Richard Osman and his boring house of games

[Captain Z]

Never seen HOG but assumed that after being on Taskmaster he thought "I'm going to do this, but less so".

[bgmnts]

Performative railing against centrists is really just the next bit of twitter puffery for yer more vocal do-nothings, innit? Wee frisson of edginess, smidge of self righteousness, but ultimately exactly as useful as retweeting #kony2012 or putting an overlay on your Facebook profile picture.

Anyway I was on Osman's short lived quiz Two Tribes, and met the big man in the flesh. He was a bit put out that I'd shown up woefully hungover, has a terrible handshake and smells quite unusual, but he seemed okay.

In what way is saying someone is a cunt 'performative?

[thecuriousorange]

I generally like Osmond but House of Games is just a mish mash of disconnected rounds, with no over-arching theme to tie the show together. No individual section is a strong enough idea to build an entire show around, so throw everything at the wall and see if anything sticks. Having celebrities as contestants distracts from this, a tiny bit, but not really. I assume he pitched the "concept" himself. Pointless was and is solid, but this effort does not give anyone the right to sing "We're so good at telly!"

[Hat FM]

bet richard osmond is such a cunt in person. you can just tell.

[easytarget]

He's either condescending or mean to the contestants on Pointless - never one self- deprecating gag, always jokes at the expense of 'ordinary' people who've never even been to Oxbridge on television before.

Still, imagine what it was like when his bass playing in Suede brother brought Brett Anderson over to their family home for Sunday lunch with Richard's parents.

Imagine it. "Oh no he's spilling heroin all over Baron Osman's tweed jacket!"

"Oh no!"

The highjinks.

[Fr.Bigley]

He's either condescending or mean to the contestants on Pointless - never one self- deprecating gag, always jokes at the expense of 'ordinary' people who've never even been to Oxbridge on television before

Yeah I've noticed this too. Guy really is a prick. As is Armstrong.

[the science eel]

The answers are always in childhood.

His Dad left the family home when Osman was 9. His entire persona is probably based on needing approval from his Dad. This might be why he can come across as an insufferably smug TV smarmball - he got addicted to the approval of an audience.

His need to do quizzes probably comes from some sort of need for power, status and control.

No, it's 'cos his uncle started Blur or something. He wanted a taste of that but was too tall and daft hair to do pop music

[notjosh]

I love House of Games. I watch it every day with my tea. I'm dead good at all the games, especially Answer Smash, so every day I get a nice little endorphin rush from knowing that I'm better at puzzles than 99% of British celebrities. It's a nice selection box of games, with only a couple (Hey Alexander and Password123) that I have absolutely no time for.

Osman is a pretty good host I think. Keeps things light without seeming try-hard, and very good at finding the level for taking the piss out of people who aren't doing well without being cruel. I should think he'd be pleasant enough company as long as one steered clear of talking about politics.

But honestly, look at the state of the fucking electorate. If you're raging over a bland centrist setting word puzzles then how the fuck are you gonna handle the next 10+ years of Tory government?

Having said that, yesterday he did describe Paul McGann as having "briefly" played the Doctor which fair boiled my piss, so in fact I endorse everything that has been said about the smug, weird-smelling, limp-wristed, daddy-issues, Big-Finish-avoiding, show-off cunt.

[thecuriousorange]

Having said that, yesterday he did describe Paul McGann as having "briefly" played the Doctor which fair boiled my piss.

Is that not fair? I mean, he's a reasonable punt at a Pointless Answer.

[Uncle TechTip]

I love House of Games. I watch it every day with my tea. I'm dead good at all the games, especially Answer Smash, so every day I get a nice little endorphin rush from knowing that I'm better at puzzles than 99% of British celebrities. It's a nice selection box of games, with only a couple (Hey Alexander and Password123) that I have absolutely no time for.

Did you know that they only let the contestants buzz in after a couple of seconds, to give the viewers chance to answer and make them hold the incorrect belief that they are more intelligent than 99% of celebrities. Same trick on Only Connect according to Pie Pie Eater.

[non capisco]

Best thing to come out of House Of Games is James Acaster's story about how he was bullied backstage by Anne Diamond.

[Gurke and Hare]

I love House of Games. I watch it every day with my tea. I'm dead good at all the games, especially Answer Smash, so every day I get a nice little endorphin rush from knowing that I'm better at puzzles than 99% of British celebrities. It's a nice selection box of games, with only a couple (Hey Alexander and Password123) that I have absolutely no time for.

The best one are Where Is Kazakhstan, I'm Terrible At Dating and Broken Karaoke.

[notjosh]

Is that not fair? I mean, he's a reasonable punt at a Pointless Answer.

He's been playing the Doctor in audio dramas for 20 years now. This wasn't on Pointless anyway, but if it was I think your only shot at a pointless Doctor would be someone like Richard Hurndall.

Did you know that they only let the contestants buzz in after a couple of seconds, to give the viewers chance to answer and make them hold the incorrect belief that they are more intelligent than 99% of celebrities. Same trick on Only Connect according to Pie Pie Eater.

Do you really think they would waste the contestants' time with that sort of thing, especially after they've already got them coming in for five separate studio days? Get real mate.

[notjosh]

The best one are Where Is Kazakhstan, I'm Terrible At Dating and Broken Karaoke.

I like Highbrow, Lowbrow too. The only time it annoyed me was when Prof Brian Cox's dopey podcast with Robin Ince was deemed to be more highbrow than The Actor Brian Cox's masterly performance in Michael Mann's Manhunter.

[BlodwynPig]

I like Highbrow, Lowbrow too. The only time it annoyed me was when Prof Brian Cox's dopey podcast with Robin Ince was deemed to be more highbrow than The Actor Brian Cox's masterly performance in Michael Mann's Manhunter.

