1 vs. 100

[SamJ93]

The good: Saget is a surprisingly decent host.  Not perfect (that first contestant was probably way wittier than he was), but I can see him improving as the run continues.  The format is much stronger than "Deal" (possibly because it feels a lot like "Paranoia"--a sorely-underrated show, IMHO), and the questions, while on the far end of the easiness scale (see below), can be amusing.

The bad: Some deal with...well, "Deal": Will someone please either a)get the audience some Ritalin, or b) tell the producers that having applause after EVERY SINGLE THING that happens is just plain annoying?  I understand that the focus isn't on the trivia, but the questions could stand to be a touch harder, especially in the interest of making the game more suspenseful.

Overall--well, if this and "Deal" are the game show wave of the future, I guess I can't complain too much.  Just tone down the audience noise, please?  And the gratuitous editing?

--Sam

[beatlefreak84]

I will definitely echo the sentiments of Saget being a pretty decent host.  True; he did seem a tad nervous, and it seemed like he was forcing some of his jokes, but, then again, he's never hosted a game show before!  I can really see him settling into the role very nicely as time goes on.

I thought the game itself was pretty good, and I give the staff props for writing questions (and choices) that make you think about which choice you actually want to pick.  Not only that, but they weren't afraid to go the math/science route, either....

There are only two gripes I have:  the first is how Saget says before each question, "It's ONE vs. (how ever many are left in the mob)!"  It got on my nerves pretty quickly...I'm not saying that there shouldn't be an announcement as to how many are left in the mob, but it doesn't have to be done like that each time.  Perhaps a more soft-spoken, "43 are left in the mob; here's your question..." might be better.  My second gripe is that the surviving mob members get to immediately play again...I don't mind them playing again, but I think it might be better if they did it like Greed did:  put all surviving mob members back in the contestant pool for future shows just to mix up the mob a little bit.

Oh, and a question for those who know more about the show than I do:  If a contestant loses, is the Mob immediately replaced, or do all of the surviving mob members get to play again?

[chad1m]

[quote name=\'beatlefreak84\' post=\'134455\' date=\'Oct 13 2006, 11:33 PM\']
the first is how Saget says before each question, "It's ONE vs. (how ever many are left in the mob)!"  It got on my nerves pretty quickly...I'm not saying that there shouldn't be an announcement as to how many are left in the mob, but it doesn't have to be done like that each time.  Perhaps a more soft-spoken, "43 are left in the mob; here's your question..." might be better.[/quote]

Really, that's one of my favorite parts. It reminds me of how Regis would always give the "Let's play [Who Wants to Be a Millionaire]!" before starting or continuing play. It's almost like an unannounced start of the next round.

I've got nothing really else that's constructive to add, but I really liked the show and I'll be sticking around to watch it. No major complaints here.

[SamJ93]

[quote name=\'chad1m\' post=\'134457\' date=\'Oct 13 2006, 11:38 PM\']
Really, that's one of my favorite parts. It reminds me of how Regis would always give the "Let's play [Who Wants to Be a Millionaire]!" before starting or continuing play. It's almost like an unannounced start of the next round.
[/quote]

Right, but he didn't say it after every single question.  A slightly less over-the-top reading is fine--and plus, would allow for less of that awful overamplified applause.

(EDIT: By "he," I meant Regis.)

--Sam

[Chief-O]

I'll agree with everyone else----Saget did a lot better than I thought he would. Overall, not a bad show at all, but somehow, it just feels a little too much like "Deal".

BTW, anyone know if any of the Mob members are going to be regulars [Ken, perhaps??]

[Kniwt]

[quote name=\'SamJ93\' post=\'134443\' date=\'Oct 13 2006, 07:21 PM\']
The format is much stronger than "Deal" (possibly because it feels a lot like "Paranoia"--a sorely-underrated show, IMHO),
[/quote]

Not only is it like "Paranoia," it also feels to me an awful lot like the late, lamented "Winning Lines," with twice the contesti and questions that are delivered with a similar level of snark.

Tonight's episode exceeded my low expectations.

[Speedy G]

That was pretty solid.  First time in a while I haven't felt like nitpicking a format to death.

