Can The Lightning Bolt answer questions on Australia?
TV Tonight tests The Chase's Brandon Blackwell on local trivia, which he admits he is still learning.
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He’s hardly the first international Chaser to step into the Australian edition, but Brandon Blackwell concedes he needs to brush up on his local knowledge.
“I’m still new to this country, so I’m still learning a lot of the basics of Australian stuff. I’ve got some of the stuff down, that you could find on Wikipedia or online. But I‘ve still only been in the country for a little while, so (not) the cultural things and the stuff that ‘everybody knows,’ is going to be slow working,” he tells TV Tonight.
“There’s no substitute for being in Australia, experiencing it and immersing myself in the people and the culture. So the more time I spend there, the better, but it’s early going.”
Known as ‘The Lightning Bolt’ on Seven’s The Chase, Blackwell was meant to feature as far back as 2020, but the pandemic thwarted those plans.
“It was sort of a holding pattern for a few years and in that time, I got a job on the US version.
“It turns out that even though I was on the US version first I’ve been involved with the Australian version for much longer version.
“So it’s kind of ironic that people are saying that it sounds like I’m coming over here from the US version when really, it was kind of the opposite.”
Blackwell filmed his Australian episodes in late 2023, finding that it adopts a similar format to most international versions -except for the USA.
“In the US it’s not filmed all year round. Like for instance, our third season was only 20 episodes and it’s aired once a week for maybe half a year.
“So because it’s a much less-common thing, they make it a much bigger show and they give away a lot more money.
“Every other version is sort of on every day, all year round and you get into this nice cosy pocket. There’s always room for some variation, like The Chase Australia has had with Double Trouble, but for the most part people know what they get.
“The Australian version feels very, very comfortable. It feels, ironically enough, familiar even though obviously I’m not Australian at all. I like the vibe that the Chasers, the host and the contestant all have with each other.”
Blackwell began quizzing around the age of 20 after appearances on shows such as Jeopardy!, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The Million Second Quiz, and the Britain’s University Challenge.
“I used to watch game shows growing up and I tried out for one kind of on a whim. I remember making a comment and was told ‘Hey, you should go try out’ and one thing led to another. Then after the third show one of the people that I lost to, introduced me to the whole off-screen world of trivia and quizzes.
“I was about 20 at the time, that’s when I actually started doing quiz. Once I did more quizzes then I wanted to do more shows, because I got better and I thought I’d have a better chance of winning more money.”
Hired for The Chase USA, he became dubbed as The Lightning Bolt due to his speed of answering questions.
“There were a couple other names that I was using when I was auditioning and doing rehearsals, and they made me change it and I had to come up with something quickly and The Lightning Bolt ended up being what what we landed on. There’s a lot of CGI in the ads and lightning bolt puns the host uses, but I don’t have any particular attachment to it.”
So what is is best tip for a contestant competing on the show?
I think a lot of times in the middle rounds they don’t read the question. Sometimes there’s clues in there. Even if you don’t know the answer, maybe there’s one choice that you can eliminate. But a lot of times people will look at a question and think ‘I don’t know that’ and just slap a button randomly.
“Sometimes it works but take a little more time. I know some Chases are quicker than others in locking them in but you have five seconds, try to use it. I know you’re nervous,
you probably haven’t been on TV before. It’s for a lot of money, especially if you take the high offer. So there’s a lot of pressure. Obviously my advice is easier said than done.”
TV Tonight tested him on a few Aussie questions. Out of The Chase studio, none were answered in lightning speed.
TVT: Who were the three stars of Priscilla Queen of the Desert?
BB: I do not know. I’m pretty bad at movies. It took me a long enough to figure out that Priscilla was not like the name of one of the people. Priscilla’s the van, right? I don’t think I could even produce one of the stars of that.
TVT: Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce.
BB: I know all three of those people!
TVT: Where in Australia would you expect to find The Gap?
BB: Oh. I don’t know. I used to live in London and they’d always say ‘Mind the Gap’ for the Tube. I did take the metro in Sydney but I don’t remember if that’s what they call it? I doubt it.
TVT: An ocean cliff at South Head in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.
What would you expect to find in a pie floater?
BB: It’s a food. I’ve seen it on a menu, but I didn’t order it because I didn’t know what it was. I’m vegetarian but I assume it’s a like a meat pie in something.
TVT: Pass! A meat pie in pea soup.
Who had a hit single with the song Living in the 70s?
BB: Is it one person or is it an act?
TVT It’s a band.
BB: Ok there’s like two bands that I was looking up, Midnight Oil and Skyhooks. I don’t think it’s by Midnight Oil. So I will say Skyhooks, but I’m not sure.
TVT: You’re 100% Correct.
BB: I was hoping to get at least one, so I’m on the board. That’s good!
