Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation

Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions which premiered on Network Ten on 5 May 2009. It is hosted by Shaun Micallef.^[1]

The first series ran for 18 episodes, with the original production order extended due to the success of the show.^[2] A second series of 26 episodes began airing from 7 February 2010. Series 2 had a planned hiatus after episode 10 on 18 April 2010 and returned to finish its run on 1 August 2010. Series 3 began on 8 February 2011.^[3]

On 27 October 2011, Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation was renewed for a fourth series.^[4] On 22 January 2012, it was announced that the show would begin airing Series 4 on 1 February 2012 in an 8 pm timeslot.^[5]

Format

Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (also known as TAYG (pronounced tay-g)) is an hour-long quiz show testing the popular culture knowledge of teams from three different cultural generations. The generation team captains are Amanda Keller (Baby Boomers), Charlie Pickering (Generation X) and Josh Thomas (Generation Y). Each team captain is joined by a different guest each episode who is part of, their respective generations. However, on occasion there have been guests not actually part of the generation they represent on the show. (e.g. Ian Smith and George Negus have featured as Baby Boomers but are actually members of the Silent Generation). Generally guests aged up to 30 are placed in the Generation Y team, guests aged 30–40 in the Generation X team and guests aged 40 and over in the Baby Boomer team.

Typically, each episode features six rounds with the three teams competing in various themed games which feature wordplay-based names such as What's A Doodle Doo?, Name That Tee and ¡chronoloco!. One point is awarded for each correct answer, though in practice points can be awarded or deducted at Shaun's own discretion. The first three rounds involve the contestants buzzing in first to give their answer. Games played in these rounds can involve identifying missing television characters from a cast picture, identifying a company name from a partially constructed logo, or identifying a catchphrase and its origin from a T-shirt.

The fourth round sees teams choosing from four categories from the main display (dubbed the "magic window"), and often involves their participation on the studio floor on their part. Games include matching up celebrity pairs (such as famous mothers and daughters) on the screen, ransacking a period setting to identify anachronistic items, and performing charades. The fifth round, called "Your Generation" and later Yo-Gen, sees all teams quizzed in turn on themed questions relevant to their particular generation and based on a certain topic or Yo-Gen Subject. In this round, one point is awarded for each correct answer and two points are lost with each incorrect answer.

The final round, called End Game, sees all teams trying to complete a physical task, usually to be judged by Shaun. The number of points up for grabs in this round is usually determined by the amount of points that separate the first and third placed teams at this stage of the game; therefore the winner of the End Game is the winner of the episode.

The winning team is presented with a second hand trophy donated by Shaun (first series),viewers (third and fourth series), as a vanity prize. During the second series, a specially made TAYG trophy was presented to the winning team; the trophy featured three people (representing the three generations playing) raising a flag pole with a TAYG flag on top.

List of games

These are some of the games that are featured in the show. Not all of them are mentioned.

• What's a Doodle Doo? – In this game, contestants are shown different company logos but are shown one 'doodle' at a time. Five 'doodles' make the logo and points are awarded depending on how many doodles have been revealed (i.e. the first doodle is worth 5 points, the second is worth 4 points, etc.).
• As Quick As – In this game, contestants are asked a series of questions. They must buzz in and answer as quickly as they can as they are racing a boiling kettle. Time is up when the kettle whistles. In some episodes, the kettle is replaced with another item such as dynamite or a woodcutter. Australian illusionist Cosentino appeared in one episode with him escaping from a straight jacket.
• You Say Various Things – The game begins with Shaun explaining that they would usually be playing As Quick As, but has decided that they will be playing a new and complicated game in which the title and rules are explained in one very simple (and long) song. Shaun then sings the You Say Various Things theme song only for the phone to ring and Shaun explaining that they don't have time to play this game as the theme song was too long. They then play As Quick As.
• Ad Hoc – In this game, the contestants are shown a frame from a commercial and they must buzz in to try and guess what the product is in the commercial.
• Befuddled – In this game, the contestants are shown a movie poster that has been pixelated by the Befuddlo-Mesh screen. They must then guess which movie the poster is for. If no-one can guess the Befuddled image, it is the Defuddled once. If they still can't guess, the image is Defuddled a second time. An image is only Defuddled a maximum of five times before it is completely revealed. Points are awarded depending on how many times the image has been Defuddled (i.e. the first Befuddlo level is worth 5 points, the second is worth 4 points, etc.).
• Nobody's Business – In this game, contestants must guess the names of fictional products or businesses on the Magic Window. They then have to guess the film or TV series from which the product or business is from.
• Chicken or Egg? (originally called What Came First?) – In this game, contestants are shown two things, events or businesses and they need to figure out which one came first.

