Author Topic: DonnyMid (Read 2297 times)

bellbm · « **on:** July 23, 2008, 11:28:56 PM »

Seeing the reruns on GSN remind me of how great of a remake this show was. Very true to the original, great host, great set, great gameplay.
Hopefully the ratings will be good, and maybe we'll see new episodes at some point.

Hastin · « **Reply #1 on:** July 23, 2008, 11:30:33 PM »

My sarcasm-meter is going off, yet I think it might be a false alarm.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #2 on:** July 23, 2008, 11:33:12 PM »

[quote name=\'bellbm\' post=\'191911\' date=\'Jul 23 2008, 11:28 PM\']
Seeing the reruns on GSN remind me of how great of a remake this show was. Very true to the original, great host, great set, great gameplay.
Hopefully the ratings will be good, and maybe we'll see new episodes at some point.
[/quote]
The best Pyramid remake was the one that premiered almost 20 years earlier, to the day.

Donnymid wasn't horrible, but I wouldn't say it was great either. There's a few threads around here discussing the problems many had with the show, but off the top of my head:

-The writing
-Too much focus on the celebrities
-The anticlimactic tournament
-The constant camera cuts

Most of all, the inconsistent judging and arbitrary difficulty of Winner's Circle categories.

/and "What (Celebrity's Inanimate Object) Would Say"...

Donny was a capable host, a little too caffeinated at times, but still very competent. The show was simply, IMO, mediocre.

Joe Mello · « **Reply #3 on:** July 23, 2008, 11:35:38 PM »

You forgot the judging.

It's almost sad to say it, but I think it was one of the better "revivals" of the decade.

clemon79 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 23, 2008, 11:44:06 PM »

[quote name=\'Hastin\' post=\'191912\' date=\'Jul 23 2008, 08:30 PM\']
My sarcasm-meter is going off, yet I think it might be a false alarm.
[/quote]
Sadly, I have to entertain the possibility that it is.

GameShowFan · « **Reply #5 on:** July 24, 2008, 08:44:23 AM »

[quote name=\'bellbm\' post=\'191911\' date=\'Jul 23 2008, 10:28 PM\']
Seeing the reruns on GSN remind me of how great of a remake this show was. Very true to the original, great host, great set, great gameplay.
Hopefully the ratings will be good, and maybe we'll see new episodes at some point.
[/quote]

Those of us who saw the ill-fated pilots in 1996 and 1997 know how far the show traveled prior to this version airing.

The writing that went away from the original version contributed to the judging issues. (That, plus an executive producer overruling a knowledgeable yet inexperienced (in the producer's eyes) writer/judge.) I complained to said writer when I last saw him, and he was still working on the show, that the categories themselves did not have a good handle to work with. "Guys Who <random dumbass celeb> Thinks Are Hot" does not lend itself very easily to advance the focus of the contestant's thinking.

And let's not talk about the lame "tournaments."

I would imagine if the writing had been a little crisper, we would have a completely different impression of the game. (Don't know if the fate would have been the same!)

'Brian

clemon79 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 24, 2008, 11:40:18 AM »

[quote name=\'GameShowFan\' post=\'191928\' date=\'Jul 24 2008, 05:44 AM\']
I would imagine if the writing had been a little crisper, we would have a completely different impression of the game. (Don't know if the fate would have been the same!)[/quote]
It would have helped, but the judging is what really killed it for me. The hardass judging on the $25K show was one of my very favorite things about it.

catnap1972 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 24, 2008, 04:29:14 PM »

Didn't one of you post back then that the producer was going more for entertainment value ("ooh celebrities!") as opposed to what would pass for an actual game?

tvwxman · « **Reply #8 on:** July 24, 2008, 05:06:54 PM »

[quote name=\'catnap1972\' post=\'191994\' date=\'Jul 24 2008, 04:29 PM\']
Didn't one of you post back then that the producer was going more for entertainment value ("ooh celebrities!") as opposed to what would pass for an actual game?
[/quote]
Then explain the constant barrage of D-list celebs were we forced upon.

Seriously, more often than not, I couldn't tell who was the celeb and who was the civilian.

clemon79 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 24, 2008, 05:13:29 PM »

[quote name=\'catnap1972\' post=\'191994\' date=\'Jul 24 2008, 01:29 PM\']
Didn't one of you post back then that the producer was going more for entertainment value ("ooh celebrities!") as opposed to what would pass for an actual game?[/quote]
Yes. Many of the other things posted are probably better off not repeated in a family forum.

Offshored2007 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 25, 2008, 09:57:37 AM »

Lousy game playing, 6 clues in 20 sec rounds resulting in low scores, cheap payouts (at this point,
it should have been a top prize of at least $50,000 each day given inflation) and everything
else mentioned made this a forgettable revival.