Pepsi's Play For A Billion

[MCArroyo1]

But why do we care so much about closing split-screen credits being intact for a show like this? And did WGN-TV's interruption interrupt any game play in the process, or at the very least, did it interrupt Drew's closing comments?

I was watching the show on WGN-TV.  And while I wasn't paying particularly close attention, I never saw the contestant's first digit revealed.  So it was probably during the credits, while covered by Robert Jordan's face.  But gameplay certainly wasn't interrupted.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Sep 15 2003, 02:45 PM\']and the only other serious competition was the NFL game on broadcast in the Chicago and San Francisco markets.
[/quote]
San Francisco was last week's debacle.  I think you meant Minneapolis.  

Doug--fully expecting that the two games the Cubs are currently behind won't be made up within the next two weeks

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'MCArroyo1\' date=\'Sep 15 2003, 04:50 PM\']

But why do we care so much about closing split-screen credits being intact for a show like this? And did WGN-TV's interruption interrupt any game play in the process, or at the very least, did it interrupt Drew's closing comments?

I was watching the show on WGN-TV.  And while I wasn't paying particularly close attention, I never saw the contestant's first digit revealed.  So it was probably during the credits, while covered by Robert Jordan's face.  But gameplay certainly wasn't interrupted. [/quote]
 I tuned out just before the credits rolled, but the first digit was quickly revealed almost as soon as it was revealed that the second digit didn't match (then the director cut away quickly from the camera shot).

Normally a Bears game would have my undivided attention (although I'm starting to rethink that after seeing their first two games), but hey, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to watch a potential bit of game show history (hokey as it was).

Doug

[Neumms]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Sep 15 2003, 09:03 AM\']
How about maybe a Match Game revival for Drew? [/quote]
 I'm with you. Drew gets the long microphone, put Wayne Brady in Richard's old chair and we might have the start of something.

Why not a Match Game revival? ABC has to run something when the fall schedule goes in the crapper.

[Dan Sadro]

Why not a Match Game revival? ABC has to run something when the fall schedule goes in the crapper.

Here's a great format for a nighttime network version of MG.  Instant success guaranteed*

Strand six celebrities, a host, and three contestants on a desert island.  After one round, the contestants vote off one of the celebrities.  Play another round of MG, and then the contestants will have to eat a pizza made from the meat of the celebrity they voted off.  After the third round of MG, the two low scorers of the game must fall in love but choose whether they want to get married or win a million bucks.

During the SuperMatch, the contestant is placed in an isolation chamber where he or she must withstand heat, cold, and rotating knives.

*Guarantee not valid outside of the United States.  Guarantee not valid in 50 states nor the District of Columbia.

[GameShowFan]

OK, late to the party, but there are a couple points I want to respond to:

First, Robair said:

I also thought it interesting that the best match for the number was only four digits, and then the last four. Was pretty odd though how they determined who was closer.

Back to the rules, as announced on air. (Corrections welcome!) The winner was determined in the following order:

1) Most numbers correct AND in order;
2) Most numbers correct out of order;
3) Closest to winning number;
4) Lowest number.

I was expecting someone to have all six in some order, but we may never know. I wasn't expecting a Billionaire.

Oh, by the way, the announcement that the Millionaire had the winning number is a red herring. If they announce that someone else had a better number, the Billion Dollar Reveal means precisely squat.

Chris Lemon said:

Was it? They never bothered revealing the first digit after he got the second one wrong, 'cuz it was official at that point that the billion was safe. He could have nailed 5.

No, he couldn't. Why? Because if the winner had 5 out of 6, WE WOULD HAVE KNOWN IT! Why? It makes better television! (Frankly, I would have liked a more random reveal of the four the winner had correct.)

As for the show itself... it was a shockingly good presentation of something that could have been done in 30 minutes. The mini-games (metagames? OK!) were serviceable, though I'm surprised nobody said the winner of the car game wasn't revealed by trying to start the car. (Then you get to draw out the suspense that all three won a car!) The quiz was surprisingly good, but revealed Drew's inexperience with hard-quiz formats.

'Brian

[SplitSecond]

Oh, by the way, the announcement that the Millionaire had the winning number is a red herring. If they announce that someone else had a better number, the Billion Dollar Reveal means precisely squat.

