Steve B. Interviews Donny Osmond

[Brakus]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Sep 6 2003, 03:47 AM\'] "The contestants now can choose whether they give or receive at the Winner's Circle."

About damn time. Now if they can just get the judging and writing more in line, it might be worth watching again. [/quote]
 It's nice that the contestants now have the option in the Winners' Circle. I personally felt better receiving clues, though, than giving, because as we did our run-throughs in the green room before my taping, we gave clues nicely but were always self-conscious of saying something inappropriate. Most of the folks I played with were for the $100,000 Tournament being taped the same day as my show, so they all were comfortable, and in turn made me feel comfortable too.

I would think that the judging will be a lot more consistent now that they've had one season to work out the details and style of what should/shouldn't be acceptable clues. The judging did get more solid and consistent in the later-taped episodes of season 1 than the earlier-taped episodes.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Brakus\' date=\'Sep 6 2003, 02:26 PM\'] I would think that the judging will be a lot more consistent now that they've had one season to work out the details and style of what should/shouldn't be acceptable clues. [/quote]
 I agree. I think I have bigger issues with the new writing style, especially with these categories that require more than one keyword to be uttered to get credit. That \"Rooms / Places In The White House\" fiasco sticks in my craw, and as long as they are going to continue writing like that, I'm just not gonna be too interested.

[bwood]

Being on the left of the main game board is the sense that I got since Donny said \"they moved me to the edge of the set\" but I didn't say that in my post because I thought \"surely they wouldn't do THAT would they?\". If this is the case, this is going to look very odd, especially after in all incarnations of Pyramid the host podium has always been in the same general spot.

As for the set still having the empty feel, yes it does. Don't tell the producers this or they'll fill in the empty feeling with the return of \"The Pyramid Players\"

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'bwood\' date=\'Sep 6 2003, 05:13 PM\'] Being on the left of the main game board is the sense that I got since Donny said "they moved me to the edge of the set" but I didn't say that in my post because I thought "surely they wouldn't do THAT would they?". If this is the case, this is going to look very odd, especially after in all incarnations of Pyramid the host podium has always been in the same general spot.
 [/quote]
 I don't know.  I think it might actually work out a little better.

And the new aesthetic touches are kinda nice, though I still don't like the millionaire-like set.

Brandon Brooks

[tomalhe]

Just think, they'd be back to the out of 100 poll questions on Card Sharks2K by now.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'tomalhe\' date=\'Sep 7 2003, 09:29 PM\'] Just think, they'd be back to the out of 100 poll questions on Card Sharks2K by now. [/quote]
 That's implying that that show would last two full seasons and renewed for a third, and there's almost no way in heck that show'd have gotten renewed past season onewith the format it had.

[PyramidStephen]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Sep 6 2003, 09:07 AM\']The Pyramid producer in particular seems to have been determined for years to make his own arbitrary changes to the format (as anyone who's seen his late-90s pilots knows) and now seems to be reluctantly, even grudgingly heading back to where the show needed to be all along.  He's not there yet (there are still huge problems with the Winner's Circle) and this tiny change isn't going to fix much, but at least it's something.

However, I can't be the only one who thinks \"Food Network Week\" may not be the highest-profile stunt programming they could come up with.[/quote]
You assume that the Pyramid producer works as an independent entity. No show is produced without the input from programming, sales, affiliates, consultants etc. Not to say that the producer isn't ultimately responsible, but it's not as cut and dried as you suppose. AND, the producer does stand by his decision not to have people choose whether to give or receive in the WC during the first season. It was the right thing to do.

[PyramidStephen]

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Sep 6 2003, 12:52 PM\'] I'd like to see Bobby Flay, Marc Summers, Rachael Ray, Alton Brown and Mario Batali. All of these have first run shows on Food Network and would, I think, be the leading candidates for the show. [/quote]
 Bobby Flay, Marc Summers, Rachel Ray and Mario Batali will be featured on the Food Network Pyramid shows.

