Horrible Histories: Gory Games

Horrible Histories: Gory Games
Title logo
Genre Game show
Written by Giles Pilbrow
Sarah Morgan (Series 4)
Dan Gaster (Series 4)
Laurence Rickard (Series 1 - 3)
Directed by Dominic Brigstocke
Presented by Dave Lamb
With
John Eccleston
Scott Brooker
Theme music composer Richie Webb
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 5
No. of episodes 66
Production
Executive producer(s) Caroline Norris
Giles Pilbrow
Richard Bradley
Producer(s) Candida Julian-Jones
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Citrus Television/Lion Television
Release
Original network CBBC
Original release 30 May 2011 – present
External links
Website

Horrible Histories: Gory Games is a children's game show, co-produced by Citrus Television and Lion Television for CBBC, that debuted in 2011. It is a spin-off of hit children's sketch comedy Horrible Histories and is a product of the same creative team.

History

The show featured music by Matt Katz and Richie Webb, produced at Noisegate.[1] The gameshow's participants are aged between 8 and 12.[2]

The gameshow was adapted into an iOS/Android app, allowing players to play along with the contestants. It was available at Google Play or the Apple App Store. The premiere app by the creative tea, SyncScreen was in charge of app design and user experience, and they used their proprietary SyncScreen Framework API technology. The app also used Civolution’s SyncNow Automatic Content Recognition, which increased the synchronicity of the experience.[3] It was the " first mainstream “second screen” apps for kids", and was designed to be used by children while they were watching the show.[4]

The app was launched in 2014 when Series 3 (2013) was re-edited under the new format. Series 1 (2011) went the same way in 2016. New episodes were made under the -play-along format in Series 4 (2016), but by Series 5 (2018) the app had been removed from the App Store.

Game play

Gory Games is co-hosted by comedian Dave Lamb and Rattus Rattus, the rat puppet who also "hosts" the parent series. The show revolves around "horrible facts".[5] Gameplay involves three child contestants (called "Horrible Historians") trying to obtain "Year Spheres" by completing either an historically-themed physical challenge or a quiz. Each Year Sphere contains a year which is either A.D. or B.C.. If it is A.D., the year is added to the player's score at the end of the show; if B.C., it is subtracted from it. The player with the highest overall score after three rounds is the winner.

The games are divided into six categories: "Brainy", "Messy", "Scary", "Silly", "Gory", and "Death" (hosted by Death himself). Quiz questions manifest as either multiple-choice or true-or-false questions and may be asked either by Dave, Rattus, a live-action or animated character from that period, or—in Series 3—Death. "Prop questions" are also asked.

Similarly to its parent series, the games are grouped under randomly selected historical eras or civilisations based on Terry Deary's original books. To date the eras used in Gory Games are:

As from series 3 at the end of the show the two runners up ended up having to go home through the Time Sewer which was a slide leading to tank of thick brown gunge. The kids were barefoot when they got gunged.

Cast members from the parent show make frequent cameo appearances as the historical questioners, as does Horrible Histories author Terry Deary.[6]

Cast

Series 1 - 3

Simon Farnaby
Jim Howick
Terry Deary (Series 1 - 2)
Laurence Rickard
Martha Howe-Douglas
Ben Willbond

Series 4 - 5

Jalaal Hartley
Lawry Lewin (Series 4)
Dominique Moore
Jessica Ransom (Series 4)
Tom Stourton
Ellie White (Series 5)

Celebrity special

For episode 15 of series 4, a celebrity special was held. Lamb and Rattus presented the show as usual with the following celebrities taking part:[7]

The usual games were played and the format was kept the same, with the play along compatibility still being used too.

Episodes

To date five series have been aired across 2011-2018.[8][9]

Series 3 was re-edited in 2014 under a play-along format with an accompanying downloadable app from the CBBC website. Series 1 was also re-edited in 2016 under the play-along format. Series 4 is the only one to have only been made in the play-along format. Series 5 saw the play-along format axed, going back to the pre-2014 format.

