The most under-rated gameshow of the 1990s

Famous for being the only game show in the history of TV not to have a host, as such, 100% was a staple for Channel 5 before reality TV came along. Critics of Britain's latest terrestrial station labelled this as mindless trash typical of that channel's lightness and lack of depth. Dig below the obvious cheapness of the production (the prize for getting closest to 100% was £100!)though and you might find something you like.

 The layout is simple. Three contestants are placed in isolation and asked multiple choice questions, which they answer by pressing a button in front of them (either A,B,C or True/False). They are asked 100 questions rapid fire but only the viewers know who has scored what. After 100 questions the contestant with the most right answers i.e. the highest percentage, is the winner. The contestants and audience hear the voice of Robin 'One To Win' Houston, who is a little more relaxed as he is offscreen. It was embarrassing watching him self-consciously trip over his words repeatedly as he squirmed behind that desk in One to Win, but here he has licence to be a little more jokey.

There were often theme episodes, famously '100% Sex' in which contestants got dressed up in provocative 'clothing' and answered dirty questions, with added lewd comments from Robin. These were screened late at night of course! There was also '100% Gold', '100% 1980s', and several more. Runners up usually got a copy of Chambers English Dictionary (wow), and winners a small cash prize and the chance to appear on the next edition. Nobody ever said no.

The best part of the show was when they asked joke questions, which you can always see in advance as they widen the game screen to fit the extra words on. A typical example would be:

"What did 'so and so' refer to as 'that infernal black hole? A) His bank account B) the morality of politicians c) Daytime Television. The answer was A, his bank account. We're the last people who should be joking about the black hole of daytime TV."

100% was never afraid to laugh at itself and its obviously limited budget. It won't rank up there with the greatest quiz shows but it ran for a lot longer than many. It had all but vanished off air by the time 'play along' technology was brought into widespread use with the 'red button', but luckily the notepad and pen were easy to use. I play myself when it is repeated on Challenge and regularly get around 65%. Of course even the biggest dumbass is likely to get 33% due to the law of averages, but there is some skill involved. To add extra tension, in the last 15 questions or so the contestants' scores are flashed momentarily for the audience to see, but really the game lacks excitement. It's rather similar to Fifteen to One, only simpler, easier, and without the structure.

This wasn't the best game show ever but lasted quite a while and is still repeated; it was even parodied hilariously by ITV's Adam and Joe in a kind of 'what if the 100% Computer broke down' scenario:

"What is the capitol of Iran? A) Mustard b) Mustard c)Mustard. The answer was D) Olivia Newton John"

Just to clarify though, although it was billed as 'computer generated', the host though unseen is human, despite sounding robotic. All in all, pretty good entertainment on a rainy day. When you're not doing anything else.

Quiz show where contestants are asked 100 multiple choice questions. The contestant with the highest percentage is the winner.

100%

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