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Author Topic: Big news on the TPIR front...  (Read 75441 times)

J.R.

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #105 on: July 05, 2008, 06:58:22 AM »
How about this:

Four or five games and have all contestants play one Showcase Showdown?
« Last Edit: July 05, 2008, 06:58:32 AM by JRaygor »
-Joe Raygor

tvwxman

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #106 on: July 05, 2008, 08:23:26 AM »
There isn't one episode ot PIR that goes by where they can't edit out at least a minute of airtime..be it contestant stalling for a one bid, cutting time in games, or reading copy faster. Hell, make the intro to the show faster for all I care.

One minute per show at $8-10000 per ad, adds 80-100K per week, or 5 million per year to the coffers.

The answer : Hire an editor.
-------------

Matt

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joker316

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #107 on: July 05, 2008, 09:01:06 AM »
IIRC there are some CBS affiliates whose after-Price newscasts are their highest rated due to the lead-in from TPIR (which I think helps explain why we never got same-day replays on GSN). I'd like to know if they are partly responsible for the upcoming changes, or if they are as concerned as we are about the new direction.

As for me, a video wall is fine (I'm surprised they waited this long); and eliminating CR is okay too (that went south when people went on "dollar bid overkill"). Lose the wheel, but don't change the showcase procedure. I think all will be fine.

I wish Roger nothing but the best. He deserved to go out better, but it ceased being "old school TPIR" when Rich stopped saying "This has been a Mark Goodson television production" IMO.
Survival of the fittest...And besides...it's FUN!!!!  ...Daffy Duck

Robert Hutchinson

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #108 on: July 05, 2008, 09:42:10 AM »
I would vote strongly (were this a voting matter) for keeping the Showcase Showdown and the big wheel. I think it's a big draw for a lot of people--just notice how many contestants, after they lose their pricing game, say "I still get to spin the wheel!"
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SteveR

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #109 on: July 05, 2008, 12:27:59 PM »
[quote name=\'JRaygor\' post=\'189776\' date=\'Jul 5 2008, 06:58 AM\']How about this:

Four or five games and have all contestants play one Showcase Showdown?[/quote]And have the top two advance to the showcase -- with the top score HERE getting the bid/pass option?

SteveR

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #110 on: July 05, 2008, 12:32:27 PM »
If we're looking at these moves as clear cost-cutting measures, doesn't that put the kibosh on the plans Drew mentioned (when he got the job) of taking the show on the road?

Jay Temple

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #111 on: July 05, 2008, 12:36:25 PM »
The problem with having two people from the same SCSD play is dealing with ties for second. (For example, you might end up giving those two players an extra shot at $1,000 when the first-place spinner doesn't.)

Possible solution: The top winner after five pricing games gets an automatic pass to the showcase but also gets a free spin of the wheel.
Protecting idiots from themselves just leads to more idiots.

Matt Ottinger

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #112 on: July 05, 2008, 12:37:03 PM »
[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'189780\' date=\'Jul 5 2008, 09:42 AM\']
I would vote strongly (were this a voting matter) for keeping the Showcase Showdown and the big wheel. I think it's a big draw for a lot of people--just notice how many contestants, after they lose their pricing game, say "I still get to spin the wheel!"[/quote]
To whatever degree I'm really concerned about all of this (which isn't nearly as much as most of you), I fear it's exactly this sort of thing that will be lost.  One of my favorite things about this show is all the little, subtle, almost elegant ways that the structure of it holds up so well.  And when you start messing with the structure, it can fall apart in ways you really hadn't considered.  That's what I think is going to start happening here.
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bandit_bobby

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #113 on: July 05, 2008, 01:38:02 PM »
I personally have been wanting to see digital scoreboards for a long time on this show.

If the potential new Showcase format means we'll have much nicer prizes offered, I'm in for it. If possible, I would like to see Austrailia's Showcase endgame where you have to put the prizes in order from least to most expensive come to America.

The "Come on Down" phrase MUST be kept in some way, shape, or form. We have to stick to tradition somewhere.

comicus

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #114 on: July 05, 2008, 01:58:50 PM »
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'189754\' date=\'Jul 4 2008, 11:37 PM\']
[quote name=\'MitchJoseph2004\' post=\'189752\' date=\'Jul 4 2008, 11:27 PM\']
-Australian showcase rules (one showcase, alternating bids until hit on the nose)
[/quote]
You can live with this? I don't know if word of an overhaul in the Showcase rules has even been uttered, but to me, changing the Showcase rules seems too radical. To change SO much about a game that's remained basically the same for almost 40 years would mean alienating a large part of the audience.
[/quote]
Actually, a full implementation of the Aussie Showcase would likely be a huge budget saver... at least on the episodes I've seen, how it works is that Double Bullseye (with a preset range) is played until we have a winner, and at that point the winner then must play an additional game where they rank the prizes in the showcase from cheapest to most expensive (with the two extremes already given to the contestant).  They only win the actual showcase if they accomplish this successfully.  Maybe this would turn off a portion of the audience, people who are used to seeing a BIG WINNER!! almost every day... they could possibly increase the value of the showcase to compensate, and the decrease in total winners would more than offset that additional cost.

I'd watch it.  It'd make a great device for future Million Dollar Spectaculars (offer the cash prize to showcase winners only, no more of this "Million Dollar Pricing Game" nonsense).