Series 1

OverallIn seriesEpisodeContestantsWinnerOriginal airdate
1 1Episode 1Lukas, Zoë & TJTJ30 May 2011
2 2Episode 2Ashley, Rowan & ZekeZeke6 June 2011
3 3Episode 3Jeevan, Kate & BillyBilly13 June 2011
4 4Episode 4Emily, Ross & IndiaEmily20 June 2011
5 5Episode 5Joel, Holly & AyandaHolly27 June 2011
6 6Episode 6Dionne, Melissa & LloydDionne4 July 2011
7 7Episode 7Kirsty, Oliver & HannahHannah11 July 2011
8 8Episode 8Joanne, James & TyJoanne18 July 2011
9 9Episode 9Jasmine, Greg & MonicaGreg25 July 2011
10 10Episode 10Kelly, Jonah & ZofiaJonah1 August 2011
11 11Episode 11Erin, David & RebeccaErin8 August 2011
12 12Episode 12Mia, Lucas & EmilyLucas15 August 2011
13 13Episode 13Jack, Maisy & OkechukwuOkechukwu22 August 2011

Series 2

OverallIn seriesEpisodeContestantsWinnerOriginal airdate
14 1Episode 1Nehaal, George & LydiaNehaal28 May 2012
15 2Episode 2George, Hope & SaqlainGeorge4 June 2012
16 3Episode 3Lloyd, Hermione & SamHermione11 June 2012
17 4Episode 4Hannah, Noah & DaisyHannah18 June 2012
18 5Episode 5Sonnyboy, Carrera & AaronSonnyboy25 June 2012
19 6Episode 6Molly, Georgie & JoshMolly2 July 2012
20 7Episode 7Thomas, Harriet & DominicHarriet9 July 2012
21 8Episode 8Phoebe, Andrew & MaisieAndrew16 July 2012
22 9Episode 9Christian, Isabel & HarryIsabel23 July 2012
23 10Episode 10Georgia, Paramvir & OliviaGeorgia30 July 2012
24 11Episode 11Lucy, Matty & RhyannaMatty6 August 2012
25 12Episode 12Oliver, Kayley & OmariOmari13 August 2012
26 13Episode 13September, Sol & MorganSeptember[10]20 August 2012

Series 3

OverallIn seriesEpisodeContestantsWinnerOriginal airdate
27 1Episode 1Maya, Aaron & OliviaAaron13 May 2013
28 2Episode 2Rehab, Robbie & CharlotteRobbie20 May 2013
29 3Episode 3Finn, Ella & TeddyFinn27 May 2013
30 4Episode 4Ayush, Amy & GayatriGayatri3 June 2013
31 5Episode 5Katie, Christopher & EloiseChristopher[11]10 June 2013
32 6Episode 6Remy, Mary Kate & LucasLucas17 June 2013
33 7Episode 7Calla, Jay & EllieCalla24 June 2013
34 8Episode 8James, Ash & CallumAsh[12]1 July 2013
35 9Episode 9Aaron, Faye & DanielFaye8 July 2013
36 10Episode 10Natalie, Dray & MimiDray15 July 2013
37 11Episode 11Samuel, Leah & RohanRohan22 July 2013
38 12Episode 12Charlotte, Matt & KatyaCharlotte29 July 2013
39 13Episode 13Charlie, Lily & IsaacIsaac5 August 2013
40 14Episode 14Rex, Rebecca & KaydenRex12 August 2013
41 15Episode 15Eden, Kiera & JacobJacob19 August 2013

