This
darts based
television gameshow was broadcast on the U.K network
ITV from 1981-1993. Hosted by club comedian
Jim Bowen, who was ably assisited by announcer
Tony Green (a professional darts
commentator), it became
cult viewing spawning a host of
catchphrases ('look at what you could have won...'). The show had its own
mascot Bully the bull, who featured in animated form in the shows opening sequence and who could also be won as a consolation prize. This took the form of a poseable doll known as a
Bendy Bully.
The Contestants
The show involved three pairs of contestants. Each pair was made up of a member of the public and a professional darts player.
Format
The show consisisted of two rounds with the winning pair going on to play for prizes (including 'Bully's special priiiize'). An extra round was included where the professional darts player threw darts for charity.
In round 1 the non-dart player nominated a category which corresponded to a segment on a special darts board. The players partner then had to hit this segment to win cash. A question on that category would then be asked to the non-dart player, a correct answer earned the pair more money. At the end of the round the team with the least money had to go. When commenting on the losing teams performance Jim Bowen would often console them by saying 'super, smashing, great'.
Round 2 used a normal dart board. The two remaining professional players would throw three darts each. The one with the highest score won their partner the opportunity to answer a question. A correct answer gained the team the dart players score in english pounds. The winner of this round went on to the prize board.
The prize board
This specially constructed board consisted of eight thin red segments alternated with larger black segments. In the centre was a reasonably large bullseye. The red segments on the board represented prizes while the black areas rewarded the player with nothing. Hitting the bullseye added Bully's special prize to the player's stash. One hazard, which happened quite a lot more than you might think, occurred when a dart hit the same red segment or the bullseye twice. This caused the prize to be lost or, as the host infamously put it, "Keep out of the black and in to the red. There's nothing in this game for two in a bed".
Once the prizes had been won, the team had the option of gambling their prizes (and, in later series, all the money they had won in the earlier part of the show as well). To win the gamble, both members of the team had to throw three darts at a standard dart board, the non-dart player throwing first, with their combined score totalling 101 or more. The star prize was usually a car, caravan or more often than not a speedboat. Players who lost the gamble still had to see the star prize ('Lets see what you could have won..') This made for brilliant T.V. as players were left with nothing as Jim Bowen intoned 'oh shame it's a speedboat, you could have had a lot of fun with that.'