Centrism

[machotrouts]

Did you know that they only let the contestants buzz in after a couple of seconds, to give the viewers chance to answer and make them hold the incorrect belief that they are more intelligent than 99% of celebrities. Same trick on Only Connect according to Pie Pie Eater.

I assumed something like that is going on, though I figured Osman didn't read those questions out loud at all and it was just dubbed on for our benefit (which would explain why the celebs are completely mute during that couple of seconds, rather than hammering their inactive buzzer or going "OH! I KNOW THIS!").

Always a bit humiliating when I think "gosh, this is a hard round!" and then I realise it's one of the ones where there presumably isn't a delay, like the Z-A or word cloud ones, and I'm thicker than the celebs after all.

[holyzombiejesus]

I assumed something like that is going on, though I figured Osman didn't read those questions out loud at all and it was just dubbed on for our benefit (which would explain why the celebs are completely mute during that couple of seconds, rather than hammering their inactive buzzer or going "OH! I KNOW THIS!").

I think the questions are read out aloud but there's an edit so when you see the contestants at their buzzers in silence, he's actually still reading out the question.

[poodlefaker]

He should be a chemistry teacher or something, one  of those ones who lets you muck about a bit but gets serious when the test's coming up. I don't think the public school Oxbridge educated rich middle classes should be allowed in light entertainment. Same with his mate Armstrong: what are you doing hosting a gameshow? Go and get a proper job.

[Uncle TechTip]

I think the questions are read out aloud but there's an edit so when you see the contestants at their buzzers in silence, he's actually still reading out the question.

That's the deal isn't it, the way I described it would lead to everyone pressing their buzzer at once.

I agree with Gurke and Hare's list of best rounds, but would add the averages one too. I'd agree the rest are so fluffy they make the whole thing annoying. The Friday night version was especially bad.

[Rolf Lundgren]

It's too self-congratulatory at times with contestants hee-heeing at the hilarious answer smashes but overall it's a good format. Agree it has no place on a Friday evening.

[Ambient Sheep]

He should be a chemistry teacher or something, one  of those ones who lets you muck about a bit but gets serious when the test's coming up. I don't think the public school Oxbridge educated rich middle classes should be allowed in light entertainment. Same with his mate Armstrong: what are you doing hosting a gameshow? Go and get a proper job.

Point of information: Osman didn't go to public school.  He went here which appears to be a regular, if high-performing, state secondary school, founded in 1956.

For that matter, and I know this is nitpicking, neither did Armstrong, technically.  Yes, he went to prep school, but the secondary schools he attended were independent schools, and mostly on music scholarships, I've just discovered to my surprise, as was his place at Trinity in Cambridge.  So definitely posher and at least partly paid for, but not public schools in the strict sense of the word.  (Not much difference, I know.)  Seems his proper job was singing all along.

I never knew until now that they were both at Trinity at the same time, although it seemed they didn't socialise then.


I've never seen House of Games.

[poodlefaker]

Even so I still think presenting a game show should be a late-career reward for entertainers who have risen from childhood poverty and spent struggling years flogging themselves around the provincial circuit.

[Norton Canes]

Point of information: Osman didn't go to public school.  He went here which appears to be a regular, if high-performing, state secondary school, founded in 1956.

For that matter, and I know this is nitpicking, neither did Armstrong, technically.  Yes, he went to prep school, but the secondary schools he attended were independent schools, and mostly on music scholarships, I've just discovered to my surprise, as was his place at Trinity in Cambridge.  So definitely posher and at least partly paid for, but not public schools in the strict sense of the word.  (Not much difference, I know.)

Yeah, definitely a bit posh...

Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to physician Henry Angus Armstrong and Emma Virginia Peronnet (née Thompson-McCausland). The Armstrongs are a North East landowning family distantly related to William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong. Armstrong's maternal grandparents were economist Lucius Thompson-McCausland and Helen Laura McCausland (6 April 1903 – February 2000), granddaughter of Captain Conolly Thomas McCausland (13 May 1828 – 25 June 1902) and Hon. Laura St. John (12 June 1842 – 21 October 1919), daughter of St Andrew St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso. The McCausland family held land at Drenagh

[Gurke and Hare]

Point of information: Osman didn't go to public school.  He went here which appears to be a regular, if high-performing, state secondary school, founded in 1956.

Gwendoline Christie too - it's a school for giants!

[holyzombiejesus]

Yeah, definitely a bit posh...

Pro-hunting too. Wanker.

[Cuellar]

For that matter, and I know this is nitpicking, neither did Armstrong, technically.  Yes, he went to prep school, but the secondary schools he attended were independent schools, and mostly on music scholarships, I've just discovered to my surprise, as was his place at Trinity in Cambridge.  So definitely posher and at least partly paid for, but not public schools in the strict sense of the word.  (Not much difference, I know.)  Seems his proper job was singing all along.

Durham School is absolutely a public school, come on

[seepage]

Do you really think they would waste the contestants' time with that sort of thing, especially after they've already got them coming in for five separate studio days? Get real mate.

I think it's filmed in one sitting and they have to pretend it's on separate days.

[Norton Canes]

I thought it was live

[Mr Trumpet]

Osman comes across badly in interviews i've heard of him - a kind of aggressive, competitive one-upmanship in terms of making jokes etc. I've known people like that IRL and they're exhausting to be around.

[Fr.Bigley]

Osman comes across badly in interviews i've heard of him - a kind of aggressive, competitive one-upmanship in terms of making jokes etc. I've known people like that IRL and they're exhausting to be around.

I've also noticed that. Does he rate himself as a comic too? total bore and very very overbearing.