My one gripe is that the player doesn't really have much to do.  It could very easily turn into "answer questions until you have problems with the difficulty, then go home with a solid amount of money."  Any sort of simple decision, like a choice of category or some sort of easy/hard choice would go a long way.  It's awfully passive on the part of the player right now given the dilemma of "why should I risk 100K for another 30K?  Especially if you schmucks get that money?"

[Jeremy Nelson]

I really do enjoy this show. Saget was a little nervous, but I'm sure he will get better with time. I did like the dialogue between Bob and the first contestant after the first "lifeline" was used. Another thing I like is the "deception" strategy. In the first lifeline, where two contestants have to explain the reasoning behind their answer, the contestants have to be honest about their answer, but anything else they say is fair game. That's definitely something I'm keeping a close eye on.

My only real concern are the questions- they need to be harder. The first contestant won a lot of money on a relatively easy set of questions. The questions need to start around the difficulty of Millionaire's $1,000 or $2,000 question.

[quote name=\'beatlefreak84\' post=\'134455\' date=\'Oct 13 2006, 10:33 PM\']
My second gripe is that the surviving mob members get to immediately play again...I don't mind them playing again, but I think it might be better if they did it like Greed did:  put all surviving mob members back in the contestant pool for future shows just to mix up the mob a little bit.[/quote]So, let's say you play a long game, in which the contestant amasses over half a million dollars. You're one of the few left in the mob, and the contestant decides to stop. You don't get a dime. Would you want to go back into a contestant pool?
Personally, I hope that the mob members who answer their questions correctly should stay on until they beat the "one" and win something. If I haven't done anything on my part to keep from winning anything, why should I go back into the pool? Besides, considering that about 50 or 60 contestants will get knocked out every game, I'm sure everybody will get their fair shot.

[William_S.]

Chief-O: BTW, anyone know if any of the Mob members are going to be regulars [Ken, perhaps??]

I was thinking of this too. However They did mention of Others like Contestants From Millionaire. But If they do Regulars, will they win for themselves of for charity/people at home?

Kniwt: Not only is it like "Paranoia," it also feels to me an awful lot like the late, lamented "Winning Lines,"

IMHO this How they Should've done Paranoia.  It was the game of you Vs. the world. Add the mix of Internet plus Live audience as well as the "Located" players.

However I liked this Show, Bob Saget ([color=\"#FF0000\"]warning me tooing happening[/color]) was better Than I thought.  this may be the return of Prime Time Gameshows and this one gets a solid 5/5 in my book

My only gripe is one that seemed to do with Deal, the "Virgin host Overdubbing" about 1/3 his lines were Dubbed. Other than that, It's a Very good show IMO.  :)

[Craig Karlberg]

This show certainly eased my fears somewhat as far as how it went overall.  Let's start with the host Bob Saget:

Host:  Saget did prettu well on his initial outing even though he was nervous(though I couldm't quite detect it at first).  I'm sure as the show goes along, he'll be well settled in.  The only problem is his "1 vs (insert mob number here)" bit followed by that annoying applause is gonna get old if it doesn't get toned down a bit.  Other than that, he's good.

Set:  Amazing what they can do to a set that reminds me of Winning Lines.  It looks awsome.  The lighting effects was intresting, almost like Millionaire's as far as the ring effect goes.

Gameplay:  This is what I was worried about.  However, the question-writting & the fact they snuck in a few non-pop culture ones eased my fears.  However, the difficulty level resembles that of the 70's TJW & TTD type questions I usually remember at times.  I like the money scale & how it's implemented.  The way they shook things up on revealing the mob's wrong answer count & cumulative values before the answer is revealed every few questions is a nice touch.  A little less pop culture & a little more broadly based general knowledge should be enough for me.

Presentation:  This was my other concern.  The editing might've been off a bit but it's just a minor quibble.  The way they kept it pretty even  between the mob & the contestant as far as camera time was nice.

Misc:  The music was so-so though it didn't dstract from the show too much.  The thing that makes me scratching my head is how far will the players go in this game.  Will this be like DoND & having players stop nar the middle of the scale or when there are 20 or 30 mob members left?  Or will this look like Gredd & the players take chances only to blow it towards the end?  We'll see.

Overall, I give this premiere a 7.  Not a bad start, but the questions need to be a bit harder & less emphasis on pop culture.  The audience needs to tone it down just a hair.  Otheer than that, I see more than 5 episodes here.

