Cleverdicks - Episode 1 Review

Cleverdicks finally started its run last night on Sky Atlantic. In all I enjoyed the show, there were some negatives but I think Cleverdicks is well worth watching and could grow into being on the best quiz shows on tv if a few of the issues are ironed out!

The first round involves each contestant facing 2 minutes of questions worth up to 5 points each. 5 clues are on offer, the more clues you take the less points. There is no punishment for guessing though which takes the edge of things as it means when you get a round such as “A Tennis Player” it can become a guessing spree on each clue. The questions in this round are well written though and enjoyable to play along with at home.

In terms of this episode, David Stainer, who you may have seen on only connect or know from the UK Quiz circuit, lead the way after the first round, way ahead of his rivals. His score of 44 included 25 points from getting the answers from one clue which was fantastic going, he stated it was “inspired guesswork”.

The second round sees Cleverdicks change into a buzzer quiz, testing a different sort of skill than the first round. The contestant with the lowest score from round one was eliminated, this being Susan, leaving three to compete in the second round.  It’s a simple buzz and bonus format where a successful buzz leads to 3 bonus questions. The one problem I had before this round even started was that there was seemingly no reward for first round performance as the scores were reset. So despite David Stainer clearly ahead after round one, it was now all down to buzzing ability. The questions to buzz in on are similar to the first round with 5 clues, but revert to normal questions for the bonuses. There is no punishment for buzzing in with a wrong answer though meaning if you get it wrong you can buzz again which does seem a bit odd. Again though it does revert to guessing as contestants soon realised if they didn’t buzz in with a guess someone else would. Especially as unlike University Challenge the bonus questions are opened to the others if answered wrong.

The results in this weeks episode were a reversal of the first round and David Stainer was eliminated which I found quite unfair given how much he had dominated round one. He was clearly only a split second behind in most of the buzzes and because he had not been given any reward for such a lead after round one he found himself eliminated leaving Steve vs Rob to play for a place in the final.

The third round is a head to head battle between the final two. It is turn based with no clues. A wrong answer adds a triangle to your stack, the higher the stack the worse it is for you as once a descending white line hits your stack you are out. You can remove the Triangles by getting questions right. I enjoyed this round probably more than the others, just straight up fast paced general knowledge questions.

Rob took a lead and moved towards the final of Cleverdicks. I suppose for viewers one positive aspect here is even a four point lead can be turned out very quickly so it keeps things open but that wasn’t to happen here. The white line collided with Steve’s stack and he was out. A great effort and a round I really enjoyed.

The final involves questions falling onto the board. The questions only drop off the screen when they are right, a wrong answer and the questions start to stack. If the list touches the descending white line you are out, if you survive 2 minutes you win! A nice format but again promotes guesswork which is not necessarily a bad thing but does detract from things a little. Two life lines are given for questions to drop off the board. Rob stuttered on a few and the white line caught up with him with around 30 seconds to go. This is going to be a difficult final game to win! The winner does return next time though for another chance with a rolling £1,000 jackpot.

One thing I did not like was the opening banter between Anne and the contestants. “I’m a Cleverdick because….” Made me cringe a little and all credit to the contestants they did the best they could with the bad line. Also at an hour, 45 minutes discounting breaks, it did seem a bit long and if you cut out the pointless chit chat then you could easily get this show into a more concise 30 minutes.

What about Anne Widdicombe as a host? She seems to have taken a lot of stick online about this first episode but I did not find her too bad. The most annoying parts of the hosting were not her fault at all and she is new to this so give her credit where it is due. I certainly didn’t think her presenting got in the way of my enjoyment of the show but I still do not like the banter between rounds. Apparently she gets better as the series goes on or so I am told by people who have appeared on latter episodes.

All in all I did enjoy Cleverdicks and will continue to watch this show. There are a few issues such as the balancing of points in the second round, the lack of reward  coming from the first round and the reward for guessing. Additionally as mentioned I am not keen on the banter between rounds and it makes the show feel overlong in parts. Despite this though the questions are well written, its great to see top class quizzing on TV and I really hope the show is a success!

Cleverdicks gets a thumbs up from me!