Countdown, a staple of British television since its launch in November 1982 with the late Richard Whiteley at the helm, continues to draw viewers on Channel 4 over 40 years later.
Contestants are challenged to solve word and mathematics puzzles under the pressure of the iconic Countdown clock, which gives them 30 seconds to complete each task.
However, current host Colin Murray has sparked debate about the show’s name during an appearance on The Rest is Entertainment podcast hosted by Marina Hyde and Richard Osman. He questioned: “Why’s Countdown called Countdown? ”
He went on to explain: “It goes from nought to 30 seconds. It should be called Countup. If it was truly living up to its name, the clock would start at the bottom where it is 30 seconds and count down to zero. So Countdown should really be called Countup.”
Host Marina responded with surprise, exclaiming: “Can I be the first to say that has broken me and I am out of the podcast? That’s epic. I’m going to be thinking about a lot of the issues raised in that answer for a long time.”
Marina and Richard also delved into the world of gaming flops, highlighting one notable example that cost a staggering $200m to produce but tanked miserably. The game, a first-person shooter called Concord, has been dubbed the “biggest entertainment flop” in history.
Richard pointed out that while popular games like Counter-Strike boasted 634,000 concurrent players, Concord managed a paltry 697. Marina underscored the magnitude of the game’s failure, stating: “I would argue, and this is a big swing, but this could be the biggest entertainment flop of all time, okay? Because it has got no money.
“The most who were playing those first days of Black Myth: Wukong were 2.5 million concurrent, right? ” She added that the game’s poor performance led to it being pulled from the market within a week, with customers being refunded their purchase price, reports the Express.