The Phone (Australian TV series)

The Phone is an Australian reality television show, based on the Dutch version of the same name.

The Phone
GenreReality television
Created byPark Lane TV
Directed byRichard Gray
StarringJustin Melvey
Country of originAustralia
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producer(s)Chris Berry
Producer(s)dsp Beyond
Production location(s)Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Gold Coast
Release
Original networkFOX8
Original release19 January 2009 –
2009
Chronology
Related showsThe Phone (Dutch series)
External links
Website

Format

The Phone is a reality series that finds contestants right off the street. The two contestants are two people who answer one of two ringing phones placed in separate locations. Once a person answers the phone, they are asked by the 'Cluemaster', played by Justin Melvey, if they would like the chance to win $25,000.

If they accept they are a contestant in the game which starts immediately. The contestant is given instructions to go to a nearby location and complete a task. It is usually at their first task they meet the other contestant who has answered the other phone. From that point, the two strangers become a team.

The team must complete a series of tasks in order to gain four memory cards, which are used later. They learn of their tasks by following instructions the Cluemaster gives them via phone calls or SMS. Once the tasks have been completed the team is told to insert all the cards they have collected into a computer with each card revealing an image on screen showing their final destination. Therefore, the more memory cards the team has, the more pictures they receive and the easier it is to work out their final location.

If the team has difficulty completing a task, or wish to buy another memory card, the Cluemaster can take away money from the briefcase, which can range from $1,000 to $5,000.

Once they have reached the final destination the two contestants are told they are no longer a team and only one of them can win the cash inside a briefcase. The first to answer three multiple choice questions correctly can get the briefcase. Once a contestant has the briefcase of cash the Cluemaster asks them if they would like to share the money with their former teammate. In some episodes the Cluemaster will only allow an even split of the money.

Broadcast

The Phone began airing on subscription channel FOX8 on 19 January 2009. The first episode premiered to 108,000 viewers, the tenth highest rating show for the week on subscription television, and eighth highest rating non-sport program. Its rebroadcast 2 hours later on FOX8+2 was watched by 43,000 viewers.[1]

Similarities to other programs

The Phone has been compared to The Bourne Identity, 24, The Mole and The Amazing Race[2][3][4] based on the tasks performed and how teams go about completing them.

gollark: Or you can just design stuff better and still use classes, I suppose.
gollark: Because there are in fact non-java ones.
gollark: No, I mean in general, in higher-level languages.
gollark: You can just... not do that?
gollark: Even if that's true it is *much* harder to get good enough at assembly to work on it easily than it is to get good at python or whatever.

References
  1. "ASTRA Ratings for Week 090118" (PDF). ASTRA. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  2. "The Phone". David Knox. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  3. "Airdate: The Phone". David Knox. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  4. "Inside Scoop on that Phone show". Archived from the original on 17 January 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
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