McKee's run on TTD

[GrandGame1440]

Does anyone know when the begining of his run will start airing on GSN?  I'd like to set my DVR accordingly, any help would be much appreciated.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'GrandGame1440\' post=\'194165\' date=\'Aug 15 2008, 08:14 AM\']
Does anyone know when the begining of his run will start airing on GSN?  I'd like to set my DVR accordingly, any help would be much appreciated.
[/quote]
Supposedly one week from today, which would be 8/22/08, according to the PDFs posted at Buzzerblog.  To be on the safe side, it wouldn't hurt to record the couple of episodes before.

[Chelsea Thrasher]

The episodes that have been airing the last couple of weeks beforehand are quite good in their own right.  The show's had two champions in a row who've made liberal use of the pot-doubling Secret Category, getting the pot into 5-digit territory on several occasions. Factor in several ties per match due to an interesting playing strategy (a game in yesterday's episode ended with every box BUT the center filled) and you've had two champs in a row (Mark Leinwand, John Welsh) accrue VERY large sums of money.

[tvmitch]

FWIW, I think Thom's strategy of always starting in the middle block is superior to Mark Leinwand's, who always started in a corner, forcing the opponent to go for the center on their first try.

Mark's strategy caused him to be on the defensive at least twice every game, and eventually caused his downfall, IIRC. However, Mark was always very careful on what categories he chose, which is a notable skill in its own right.

More than a few times when Mark had the opportunity to win, he chose another category on the board that would leave two squares to block, adding to the pot and guaranteeing another shot at an open win. In fact, I think he covered all four corners at one point, and that actually almost led to a loss.

Not sure why I went into that much detail, I just found Mark's strategy particularly interesting and different than the strategy of most other champions on the show.

[irismason42]

But As I recall, some episodes of McKee's run appeared in the Tic Tac Thom Marathon in 1998 to celebrate the 4th of July which included Thom's first episode in that marathon, there were some pictures of that episode at loogslair.com but the website itself is now defunct sadly.

[PYLdude]

[quote name=\'irismason42\' post=\'194216\' date=\'Aug 15 2008, 04:16 PM\']
But As I recall, some episodes of McKee's run appeared in the Tic Tac Thom Marathon in 1998 to celebrate the 4th of July which included Thom's first episode in that marathon, there were some pictures of that episode at loogslair.com but the website itself is now defunct sadly.
[/quote]

I'm sure he has it up at the Rules Wiki...unfortunately that particular site's been busted for a while.

[rwalker]

They got it on Youtube. Whoever it was didn't tag their shows right, it's under the search of Wink Martindale.

I'll post it over in A/V shortly.

[CarShark]

[quote name=\'Seth Thrasher\' post=\'194174\' date=\'Aug 15 2008, 11:19 AM\']
The episodes that have been airing the last couple of weeks beforehand are quite good in their own right.  The show's had two champions in a row who've made liberal use of the pot-doubling Secret Category, getting the pot into 5-digit territory on several occasions. Factor in several ties per match due to an interesting playing strategy (a game in yesterday's episode ended with every box BUT the center filled) and you've had two champs in a row (Mark Leinwand, John Welsh) accrue VERY large sums of money.
[/quote]All of these big money matches really make the bonus game look really cheap by comparison. Makes me wonder why they had one at times.

[Jay Temple]

[quote name=\'CarShark\' post=\'195587\' date=\'Aug 30 2008, 11:05 PM\']All of these big money matches really make the bonus game look really cheap by comparison. Makes me wonder why they had one at times.
[/quote]
Agreed. Ironically, the other show that gave me that feeling was the revival of 21.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'CarShark\' post=\'195587\' date=\'Aug 31 2008, 12:05 AM\']
All of these big money matches really make the bonus game look really cheap by comparison. Makes me wonder why they had one at times.
[/quote]
I wonder how well the program would have done had it played in the style of the 1950s version of the show (sans rigging). Dump the dragon bonus and have champions risk their earnings to continue playing with no save havens. The value of the pot would be deducted from the champ's sum were he/she to lose:
"Mike Hunt, you have $57,000. Do you want to risk that by competing with Richard Cranium?"
With the Secret Category popping up, Master Hunt could lose a good chunk of his monies to the challenger should he be bested in a series of ties.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'195650\' date=\'Aug 31 2008, 07:51 PM\']
"Mike Hunt, you have $57,000.
[/quote]
Win.

[rwalker]

Problem: Thom's game were split over two seasons, correct?

If GSN hasn't changed their policy of "leasing one season at a time", we can forget seeing all of his shows. The question is, at what point was his last show of the season before the summer break?

[Jay Temple]

I forget where I found the information, but I believe he was on the last 35 shows of the season. (In case you're wondering, Ken Jennings' appearances were split 38-37.)

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'rwalker\' post=\'195729\' date=\'Sep 1 2008, 04:32 PM\']
If GSN hasn't changed their policy of "leasing one season at a time", we can forget seeing all of his shows. [/quote]
I considered that, as well. We'll know they've acquired season three if we hear the voice of Art James announcing. But, yes, if the day after Wink gives his "choice shows" spiel, we hear Jay Stewart proclaim "it's the start of the second season" then I'll be disappointed, but not surprised. However, it has been such a treat seeing these shows for the first time in nearly thirty years.

[Vahan_Nisanian]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'195812\' date=\'Sep 2 2008, 08:45 AM\']
[quote name=\'rwalker\' post=\'195729\' date=\'Sep 1 2008, 04:32 PM\']
If GSN hasn't changed their policy of "leasing one season at a time", we can forget seeing all of his shows. [/quote]
I considered that, as well. We'll know they've acquired season three if we hear the voice of Art James announcing. But, yes, if the day after Wink gives his "choice shows" spiel, we hear Jay Stewart proclaim "it's the start of the second season" then I'll be disappointed, but not surprised. However, it has been such a treat seeing these shows for the first time in nearly thirty years.
[/quote]

Well, even if they do get to season 3, and air Mckee's last episode, anything can happen after that episode has been shown. Remember how it was the case for Dick Clark's $100K Pyramid from 2005-2007? All GSN would air was nothing but weeks #39-#74 of it, skipping over the first 4 weeks of season 2, and airing all the way up until the first 3 weeks of season 3. They must have gone through that rotation like 6 or 7 times. But if the recent WOF marathon from August 2007 was any indication, then more likely than not, GSN has gotten over their phobia of leasing for multiple episodes/seasons of Sony shows.

/Sorry if I sounded like irismason or Zachhoran.