Family Fortunes is a classic game show with such a basic premise. You take two families, put them next to podiums, add a screen, ask 100 people different everyday questions, play or pass, and there you go. It is the British version of the ever-so-classic Family Feud, but while that show has evolved over the years, Family Fortunes since being revived has kept everything how it was, however I'll only be going over the classic series, which ran from 1980-2002, not the Vernon Kay All-Star series or the revived Gino D'Acampo version that currently airs.
So, each episode has three different rounds which share similar premises - there's the main round or "Single Money" in recent versions, which tends to last three rounds, where the contestants have to guess what the answers are to everyday surveys. If what you said isn't on the board, you get the famous "EH-OH!" sound which has now become a stable of British pop-culture. If you get three strikes, then the following family has the chance to steal the money away. If they get it wrong, the other family wins the money given in the round.
Double Money is the same thing, except as the name applies, the money is doubled. The winning family is the one who reaches £300, and they head onto Big Money, or "Fast Money" to the non-brits. Two contestants play this one, with one answering five questions first, and then the second steps in and does the same. The aim is to reach 200 points and you win the jackpot, which by the 90's was about £5,000. By the 90's, if you found all 5 top answers as well you'd win a family car or by 1998, a holiday. It makes family reunions so much special indeed.
Now, onto the hosts, the first was Bob Monkhouse, a very familiar name indeed, and was the one who came up with the UK game as he found "Family Feud" to be a bit aggressive. He was good, and just as you'd expect from a classic comedian. Musician Max Bygraves eventually took over in 1983, and he wasn't good but wasn't truly awful ether, just weak without much memorable moments.
After the show took a hiatus in 1987, the most memorable of them all - Les Dennis became the host, and he's a classic indeed, just what a show like this really needed, coming up with so many memorable lines like "If that answer's there, I'll give you the money meself!". Les has been the longest running of them all and lasted until the main weekly run ended in 2002, when Andy Collins took over as the host. I think he's best left forgotten.
Over the years, the show has seen different graphics and sets, however the thing they'd always have would be Mr. Babbage, the screen that displayed green electronic text. 1987 (aka Les' first series) was majorly different, as they instead used a large colour screen which was a bit of an eyesore, so they eventually changed back. The intro and logo graphics have seen different changes, ranging from the famous "Egg Family" to the final two season's "Spinning Pound Coins" look.
One thing that also makes the show memorable is the contestants. Sometimes you can hear the dumbest or stupidest of answers which are memorable on their own behalf, or excited contestants strangling or tightly hugging Les on Big Money. Even the contestant babble is interesting to hear as well and doesn't feel like filler. It's always funny for them to talk about their most embarrassing moments on public TV. The most memorable moment of the series somehow was in the Bygraves era, and that's none other than the Turkey one. Everybody knows this, so I don't need to say how it goes.
Now, onto how the show eventually went downhill. The set and graphics got far cheaper-looking and alongside Catchphrase, Carlton and ITV decided to make it a daytime series, with a reduced top prize, and no car or holiday. And as mentioned, Les Dennis left and Andy Collins took over. This all failed, and the classic series of the show ended in December 2002.
Overall, Family Fortunes is a classic in terms of ITV game shows, and one of the most memorable alongside, well... do I even need to say other examples? If you see it on Challenge, give it a watch but by this point, you've already seen it.
So, each episode has three different rounds which share similar premises - there's the main round or "Single Money" in recent versions, which tends to last three rounds, where the contestants have to guess what the answers are to everyday surveys. If what you said isn't on the board, you get the famous "EH-OH!" sound which has now become a stable of British pop-culture. If you get three strikes, then the following family has the chance to steal the money away. If they get it wrong, the other family wins the money given in the round.
Double Money is the same thing, except as the name applies, the money is doubled. The winning family is the one who reaches £300, and they head onto Big Money, or "Fast Money" to the non-brits. Two contestants play this one, with one answering five questions first, and then the second steps in and does the same. The aim is to reach 200 points and you win the jackpot, which by the 90's was about £5,000. By the 90's, if you found all 5 top answers as well you'd win a family car or by 1998, a holiday. It makes family reunions so much special indeed.
Now, onto the hosts, the first was Bob Monkhouse, a very familiar name indeed, and was the one who came up with the UK game as he found "Family Feud" to be a bit aggressive. He was good, and just as you'd expect from a classic comedian. Musician Max Bygraves eventually took over in 1983, and he wasn't good but wasn't truly awful ether, just weak without much memorable moments.
After the show took a hiatus in 1987, the most memorable of them all - Les Dennis became the host, and he's a classic indeed, just what a show like this really needed, coming up with so many memorable lines like "If that answer's there, I'll give you the money meself!". Les has been the longest running of them all and lasted until the main weekly run ended in 2002, when Andy Collins took over as the host. I think he's best left forgotten.
Over the years, the show has seen different graphics and sets, however the thing they'd always have would be Mr. Babbage, the screen that displayed green electronic text. 1987 (aka Les' first series) was majorly different, as they instead used a large colour screen which was a bit of an eyesore, so they eventually changed back. The intro and logo graphics have seen different changes, ranging from the famous "Egg Family" to the final two season's "Spinning Pound Coins" look.
One thing that also makes the show memorable is the contestants. Sometimes you can hear the dumbest or stupidest of answers which are memorable on their own behalf, or excited contestants strangling or tightly hugging Les on Big Money. Even the contestant babble is interesting to hear as well and doesn't feel like filler. It's always funny for them to talk about their most embarrassing moments on public TV. The most memorable moment of the series somehow was in the Bygraves era, and that's none other than the Turkey one. Everybody knows this, so I don't need to say how it goes.
Now, onto how the show eventually went downhill. The set and graphics got far cheaper-looking and alongside Catchphrase, Carlton and ITV decided to make it a daytime series, with a reduced top prize, and no car or holiday. And as mentioned, Les Dennis left and Andy Collins took over. This all failed, and the classic series of the show ended in December 2002.
Overall, Family Fortunes is a classic in terms of ITV game shows, and one of the most memorable alongside, well... do I even need to say other examples? If you see it on Challenge, give it a watch but by this point, you've already seen it.