With this debut episode - in literally the first 5 minutes - we open with a brilliantly concise & yet contemplative observation which intends to summarise the British public's unshakeable obsession with the traditional pub quiz:
(Paraphrasing): "It combines our two greatest loves; drinking & being right".
Yet the more you dwell on this singular line - which validates the creation of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?", the more you realise the naivety of the show's original conception because yes, the creators acknowledged how people do so love to be right but they equally failed to grasp how it'll also usually be "at any cost" too.
Additionally, knowing writer James Graham's previous work - having only recently written "Brexit: The Uncivil War", it's funny how at the heart of "Quiz" - much like his previous aforementioned title - he actually tends to instead examine the British desire to "win" at any cost rather than to be "right" at any cost.
It's a deliberate & subtle misdirection - shifting the focus to "correctness" with such a clever swap of words - & yet to examine it from the different perspective, the story is seen from a new light entirely.
To probe further using this comparison (as thematically, they compliment each other), both in Brexit & Quiz, characters are forced in to high stakes situations - viewed as nothing more than a game - where they'll do whatever they consider necessary in order to achieve victory over their opponents; the creators of the very system they aim to beat by cheating, exploiting a hidden weakness or vulnerability within it.
Hence, I won't lie... I kind of love how he applies this reoccurring theme to his work; the dissection of our morality & how flexible it becomes under pressure - where normal people will do morally ambiguous / slightly immoral things if it gains them a personal unfair advantage.
As fun & humorous as his writing is, he does use this to scrutinize both sides of the debate regarding really interesting philosophical questions; considering the ethical / moral implications of people's actions, wondering if the means do justify the end.. & To what end may justify the means.
(Paraphrasing): "It combines our two greatest loves; drinking & being right".
Yet the more you dwell on this singular line - which validates the creation of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?", the more you realise the naivety of the show's original conception because yes, the creators acknowledged how people do so love to be right but they equally failed to grasp how it'll also usually be "at any cost" too.
Additionally, knowing writer James Graham's previous work - having only recently written "Brexit: The Uncivil War", it's funny how at the heart of "Quiz" - much like his previous aforementioned title - he actually tends to instead examine the British desire to "win" at any cost rather than to be "right" at any cost.
It's a deliberate & subtle misdirection - shifting the focus to "correctness" with such a clever swap of words - & yet to examine it from the different perspective, the story is seen from a new light entirely.
To probe further using this comparison (as thematically, they compliment each other), both in Brexit & Quiz, characters are forced in to high stakes situations - viewed as nothing more than a game - where they'll do whatever they consider necessary in order to achieve victory over their opponents; the creators of the very system they aim to beat by cheating, exploiting a hidden weakness or vulnerability within it.
Hence, I won't lie... I kind of love how he applies this reoccurring theme to his work; the dissection of our morality & how flexible it becomes under pressure - where normal people will do morally ambiguous / slightly immoral things if it gains them a personal unfair advantage.
As fun & humorous as his writing is, he does use this to scrutinize both sides of the debate regarding really interesting philosophical questions; considering the ethical / moral implications of people's actions, wondering if the means do justify the end.. & To what end may justify the means.
