Going in, I would like to point out that this review has nothing to do with any aspect of the TV license. There are many people like that guy on you tube who is always whinging about the beeb(Yes, I'm talking about you. You know who you are) who believe BBC programmes are bad because they have to fork out £159 quid a year. That's like saying the room at the ritz was shabby, or the chocolate tasted horrible because of the high cost. I happen think that the presentation and production values of the BBC are of a high standard. I can't say the same of the commercial channels who make a lot more money than the BBC.
All that said, the BBC does on occasion make the odd programme which doesn't quite measure up to standards. The tournament (Weekday afternoons on BBC1) is one such programme. Hosted by former footballer Alex Scott, a row of contestants have to answer a series of questions to determine the pecking order of who plays who in the head-to-head in a series of questions from a chosen topic, with multiple choice answers. The idea is (Obviously) to answer as many on the buzzer questions as they can. A series of lines, one of them red, moves closer every time someone gives a wrong answer. The contestant who answers the most questions in two minutes, or avoids the red line goes through to the next round,(Sounds like a subtle rip off of the chase) which is the same format as the first round, which in turn, is strangely the same format as the final. Of course a financial award is up for grabs for the winner.
It's a shame that the BBC have got rid of good quality programmes like the voice UK and eggheads to save money in order to make new programmes, and then they make rubbish like this. Come on BBC, you are better than this. Other daytime quiz shows like Impossible, decimate and pointless for example are so much better. Don't give that guy on you tube the satisfaction.