As technology and society as a whole changed more and more other things changed in different ways. As an audience I am aware of the convections the game/quiz shows has depending on the type of show itself. But the rules which most game/quiz shows follow is that most of them have audiences in the show/stage etc. to show that people are interested and that is a fun show to watch as there are others watching it with you. The more contestants then the more audiences you will attract as they would also want to get in the show themselves. Most game shows tend to include prizes in the game that makes the winners feel proud and something to receive at the end of it. This again attracts audiences as they become excited as big prizes are on offer and therefore you also can win those prizes as they are there for you to win. This therefore attracts more people wanting to be one of their contestants and play in the game show so that they could also win the prizes they wished or wanted in their lives. Most of the prizes included are affordable to some depending on the contestants occupation etc and the prizes the game shows this days offer are cars, package holidays etc this therefore not many people could afford it. Other rules which game/quiz shows include in their shows is that music and lightening which again creates tension and excitement for the audience at home whereas the present audience are aware of everything and are told when to applause or when not to. Firstly if the game/quiz show is a show where serious contestants, audience and questions are asked (i.e. who wants to be a millionaire) as a result loud, dramatic background, slow music is played to remind the contestant and the audience that this is about to get serious. This therefore attracts you and makes you as an audience carry on watching the show rather than changing the channels. On the other hand you also get amusable shows that include presenters making jokes, this that were stand up comedies. They mostly make jokes at one member of the audience and pick them and put them as one the contestants. As a result of this ‘happy’ that is fun and loud tunes are played at the background, this type of music played attracts audiences as the game/quiz show is not so important or taken serious which many people find boring when they get serious. Moreover they use the type of music to demonstrate to their audiences what they are looking for and who they are looking for when considering their contestants.
Secondly the lightening is also very effective as they also create tension and excitement for the audiences at home as it makes them test their own mind question asked or the task given to the contestants to perform. Therefore I believe that convectional/ rules of game/quiz shows are included so that more viewers are attracted entertained and manipulated by them to go on the show.
Moving on to the presenters who present the game/quiz shows are presented as people who take things seriously and are the professional ones who have knowledge and are good at what they obviously do. Most of the game/quiz show presenters are either celebrities or stand comedies. This well known faces are known all around and are respected around by their fans therefore by getting the most known celebrities and the funniest comedians around then their show would be a success as it will attract much more wider range of audiences. This known faces are a good way of attracting more viewers as they know that the presenters will make the show much more interesting and much funnier if these people will present the show. There are many shows that now use many famous faces such as the Blind Date presented by Cilla Black; she was a well known woman for her hit in the 60’s and her talent in other things as well as presenting. There are many other presenters who have been taken from different areas who are well known with the mass media as audiences are informed about them through magazines and news papers. Some presenters are very good at what they do and therefore they are then chosen to present other shows, as they know that their past job was successful and a job that was well performed. For example Ann Robinson who presents the Weakest Link is a presenter who is well known around as she is a woman who is taken quite serious for what she does in the stage and she is very conservative. When presenting the show she is dressed in black suit indicating how much power she has over the audiences and the contestants. She also wears her glasses very often to make her look much smarter while she is reading the questions from the screen. Her image is very elegant and very different as she is in a way seen as a judge where she is judges the contestants and criticizes them for getting the questions wrong and also she makes personal insults towards the contestant and their occupations at the end of the voting were the poorest performing member of the group and Ann makes them feel much more ashamed as she reminds them by telling them ‘You are the weakest link goodbye’. She has a sober image where she is bitchy, sneaky and very jockey as she makes comments on the contestant’s knowledge and criticizes them for getting the easy questions wrong. She is a type of presenter were most people would like to watch her as she is funny in a very evil way as comments made by her are very personal and very harsh, but we as the audience find this funny and entertaining as Ann Robinson speaks the truth but to some the truth may hurt when giving her opinions and her advice (contestants do sometimes get angry).
Moreover I believe that program planners use these kind’s of people to present their shows because they know that it will attract a lot of viewers and it will manipulate a lot more contestant to get on to the show and show Ann Robinson what they are made off and stay strong towards her when she tries to ‘attack’. Program planners know that this will be a success if they introduce people like Ann Robinson to present their programs because the people/ audience enjoy others getting told the truth about their knowledge etc.
Most of the shows that want to attract a lot of viewers tend to have a wide rang of audiences that come from different background, occupation, and different gender. This is because the program makers know that if they have different types of contestant in their shows who present different people in society will attract a lot more audiences as they can also relate themselves to the contestants on the actual show. Therefore most of the game/quiz shows tend to show broad span of class to attract much wider audiences who have different roles in society such as housewife’s, unemployed, students, nurses etc. the show that has this characters matched to it is mainly The Weakest Link as it has mixed professional class as the contestant all have different jobs in their life and have been bought up in different places. This therefore makes the show have a mass audience as they have different people on their shows such as students, professionals etc this also leads to a competition as different contestant try to go and win the money they have wished for. Moreover the game is based on a game where they work as a team first and then in order to win the money they must get rid of one other also known as ‘dog eat dog’ as they all fight to win the money.
From my point I believe that the audience is a main issue when considering a game/quiz show as they are the ones who make the show what it is today. Moreover the audiences are the ones who actually then become the contestants of the show as they firstly watch it at home and then chose to go on the show to win the things they wished for. Therefore the shows are there to fulfill wishes as prizes such as big amount of money, cars, etc. can be won by the contestants depending on how smart they are. The weakest Link has therefore has a mass audience as they have mass contestants. However the University Challenge game/quiz shows tends to have programs that attract undergrads such as professionals and the main ones who are successful in life in the ones who are smart and respected all around such as doctors and lawyers.
In conclusion I believe that game/quiz shows have changed in many different ways and have been improved as now days the audience can get involved in the shows and win prizes that not most people can not afford such as cars, home accessories etc. The gain more audiences the producers of the game/quiz shows introduced presenters who were well known for being a celebrity or for doing the job they did such as stand up comedies actors, actresses. Therefore by introducing these people they gained more audiences as the audiences found this known presenters interesting as they present the different shows.