Ejector Seat

Ejector Seat is a British game show, presented by former Children's BBC presenter Andi Peters, that aired on ITV from 28 April to 22 June 2014 as a temporary spring replacement for Tipping Point.

This article is about the game show. For other uses, see Ejector seat (disambiguation).

Ejector Seat
Genre	Game show
Presented by	Andi Peters
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	30[1]
Production
Running time	60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company(s)	Remarkable Television
Distributor	Endemol Shine Group
Release
Original network	ITV, STV, UTV
Picture format	HDTV: 16:9
Original release	28 April (2014-04-28) – 22 June 2014 (2014-06-22)

Six contestants compete for a chance to win up to £10,000 cash on each episode. They sit in armchairs mounted on parallel tracks that stretch the length of the stage. The farthest one-fourth of each track is lit up red as a "danger zone." If a contestant moves all the way through their danger zone to the end of the track, they are eliminated from the game and "ejected" by being tipped backward out of their chair amid a burst of light and dry ice smoke.

In an interview with the Gloucestershire Echo, Peters stated that it was not answering the questions that was difficult; it was answering them whilst on the move that contestants struggled with.[2][3]

Format

Round 1

Initially positioned halfway along the track, the contestants answer toss-up questions on the buzzer. A correct response moves a contestant to the start of the track and advances them to the next round, while a miss sends them to the end and ejects them. The round ends when either one contestant has been ejected or five have advanced, with the sixth being automatically ejected in the latter case.[2]

Round 2

The host asks one question to each contestant in turn. Also a correct answer allows them to stay where they are, but a miss sends them along the track; the questions then continue, and the contestant can only stop and end their turn by giving a correct answer. After a contestant is ejected, the others return to the start of the track; the round ends after two ejections.

The movement speed of the seats increases after each of the first three passes through the field. If no one has been ejected after four passes, a "sudden death" playoff is conducted under the rules of Round 1.

At the start of this round, each contestant is given a "Panic Button" to use one time during the remainder of the game. Once a contestant enters the danger zone, they may press this button to stop moving. The current question (if any) is thrown out, and the host asks a multiple-choice question with three answer options. A correct answer moves the contestant to the leading edge of their danger zone, but a miss ejects them immediately.[4]

Round 3

A toss-up question is asked on the buzzer to all three contestants, who are initially positioned at the start of the track. A correct answer allows a contestant to sit out the next question; if one of the other two answers it correctly, the third begins to move and can only stop by answering another question correctly or using their Panic Button, as in Round 2. An incorrect answer on a toss-up question starts the contestant moving immediately.

After one contestant is ejected, the other two return to the start of the track and continue play as above, with the host asking only one toss-up at a time to determine who moves on each turn. The last remaining contestant advances to the final.[2]

Final Round

The contestant must answer three sets of questions, each 45 seconds in length; they begin moving after a miss, but stop on a correct answer. After completing a set, the contestant returns to the start of the track and the movement speed increases. The contestant wins £500 for completing the first set, £1,000 for the second, and £10,000 for the third, and is automatically ejected after winning the full prize.[5]

Filming

The series consists of thirty episodes, and was filmed next to Channel 4's Countdown. During filming, the seats malfunctioned and producers had to run on and off the stage in order to fix them. This left some audience members disgruntled, and they had to be bribed to stay by being given chocolates.[6][7]

Broadcast

The show forms part of a shake-up of ITV daytime programming; Tipping Point was replaced by Ejector Seat and The Chase was replaced by The Paul O'Grady Show. Good Morning Britain and Jo Frost: Family Matters were also introduced that week.[6][8] The Chase returned on 2 June 2014

Critical reception

The game show has been the subject of some criticism, with Marion McMullen of the Coventry Telegraph accusing that the idea of tipping over chairs had been stolen from The Graham Norton Show and was "a gimmick too far". She also stated that the show was an inferior replacement for Tipping Point. That said, the Digital Spy team called it a "delight" and said "[we] can't wait to see more people being tipped back into their Ejector Seat chairs".[9][10]

References

1. "ITV Orders Ejector Seat from Remarkable Television". Endemol UK. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
2. "Episode 1". Ejector Seat. 28 April 2014. ITV.
3. "TV: Ex-Blue Peter Presenter Andi Peters Launches New ITV Game Show Ejector Seat". Gloucestershire Echo. 20 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
4. "Episode 3". Ejector Seat. 30 April 2014. ITV.
5. "Episode 4". Ejector Seat. 1 May 2014. ITV.
6. Stephenson, David (27 April 2014). "Andi Peters on those happy Broom Cupboard years: 'Edd the Duck was three years of my life'". Sunday Express.
7. "Peters' ejectors fail on launch". pa.press.net. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
8. "Ejector Seat". UK Game Shows.
9. McMullen, Marion (7 May 2014). "Eject the Ejector Seat". Coventry Telegraph.
10. Wightman, Catriona (27 April 2014). "Ejector Seat: Watch DS embarrass themselves in front of Andi Peters". Digital Spy.

External links

• Ejector Seat at UKGameshows.com.