As a mere lad in the 1970s, I recall 3-2-1 seeming to last all night, but on seeing it recently on a game show channel it was only an hour long! Helmed by Ted Rogers (with his legendary quick fingered countdown) and assisted by the slightly mechanised Dusty Bin, the show was a curious hybrid of quiz, sketch and variety show, with initial rounds of questions to reduce three couples to one, who then moved on to the final clues round and had to watch (or endure!) various sketches after which a performer from said sketches would deliver and read out a baffling clue that represented a prize (from holidays and fridges to a speed boat!), but the couple had to beware as one prize was the dreaded bin! The choosing of the clues was invariably just pure guesswork as they were truly abstract and pretty much unsolvable through the use of any kind of logic, and as the series progressed the Chris Emmett-fronted comedy sketches (always according to a theme) gave way to guest star turns (including Bernard Bresslaw and Frankie Howerd) and then more club-like variety acts (although one did include an early appearance of Mark Heap). Of the latter stage, one episode's theme was 'Saturday Night,' which is, I think you will agree, a bit vague. However, of this period I do remember an 1980s alternative comedy troupe whose (I thought hilarious) surreal act concluded with the camera cutting back to a clearly totally bemused Ted Rogers. So, in some respects it was a bizarre spectacle (although some episodes did feature the glorious Caroline Munro), but it was certainly an original approach to the TV quiz show.
