Bunny Carr and Quicksilver

earwicker

Here's one from the edges of my memory. I just the other day said "Stop the lights!" to someone, and realized that it's a catchphrase from the show. Prizes went up in 5p increments I think.

Anyone else recall?

****e, I'm getting old.

tbh

I remember it well!

"we are playing for 10p, ladies and gentlemen, 10p a question"

Rovi

The show originally dealt in proper money: shillings, thruppeny bits, etc. :eek:

And who could forget the incomparable Norman Metcalfe and his mighty organ?

Some info from http://www.ivenus.com/therightstuff/features/RS-TC-FocalPoint-wk45.asp-

horace cantwell exposes the quirkier side of irish life

The frightening beginnings
So you all think you're great with your "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" We all like to pretend that Irish quiz shows began with Gaybo's sub-Tarrant blather. But deep down, in the primordial slime of our pre-tiger psyche, there's a horrifying reminder of whence we came. The name of this beast was Quicksilver.
Don't pretend you don't remember it. You've just spent the last 20 years trying to block it out. In an attempt to work through the pain together, let's recall the format. You're quietly minding your own business in a small market town in the midlands, when you're taken in the night, bound and gagged by RTE's secret police, and dragged to Dublin to compete in the gladiatorial thunderdome of Studio One.

Stop the lights!
Staring you in the face was quizmaster Bunny Carr, a man who was surely born in his mid-fifties. Bunny managed to combine Larry Gogan's "Ah they didn't suit you" bonhomie with the sinister undertones of a high-ranking officer in the SS, who will get answers from you, no matter what it takes.
And you had it all to play for. The board had a row of lights, each representing a question with increasing prize money. The quicker you answered the questions, the more you could play for. The first question had a cash reward of one old penny. That's 12 and a half pence in new money. If you could make it over that hurdle, the stakes rose to a threepenny bit. The longer it took you to answer the question, the more lights went out on the board, robbing you of your potential fortune. And when it all got too much, you could pass on a question by screaming "Stop the Lights!", a phrase that was very much the "Whassup" of its day. Nobody says it any more.

Entering the ninth circle of hell
The maximum payout per show, if every contestant got every question right, was £86.75. But RTE made sure that you couldn't get to this crock of gold - this was a time when we were all living beyond Charlie Haughey's means, and the taxes meant you'd be lucky to afford the bus fare back to Strokestown.
And as if the trivia questions weren't taxing enough, the musical ones were the ninth circle of hell. A man called Norman Metcalfe not so much played the organ, but more pummelled it for information, and the notes it would wheeze out made it difficult to distinguish "The Sash My Father Wore" from Mahler's 8th Symphony. Norman's atonal stylings can still be enjoyed every second Wednesday at the Longford Arms. Allegedly.
So next time you are sitting back enjoying Gaybo's good natured piss-taking of some poor eejit on Millionaire, remember who went before us, and what they sacrificed so that we may enjoy new, less crap quiz shows. May their lights never go out.

trout

earwicker wrote:

Here's one from the edges of my memory. I just the other day said "Stop the lights!" to someone, and realized that it's a catchphrase from the show. Prizes went up in 5p increments I think.

Anyone else recall?

****e, I'm getting old.

first prize was 1p ... that's right ... 1 single penny ... next prize was 3p and thereafter 5 p increments. Such largesse :rolleyes:

As a very small child, in the early 70's, with only one channel to watch, Quicksilver was hard to miss, and even harder to watch. I used to be hypnotised by the light sequence, and it was always a shock when the contestant would splutter "Stop the lights Bunny! I know this one!".

I think there was a musical round in it, where a chap would play a rolf-harris stylophone organ, and you'd have to guess the tune ... *shudders*

earwicker

Yes!

I'm not the only oul' fart on here so.

One penny.

I've always wondered what "Bunny" was short for. Boniface?

Donkey Oaty

Hope it's okay to bump an old thread here in the Retro forum.

As previously mentioned:

And when it all got too much, you could pass on a question by screaming "Stop the Lights!", a phrase that was very much the "Whassup" of its day. Nobody says it any more.

It has just been mentioned in After Hours in the context of what to say to Bill Cullen after he says "You're fired".

Made me feel all nostalgic anyways...

Edit: Actually, nobody says "Whassup" in 2010, but "Stop the Lights" lives on!

Bearhunter

I remember this. Wasn't this the one where the woman was asked what was Gandhi's first name and she answered "Goosey-goosey?" Or am I thinking of some other dodgy quiz?

Donkey Oaty

Bearhunter wrote: »

I remember this. Wasn't this the one where the woman was asked what was Gandhi's first name and she answered "Goosey-goosey?" Or am I thinking of some other dodgy quiz?

The constestants were not screened and drawn randomly from the audience, so anything went.

I've heard the Gandhi story about Quicksilver, and also the one about Hitler's first name (contestant: "Heil?") but I didn't see those shows myself.

