There was no need to consult the Springbok Radio quiz show schedules — they were imprinted in my schoolgirl brain so that every evening could be an entertainment bonanza emanating from my small brown wireless.
In the 1970s, the SABC’s commercial station Springbok Radio had a rich lineup of quiz shows and radio theatre and my ears were eagerly attuned to most of them.
I would nestle on the brown velvet couch with my equally eager mother and we would scream the answers to questions asked by radio hosts with their trained “non-accented” English voices.
It all seems laughably quaint now but shows like the uproarious Pick a Box and the more cerebral Test the Team were the height of entertainment in our household.
There was an intimacy to it. Some of the shows included listener participation and so people would send the three wise men at Test the Team cryptic questions about obscure topics and they would inevitably stump the listeners with their knowledge and accuracy.
No Google necessary, thank you very much.
Check Your Mate was not strictly speaking a quiz show but it was a favourite and even my less radio-mad sister would emerge to listen to couples testing how much they knew about each other.
Hosted by an upbeat Percy Sieff, couples had to predict what their romantic partner would do in a given situation or what their preferences were when it came to food, entertainment or domestic arrangements.
Some were spot-on about each other but others were hilariously out of the ballpark.
Did knowing the name of their partner’s first pet improve the marriage? This we shall never know.
So keen were we on this show that we scored tickets to watch it being recorded at the SABC’s Sea Point studios.
We looked forward to it for weeks and on the evening in question, after a day sunning ourselves at the Sea Point Pavilion pools, we sat in the auditorium keenly observing Mr Sieff in person cross-examine his couples and applauding on cue.
And yes, I was the annoying person who clapped longer than everyone else in the hope of hearing myself on radio.
On Saturday mornings when I wasn’t at the morning movies in town, there was always the Super Duper Shopper Show to keep me entertained.
Even then, I knew it was supremely uncool to listen to shoppers guessing the prices of common supermarket items and showing off their budgeting abilities in a variety of shopping centres.
Like many shows of that era, it relied on audience participation, mixed trivia with lifestyle and was heavily tied in with sponsors and, nerdily, I was there for all of it.
When television started broadcasting in SA in 1976, radio listenership dwindled slowly, mainly because many people could not afford sets and also because many families resisted having anti-social screens in their living spaces.
For our family it was a bit of both. My mother railed against television ownership, saying it would destroy the social fabric of our family.
This meant we continued huddling around our radios, but it also meant I was excluded from 50% of the conversations at school.
Excited discussions about the latest episode of Little House on the Prairie or Dallas caused my eyes to glaze over during our peanut butter sandwich lunch breaks.
No-one had any interest in talking about the price of peas on the Super Duper Shopping show when there was Starsky & Hutch to babble about.
Once television was part of my life, quiz shows remained a staple.
There’s a thrill about participating in a show from the comfort of your lounge and the family yelling (mostly) incorrect answers at the screen.
They tap into our enjoyment of problem-solving and stir up competitive instincts without the commitment of actually getting anything constructive done!
And we love to root for the players onscreen, especially if they can win pots of cash with their “final answer”.
And now, there is an opportunity to become a participant in a new quiz show called The 1% Club.
Produced by Rapid Blue, part of BBC Studios, the Afrikaans-language version will follow the successful original UK series, which has also been adapted globally, including in the US, Germany, Spain, France and Australia.
Kyknet (channel 144 on DStv) has secured the rights to the quiz, which will hit our screens later this year and the channel is looking for contestants.
So, if you are over 18 years old and consider yourself to be an ace at logic, pattern recognition and quick thinking, you could soon be on the small screen, amazing everyone you know and winning a share of R100,000.
“Our team simply fell in love with this format when BBC Studios showed it to us last year,” M-Net director for premium channels, Waldimar Pelser, said.
“The Kyknet audience loves studio game shows, and it was no small task to find a format that could equal the adrenalin rush of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
"We believe Die 1%-klub — testing logic and common sense in a humorous way, instead of general knowledge — is the right show to do it, and hope our viewers will love this new spin on the game show as much as we do.”
Rapid Blue chief creative officer Grant Flynn said: “At Rapid Blue, we are passionate about creating content that entertains while truly connecting with audiences.”
"Die 1%-klub does this brilliantly by celebrating sharp thinking in a playful, inclusive way that resonates with viewers across generations.
“We’re thrilled to be producing this show for Kyknet and bringing this globally successful show to South African screens, and we can’t wait to see how our local contestants rise to the challenge.”
So what will you be letting yourself in for?
It is not your average game show and does not require much factual knowledge.
Rather it’s a fast-paced, logic-driven competition where 100 contestants face off in a battle of wits.
The game starts easy — with questions that 90% of South Africans should be able to answer — but quickly escalates in difficulty, culminating in challenges that only the top 1% can solve.
The format is designed to reward quick thinking, creativity and analytical skills rather than memorised facts or trivia knowledge.
It reveals whether you’re in the top 75%, top 40%, top 10%, or — if you make it all the way — the elite top 1% of the country according to the show’s format metric.
Each contestant begins with R1,000.
Incorrect answers eliminate players and contribute their money to a growing jackpot.
As the game progresses, remaining players must decide whether to walk away with a share of the pot or risk it all to prove they belong in the top 1%.
It’s a thrilling mix of strategy, pressure and brainpower.
No special qualifications are needed — just a sharp mind and a love for solving puzzles and so, whether you are a student, retiree, artisan or academic, everyone has an equal shot.
In international versions of The 1% Club, contestants ranged from teenagers to pensioners, and some of the biggest winners were everyday people who simply thought differently.
The format has been praised for its inclusivity and its ability to spotlight unconventional intelligence.
Sounds like your kind of thing? Then you also need to know that filming will take place in Johannesburg and participants will have to arrange their own transport.
The host of Die 1%-klub will be announced soon.
* Entries are open until May 22 and South Africans aged 18 and older are invited to enter on the kykNET website or send an e-mail to die1persent-klub@rapidblue.com.