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'PyramidStephen\' date=\'Sep 9 2003, 01:21 PM\'] You assume that the Pyramid producer works as an independent entity. No show is produced without the input from programming, sales, affiliates, consultants etc. Not to say that the producer isn't ultimately responsible, but it's not as cut and dried as you suppose. AND, the producer does stand by his decision not to have people choose whether to give or receive in the WC during the first season. It was the right thing to do. [/quote]
Well, since it is obvious that you worked on Pyramid, what was the reasoning that contestants was not granted this choice?  \"Because the producer ultimately thought it wasn't a good idea\" doesn't make it a good decision.  Otherwise, it appears that the producer and his cohorts thought it would be logical to at times leave the contestants high and dry with dumb celebrtities.

Brandon Brooks

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'PyramidStephen\' date=\'Sep 9 2003, 11:21 AM\'] And, the producer does stand by his decision not to have people choose whether to give or receive in the WC during the first season. It was the right thing to do. [/quote]
 With all due respect, I can't think of a single reason why invoking this rule made ANY sense at all, much less have any moral or logical benefit.

What was so \"right\" about it?

[PeterMarshallFan]

[quote name=\'PyramidStephen\' date=\'Sep 9 2003, 02:21 PM\'] [quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Sep 6 2003, 09:07 AM\']The Pyramid producer in particular seems to have been determined for years to make his own arbitrary changes to the format (as anyone who's seen his late-90s pilots knows) and now seems to be reluctantly, even grudgingly heading back to where the show needed to be all along.  He's not there yet (there are still huge problems with the Winner's Circle) and this tiny change isn't going to fix much, but at least it's something.

However, I can't be the only one who thinks "Food Network Week" may not be the highest-profile stunt programming they could come up with.[/quote]
You assume that the Pyramid producer works as an independent entity. No show is produced without the input from programming, sales, affiliates, consultants etc. Not to say that the producer isn't ultimately responsible, but it's not as cut and dried as you suppose. AND, the producer does stand by his decision not to have people choose whether to give or receive in the WC during the first season. It was the right thing to do. [/quote]
 Steve \"Pyramid Players\" Brown?


Is this REALLY the guy or am I an idiot?

ObGameShow: Pyramid '96's format was AWFUL.

[SplitSecond]

I guess you all can feel free to take PyramidStephen to task if you'd like, but I personally think that since \"Pyramid\" is now allowing contestants their choice of Winner's Circle seats (after only one season, no less), the whys and wherefores of the decision that contestants could only receive in the first season are pretty irrelevant.

For the record, I disagreed with the decision to force contestants to receive (regardless of who made it), but now that that's not the case, I'm over it.  I'm looking forward to seeing whether the celebrity players this season are up to the challenge of playing the Winner's Circle without the safety net of a \"sneak\" peek at the material.

Why is it so necessary to badger someone who appears to work on the show in such a tactless manner?

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Sep 9 2003, 05:54 PM\'] Why is it so necessary to badger someone who appears to work on the show in such a tactless manner? [/quote]
 You're right.  It really doesn't matter too much now.  I just didn't understand the \"it's right because it he said so\" without any justification of why he said so.

Brandon Brooks

[Matt Ottinger]

You assume that the Pyramid producer works as an independent entity. No show is produced without the input from programming, sales, affiliates, consultants etc. Not to say that the producer isn't ultimately responsible, but it's not as cut and dried as you suppose.

Hey, I thought *I* was supposed to be the one making the condescending posts around here!

I don't have a Southern California address, but I have been a television professional for more than twenty years.  I don't have to be told what a producer's role is.  

If Mr. Brown's departures from the proven and logical format is the result of having to please some unnamed higher authority, then I feel for him, that's a tough position to be in.  And, honestly, given the radical departure of the \"Pyramid Players\" and other \"innovations\" in the pilots, the fact that the current version is much more faithful could certainly be read as an effort on Mr. Brown's part to bring the game back where it belongs.  If that's true, then good for him.

Without being a literal purist saying things like \"bring back the trilons\", I still think there are serious problems with the game as it is now.  Not the least of those is the so-misleading-to-the-viewer-that-it's-almost-illegal advance peek that the celebrities get at the material.  I'm convinced things like that and the heavy editing that each episode goes through make the game \"feel\" wrong even to the casual viewer, and not just to us obsessed fans.

[SplitSecond]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Sep 10 2003, 07:43 PM\'] Hey, I thought *I* was supposed to be the one making the condescending posts around here! [/quote]
 I don't find you so much condescending as just snarky.