Dave Gorman's Genius (BBC) - would you...?

[vtecstu]

A couple of months ago I submitted a mildly farcical idea to the BBC website for series 2 of Dave Gorman's Genius (rather not share it on here at this stage).

I've just recieved an e-mail from the BBC which is a bit waffley, but seems to say that my 'idea' is one of the top 100 submitted and that they'd like me to go along to a taping of one of their shows as a likely contributor, if I was interested.

I have no problem at all looking stupid in front of mates, but I'm a little concerned that, if I were to be featured (the e-mail is clear that it's not a certainty) that my 5 minutes of fame may be followed by several months of people at work thinking I'm like the Fast Show's Colin Hunt and actively avoiding / mocking / not promoting me. Or longer, depending on how long it's then repeated on Dave.

So - would you go for it?

[louiebaby]

Dave's Website said:

Trophy winning ideas have included helium filled bubble wrap to make parcels lighter and postage cheaper, breeding miniature elephants to be household pets, building lego prisons, a microwave/CD player that selects a tune of the right duration to go with the required cooking time and Tetris - the movie.

I hope you've come up with something better than these! How much difference would the Helium in bubble wrap make, since it would leak out unless the bubbles were foil wrapped!

Not seen the show myself, but will keep an eye out to see if it's repeated. I quite like Dave Gorman, he comes across as a fella I'd like to share a pint and a chat with. (His Sunday morning show on Absolute Radio is alright too.)

I can understand your worries about looking a wally though, they can edit it however they want...

[Bullett]

It's a comedy show! It's not that mainstream and it's clever, I'd not worry about it they don't make you look silly ever.

I used to listen to it on Radio4 didn't know it was on tv now.

[bonsai]

vtecstu said:

A couple of months ago I submitted a mildly farcical idea to the BBC website for series 2 of Dave Gorman's Genius (rather not share it on here at this stage).

I've just recieved an e-mail from the BBC which is a bit waffley, but seems to say that my 'idea' is one of the top 100 submitted and that they'd like me to go along to a taping of one of their shows as a likely contributor, if I was interested.

I have no problem at all looking stupid in front of mates, but I'm a little concerned that, if I were to be featured (the e-mail is clear that it's not a certainty) that my 5 minutes of fame may be followed by several months of people at work thinking I'm like the Fast Show's Colin Hunt and actively avoiding / mocking / not promoting me. Or longer, depending on how long it's then repeated on Dave.

So - would you go for it?

You seem to have a certain level of shame, therefore making you entirely unsuitable for that program.

[cs02rm0]

No one watches it, keep quiet and they won't even know (let alone record it and email it around the office).

Edited by cs02rm0 on Tuesday 13th April 11:32

[vtecstu]

cs02rm0 said:

No one watches it, keep quiet and they won't even know (let alone record it and email it around the office).

A valid point (ignoring the e-mail bit!) - it's a reasonable assumption that relatively few people will see it, and those that do would likely have a similar sense of humour and hence hopefully not Colin Hunt me. Cheers for input so far guys - leaning heavily towards taking part now!

[vtecstu]

louiebaby said:

Not seen the show myself, but will keep an eye out to see if it's repeated. I quite like Dave Gorman, he comes across as a fella I'd like to share a pint and a chat with. (His Sunday morning show on Absolute Radio is alright too.)

Think that Series 1 is being shown on Dave at the moment - worth watching if you're a fan and can find it in the listings.

[HiRich]

From the first TV series, the ideas that worked best were those where:

• The idea was so stupid it was almost genius. If you have been shortlisted, the idea is presumably in this area.
• The inventor is a little bit left field. Not Colin Hunt, but a boffin or a little bit Karl Pilkington (that naif "isn't it obvious that's the way the world is supposed to be?"). In other words, if you think you're funny, you're not; if you can play patsy to Gorman and guest, it might just work.

That's what they're after, and they can only find out face-to-face.

So I'd consider doing it, accepting that I may not make the show. BTW, prototypes and/or illustrations seemed to work really well, along with extremely well-developed (worryingly so) arguments. If you go for it, do your homework.