Sodboy13

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #115 on: July 05, 2008, 02:39:16 PM »
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'189797\' date=\'Jul 5 2008, 11:37 AM\']
[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'189780\' date=\'Jul 5 2008, 09:42 AM\']
I would vote strongly (were this a voting matter) for keeping the Showcase Showdown and the big wheel. I think it's a big draw for a lot of people--just notice how many contestants, after they lose their pricing game, say "I still get to spin the wheel!"[/quote]
To whatever degree I'm really concerned about all of this (which isn't nearly as much as most of you), I fear it's exactly this sort of thing that will be lost.  One of my favorite things about this show is all the little, subtle, almost elegant ways that the structure of it holds up so well.  And when you start messing with the structure, it can fall apart in ways you really hadn't considered.  That's what I think is going to start happening here.
[/quote]

This pretty much echoes my sentiments.  I don't understand all of the No Dob = End Of Show hyperbole, but maybe that's because the backstage doesn't interest me as much as what I see presented to me on the TV.  But when I start hearing things like "Video Wall" and "No Contestant's Row," rumors though they may be at this point, that's where I start feeling a little bit of concern.  There's nothing wrong, per se, with adding a video wall to the show.  I do, however, take issue with using it to replace established elements.  There have been discussions in the past ("Bingo America" is the most recent one which comes to mind) about how the use of a large screen can cheapen the feel of the proceedings, and even bring the game's legitimacy into question, to one degree or another.  The Bingo America bonus round just doesn't feel right, because there isn't that tactile flip of, say, the Gambit or $OTC bonus boards.  Waiting for the reveal on a 100-inch monitor isn't the same as hitting the big red button or pulling the lever.  Good TV game shows aren't just about the games themselves; they're about flashing lights and smartly-designed, larger-than-life props.  Oddly enough, as computer technology has advanced, the impact of such props, IMO, has increased.  Any one of us can, with a quick download, re-create the set pieces of several game shows in our homes in rather stunning detail.  But if Drew's up on stage telling a contestant, "Now, point your Wiimote at the screen and drag your chip to the top of our virtual Plinko board," then the vast majority of excitement and allure of the game has just been sucked away.

Taking away Contestant's Row and/or the Showcase Showdown would be huge mistakes.  Changes in appearance and presentation are one thing; scrapping integral elements of the show which have been around over 30 years is a whole different story.  That's removing parts of the show which have become ingrained in the pop culture lexicon: even someone who doesn't watch the show probably knows the $1 bid shtick and the Big Wheel.  Get rid of that, and suddenly the whole "The show's just not what it used to be" argument gains legitimate traction.

For comparison's sake, I give you Wheel of Fortune, the other modern-day brightly-colored game show stalwart.  There's been a lot of crazy crap added to that show over the years, both for better and for worse.  And yet, the only significant, long-standing game play element that's been given the hook is shopping for prizes - which dragged the show's pace down to a crawl, and was really only a necessary evil to keep the show's budget down.  Once all-cash in the front game was viable, the shopping got junked ASAP.  Despite all the goofy tacked-on chrome, Wheel of Fortune is still spin wheel, guess letter, buy vowel, solve puzzle.  Changing TPIR from its tried and true of bid on small prize, get up on stage to win larger prize, spin wheel for chance at even more prizes, opens things up to disaster way more than should ever be considered by anyone interested in keeping the show on-air.
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Robert Hutchinson

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #116 on: July 05, 2008, 03:00:00 PM »
If I haven't already, let me point out that I too am not terribly invested in The Price Is Right. It's a pretty well-done show, and enjoyable to watch, but if they made an announcement on Monday that it was canceled, I would not be distraught.

I do wonder why I consider the Showcase Showdown to be a much more integral part of the game than Contestant's Row. I think maybe the latter just encapsulates all of the stuff about the show that I like the least: dumb contestants (being dumb over and over), delaying the game, more wild guesses than the average pricing game, and three losers at the end.
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DrJWJustice

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #117 on: July 05, 2008, 05:36:35 PM »
[quote name=\'SteveR\' post=\'189795\' date=\'Jul 5 2008, 11:32 AM\']
If we're looking at these moves as clear cost-cutting measures, doesn't that put the kibosh on the plans Drew mentioned (when he got the job) of taking the show on the road?
[/quote]
Here's another, more basic question:

If cost-cutting moves are needed, then why do all these MDS shows this summer?  It strikes me as a major paradox.  Could someone who's an insider or more of an expert explain this?

Steve Gavazzi

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #118 on: July 05, 2008, 05:53:36 PM »
[quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' post=\'189811\' date=\'Jul 5 2008, 05:36 PM\']If cost-cutting moves are needed, then why do all these MDS shows this summer?  It strikes me as a major paradox.  Could someone who's an insider or more of an expert explain this?[/quote]
Every MDS aired since the start of May was a rerun.

Neumms

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Big news on the TPIR front...
« Reply #119 on: July 05, 2008, 06:02:11 PM »
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'189797\' date=\'Jul 5 2008, 11:37 AM\']
One of my favorite things about this show is all the little, subtle, almost elegant ways that the structure of it holds up so well.  And when you start messing with the structure, it can fall apart in ways you really hadn't considered.  That's what I think is going to start happening here.
[/quote]

Me, too. If the problem is budget, there are ways to lower it without upsetting the apple cart--do a car game in only one half and the cash game in the other. Cheaper showcases. Cheaper IUFB's. Stop giving away millions on the specials.

If time is the problem, then do as the other Matt suggested--hire an editor!