Summary
"Pointless" is a quiz show in which contestants try to score as few points as possible by coming up with answers no-one else can think of. Prior to the show, 100 people are given 100 seconds to come up with as many answers as they can to questions that will be given to the teams by host Alexander Armstrong during the show. The number of points given to the teams is decided by how many of the public had given that answer. Richard Osman is the adjudicator on the show, analysing the answers given by both the public and the teams. He reveals the lowest scoring answers, including the much sought after "pointless answer". If the contestants give a pointless answer in the early stages, money is added to the prize jackpot. The show is split into different rounds; the first sees the four starting teams given a subject then the two members take it in turns to give an answer. Another round sees eight possible answers to a set question displayed on the screen. The teams must find the one pointless answer and avoid the one wrong one. In the "Head to Head" round, teams take it turn to pick answers and the lowest scoring team wins the round. At the end of each round a team is eliminated. The final round sees one team try to get a pointless answer to win the money. If no one wins the jackpot, it rolls over to the next show, the highest amount won being £12,250. Any team that fails to make the final on their first appearance is given a second chance on the next show. The game show tests people's instincts as they have to ignore obvious correct options and try to identify an obscure yet correct one. It premiered on BBC Two in 2009 and made the switch to BBC One in 2011.
