Underplayed Gems

Des chiffres et des lettres (1965)

Des chiffres et des lettres poster
Genre
game show
Country
France
Length
52 seasons, 30 episodes
Rated
NR
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

Two contestants compete in numeric and word games. It tests their ability to make the longest word from random letters and solve arithmetic problems with given numbers.

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What happens

Des chiffres et des lettres (French: [de ʃifʁ e de lɛtʁ]; transl. Numbers and Letters) is a French television programme which originally aired from 1965 to 2024. It was created by Armand Jammot and tests the numeracy skills and vocabulary of two contestants. It was one of the longest-running game shows in the world and the inspiration for Countdown on the British Channel 4. The game debuted in 1965 as Le mot le plus long (transl. The Longest Word), using letters only, and reached its present format in 1972. From 2004 to 2024, it was transmitted on France 3 after 39 years on Antenne 2 and later France 2. It had been hosted since 1992 by Laurent Romejko, who was originally assisted by Arielle Boulin-Prat and Bertrand Renard, the latter two respectively checking words proposed by the contestants and providing solutions to the number problems the contestants failed to solve. Renard was hired on the show at the age of 19, after having won as a contestant in 12 consecutive matches. Starting on 17 September 2022, Boulin-Prat and Renard were replaced by Blandine Maire and Stéphane Crosnier respectively due to disputes over their salaries and the terms of their contracts. The show came to an end on 25 August 2024 after a 52-year run; it aired on weekends during its last two years. The show was seen throughout the world on TV5Monde including TV5 Québec Canada throughout Canada. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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