We've got some lights... in the studio.

Greetings, Ghostwatchers!

Bringing you a brand-new GHOSTWATCH mention of note, courtesy of yesterday's afternoon edition of ITV's The Chase, hosted by the perpetually-effervescent, Bradley Walsh.

If you haven't seen the highly-popular game show before, a small team of contestants engage in often, unenviable battles of wits against a rotating team of leading quiz masters for the chance to win a cash prize split upwards of four-ways. Its recurrent, inescapable airing typically follows the channel's sister show, Tipping Point; which, opposed to navigating a high-stress environment built on answering rapid-fire questions against the clock, mostly relies on the well-timed jabbing of a silver-sprayed, disc-dropping, plastic plunger, wired to a heaving shelf.

Ducts wants to see everybody!
The first Chasee to eagerly step up to the plate [or, is that, 'mark'... 'oche'?] is Jon, who finds himself up against this episode's pre-selected Chaser; the formidably-horn rimmed, pink leopard print-lappelled, vampily-bouffanted, Jenny "The Vixen" Ryan, to hopefully take back to his waiting team as much as twenty-seven thousand grands, Eddie.

Choosing the middle offer of £7,000, Jon's opening nail-biter on 'Mastication' is swiftly chewed-over, shortly followed by a question of actual relevance...

"What was the nickname of the spirit that appeared in the TV show 'Ghostwatch'?"

With the potential answers being...

"A) Tubes" "B) Pipes" "C) Ducts"

Jon appears to convey some vague recollection of GHOSTWATCH being a kind of "spoof" thing; thereby appropriately, albeit momentarily, bringing into question his 'true fan' status...

"Now, I think, Ghostwatch was a spoof-ghost-documentary-thing that Michael Parkinson was involved in. And if it's that, Pipes rings a bell."

Set a course... for home.

Reassuringly, Jon has ably selected the correct answer, thereby moving a crucial step "closer to home". Though, without even Bullseye's BFH rule seeming to apply here, looking at some of these low/minus offers, and the statistical likelihood of a non-pro/semi-pro quizzer advancing short of sheer luck; even covering the trip back home from the studio seems unlikely, assuming you managed to get through to the Final Chase™. Cor, these TV game-shows have changed a fair bit, since my day... But seriously though, *rakish chortle*, the cherry on top simply has to be the revelation that Top-Quizzer/Chaser, Jenny, was spooked by GHOSTWATCH, ostensibly on the night of transmission. Aww.

"Quite right. I'm still deeply traumatised by it. Because no-one told me it was a spoof. It was on Hallowe'en, in about 1992. It was terrifying."

To which, dear old Bradders, slips the above glance to camera, which can best be described as enigmatically-ambivalent. On the off-chance that he's not internally-screaming to correct the repeated misuse of the word, "Spoof'', in relation to yours and mine favourite special drama, can somebody please just lend him the DVD, in the hopes that he, like us, may do so in the future?

A huge thank-you must go to fellow Ghostwatcher, and all-round good guy, Paul Draper, for being the first to Tweet about this, and copying me in; at the very moment, no less, that I was having trouble taking a snapshot of my hastily-paused telly screen. Many thanks also to ITV, and their evidently, supremely talented, and well-versed, Quiz Question Quotations Department.

Until next time, Ghostwatchers... try not to have sleepless nights...

And just a quick PS - we're still getting lots of messages regarding the return of the doc, in some form, or another. Rest assured, discussions remain ongoing, and as soon as any news comes in, we'll be sure to let you know. x

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