If Pyramid were to come back again...

[GSmaniac]

I seem to recall a Donnymid $100,000 tournament where they didn't even give away the $100,000!!!!!  That bugged me a lot. For a revival, I would raise the dollar values and change the set but keep the general feeling of the Clark/Cullen Pyramids.

[Mike Tennant]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'124426\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 11:36 AM\']
Cullen Pyramid was total perfection.  It's too bad it is not being shown anywhere.  To anyone in charge of a revival-watch one of the Cullen shows and copy everything.
[/quote]
Unfortunately, they can't copy Uncle Bill.  That alone means it will be tough to reach the level of "perfection" of his show.  (I haven't seen a Cullen Pyramid since I was a wee lad and don't remember it at all, so I can't comment on whether it really was as good as it gets.)

[beatlefreak84]

The only thing I didn't like about Clark's '80s "Pyramid" was how much you could actually win in the Winner's Circle just didn't seem fair to a really good player.  I mean, sure, it was $10,000 the first trip, and $25,000 the second, BUT, if you won both times, you only got the $25,000.  HOWEVER, if you lost the first time, and won the second, you got the $25,000 PLUS any money you picked up when losing the first Winner's Circle.  So, let me get this straight:  a person who wins both times gets the same, or LESS, than a person who wins only the second time?  Something about that doesn't seem right.  I always thought it should've been, if you win both times, you get $35,000.

Donnymid pretty much did what I thought Clark's version should've done, but, trust me; it wasn't enough to keep me watching the show!  And, hey; even this minor nitpick won't cause me to hate the Clark version.

If only I'd seen Uncle Bill's version instead of Davidson's...

Anthony

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' post=\'124430\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 09:19 AM\']
Unfortunately, they can't copy Uncle Bill.  That alone means it will be tough to reach the level of "perfection" of his show.
[/quote]
I dunno that I agree. I think there are a number of hosts out there that would be perfectly adequate for this gig, provided that they don't dick with any of the rest of it. The Davidson show wouldn't have blown THAT much...if not for John Davidson. I'd be REALLY interested to see what Bob Goen could do with it, especially since he seems to be back in the game show business anyhow...

[tvwxman]

IMHO, The biggest flaw to 'every' version of the Pyramid was the bonus money structure, with the exceptions of the 10K (win bonus. win 10K. leave).

Bob's cheapness and wierd formatting structure either meant winning too early in your run penalized you (20K), winning one bonus and not the other penalized you (25K), winning bonus but not playing front game quick enough penalized you (50K) or winning bonus only one time penalized you (Donny).

If you're going to do the pyramid again for 25K, make 'every' run up to the top worth 25K. Whether or not you kick someone off after that is up to the producers.

[TonicBH]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'124433\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 12:19 PM\']
If you're going to do the pyramid again for 25K, make 'every' run up to the top worth 25K. Whether or not you kick someone off after that is up to the producers.
[/quote]

Here is the thing: If you try to do that, expect the budget to go by the wayside mid-season. $25,000 even in 2006 is a lot of money, and you're looking potentially at giving anywhere from $0 to $250,000 in a matter of a week. That's a bit much to give away, unless this is on a network.

The 80's Clark format had it the right way. I would take that format, use a "First time $10,000 second time $15,000" prize structure regardless if you won the first, and change the tournament from "Three people who got to the top of the Pyramid the fastest" to "Top three highest-scoring champions." Although that could be a bit problematic itself. Everything else would basically stay the same, even down to having a cool set and not something that looks like a Millionaire reject.

[tvwxman]

[quote name=\'TonicBH\' post=\'124441\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 04:46 PM\']
Here is the thing: If you try to do that, expect the budget to go by the wayside mid-season. $25,000 even in 2006 is a lot of money, and you're looking potentially at giving anywhere from $0 to $250,000 in a matter of a week. That's a bit much to give away, unless this is on a network.
[/quote]

Let's put it to the folks who have worked on a game show before (Chris?) :

What percentage of wins did the budget usually account for?