Series 4

OverallIn seriesEpisodeContestantsWinnerOriginal airdate
42 1Episode 1Harry, Abi & AmanAbi16 May 2016
43 2Episode 2Haryan, Kat & ArthurKat23 May 2016
44 3Episode 3Georgia, William & NyobiWilliam30 May 2016
45 4Episode 4Theo, Yasmin & MaxYasmin6 June 2016
46 5Episode 5Joel, Anvita & ZacharyJoel13 June 2016
47 6Episode 6Sam, Ellie & WillEllie20 June 2016
48 7Episode 7Mery, Haider & HollyHolly27 June 2016
49 8Episode 8Diya, Santiago & BethDiya4 July 2016
50 9Episode 9George, Sofie & TyrellSofie11 July 2016
51 10Episode 10Freya, Sam & ChinemeFreya18 July 2016
52 11Episode 11Bobbie, Ollie & MillieBobbie25 July 2016
53 12Episode 12Lewis, Amelie & OscarOscar1 August 2016
54 13Episode 13Sas, Zak & AnnabelAnnabel8 August 2016
55 14Episode 14Aaliyah, Freddie & EllieFreddie15 August 2016
56 15Celebrity SpecialAkai Osei, Karim Zeroual + Hacker T. Dog & Isabel CliftonAkai Osei22 August 2016

Series 5

OverallIn seriesEpisodeContestantsWinnerOriginal airdate
57 1Episode 1Dan, Eva & ShaiDan[13]15 January 2018
58 2Episode 2Seb, Brooke & NathanSeb[14]16 January 2018
59 3Episode 3Sam, Noah & ChiedzaChiedza[15]17 January 2018
60 4Episode 4Edward, Inaaya & JasmineInaaya[16]18 January 2018
61 5Episode 5Danyal, Rose (autistic) & TiaTia19 January 2018
62 6Episode 6Ruhama, Ben & CharlotteBen22 January 2018
63 7Episode 7Affan, John Oscar & ElisabethJohn Oscar23 January 2018
64 8Episode 8Melissa, Ella & AshleyMelissa24 January 2018
65 9Episode 9Paris, Keaton & ZainabKeaton25 January 2018
66 10Episode 10Leon, Ellen & KatherineLeon26 January 2018

Reception

Julia Raeside of The Guardian commented that the show has "no bleepy, flashy nonsense", and added that it "would have enthralled 20 years ago and is all the better for it."[17]

The Guardian deemed the Gory Games TV Play-along app the 25th best app for kids for 2014, deeming it impressive that the technology that allows at-home children to play along with contestants in real-time also worked with repeats.[4]

Awards and nominations

In 2013, the show was nominated for a Children's BAFTA award in the category of Entertainment.[18][19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "July 7, 2011 Archives". Noisegate Media. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  2. ↑ "CBBC Horrible Histories Gory Games Application - Brynmill Primary School". Swansea Edunet. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  3. ↑ "Hands on with Horrible Histories' Gory Games - News". Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  4. 1 2 Dredge, Stuart (2014-12-24). "The best iPad apps for kids of 2014". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  5. ↑ Preston, John (5 June 2011). "Terry Deary interview". London: The Telegraph.
  6. ↑ "Horrible Histories writer Terry Deary to be torchbearer". BBC News. 9 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Celebrity Special, Series 4, HH: Gory Games Play Along - Credits - BBC - CBBC". BBC.
  8. ↑ "Episodes from Horrible Histories: Gory Games: Series 1 broadcast in 2011". Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "Episodes from Horrible Histories: Gory Games: Series 1 broadcast in 2012". Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  10. ↑ SouthSide_TV (30 July 2014). "Gorry Games - Series 1 Episode 13 starring Sol Smart" – via YouTube.
  11. ↑ "Episode 5 ‹ Series 3 ‹ HH: Gory Games Play Along". subsaga.com.
  12. ↑ Fred Tome Govaert (20 May 2017). "HH Gory Games Series 3 Episode 8" – via YouTube.
  13. ↑ "HH: Gory Games - Series 5: Episode 1" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  14. ↑ "HH: Gory Games - Series 5: Episode 2" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  15. ↑ "HH: Gory Games - Series 5: Episode 3" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  16. ↑ "HH: Gory Games - Series 5: Episode 4" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  17. ↑ Raeside, Julia (30 May 2011). "Tonight's TV highlights". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  18. ↑ "Wolfblood leads 2013 Bafta Children's nominations - CBBC Newsround". 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  19. ↑ "British Academy Children's Awards nominees revealed". Retrieved 2016-09-13.
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