One I do remember is this:

Bunny: Now, Maeve, are you ready to go on to 10p?
Maeve: Oh, I am, Bunny.
Bunny: Right, so. What country is this man from? [shows picture of Red Indian Chief in full ceremonial headdress, in the style of Sitting Bull]
Maeve: India?
Audience: [titter!]
Maeve: [indignantly] He's an Indian.
Bunny: I understand what you mean Maeve, but the answer we were looking for was in fact the United States of America, so you lose seven lights there.
Audience: [titter as the seven lights fade away, knowing they were a step closer to getting their chance].

It was all like that. Wonderful programme.

Koloman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkR3-bWPd3Q

Bunny had to fight through the snow!

the purple tin

Koloman wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkR3-bWPd3Q

Bunny had to fight through the snow!

That was like a scene from Father Ted.
Especially with the crappy organ player:p

gipi

Donkey Oaty wrote: »

I've heard the Gandhi story about Quicksilver, and also the one about Hitler's first name (contestant: "Heil?") but I didn't see those shows myself.

I heard the "heil hitler" question attributed to Larry Gogan's Just a Minute quiz....along with "where's the Taj Mahal" "just across from the Dental Hospital"

(for those too young to remember, there was an Indian Restaurant across from the Dublin Dental Hospital called....yep, you guessed it, The Taj Mahal!)

Bearhunter

gipi wrote: »

I heard the "heil hitler" question attributed to Larry Gogan's Just a Minute quiz....along with "where's the Taj Mahal" "just across from the Dental Hospital"

(for those too young to remember, there was an Indian Restaurant across from the Dublin Dental Hospital called....yep, you guessed it, The Taj Mahal!)

My favourite from Larry Gogan's quiz was when he asked the fellow "Name a town in County Kildare that sounds like a part of the body", with the answer being Athy (a thigh).

I cracked up when the contestant replied "Kilcock."

minister poxbottle

Bearhunter wrote: »

My favourite from Larry Gogan's quiz was when he asked the fellow "Name a town in County Kildare that sounds like a part of the body", with the answer being Athy (a thigh).

I cracked up when the contestant replied "Kilcock."

Like the irish version of mr & mrs

Q where did you first have sex with your husband?

A me bum.

Donkey Oaty

the purple tin wrote: »

That was like a scene from Father Ted.
Especially with the crappy organ player:p

Funny you should mention Father Ted, because I'm sure I recall Dermot Morgan as Fr Trendy delivering a sermon on "The Live Mike" where he compared the choices of good and evil that we have to make with Bunny Carr's saintly demeanor and Norman Medcalf's devilish musical clues.

From an Irish Independent article about the worst Irish TV shows ever:

The musical clues of organist Norman Medcalf have also entered legend. Once, to suggest the answer 'Meath', he played Meet Me In Kentucky.

baalthor

minister poxbottle wrote:

Like the irish version of mr & mrs

Q where did you first have sex with your husband?

A me bum.

That actually happened on US TV:
http://snopes.com/radiotv/tv/newlywed.asp

The closest Irish version would be the infamous Gerry Ryan/Bibi Baskin/burial incident ...

Back OT, my Quicksilver memory:

On one episode, due to some mix-up they ended up with an extra contestant at the end so they had six people instead of five (or whatever the numbers were). This was a bit of a problem since there were only five buzzers (and seats, the extra guy had to squeeze in).
So Bunny issued his instructions:
"this is the quick fire round so buzz if you know the answer, except Johnny, you just stick your hand up ..."

Ed Butler

earwicker wrote: »

I've always wondered what "Bunny" was short for. Boniface?

I think it was a nickname rather than a contraction, because he had big ears!

Donkey Oaty

It's usually short for Bernard.

Ed Butler

Donkey Oaty wrote: »

It's usually short for Bernard.

Having looked at the YouTube clip on the previous page, I reckon my theory is correct!

Another classic answer was to the question "Which profession is associated with Fleet Street?"

"The ESB."

Duckjob

baalthor wrote: »

That actually happened on US TV:
http://snopes.com/radiotv/tv/newlywed.asp

The closest Irish version would be the infamous Gerry Ryan/Bibi Baskin/burial incident ...

What about the (in)famous 60 second quiz one:

Larry: Name the BBC's resident motor racing commentator (Ans: Murray Walker)

Housewifey contestant (flustered): Ehhh, ehhh...

Larry: I'll give you a clue. Think of something you suck.

Housewifey contestant: Dicky Davis !

darkdubh

Is Bunny Carr still with us?

Koloman

darkdubh wrote: »

Is Bunny Carr still with us?

Very much alive.:) He's well into his eighties now.

dilallio

And he's the founder of the very successful company, Carr Communications.

Skid X

Two full episodes of Quicksilver went up on Youtube recently, they might have been up previously

Both from Drumshanbo.

branie2

Stop the lights!

The Princess Bride

https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1042754685252382726?s=19

Bunny Carr passed away in September.

Hotblack Desiato

baalthor wrote: »

The closest Irish version would be the infamous Gerry Ryan/Bibi Baskin/burial incident ..

Back in the 60s an entire nation was scandalised by the "bishop and the nightie" incident on the Late Late Show

NB the bishop in question did not wear the nightie

https://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/2112-gay-byrne/634072-honeymoon-nightie-quiz/