Crackerjack
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- This page is about the British television show; for the American snack food, see Cracker Jack. For the 2002 movie starring Mick Molloy and Judith Lucy, see Crackerjack (film).
Crackerjack was a British children's comedy/variety BBC television series. It started in 1955 and ran until 1984. It featured Eamonn Andrews, Leslie Crowther, Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, Stu Francis, Peter Glaze, Don Maclean, Michael Aspel, Jan Hunt, The Krankies, Bernie Clifton and Ronnie Corbett amongst many others.
The format of the programme included competitive games for teams of children, a music spot, a comedy double act, and a finale in which the cast performed a short comic play, adapting popular songs of the day and incorporating them into the action.
One of the most memorable games was a quiz called "Double or Drop", where each contestant was given a prize to hold for each question answered correctly, but given a cabbage if they answered incorrectly. They were out of the game if they dropped any of the items they were holding.
It was an accepted unwritten rule that whenever a presenter spoke the word 'Crackerjack', the audience would shout "Crack-er-jack!" loudly. This custom has passed into popular culture.
A standard consolation prize to children who appeared on the show was the Crackerjack Pencil (later upgraded to a Crackerjack pen).
The show was introduced with the phrase "It's Friday, it's five o'clock. . . It's Crackerjack!", and sometimes with "It's Friday, it's five to five. . . It's Crackerjack!".