A quiz show for the bright kids

Press, 3 October 1979, Page 17

A quiz show for the bright kids

Like all quiz shows, a lot of research goes into each series of “WThree” (SPTV this afternoon). The show uses nearly a 1000 questions a year, and the host, researcher and producer are in constant apprehension about contestants coming up with an unexpected answer. There are four university graduates among the five people on the “WThree” team but still some bright kid can suddenly think of an angle which they haven’t considered and thus cause a moment of panic. A problem confronting quiz shows is presenting accurate answers which in fact are contrary to popular belief. “W-Three” had an avalanche of mail after the statue in the middle of Picadiily Circus was announced as having nothing to do with Eros. The London City Council verified this and wrote to “W-Three” saying that the statue, erected in 1893. depict- the Angel of Christian Charity and has no connection with Eros at all.

“W-Three” was also right about the establishment of Giri Guides which resulted in more heavy mail, claiming that Lady Baden Powell established the Girl Guides, and the answer given on the screen (Lord Baden Powell) was wrong. However, the official history of the Girl Guides makes it quite clear that the Guides were established in 1909, before Lord Baden Powell married. In later times, Lady Baden Powell became closely associated with the Girl Guides and was a leader of them for some time, but she did not e'stablish them. For the famous statue of a s’ eepdog at Tekapo, the team prepared in advance and has at hand the translation of the Gaelic inscription on the statue, which says: “Blessings on the sheepdog,” and commemorates al! the work done by dogs in South Canterbury. It has nothing to do with Mackenzie’s famous dog, but hundreds of people will tell you that it has.

One parent stormed out of a "W-Three''session convinced that his child had been wrongly marked for denying that a sheep has four stomachs. But Lockwood Smith. the show’s host, is a graduate in agricultural chemistry and assured them of the accuracy of the answer. Encyclopaedia Britannica provides the prizes for “W-Three” — more than 100 volumes this year competed for by the 50 contestants.