Wonderful character development!

Brilliant and touching

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a Channel 4 daytime game show that's been broadcast since the channel began in 1982. Countdown is based on the French show Des chiffres et des lettres. There are letters rounds, in which the contestants try to find the longest word out of the nine letters given. There are numbers rounds in which the contestants try to get to a target number using six other numbers. At the end, there's a conundrum - the contestants try to work out which word nine letters form when they are rearranged.It's rather boring and repetitive. The contestants are given thirty seconds during each round to work out their answers. That's not enough time for most contestants or viewers. The loud ticking of the clock during that time is very annoying and distracting.The original presenter, Richard Whiteley, was likable. All of his replacements since then have been awful.Rachel Riley, who puts up the letters and numbers, is hot.

Based on French gameshow "Des chiffres et des lettres", the very first programme ever to be shown on Channel 4 still continues to this day, albeit sadly without the brilliant Richard Whiteley, who never missed a single show throughout his run as presenter.Despite this, it still draws in a consistent number of viewers every day who enjoy nothing more than pitting their wits against a variety of numbers and letters games, and another great feature of the show is that people of all ages can apply for the show which can be entertaining. With it's well handled simplicity, dignity, light entertainment and wonderfully selected special guests, as well as that famous clock, Countdown remains true to the same formula it created over 25 years ago. Here's hoping the programme lasts another 25.

Countdown, Channel 4's longest running and first programme to air on the network. The concept is simple: 9 random letters, make the longest word you can. Repeat four times. Now get six numbers of any combination from 1-10 twice over and/or 25, 50, 75 or 100 all once-over. Have a huge sum total and try to get to it using only addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Now repeat all of that three times over, chuck in a 9 letter word scrambled up, descramble it, thank you, goodnight.Okay, so its a popular programme. It turned purple in 2003 for its new set (although it looked like somebody had started hanging wallpaper and left the job half finished) and the show later changed timeslot as well which caused a major upset in the political world of the House of Commons with an early day motion tabled to get Channel 4 to shift it back again! I kid you not.One thing that strikes you when you first see this show is Richard Whiteley, or rather what he's wearing. This man must go out of his way to pick some awful blazer in some shocking colour and/or pattern and then choose a tie that doesn't complement it or the background in any way whatsoever. I thought there was something wrong with my set when I turned Countdown on one day and there was Mr Whiteley in some god-awful blazer that looks like the sort of interference you get when you use a mobile phone next to the TV set.Fortunately the shocking blazers don't happen *that* often I'm pleased to say and you can see this man in "normal" attire most of the time.Carol Vorderman launched her TV career on the back of this. Initially wandering on to do the numbers game, now she does everything. She works well with Richard. It's incredible to think that we are now on series 52 and these two presenters have featured in every single episode to date, which is well over 3000 episodes by now.The show "expanded" to a 45min format in 2002 from its previous 30min format which tided it over for 20yrs. While the 30min format indeed felt "cramped" at times, You now get the impression that there's too much time to fill under the 45min format which might explain why there's more yakking overall.Still, beggars can't be choosers I suppose.Worth watching though but will eventually grate as the format doesn't change. When it does, watch something else for a few months.

Richard Whiteley's jokes are terrible and overused. The music is terrible. The whole thing looks years out of date. The sets are awful. Just don't get me started on that irritating "diddle diddle diddly ding... BOOM!"For some reason, however I still love this show. Richard's jokes, although terrible just seem to fit. The show just wouldn't be the same without that horrible music (with the "diddle diddle diddly ding... BOOM!"), the ugly sets and Carol's tailored suits. This show has been running every teatime for over 20 years and Channel 4 would be lost without it.Why it is a cult hit watched and loved by teenagers, middle aged people and pensioners alike (it regularly sits in the Top 10 ratings) I can never explain. It is, just accept it. Just watched it a couple of times and I guarantee you'll be hooked, but you won't know why.