The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) celebrated World Day for Audiovisual Heritage yesterday (27 October) with the release of never-before-seen footage of what is thought to be Australia’s first TV game show.
Curator and Archivist at NFSA, Simon Smith said the unaired pilot, a television version of radio show Ask Me Another, was recorded in front of a live audience in 1953 – more than three years before the launch of Australian television.
Mr Smith said while the show never made it to air, it was privately screened during Australia’s Royal Commission on Television as an example of how radio game shows could move into the world of TV.
“The film is an exciting find, from a time when radio was the country’s most popular medium, and local television was being established,” he said.
“The NFSA possesses many unseen television game show pilots but this one from 1953 may well be the earliest produced in this country.
“It’s difficult to definitively say ‘this is the first Australian-made television game show pilot’ but we believe it could be classed as such, as it was produced three years before regular television broadcasting commenced in 1956.”
Mr Smith said the pilot episode, hosted by Australian radio star Jack Davey, arrived unidentified at the NFSA in the early 90s as part of the vast Cinesound Movietone collection and sat on a shelf undisturbed for years.
Further information on the pilot, including how to watch the footage, can be accessed at this PS News link.
