its a knockout

[wrexham retro]

great show from my younger years. one episode involved my local town, wrexham up against our despised neighbours from chester and crewe. what i,d give to relive that particular show. does anybody know if theres an archive?

[sixtyten]

Re: its a knockout

No mention of that selection of towns on the wikipedia page.
Was a great show, wish they would show repeats of it, as apart from the clothes, it can't really date

[rossobantam]

Re: its a knockout

For sheer fun & laughter, this - and The Goodies - were my fav 70's tv progs

I have the 'Here Come The Belgians' DVD...good stuff, just wish it was ALL clips, & less talking/links

Amazing site listing heats/finals etc etc in anorak-type detail:
Jeux Sans Frontieres


oh ps found your heat: it was April 1978, held at Chester Racecourse .....bad news was your lot were narrowly beaten HERE
scroll down to Heat No.2
Many episodes have been wiped it appears, although it says this one still exists

Dave

[kazboot]

Re: its a knockout

Stuart Hall crying with laughter. Classic tv. Fantastic!

[ClaudineJones]

Re: its a knockout

Stuart Hall crying with laughter. Classic tv. Fantastic!

I can't remember any of the games but I'll never forget that laugh

[Heather74]

Re: its a knockout

One of my Favs as a kid too, fantastic fun, use to love the coloured water being poured into the tubes!

I hear the Euro version was quite funny too!

[kazboot]

Re: its a knockout

I hear the Euro version was quite funny too!

The Euro version was even better because other European countries' contestants were far more mental than us!

[Kiop]

Re: its a knockout

Yes, bot h Stewart Hall and Eddie Waring made it for me. I always preferred the international ones.

[ecofugal]

Re: its a knockout

loved the show
remember Arthur with his dip stick!

[wrexham retro]

Re: its a knockout

For sheer fun & laughter, this - and The Goodies - were my fav 70's tv progs

I have the 'Here Come The Belgians' DVD...good stuff, just wish it was ALL clips, & less talking/links

Amazing site listing heats/finals etc etc in anorak-type detail:
Jeux Sans Frontieres


oh ps found your heat: it was April 1978, held at Chester Racecourse .....bad news was your lot were narrowly beaten HERE
scroll down to Heat No.2
Many episodes have been wiped it appears, although it says this one still exists

Dave

many thanks, it says it exists in the bbc archive. i wonder how it can be acsessed

[chrisredditch]

Re: its a knockout

I loved IAK as a kid and found it was a great way to learn the place names of provincial market towns such as Bicester, Marlborough and Thame!
The elasticated ropes, oversized shoes and flying sponges made for a great hours viewing!
Anyone remember Arthur Ellis and his "3-2-1-whistle"? And 2 elderly French twins who used to do the scoring on Jeus San Frontier? In fact the continental theme tune was a nostalgia classic!! Goes down with "The Freewheelers" as a gem!

[rossobantam]

Re: its a knockout

twas a combination of the giant costumes (the best games), and Stuart Hall's laugh....fab Friday night viewing!

[amethyst]

Re: its a knockout

I used to like the show when they had pillow fights on the plank,then woosh in the water you go

The Europians were good the Germans or the Swiss used to win more often than the brits,the Belgiums always seem to come last,I used to feel sorry for them

[darren]

Re: its a knockout

It ran between from the 7th of August 1966 to 25th of December 1988 on BBC1.

from 28th May 1990 on ITV, 3rd of August 1991 to 24th of December 1994 on S4C and The Family Channel and from 3 rd of September 1999 to 6th of January 2001 on Channel 5.

it was produced by Richard Hearsey and Ronin Entertainment.

It featured teams representing a town or city competing tasks in absurd games, generally dressed in large foam rubber suits. Games were played in the home town's park, with weather often turning grassland into mud. The team scoring most points would advance to the next stage.

Teams could double points in one round by choosing to play their Joker.
The games were refereed by former international football referee Arthur Ellis. The theme tune was Bean Bag by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

here is a clip.

http://youtu.be/CDfkGWKWaeo
man just how good was this show.
one of the best.

did not think it ran this long.

[themilkman]

Re: its a knockout

Loved it...................bring it back, that's what I say.