The panellists here, if not exactly "regulars", did make some appearances in the first series proper, and here the heckling really begins. Jilly Cooper represents another "one and done", but otherwise this second pilot sees the show start to take a more familiar shape. In terms of when the pilots were made, such things aren't altogether clear at this stage, though both notably have a 1978 copyright date, whereas the earliest series one episode is dated 1979.
Guest Panellists: Peter Jones, Wendy Craig, Bill Tidy, Judy Cornwell, Lennie Bennett and Jilly Cooper. I've been very lucky to get the opportunity to see the pilots here at The Anorak Zone, and hope that one day you may have the opportunity, too. Had the opportunity arose, they'd have been included in the series one article, but it came too late, and they're perhaps impossible to compare with the actual show proper anyway. Lastly, the inclusion of the pilots in this bizarre odyssey through the universe of Blankety Blank isn't meant to be some elitist "I've seen them, you haven't" missive, but just of hopeful interest to fans of the show. Terry briefly refers to the two pilots in his 2000 autobiography, Is it me?, noting that: "We did a couple of pilot shows, which proved nothing - because, as cannot be said too often, nobody knows anything in this business until the red light comes on". (As seen in the second pilot, then losing the Head To Head means you get to choose a prize from the points range you achieved in the Supermatch.) Winning the "Head To Head" means the contestant gets to choose which of three prizes they want from a customarily terrible selection. Finally, there's no prize for the "Supermatch Game", other than a Blankety Blank pen (a chequebook promised, possibly just as a joke), but the points won lead to the contestant with the highest number of points going through to the "Head To Head". The idea of the "coin toss" to decide which contestant goes first is also yet to be established, so that, while Terry lets the female contestant go first during the first game, the second alternates to the male contestant. In terms of how the game works, then there's no revolving set, there are panel lights, but none of them seem to work, and the panellists have to put their hands up to say they're ready. Here, in a show so characterised by silence that there's incidental music during the show, he gets chance to show more of the humour he's known for. One of Bernard's first appearances on the show proper was with Paul Daniels, where he was somewhat lost in the deluge of noise, and didn't look particularly comfortable. It's a slightly more sterile environment than a regular show, particularly the post-S1 shows, but it's one in which Cribbins manages to thrive more than in the shows that actually aired. Bernard Cribbins returned in series three, with no indication he was an original contestant. Jimmy Perry and Marjorie Proops were "one and done", whereas Lulu only returned for a couple of series two episodes. It's also surprising to see panellists who were involved in the pilot but not the actual transmitted series. (Speaking of Terry's microphone, strangely it's just an affectation in the pilots, as he has a clearly visible lapel mic throughout both, and his voice isn't affected by him moving the "wand mic" away from his mouth.) Particularly awful are the two seats for the contestants, one of whom is in the washing machine business, and points out that the desk he's sitting in front of looks just like one.
But it's in a retroactively unfamiliar environment, a "busy" world where the red set is decorated by lightbulbs that never stop flashing for an instant.
#Blankety blank chequebook crack
The jokes are all pretty much the same - Terry calls the panel "hobbledehoys", pervs over the female contestants, someone makes a crack about his microphone, etc. It's actually an extraordinary admission that as tatty and "low rent" as the first series of Blankety Blank looked, it's a huge step up in class from the pilots. Yes, the grating but unforgettable "Blankety Blank" theme tune that Ronnie Hazlehurst came up with is better, something that's hard to comprehend. For those who are unaware of the Match Game theme (a section of it was used by YouTuber GradeAUnderA, who was big about five years ago) then it's a jaunty instrumental that could presage a cheap 70s sex comedy with Robin Asquith. The pilot bears more relation to the American Match Game than the actual series did, even down to sets that are more of a replica, and a Hazlehursted version of the Match Game theme tune. Guest Panellists (in panel order): Jimmy Perry, Marjorie Proops, Bernard Cribbins, Shirley Anne Field, Jerry Stevens and Lulu.
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