The Movie Game was a children's gameshow made by the BBC and broadcast on CBBC between 1988 and 1995. It was presented by Phillip Schofield, then later Jonathan Morris of Bread fame, and finally John Barrowman.
The BBC had had an earlier film-based quiz, Screen Test, which also quizzed children on their movie knowledge, but this was a much more active affair, with practical gameplay and the chance to make up a film of your own. There were three (originally four) teams of two children each, who would answer questions about movies (and occasionally TV) and watch film clips to be tested on their observation skills. After this, they would randomly choose a setting, star, prop and sound effect and have to make up a movie storyline incorporating all of them. This whittled the original number of teams down to two. These two would then traverse a full-size Board Game (originally a winding staircase made to look like a film strip, later a simpler board on the studio floor), answering further questions and playing other movie-related practical games along the way (e.g. based around costume, special effects or catering) and advancing towards the finish - originally the "Star Movie Makers Doors". The first team to the finish was the winner.
Successful teams had the chance to return for the series final, which saw six teams battle it out to win such grand prizes as the chance to meet Steven Spielberg or visit Universal. Losing teams had to make do with cinema tickets, sweatshirts or, for the more successful, a clapperboard or director's chair.
The later, Barrowman series dispensed with the movie storyline game and also added a Robot Buddy for Barrowman, Lectrix.
The Movie Game provides examples of:
- Chroma Key: Used to provide backgrounds in special effects-related games.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The teams - originally the lights in front of them on the desks, later different-coloured sweatshirts. Red, yellow and green, and originally blue. Grand finals used additional colours for the extra teams such as white, orange and even marzipan and puce.
- Consolation Prize: Depending on the series and level of success: cinema tickets, sweatshirts, VHS videos, watches, clapperboards and Movie Game Director's Chairs.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The earlier editions had four, not three teams - blue as well as yellow, red and green. The board was also a film strip leading to the Star Movie Makers Doors, rather than the simpler floor-based board with a Finish square seen later. The winners had the studio audience mob them for autographs after a presentation at the end of the show. The children wore their own clothes or school uniforms, rather than the team-coloured tops seen later.
- Home Participation Sweepstakes: In the Barrowman episodes, young viewers could phone in to answer a movie-related question and win videos and sweatshirts.
- Instrumental Theme Tune: A synthesiser-hammering piece by Stan Shaw.
- Later Instalment Weirdness: Barrowman's series introduced Lectrix as the presenter's sidekick and axed the movie storyline game.
- Revolving Door Casting: Three presenters in seven years.
- Thing-O-Meter: A clap-o-meter was used to mark the movie storylines, based on audience response.