[Clay Zambo]

[quote name=\'Speedy G\' post=\'134466\' date=\'Oct 14 2006, 12:20 AM\']
It's awfully passive on the part of the player right now given the dilemma of "why should I risk 100K for another 30K?  Especially if you schmucks get that money?"
[/quote]

As opposed to all the strategic playing on Millionaire?

Realistically, of course, you're right, the likelihood of knocking out the rest of the mob on any given question is pretty low--but as defined, there is a mil available on every question.

I liked last night's episode.  I thought the questions were a little heavily weighted toward pop culture, but there's an awful lot of pop culture I've missed; perhaps I just got lucky by being able to answer everything asked last night.  I liked the writing, though, very much--making you sort out which answer was which (e.g., the American Idol judges question).

I wouldn't kick if one of the "helps" (boy, has "lifelines" gone the way of "xerox" and "jello"!) didn't allow the One simply change his/her answer; I'd like it to cost a little something.  But I'm still sort of attached to the "skip a question, but it'll cost x% of your bank" format.

Still, a pretty solid first outing.

[Clay Zambo]

[quote name=\'beatlefreak84\' post=\'134455\' date=\'Oct 13 2006, 11:33 PM\']
My second gripe is that the surviving mob members get to immediately play again...I don't mind them playing again, but I think it might be better if they did it like Greed did:  put all surviving mob members back in the contestant pool for future shows just to mix up the mob a little bit.[/quote]

I say do let 'em stay on.  They made no mistakes, they shouldn't have to leave. I wonder how many games Mob members get to play, though--assuming an open-ended run of the show.

Oh, and a question for those who know more about the show than I do:  If a contestant loses, is the Mob immediately replaced, or do all of the surviving mob members get to play again?

Well, they've now won money, right?  I'd wager they're out.

What I'd really like--and it's not gonna happen; it would make it a far different show--is a qualifiying game that chooses the One from the surviving members of the Mob.

[tvwxman]

Having went to the disasterous cattle call over the summer, I had low expectations for this game.

It's.....not bad.

The set is great, and Bob will come into his own, once A: he get's a little snarkier, and B: they quit adding script in post.

The problem : this game is stupid-easy. It's no wonder Alan Pergament didn't like it. If NBC wants a trivia show, fine. Don't dumb it down to the point where the audience doesn't come to the show expecting a bit of a challenge. Being coupled with Deal/NoDeal isn't helping this. Why follow a show that literally 'gives' money away, with a game that makes you earn it? Make it too easy and you lose the challenge. Make it too hard and you drive people to Deal. I think we're going to realize that there is no middle ground between Jeopardy and Deal.

mah two cents.

[NickS]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'134481\' date=\'Oct 14 2006, 05:57 AM\']
Having went to the disasterous cattle call over the summer, I had low expectations for this game.

It's.....not bad.

The set is great, and Bob will come into his own, once A: he get's a little snarkier, and B: they quit adding script in post.

The problem : this game is stupid-easy. It's no wonder Alan Pergament didn't like it. If NBC wants a trivia show, fine. Don't dumb it down to the point where the audience doesn't come to the show expecting a bit of a challenge. Being coupled with Deal/NoDeal isn't helping this. Why follow a show that literally 'gives' money away, with a game that makes you earn it? Make it too easy and you lose the challenge. Make it too hard and you drive people to Deal. I think we're going to realize that there is no middle ground between Jeopardy and Deal.

mah two cents.
[/quote]

But you gotta admit that Bob's nine-year-old comment was GOLD.  During his satellite press tour (actually, our stop), he made a quick quip about the weather that I wasn't listening to the first time but playing back on Avid it made me laugh.  The ADR could have been much, much worse.

Agreed on the content... but here's hoping that was to rope viewers in.  Dumbed down will get viewers in; hopefully here they'll slowly upgrade the difficulty if it gets picked up.  Here's hoping it does.

[itiparanoid13]

My main complaint right now is about the stopping.  I think it would have been nicer if they gave the category beforehand to get rid of that blind luck aspect.  Beyond that, I really enjoyed the show a lot.  I like it a hell of a lot more than DoND.  If they could amp up the difficulty a bit, I'd like it even more (dumb comment, but I would).

Scott St. John did tell us that the difficulty does get greater as they get farther in the game, but we'll see.