Of course you could 'potentially' give away a quarter mil, but you and I both know that is not going to happen. Wheel could 'potentially' give away a half mil in the bonus every week, and yet it doesnt come close.

And I disagree with $25K being a lot of money. In the 70s and 80s, that could be a years salary for most people, certainly lifechanging money. Now it's not even close.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'124442\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 03:52 PM\']
And I disagree with $25K being a lot of money. In the 70s and 80s, that could be a years salary for most people, certainly lifechanging money. Now it's not even close.
[/quote]
As a college student, it could pay off the majority of my student loans...which I'd take in an instant.

I'll ask you something else.  Matt Ottinger wins the powerball, and he offers $25,000 to everyone on the board.  You turn him down, because $25,000 isn't "a lot of money".

Somehow, I doubt you'd do this.

[tvwxman]

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'124446\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 05:33 PM\']
[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'124442\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 03:52 PM\']
And I disagree with $25K being a lot of money. In the 70s and 80s, that could be a years salary for most people, certainly lifechanging money. Now it's not even close.
[/quote]
As a college student, it could pay off the majority of my student loans...which I'd take in an instant.

I'll ask you something else.  Matt Ottinger wins the powerball, and he offers $25,000 to everyone on the board.  You turn him down, because $25,000 isn't "a lot of money".

Somehow, I doubt you'd do this.
[/quote]
You're missing my point. Hells no I wouldn't turn down 5K, 25K, or $500.

But the theory that $250,000/week giveaway on a game show would blow the budget, doesn't hold water because of inflation.

$25,000 as a prize for a tough show is a lot of money, but it isn't what it used to be,and doesn't go as far.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'124447\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 02:38 PM\']
But the theory that $250,000/week giveaway on a game show would blow the budget, doesn't hold water because of inflation.

$25,000 as a prize for a tough show is a lot of money, but it isn't what it used to be,and doesn't go as far.
[/quote]
I think it has more to do with the game shows of the early 2000s, where you could win $25,000 by doing far less than ever before. Twenty-one offered that much for winning a single game. "Greed" had that amount as the prize for the very first question. At least on "Millionaire" you still have to get through ten questions. I have zero problem with $25,000 as the grand prize for getting to the top of the Pyramid, and in fact I think other shows should adjust their prize structures rather than having Pyramid bending to fit the trend (here's looking at you, Wheel of Fortune)

[Robert Hutchinson]

[quote name=\'beatlefreak84\' post=\'124431\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 12:27 PM\']HOWEVER, if you lost the first time, and won the second, you got the $25,000 PLUS any money you picked up when losing the first Winner's Circle.[/quote]
. . . really? I thought Bob "Augment the Total" Stewart just paid out a flat $25K there.

[Kevin Prather]

He did.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'124458\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 05:38 PM\']
[quote name=\'beatlefreak84\' post=\'124431\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 12:27 PM\']HOWEVER, if you lost the first time, and won the second, you got the $25,000 PLUS any money you picked up when losing the first Winner's Circle.[/quote]
. . . really? I thought Bob "Augment the Total" Stewart just paid out a flat $25K there.
[/quote]
I was always under that assumption too..I thought when a contestant won, say, both WCs, and the 7-11, Dick would say that player had won $26,100.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'124461\' date=\'Jul 18 2006, 03:51 PM\']
I was always under that assumption too..I thought when a contestant won, say, both WCs, and the 7-11, Dick would say that player had won $26,100.
[/quote]
They did, but then, they always went out of their way to differentiate between "bonus money" and "score money". So the two don't really compare.

[beatlefreak84]

. . . really? I thought Bob "Augment the Total" Stewart just paid out a flat $25K there.

Oh, you're right.  That's a big whoopsie on my part....

But I'll still whine about the fact that a person who wins only the second Winner's Circle gets the same as somebody who wins both!  I tell ya, is that justice?  

Anthony

P.S.  Oh, and, given the relative difficulty of the Winner's Circle, especially since both contestant and celeb really need to have their gears turning, I think $25,000 each time is a swell idea.  I mean, how much per week was the $10,000 won on the original version?