Calendar Countdown Pilot 1 - Never Before Seen On TV - Episode CCP1 - Part 1 Of 3

[@97channel]

Hahaha, that was hilarious when he ignored the old lady. Also, "Stop and reset".

[@jporritt]

Anyone else here from Richard Osman’s recommendation?

[@MoonOnAStickFilms]

Yes, by and large

[@AndrewBishop1971]

Yes :)

[@97channel]

Whiteley was on top form. Unable to stop and reset a clock, without speaking aloud the necessary actions. Misses an obvious rhyme in 'ABC, 123'. And demonstrates that he wasn't paying attention to the old dear talking about her crosswords. I miss him. He was a champ.

[@TheRandomno]

97channel I'm pretty sure "ABC, 1 to 10" was a joke.

[@lammy1234567890]

+97channel That bit was great! - How many crosswords do you do per day? - Compile, or solve? - I ask the questions, bitch. Let's meet Alec.

[@scottpeacock5492]

97channel It still going strong 24 years later on Channel 4, since this pilot episode on Yorkshire tv. I guess Richard prove himself wrong here, 😁

[@ajk]

@@scottpeacock5492 34 years at that time actually......

[@donaloflynn]

@@TheRandomno Pretty sure based on what? More likely he had in his mind that the low numbers in the game are one to ten and wasn't thinking about being amusing.

[@formulacountdown]

Those famous first words. "Stop, and reset."

[@Clavinovaman]

Indeed. Groovy clock, don't you think? PS: That was *some* buzzer!

[@roboi2241]

Great stuff, they had Henry McGee Benny Hill's sidekick as one of the contestants and one of Hill's Angels doing the letters. Had to double check it wasn't a Benny Hill sketch with Benny playing Richard Whiteley.

[@JamieSMB]

This is such a relic.

[@Ravinder2220]

Love that they used the countdown theme as the clock music

[@nigeldunwell81]

Even richard himself said he thought the show would be "utter crap" he reportedly told the makers "I aint working with a bloody fruit machine"

[@joannegray5138]

"What's happened is that we had a toss" - tmi, Mr Whiteley! 😆

[@202Hunter]

wow this is rare . amazing

[@paulmcdonald3011]

Whiteley was simply hilarious... Punning throughout... 'We had a toss' lol - wonderful inuendo lol

[@zeeboss2762]

the countdown clock sound sounds like the end credits of countdown channel 4 1982

[@quaid667]

0:58 he almost recites the lyrics of a Jackson's hit 🤣

[@robster773]

Joyce the lady contestant makes it on to the proper series when it started on Channel 4 in 1982.

[@jasonwood3377]

Proper series, PROPER SERIES, Calendar Countdown was done in Yorkshire lad and tha dunt get more proper than that.

[@SeanCollindridge]

HA I KNEW I was always right. Everybody always said Countdown started on Channel 4. Proof positive that it did indeed start on Yorkshire TV. *Flips the bird to all who said I ws wrong*

[@TSMC879]

It started in France

[@SeanCollindridge]

@@TSMC879 You say true, I say thank ya 😊

[@TSMC879]

@@SeanCollindridge bro you're welcome

[@jasonwood3377]

I recall it on Yorkshire tv, used to be on 6.30 after Calendar, can’t remember what year mind you but obviously before 1982, you only need to look at the set 😂

[@finthegeek]

I know its 12 years later, but you weren't right. Channel 4 was the second independent television channel approved by the government- back in the day the various regional tv studios made and sold programs to each other to rebroadcast regionally on Channel 3. Channel 4 didn't have regions, it was consistent across the country, but still aired programs from the various regional studios - or any other studio with a good show. Countdown was made by Yorkshire Televsion, licenced from the producers of Des chiffres et des lettres - which started in 1965, and sold to Channel 4 - it was never aired on Yorkshire television the first episode aired as the first show on Channel 4.

[@TM1Patiers]

For information the game show come from France called "Des Chiffres Et Des Lettres" starting September 1965 to now brocasting on France 🔵3 🇫🇷

[@flyc3]

Ted strikes me as someone who would allow any word so long as you slid a fiver his way 😀

[@RedStrikerBeetleborg]

Or a tenner, take your pick

[@pigeonshouse]

I remember seeing a few clips of this on 'Tarrant on TV' - this was a pilot for an ITV programme that never got made. I assume Channel 4 bought it and changed the format slightly. But confused as to why the lady contestant only got 30 seconds as opposed to the 45 seconds given to the man in 'his' round.

[@danwoodhouse9290]

It did get "made" as Calendar Countdown the series shown on YTV only

[@sambee8982]

Funny how the countdown clock used 45 seconds most of the time rather than the traditional 30 seconds that was the mainstay in solving in later episodes and it lacked the clock style, just a circle with the lights outside it that went 3 quarters of the way around it, and it played the main countdown theme during the clock before they introduced a theme for the clock......

[@bradgandy02]

Of course, Joyce became a series champion (the first, I think, but correct me if I'm wrong.) on Countdown.

[@tvpirate05]

I'm from the US, but have always admired this show, as I'm a big trivia and word game fan. The version that made it to air uses nine letters, correct?

[@SanFran51]

Yes.

[@boisegameshowguy]

Not only that, even after Richard Whitley died it remains on the air. It’s as well watched in the UK 🇬🇧 as Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are in my native USA 🇺🇸

[@formulacountdown]

I love, how in the second round, the music doesn't play!