According to my understanding of the rules, had Richard not been the Millionaire, the Millionaire would have inherited Richard's number (well, technically, all of the numbers of the contestants who sold out, but the other numbers would have been irrelevant), so the Billion Dollar Reveal would have had the same meaning as it did last night.  (\"Precisely squat!\")

(Frankly, I would have liked a more random reveal of the four the winner had correct.)

I can almost guarantee you that they would have had a more seemingly random reveal if all the matching digits weren't clumped together at the end like they were.  And they would have certainly revealed all of the correct numbers before revealing the first incorrect one (as was the case last night).

The show could have stood to be an hour and not been painful.  Of course, if this were produced as a legitimate game and not just a publicity stunt, it would have started at :59 past the hour, a la state (and multi-state) lottery drawings.

[Ian Wallis]

The one major blunder was that of WGN's in Chicago--an itchy trigger finger in the control room started up the 9 p.m. news promo during the credits,

I was watching on WPIX out of New York (on satellite) and there were technical problems there too.  About an hour into the broadcast, the feed breifly switched to NBC - twice.  They only lasted about two seconds apiece, but considering WPIX has nothing to do with NBC it was very surprising.  Must have had something to do with the uplink...I guess.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Brakus\' date=\'Sep 15 2003, 04:45 PM\']I type this thinking to myself, \"I can't believe I'm asking this of Mark Jeffries....\"

But why do we care so much about closing split-screen credits being intact for a show like this? And did WGN-TV's interruption interrupt any game play in the process, or at the very least, did it interrupt Drew's closing comments?[/quote]
Game play wasn't interrupted or anything, but it was just a rather unprofessional-looking gaffe on WGN's part--they could've done a squeezeback, since timewise they would've noted that the normal split-screen was not going to happen Sunday night.

And I'm personally as happy about *any* squeezebacks or split screens as you are (Bravo's \"image on the floor\" squeezeback made it particularly difficult to read the credits on the \"Reality of Reality\" shows this past week--and how about that countdown clock to \"The O.C.\" on Fox?--geez), but I also know the rationalization behind the whole thing and that trying to stop it was useless a long time ago.

[GameShowFan]

According to my understanding of the rules, had Richard not been the Millionaire, the Millionaire would have inherited Richard's number (well, technically, all of the numbers of the contestants who sold out, but the other numbers would have been irrelevant), so the Billion Dollar Reveal would have had the same meaning as it did last night. (\"Precisely squat!\")

This is where I'm not clear on the rules (I missed Drew's reading before the elimination rounds began). The way this reads, no matter who won the Million, that player used \"the best number\" (according to the rules I noted above) to win the Billion.

This makes the reveal of who actually held the best number and the Billion reveal mean something, even though the Billion is still a longshot.

[SplitSecond]

[quote name=\'GameShowFan\' date=\'Sep 16 2003, 04:25 PM\'] This is where I'm not clear on the rules (I missed Drew's reading before the elimination rounds began). The way this reads, no matter who won the Million, that player used \"the best number\" (according to the rules I noted above) to win the Billion.
 [/quote]
That is correct.  That's why Drew took the numbers of the players who \"sold out\" out of their slots and put them in the tray.  It is all smoke and mirrors, as you said earlier, but the end result is that the winner, whomever they might have been, would have played with Richard's number for the Billion.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'GameShowFan\' date=\'Sep 16 2003, 04:25 PM\'] This is where I'm not clear on the rules (I missed Drew's reading before the elimination rounds began). The way this reads, no matter who won the Million, that player used "the best number" (according to the rules I noted above) to win the Billion.

 [/quote]
 That's correct.

This makes the reveal of who actually held the best number and the Billion reveal mean something, even though the Billion is still a longshot.

Only for the purposes of the \"awwww\" factor to let a player know they pulled out when they should have stayed in. The Pepsi people knew exactly what number would be used for the reveal and how much they were paying out about twenty minutes into the broadcast, as soon as the chimp pulled the last ball out of the bag. (Well, the second to last, 'cuz then they knew what the last one would be, but you get the idea.) They just didn't know who'd be standing there hoping and praying it was the right one.