Games featured in the Magic Window: The Magic Window is the large screen in the background of the TAYG set. The teams pick one of four buttons from the window which are labelled with the genre of game that is featured in that button and later, things or people relating to a certain subject.

• Trust Me – In the earlier uses of this game, a button was labelled with the Trust Me logo. The game featured would result in one of the team members being covered in food if the other team member incorrectly answered questions. Each question was worth quadruple points. In later episodes, Trust Me was hidden in one of the four button on the Magic Window as no-one would pick it when it was clearly labelled. In one episode, Trust Me was hidden in two of the buttons on the Magic Window.
• What on Earth was that? – In this game, show six common items from the past and present are concealed behind a garden wall and then crushed by a steam roller. The team must then identify the item by looking at the debris left behind and the era it was from for one point each.
• Watch Your Mouth – In this game, the guesser (who is facing the audience) must try and guess the celebrity their partner (who is facing away from the audience with their mouth on a stand) is portraying on the "magic window". That contestant must give clues to the contestant without saying any of the verboten words/phrases (ranging from 5–8) shown on the "magic window". One point is awarded for every celebrity the guesser is able to identify correctly.
• ¡chronoloco! – In this game, the team has to order a certain number of things (usually six) of a certain theme (e.g. wedding dresses or underwear) in the order they were first introduced. One point is awarded for each item placed in the correct place.
• Third Drawer Down – In this game, items appear in the third drawer down and the team must be able to identify the item. One point is awarded for each item identified correctly, and another point for correctly identifying the era of that item.
• Era Error – In this game, a scenario is created at a certain era (e.g. classroom in 1965) and contestants are to identify six items that don't belong in the era within the given time-frame. One point is awarded for each item that is identified in the wrong era.

Episodes

The first series began airing on 5 May 2009. It ran for 18 episodes concluding with a Christmas special on 22 November 2009. Due to the popularity of the first series, a second series was commissioned and began airing on 7 February 2010. The series aired for 10 episodes and took a three-month break before resuming on 1 August 2010. The series then ran for a further 16 episodes, totalling 26 for the second series. Also, a highlights episode, dubbed 'family assortment', was aired on 4 April 2010. A third series of the show began broadcast on 8 February 2011.^[3] Similar to the second series, the third series was split into two distinct blocks for broadcast.^[6] It concluded on 18 September 2011.^[7]

Summary

Reception

Ratings

The first series of the show, which aired at 7:30 pm Tuesday night, was very successful ratings-wise with the show considered a surprise hit.^[8] The premiere episode of the show debuted with an average of 1,648,000 viewers, coming in first for the night and fourth for the week. The subsequent episode drew in 1,599,000 viewers, coming both first for the night and the week. The highest rating episode was the eighth, which averaged 1,754,000 viewers.^[9] The 2009 Christmas special aired at a 6:30 pm Sunday night timeslot. In comparison, it drew in only 1,060,000 viewers.^[10]

The second series of the show debuted in the 7:30 pm Sunday night timeslot, with the series premiere drawing in 1,323,000 viewers.^[11] After sixteen episodes the show returned to the 7:30 pm Tuesday night slot to make way for the broadcast of Junior MasterChef Australia on Sunday nights. The ratings figures for the second season were generally behind the high figures set during the first series.^[12] The season finale, which also doubled as the 2010 Christmas special, drew in 1,450,000 viewers.^[13]

Awards

The show was nominated for both the Most Popular and Most Outstanding Light Entertainment awards at the 2010 Logie Awards. In addition Shaun Micallef was nominated for both the Gold Logie and the Most Popular Presenter awards for his work on the show.^[14] The show won in both categories it was nominated for with Shaun Micallef winning the logie for Most Popular Presenter alongside. He did not win the gold logie. Team captains Josh Thomas and Charlie Pickering were also nominated for the Most Popular New Male Talent logie.

References

External links

• Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation at the Internet Movie Database