Questions pour un champion (the French game show)

Cafe Society
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[thread=598164]This thread[/thread] has spawned a discussion of Questions pour un champion, the French trivia game show hosted by Julien Lepers (which, looking at the French Wikipedia article, I’ve just learned is actually adapted from a British show). I watch it once in a while, when I can catch it, but I don’t follow it religiously. It’s interesting, but as I’ve said in the other thread, I find the questions hopelessly difficult and can rarely answer more than one or two in a show. And I’m usually not bad at trivia; my culture is fairly extensive.

The questions are of course slanted towards French culture, which may put non-French people at a disadvantage, but even when they don’t directly touch French culture I still find them especially difficult. I also watch Jeopardy!, another show slanted towards a culture different from mine (the American one, in that case), and while I don’t think I’d be good enough to get on the show, I can often do decently well. So what say you, other watchers of Questions pour un champion? Do you find their questions particularly difficult, or have I just been unlucky about the subjects up to now?

I also watch the show on (my country’s version of) TV5. It’s a good channel for those who’re interested in French-language movies and television shows from many different countries, and as pointed out it’s available in places we wouldn’t necessarily expect.

Capitaine Zombie, French is my first language, although judging from [post=13299033]our latest interaction[/post] I get the feeling you’d disagree with this claim. :stuck_out_tongue:

It’s not the length of the questions that bothers me, it’s that I often don’t know if he’s actually reading the question or just chit-chatting with the contestants. And when a contestant gives a wrong answer, he sometimes takes time to start reading again, which can seriously influence the outcome of the final (timed) game especially.

And I’ve heard a lot here about how Alex Trebek is arrogant and contemptuous with Jeopardy! contestants (which I’ve never really noticed), but I do remember Lepers saying something like “this is completely wrong!” after a contestant gave a wrong answer. I felt bad for the poor guy.

And I know exactly what you mean by his over-the-top delivery.

You have to tell us about your experience.

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Ha, hadnt memorized your name.

You’re probably in a better position than me to judge that, but I’ve never noticed a specific emphasis on French culture. Except maybe in the first round of questions (the “easy” one), I have to say the only part of the game that I like is the second row (“4 a la suite!”, that will always make me laugh).

But I havent watched the show in years, so maybe it has changed.

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Just found this thread. Good job, Hyp.

I happened to watch an episode right after reading your post, so I decided to make a list of some of the non-French-centric questions in the first round.
How many strings are there on a violin?

In 1897, what engineer invented a type of internal combustion engine that still bears his name?

In '53, what mountain climber, born in New Zealand, conquered Everest?

Mental calculation: What number is obtained by multiplying 500 by 22?

In 1962, which actress was the mother of Lolita in the film of that name by Stanley Kubrik?

What mechanical device is used to measure weight?

What is the fourth letter of our alphabet?
Please tell me you can get at least a couple of these. :smiley:

But I know what you mean. Any time the question starts out “Which race car driver…” or “Which French TV host…” I just stop listening.

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Ahh, but he only does that when the clock is stopped. It doesn’t start again until he resumes reading.

Nor have I. Once or twice, after a string of really stupid wrong answers, I’ve thought he sounded a little impatient with the contestants. But that’s once or twice in 20-plus years of watching the show.

He also seems to say “Absolument pas!” a lot. I find it amusing. Maybe I’m just cruel.

I, too, would like to hear hibernicus’s story. Especially since his profile and* nom d’écran* seem to indicate he’s (she’s?) Irish.

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Huh. Yeah, some of them aren’t too hard indeed. It’s been a few weeks since I watched the show, I’ll try catching it tonight so I can check again. (Perhaps it’ll be the same show you just watched!)

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I’ve just watched the first round of today’s show (Lepers said it was Saturday so I’m assuming it’s today’s show, but it’s not the same as Cayuga’s), and while it is true that the questions weren’t all that hard though some were quite French-centric, I think the main difficulty is that, unlike in Jeopardy!, the contestants can buzz in at any time. So it’s often necessary to be able to answer with just the few first words of a question.

And I’ve got a better idea of what I don’t like with Lepers’ question-asking style. He tends to speak in bursts, which sometimes makes him hard to follow. After a question’s been answered, he may read the rest of the question, chat with the contestants or go to the next question, but you’re never quite sure what he’s doing until you’ve listened for one or two seconds. And tonight he kept talking for at least one second and a half after one of the contestants had buzzed, which gave her a much better chance to answer correctly.

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I just watched and deleted yesterday’s show. Oops.

I do know, though, based on observations I went out of my way to make on my last trip to France, that we get the episodes one week after they air. So the show I DVRed yesterday (Saturday, February 26) aired in France on Saturday, February 19.

True all that.

“Animaux.”
"Un animal. "
“Un mammifère.”
“Quel mammifère … qui habite en Asie … alacapacitédesandmuseuchecitotwikécumwnslaiodfnhcvgsjsk!?”

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Yes, I am Irish (and a “he”). The story isn’t that interesting, I’m afraid, especially because I didn’t succeed in getting on the show. Even “audition” isn’t really the right word for the kind of selection process I took part in.

I think it was in 2007; I saw a notice that there would be auditions for Questions pour un Champion in the Alliance Française in Dublin. It was to be a special “international” edition of the programme, for French speakers from non-Francophone countries.

About 30 people turned up, and we all had to answer general knowledge questions. I did quite well on this part. Then there was a part where each person had to talk about themselves for a couple of minutes, as if introducing himself to the camera.

On the basis of this, I think two people were selected to go through to the next stage of selection, and the rest of us went home. We didn’t get to meet Julien!

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  • Mais NON!

  • O la, 4 candidats, 4 mauvaises réponses, je suis tellement gené…

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hibernicus, I should have realized you’d have been trying out for one of the international tournaments. Sorry about how it turned out.

I got rejected by Who Wants to Be a Millonaire? a few months ago. Aced the written test, did well in the interview. Then, literally as I was standing up to leave, the interviewer pulled a Columbo. “Oh, one more thing. Would you describe your playing style as adventurous or conservative?” Like a moron, I said “Conservative.” (We need the money.) I’m convinced that that last question was the only part of the interview that mattered.

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I’ve seen this show on a number of occasions when I’ve been travelling overseas and stayed in a hotel with a French language television channel.

I agree.