Author Topic: CBS Pulls "MDP" (Read 14843 times)

DoorNumberFour · « **Reply #15 on:** January 07, 2009, 08:49:47 PM »

[quote name=\'Seth Thrasher\' post=\'205732\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 08:44 PM\']
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'205729\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 09:06 PM\']
Wait, what? Regis had nothing to do with the ratings. And getting Wayne Cox would do nothing but get a "Who?" out of your audience.
[/quote]

Hell, it gets a "Who?" out of me. The name looks familiar, but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out who that is.
[/quote]
I don't really think the choice of host is something to Talk About in discussion of its cancellation.

dale_grass · « **Reply #16 on:** January 07, 2009, 08:49:51 PM »

[quote name=\'Seth Thrasher\' post=\'205732\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 09:44 PM\']
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'205729\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 09:06 PM\']
Wait, what? Regis had nothing to do with the ratings. And getting Wayne Cox would do nothing but get a "Who?" out of your audience.
[/quote]

Hell, it gets a "Who?" out of me. The name looks familiar, but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out who that is.
[/quote]
Wayne Cox

golden-road · « **Reply #17 on:** January 07, 2009, 08:51:02 PM »

[quote name=\'Seth Thrasher\' post=\'205732\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 09:44 PM\']
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'205729\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 09:06 PM\']
Wait, what? Regis had nothing to do with the ratings. And getting Wayne Cox would do nothing but get a "Who?" out of your audience.
[/quote]

Hell, it gets a "Who?" out of me. The name looks familiar, but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out who that is.
[/quote]

He hosted two shows up north, "Second Honeymoon" & "Talk About"; the latter of which was syndicated here in 1989-1990.

TroubadourNando · « **Reply #18 on:** January 07, 2009, 09:02:15 PM »

All in all I think Million Dollar Password was a respectable effort to bring the game into the 21st century. It didn't forget its roots while still being fresh... the format's just not good for this day and age otherwise.

tvwxman · « **Reply #19 on:** January 07, 2009, 09:34:22 PM »

[quote name=\'Winkfan\' post=\'205725\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 07:52 PM\']
I knew they should have gotten Wayne Cox to host.....

Cordially (but not pleased),
Tammy
[/quote]
Ignore her. She's threadjacking just to show everyone that .... well, I for one have no flipping clue what she's trying to show.

Carry on with the decent discussion at hand, obsessive-dreams-about-former-Canadian-weathermen notwithstanding.

Cordially,
The absolutely happy I'm a weatherman south of the US Canadian Border,
tvwxman.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #20 on:** January 07, 2009, 09:43:55 PM »

You're north of Windsor, aren't you?

Seriously, let's hope CBS will run the remaining episodes in the summer or sooner.

clemon79 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 07, 2009, 10:10:53 PM »

[quote name=\'TroubadourNando\' post=\'205736\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 06:02 PM\']
All in all I think Million Dollar Password was a respectable effort to bring the game into the 21st century.[/quote]
To which I say: it was Password. Why did it need to be brought at all? Why dick with the essence of the game, the back-and-forth of clever clues to see who can guess a word first?

I watched it and enjoyed it, because I'm a game-show geek, but I would also suggest that dicking with the format is part of what killed it.

TLEberle · « **Reply #22 on:** January 07, 2009, 11:05:37 PM »

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'205726\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 04:53 PM\']And , I'm willing to bet (sorry Sodboy) that, like the first batch of 6 eps, the last 2 are not great eps...either in celebrity status or game playing status....which means CBS is just simply cutting bait.

Sorry, I've said it before and I'll say it again : this is not a show that warrants this kind of format. It's flawed....was flawed from the get - go. The lack of celebrities who know how to play this game simply doesn't help matters.

Move it to syndication - play for $100K, keep the same celebs for the week , and (FOR PETE SAKE) test celebrities just as hard as you test the contestants ability to play the game.[/quote]Here's the problem. If you move the show off-network and slash the prize budget, it's still a rather stupid way to play Password.

If you were to chuck that stupid money ladder, allow the same pair of contestants to stick around a while, and play the Cashword Round without having to risk the prize money, at least that would be a step in the right direction.

Even then, it was still gilding the lily when the lily was classic and neat and everything, and could have stood on its own except for sheeple producers who said "It has to have a million dollar prize! And a money ladder round where the contestant risks the money at each step! And dark lights and a constant music bed!"

chad1m · « **Reply #23 on:** January 07, 2009, 11:17:08 PM »

Honestly, for being a modern-day game show, excluding silly and easily changeable rules, I thought this was a pretty darn good game show. It had levels of intelligence, drama and excitement and managed to balance them nicely. I think it would work just fine as a half-hour syndicated show. (I mean, the shows were pretty much two half-hours anyway.)

Give the winner of the elimination round $2,500 for winning, and then, if they're hellbent on keeping a risk factor, present them with this:
$250,000 (5/5)
$100,000 (5/6)
$50,000 (5/7)
$25,000 (5/8)
$10,000 (5/9)
$5,000 (5/10)

Of course, just my thoughts but I think it would be neat if it were packaged like that.