[@chloejones1548]

"And it's the numbers... er, the letters that we start with first"

[@iluvthecompanioncube]

They should bring back that theme and clock sound. I love it. Go figure.

[@countdownfan5224]

Yeah no.

[@miblodelcarpio]

This is even more ridiculously hilarious if you turn on KZbin's experimental Transcribe Audio captions.

[@Connie_TinuityError]

12 years later, the auto generated captions are now more accurate than they used to be. Not perfect, but still a lot better than it was like when it was first released all those years ago. That's something KZbin truly progressed in.

[@jamesfish18]

Love that buzz at the end

[@jasonhammon3369]

Is that not the same buzzer from Whose Line Is it Anyway?

[@sstones1]

ok as a YTV viewer (sniff Sniff at their forced demise) .. The truth. Channel 4 in the uk was not the first with Countdown. Yorkshire TV in England was. and Richard presented for quite a few years before C4 started and may I say did a good job. used to be shown at 6:30pm GMT monday nights. as for this pilot... well many YTV viewers may recognise the setting as an adaptation of YTV's studio for Winner Takes All with Jimmy Tarbuck/Geoffrey Wheeler

[@TheMorphking989]

To think had countdown Not Been such a hit to get its own show it could of ended when Richard left or even when calander ended

[@LordBacon235-zu4os]

Richard didn’t leave, he died

[@Marc412]

That's right.

[@gottagothatsme]

Cathy's clear just come back from Madeira judging by her attire!

[@sparklywarkly89]

Liked watching this...they did tweak a lot of things and...I won't spoil the anagram but it was pretty obvious...like the early episodes of countdown they have one person to pick the numbers, one person to pick the consonants and vowels and yet another person to do the maths...They soon realised Carol was capable of doing all those tasks !!

[@thomasorourke8773]

Al Sharples

[@dvidclapperton]

There was only 8 letters in this one.

[@nord1486]

3:31 We had a toss

[@rajnirvan3336]

Noticed it was 45 seconds to solve the word as opposed to the normal 30 seconds

[@HighTen_Melanie]

And the rest as they say is history....

[@joncambs80]

Originally 8 letters wow didn't know that

[@garrysimpson1395]

My interest perked up at 4.05. Cathy Heiman?

[@Clavinovaman]

Cathy Hytner.

[@RJohnLloyd]

Richard Whiteley's accent's rather strong in this, isn't it ?

[@C345OFR]

2:54 is just *_savage_* I wonder why he did that?

[@Schudulaba]

I think he misheard her lol.

[@MarcZERO1980]

I think he misheard her. He seems quite nervous here.

[@jamesbooker89]

was this the very 1st show they did be for Channel 4 in 1982

[@mrcrazyjonpresents4312]

It was originally a idea for Yorkshire Television but it didn't take off so was shelved

[@Bobbyandmog]

@@mrcrazyjonpresents4312 Until channel 4 bought the rights to Countdown In 1982.

[@stepheng8779]

@@Bobbyandmog Yorkshire make it for C4 or did whilst it was still YTV

[@DanTheStripe]

Cringe. Glad they kept going and finally found something that worked!

[@formulacountdown]

@pigeonshouse It's 45 then 30. if it was the other way round (if Joyce had gone first) it still would have been 45 first/

[@dlamiss]

Job creation in countdown in those days. Two hostesses and the numbers girl

[@witherblaze]

Am I the only American watching this?

[@nelsonricardo3729]

I'm here!

[@itogi]

I'm from Russia

[@bentheswitchsportsfan06]

I'm here!

[@MrMuzikProductions]

Nope

[@geekdivaherself]

Hello from Seattle!

[@davidspear9790]

Only 8 letters and 45 secs and Richard announces the letters!

[@mercifulzeus01]

She's not allowed to speak, otherwise they have to pay her.

[@stepheng8779]

No wide-screen TV back then, couldn't fit 9 letters in 😉😂

[@allogicid]

Cathy shouldn't be wearing that...

[@macstar2010]

whiteley was pretty stuck up.. until the last few series when he kinda became a whitty comedy genius in a way and was fun to watch. Miss them days...

[@Nebagram]

PARRRRRRRRRRRRP

[@OnScreenThatStudios]

From 1981.

[@MisatoKatsuragiHD]

Take 1

[@DillcoStudios2]

250th person to like.

[@jneedham1000]

can u get the normal ones plz

[@jneedham1000]

Why don't you have the proper calander countdown

[@marktaylor865]

Richard "Well ok". 🤨

[@ahmeddhagahofficial9034]

24th September 1981

[@sirpercivalsmallcock-jones9585]

Ted Moult's dead, and it's getting bloody draughty in here. (80s joke)

[@joannegray5138]

I heard he was buried in a coffin with a good hardwood surround ;)

[@harryholden5377]

Joanne Gray it says on the countdown wiki that he committed suicide by gunshot

[@jamesfish18]

That sounded like a honk actually

[@markofsaltburn]

I think they’d all been injecting espresso before the programme started (except Alec).

[@quaid667]

Alec was laid back because he won the toss.

[@marktaylor865]

This was odd.

[@jasonwood3377]

How deep was Cathy’s voice 😳

[@quaid667]

She sounds just like Richard 🤣🤣🤣

[@tanyamccann1747]

Stop and reset.