BBC Media Centre. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ Taylor, Frances. "The Button review: A simple, silly yet surprisingly good new game show on BBC1". Radio Times. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ "The Button: New game show from creators of Taskmater arrives on BBC One". Telly Mix. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "New gameshow The Button kicks off on BBC One". Royal Television Society. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "New BBC One Game Show is looking for contestants". Families Online. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "The Button review – the latest thing in home entertainment". The Guardian. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "TV review: The Button, BBC One". The List. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "REVIEW: The Button: The new game show that borrows heavily from Gogglebox". The Custard TV. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "Viewers divided over new BBC game show The Button". Radio Times. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.