Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game

You take one male and one female either related or by marriage but one has to be a generation older than the other. So they have two couples doing stupid things like dancing and they bring another two couples in to do stupid things. They get judged and two couples leave and the last two couples do a sketch and one couple win. The winning couple then go on to memorise toys and appliances and what they remember they take home.

This show dominated the BBC1 early Saturday evening schedule for several years during the 70's and the 80's. Bruce Forsyth was the first presenter and despite those checked jackets he used to wear he did have a very good natural fast wit. He was aided by Anthea Redfern who was the resident eye candy. Larry Grayson took over and it started going downhill (if that was possible) very quickly. It was one gay joke after another and he seemed to say 'Seems like a nice boy' about every male guest who appeared. Less said about Jim Davidson the better ..... However, back to the show - couples from families would try their hand at doing various tasks, everything from making clay pots to taking part in a play. The big problem with this show was that a lot of the couples ended up being openly humiliated on TV purely for entertainment. The eventual winning couple would have a memory test on a conveyor belt and would win what they remembered which always included a cuddly toy and a fondu set. So, where did it all go wrong ? Like 3 2 1 the guests were all either wannabees or hasbeens and as stated earlier the cheap laughs at the contestant's expense. If a show like this was made nowadays you would have couples suing for being humiliated - honestly, we would.

The first presenter of The Generation Game was Bruce Forsyth, an entertaining old chap who put on a good show. The second presenter was Larry Grayson, who also did a good job. Forsyth returned to present the show for four years and then Jim Davidson took over in 1995. Davidson is a very good host and did a great job with snooker quiz show Big Break but he wasn't suited to The Generation Game which went downhill when he started presenting it.

Each week, four couples (not necessarily couples, they could be mother/son or father/daughter) would take part in activities ranging from making cakes to making balloon animals to performing sketches. Two of the couples would be knocked out if they had less points than the other. The remaining couples would then engage in a sketch (usually a play). One couple would win and go onto the conveyor belt where dozens of items ranging from teddy bears to bottles of wine would pass. Whatever they could memorize, they took home. That was the format of the show.

It was funny and original and original hosts Bruce Forsyth and Larry Grayson did a great job. As I said earlier, Jim Davidson did his best but quiz shows always suffer when the original host leaves. Also, during it's last years, the Generation Game format became quite boring as the games were usually either singing or dancing and each show just merged into the one previous.

But, it was fun whilst it lasted and did give me some happy memories so long live the Generation Game!