It's A Knockout
1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 2 (UK)
"Eight lovely dolly birds, eight wobbly jellies
and eight Minis"
Once described as "a competition to perform the
pointless in the quickest possible time," the origin of this TV
Olympiad of inter-town rivalry dates back to a 1954 BBC TV program
called Top Town which presented a series of amateur and
semi-professional variety performers from different cities in Britain.
It's a Knockout presented a similar format but this time with
amateur athletic teams in crazy costumes competing in absurd games
with commentary by Eddie Waring, David Vine and Stuart Hall.
Former soccer referee Arthur Ellis ruled proceedings
with a rod of iron (and a whistle, obviously), while a pretty-but-dim
girl scorer attempted, often unsuccessfully, to add two and two, while
Stuart Hall babbled enthusiastically to the breathless contestants. No
sooner had they crossed the finishing line than Hall would put his arm
around them and demand a reaction, just as they looked about to renew acquaintance
with their lunch. Hall was a master of the inane and used to come out
with wonderful exclamations like: "53 points - a world record. I
don't think that's been equalled before".
 It's
A Knockout was the Club 18-30 of television - loud, gaudy and
thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who took part. Viewers loved it too,
seeing it as harmless family escapism, a welcome relief from the
troubled world of the late sixties and early seventies.
The
program attracted up to 19 million viewers who watched teams get muddy while
tackling greasy poles, log-rolling and bungee runs - "and
Scunthorpe are going to play their joker on this one" . . .
An international version of the game for European
countries started in 1967 and was called Jeux Sans Frontières. In
1987 there were adverse comments about loss of dignity when the three
youngest of the Queen's children attempted to sound a populist note by
appearing in a special It's A Knockout program for charity.
Royal guests stormed out of press meetings when the questioning became
hostile and the experiment was not repeated.
Eddie Waring died in 1986.
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