The Lightning Bolt joins The Chase 5pm Monday on Seven.
26 Responses
By far the two dumbest contestants I’ve yet seen were on last night’s episode.
The first two contestants were knocked out, and Contestant 3 went for the low offer. I mean, the odds are already stacked against you at that point. Why bother leaving the house for a mere grand? He got through and Contestant 4 *also* went for the low offer (and even said that she intended to use the winnings to take her family overseas; good luck with that!!!) and was chased down, leaving Contestant 3 to play alone for a measly $1,000, and even went on about how “surreal” the experience was before being defeated in the final chase… for a $1,000.
And the highlight of the night… (Contestant 4)
“What printed periodical is commonly shortened to ‘mag’?”
“Magnesium.”
My God, it was all so hilariously painful to watch, but I couldn’t bear to look away.
Meanwhile a ripper game on Deal or No Deal.
David do you know why we got a repeat tonight? (Tuesday the 27th in WA) as I’ve seen that episode before because I remember the exchange between Ann and David. And what happened to the Double Chaser? Had it finished already? Are we only getting one new episode a week?!
According to guide info it was a new ep, unless an error.
I read that The Beast said there is not much money being on the show. Maybe he has gone back to maths teaching.
The beast is no longer part of the show his ladt appearance was mid 2022 bfore his big weight loss.. deal or no deal main prize is only 100 100 instead of 200 000 which bitbof a rip off… tipping point is more fun tho Todd manipulates to risk money
Mark Labbett was featured in the promo for “the Lightning Bolt”, which would indicate that he’s still part of the ensemble (albeit as a glorified guest). I also seem to recall him appearing once or twice in the latter half of 2023. I doubt that they would keep introducing him almost every episode if he hasn’t been on the show in over a year and a half.
Wrong – I follow closely. Has not filmed since COVID.
What I found weird was that he didn’t get an intro.
Only established regulars are introduced near the start of the show. Mara “Smiling Assassin” was on the show for months before finally being added to the roll call.
I remember him on University Challenge (UCL was it?) I think he enrolled in a masters program just so he could appear on the show. Incredible quizzer.
Wow he was impressive tonight! One off fluke or true blue?
He seems to be true blue. It’s only his first episode.
I think they should do a few Beat The Chasers just to mix it up a bit. I really liked that show but only seen a couple of episodes. Issa The Super Nerd was on one of the shows recently in the UK. So my daughter told me anyway.
There is a legal challenge to the title.
If he’d answered Albany, Western Australia for ‘The Gap’, that would have been correct also.
Maybe I could be a chaser.
I too have never heard of a Pie Floater – and I’ve lived here all my life.
Spent much time in Adelaide?
Put your money where your mouth is. Apply to be on the show. I have about four times and no response.
Seven better soon realise the prize money is the problem. Up it and the stakes and that will fend off Tipping Point. The presenters won’t
I first thought that $20K is pretty lame for TP….coming from $$$Hot Seat$$$ offering a mill – but seeing the $50K was won and I heard there is an offer of $100K, then The Chase is basically who wasnts to get beaten out of $6K.
The chase had a 107k amount between the 4 but the chaser caught the contestants. I think the prize amount is fine. It’s already $2k per answer and people typically get between 10-16k in their cash builder.
As much as I like to poke fun at Tipping Point for being what superficially looks like a tight-arsed substitute for Hot Seat, it’s much fairer to the contestants, and they’ll likely give away more money more consistently. Hot Seat’s just a terrible format, though they could have spun off the fastest finger round instead, which was always the best part of the show.
As for The Chase, I was hoping that the Double Trouble novelty (which seems to be over already, and it was only ever on twice a week max), would have allowed for a higher stakes final chase with maybe double the prize money for taking on both chasers. Simply including two Chasers who merely swapped between rounds was just silly and superfluous, and for all of the hype around it being a “world exclusive” format change too. Lame.
But in terms of prize money, I think there ought to be more substantial top offers, especially given that it’s the most successful of the late arvo game shows.
It’s funny in Australia the culture is all about the money. In the UK, a lot of people are into quizzing so the money amount is less of a factor.
Yeh because knowledge is power……unless you’re playing for $2k, then knowledge is wasted.
It doesn’t matter what the prize money ends up being as the contestants are so dumb they hardly ever win anyway. That’s why I always go for the Chasers to win – the simple questions the contestants don’t get amazes me, even when there’s four of them (as a quiz veteran myself) that’s why I’ve never ever wanted to or ever will want to go on the show! I only ever watch the last round to see the Chaser usually win as the rest of it is so boring. I seriously don’t know how this show became a success. But I still think it’s insane that the losing contestants walk away with nothing. Other quiz shows of the past even losing contestants often walk away with money or a prize, which I have done.