Sodboy13 · « **Reply #24 on:** January 07, 2009, 11:43:56 PM »

[quote name=\'chad1m\' post=\'205742\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 10:17 PM\']
Honestly, for being a modern-day game show, excluding silly and easily changeable rules, I thought this was a pretty darn good game show. It had levels of intelligence, drama and excitement and managed to balance them nicely. I think it would work just fine as a half-hour syndicated show. (I mean, the shows were pretty much two half-hours anyway.)
[/quote]

Perhaps this is a case of contestant's bias - but I liked the show, too, and wouldn't have tried out for it if I didn't enjoy it. For those lamenting the changes, I agree that the update was not without its issues (especially the bonus round celebrity selection,) but honestly, do you believe that something which was styled and paced as a parlor game gets airtime anywhere in this day and age? When I told one of my >50-year-old co-workers about my appearance, his first memory of the original was that it was "soooo slow." And the fact is, someone must have seen pacing problems 30 years ago, otherwise we wouldn't have seen a switch to words with a 4-clue maximum, and a 10-in-60 bonus round. I'm not arguing that classic Password isn't a fun game - because it certainly is. But in its "pure" format, it's no longer something which would attract any sort of respectable viewership.

I, like Chad would like to see this get a shot as a syndie half-hour, and clearly the waters are getting tested in Europe to that end. I say just drop a zero off the current money ladder, get rid of the risk element and make each level guaranteed, and providing you know how to cast celebrities, you've got a good show on your hands.

chad1m · « **Reply #25 on:** January 07, 2009, 11:54:12 PM »

Sodboy, is there any way you can get in contact with me (email or otherwise)? You've got emails through the board privatized. =)

narzo · « **Reply #26 on:** January 07, 2009, 11:58:00 PM »

I love the show, like many of you, but a look at the demo's does show why CBS is doing this.

I just read in one of the business columns that the only demo with disposable income is the 18-24s. The concern among the advertisers is the older demos (that now starts with the 25+'s) all have mortgages and are therefore not spending. The ad agencies and the advertisers are not putting money into shows where their spot will be seen by people who might like the product but have no disposable income to spend on it. Honestly as a former "ad man" I can see the it being a tough sell. It's all the economy folks.

If this were 5 years, hell even 2 years earlier the concern would have been nominal. Today if you aren't going to hit the 18-24's, good luck to you.

clemon79 · « **Reply #27 on:** January 08, 2009, 12:03:09 AM »

[quote name=\'Sodboy13\' post=\'205743\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 08:43 PM\']And the fact is, someone must have seen pacing problems 30 years ago, otherwise we wouldn't have seen a switch to words with a 4-clue maximum, and a 10-in-60 bonus round.[/quote]
No, I understand that. But one of the main tenets of the game was that both people are playing the same word, and sometimes you have to worry about giving a clue that will help your opponent if your partner doesn't get it. They pulled out that head-to-head. And it doesn't help that in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of this current run, we've said "Hey, Celeb X wasn't bad, but oy, Celeb Y was TERRIBLE." There is no excuse for that happening ONCE, much less every episode.

I can't help but wonder if the celebrity list was controlled more by an external source than by the production itself.

Jay Temple · « **Reply #28 on:** January 08, 2009, 12:49:44 AM »

[quote name=\'Fedya\' post=\'205731\' date=\'Jan 7 2009, 07:17 PM\']
tvwxman wrote:

Quote

And , I'm willing to bet (sorry Sodboy) that, like the first batch of 6 eps, the last 2 are not great eps...either in celebrity status or game playing status....which means CBS is just simply cutting bait.

I prefer to think more highly of Sodboy: Sodboy won the million dollars, but as with The Rich List, the network doesn't want to pay out the winnings.

(Seriously, with any luck, the shows will get aired eventually, regardless of the outcome.)
[/quote]
I'm with tvwxman. I say what he said, for the simple reason that that's how they scheduled the first series of eps. I don't even feel it necessary to apologize to Sodboy, because I expect that the poor performances that led to the scheduling are the celebs'.

Craig Karlberg · « **Reply #29 on:** January 08, 2009, 04:40:52 AM »

GREAT! Another serious blow to us game show purists. I wish ADHD wasn't such a big problem here. This makes me mad! UGGGHHH!!!!

Now that I got that off my chest, let me say that what CBS did was really a combination of things:

1. The demos are the biggest problem right now. I just hope we don't go down the road WoF went with its sponsorships here. If so, then we're in big trouble. If sports video games can have ads all over the place, I hate to think if game shows fall down that simillar path.

2. The celebrity pool left a lot to be desired this time around. Shatner was THE WORST of the bunch so far. If these celebs don't know how to play the game, why book them in the first place? To me, that's inexcusable as far as the producers are concerned.

3. The format itself is decent enough as it is, but do we really HAVE to compare it to Pyramid? Unfortunately, IMO, yes. That's exactly what it is. Get the player/celeb teams to convey 5 passwords in 30/90 seconds. Sounds too easy untill you realize how the show got to combine 2 classic elements & mash it all together & make it one show that would "attract" eyeballs(which it pretty much did).

4. Then there's the scheduling issue. Sure, Sunday night's a good night to have it on, but for pete's sake, did they have to throw it up against Sunday Night Football? Couldn't they have waited untill AFTER football season to run these episodes? Sheesh!