Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Chris Gaskin After nearly being axed, Channel 4 chose Des Lynam as the new host of Countdown to replace the much missed Richard Whiteley after his most unexpected death. Though not the same as Richard, Des isn't too bad. Richard hosted from episode 1 which was screened way back in 1982 and was at first only intended to run for a few weeks. He hadn't missed an episode until he went down with pneumonia in May 2005 and there were to be guest presenters until his return, but that never did happen.Richard was of course noted for his bad jokes and bright coloured ties. I often used to watch Countdown when I got home from school back in the 1980's/1990's and only occasionally watch it now.

hapuka Countdown is the greatest gameshow ever, and here's why. 1/richard Whiteley is a diamond in the world of TV. he is not airbrushed or botoxed, or the product of a competition and text-in voting.He was a bright and compassionate person. The quote most widely attributed to him is "I never do impressions, unless I'm asked to." It is that kind of humble and self-effacing humour which made him a diamond in the mud that is modern telly. And he had over 500 ties - all of them atrocious. The only person on TV with the character to wear clothes that bad is Richie Benaud (the cricket commentator). If you are American or Martian and have never caught a period of Richie's commentary you are missing out on a beautiful thing, but i digress... The thing about Whiteley is that you knew what he was.....he didn't pretend to be cool and as a result people grew to love him. compare this to modern stars who start out attractive but get uglier the more you know about them..... 2/ Carol Vorderman is perfectly cast as Whiteley's sidekick. There is no substitute for good casting. 3/ The show cost less than 15000pounds per episode to shoot, and still did huge numbers. You can't beat that. 4/ In an era where game shows are built around greed or cruelty, Countdown offered no great prizes and actually made you think. If you have never seen it you are missing out, and for those of you who have seen it remember it with fondness because gameshows as pure as that may well be a thing of the past. Bon Voyage Richard.

Jackson Booth-Millard It has been going since 1982 and it is still one of the best shows to watch with a cup of tea and to see your word skills (maybe with Scrabble). Richard Whiteley was the best host of this show ever since it started, and Carol Vorderman who I knew in How 2 dealing out the letters, numbers and working out the sums is just wonderful. Basically every episode of every week day they bring in two people (one that may be a champion and see who is best at making words from the given letters, making a number target, and solving the conundrum. The twist is that they must do this before the Countdown clock stops (hence the title). This is just pure wonderful mid-day entertainment. It's such a shame that Whiteley died after 23 years of being Mr. Countdown, he will be missed terribly. Replacement Des Lynam was too stiff, but Des O'Connor is making it much more lively. Carol Vorderman was number 68 on The 100 Worst Britons (why?), and she was number 75 on The 100 Greatest Sex Symbols, and the Christmas Special, aka, Richard vs Carol was number 95 on The 100 Greatest Christmas Moments. Very good!

thekennelman This was the first show ever aired on Channel 4 on its debut afternoon in 1982. I'm not sure whether the fact that it's still being trotted out every weekday some 21 years later says more for it, or Channel 4.Essentially it is mainly a word game loosely based on, I suppose, 'Scrabble' where contestants have to make the longest word possible from 9 letters selected in a nearly random manner (they can choose between a pile of consonants or vowels, but not see the specific letters beforehand) To add interest they have a couple of rounds of numbers chosen from rows (organised into large and small numbers) of face-down cards that contestants must combine arithmetically to produce another larger number generated by 'the' computer. Contestants range from fairly ordinary folks to the sort of geek that can recite the entire bible backwards - in Latin. The geeks always win of course.Every five or ten years the producers like to have a anniversary special so they can trot out the original tapes of their younger selves and enjoy a good giggle with the audience. They of course never show old footage of the presenters who have been quietly shelved over the years, including my personal favourite Cathy Hytner who used to select the letters - 'consonant please Cathy.'It was the numbers sub-contest that Carol Mather (as she was known before reverting to her maiden name Vordeman some years later) used to get her minor starring role. A former propeller-head technician on the Welsh 'Electric Mountain' Hydro project she had the mental agility to get the numbers game right, most of the time. As her fellow presenters (I mean hostesses of course) were switched and then dispensed with she gradually took over the entire stand up role, moving from area to area as required. Richard Whitely, the host, remained sitting behind his desk and the lack of exercise appears to have doubled his body weight since 1982.But while Whitely simply loosens the cut of his bizarre jackets every year, Vordeman has undergone a selection of makeovers testing stylists skills to the limits. It seems to have achieved the desired effect as she managed to present and appear on shows of unrelated genre, and adverts promoting a wide variety of products from low cholesterol spreads to loan sharks.I've never felt the need to rush home to watch this, preferring instead the show which immediately precedes it on the schedule, the excellent 15-1, presented by William G. Stewart. I wonder how much the viewing figures for countdown are inflated by folks who like me are too damned lazy to switch channels after 15-1 has finished...