Author Topic: Big Saturday Night: The Reviews (Read 12713 times)

clemon79 · « **Reply #15 on:** June 15, 2009, 02:18:03 PM »

[quote name=\'Offshored2007\' post=\'218077\' date=\'Jun 15 2009, 10:16 AM\']The Whammy! skit was painful. No mention of the 2002-2004 "Whammy!: The All New Press Your Luck" in it either.[/quote]
So they got one thing right, then.

Yogi007 · « **Reply #16 on:** June 15, 2009, 02:55:43 PM »

[quote name=\'vtown7\' post=\'218051\' date=\'Jun 14 2009, 05:59 PM\']Just curious - did anyone get a callback regarding the at-home contestants? I got two or three within about ten minutes for the first game.

Ryan[/quote]
I got a callback around 10:20 ET to hear a recording tell me that I might be selected to play a game, but after a few "please stand by" (or something like that), the recording told me that I was not selected but to try again soon.

/Tom Green? Really??

colonial · « **Reply #17 on:** June 15, 2009, 07:08:04 PM »

The less said about the BSN interstitials, the better. It's as if GSN wanted to create an English-language version of "Sabado Gigante," but failed miserably at it.

As for the two new shows...

20Q -- not bad as feared, but I agree with the peanut gallery that this is a 30-minute show stretched to a 60/90-minute affair.

THE MONEY LIST -- I liked the one-and-done Fox version, and I enjoyed the remake just the same. However, I noticed that, if this show returns for a second season, the fact checkers need to do a better job when it comes to acceptable answers. Two examples...

-- On the Will & Grace query, the question specifically asked for celebrities playing themselves on the show, with each celebrity one part of the list. When the "rest of the list" was revealed, one of the acceptable answers was "Hall and Oates". Does this mean that if I answered Daryl Hall, John Oates is also off the board?

-- The "Countries in Asia" question listed Taiwan as an acceptable answer. The question asked for countries recognized according to the CIA World Factbook and, IIRC, the United States does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country, switching diplomatic relations from the island to mainland China in the 1970s (although the U.S. has quasi-diplomatic relations with the island via the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act).

JD

Jay Temple · « **Reply #18 on:** June 16, 2009, 12:25:03 PM »

[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' post=\'218062\' date=\'Jun 15 2009, 12:38 AM\']Big Saturday Night: The live wraparounds (which cut off nice sized portions of the main shows) were very, very bad. Mad TV rejects, overtly festive interns, lame parodies, and disproportionate cash prizes made the biggest feature of the show the most painful to watch.[/quote]
(emphasis mine)
How bad do you have to be ...?

BillCullen1 · « **Reply #19 on:** June 16, 2009, 01:42:03 PM »

All righty, my take on it all:

BSN - I liked Tom Green, he seemed to be actually trying to help the phone players and gave good clues most of the time. The segments with two in-studio players behind podiums and the "Pizza Hut" letters game were OK. It did seem like an awful lot of money to award for simple games though. I don't remember most of anything else that happened - maybe there's a reason for that!!

20Q - Cat Deeley surprised me as a decent host and Hal Sparks is perfect as the wise-cracking computer. Since this is a game based on trying to beat the computer, he has to get some good jibes in, but it's not like he talks every five seconds, so it's not annoying, IMO. The game itself is simple and trying to beat the computer for the 20K grand prize is a nice touch. I wonder what would've happened if the guy had just said "bear" instead of "polar bear" for the 20K answer. Would they have asked him to be more specific, or would they have declared it wrong? Just wondering. Other than that, an enjoyable show.

The Money List - fantastic play-along factor, with a website to see the entire lists of answers. Fred Roggin is very good as a host, the suspense is drawn out, but at least they didn't do a DoND and say "we'll see if that answer is on the list - after these messages." Shame they lost on that Dr. Seuss category, but I understand they need the exact titles of the books (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, NOT The Grinch That Stole Christmas). I like the idea of giving a team a grand for winning the game, or maybe a grand for each list they get in the main game. I will definitely be taping this show on Sundays, when it's BSN free.

William A. Padron · « **Reply #20 on:** June 18, 2009, 02:54:54 PM »

Both 20Q and The Money List are pretty good GSN originals, but I believe at first they could each work much better if they were half-hour episodes instead (not 60-minutes forced to be padded into 90). Each of the respective hosts do a very good job in emceeing their shows.

Ok, I will admit that I am smitten by the alluring prescence of the very pretty Cat Deeley while on 20Q for her in able to host with a lighthearted, fun demeanor. The computer voiced by Hal Sparks can have some witty, funny zingers, and I am sure they will more amusing as more episodes of the shows are aired. The game format can be challenging at times, and it does have a good play-along at home factor.

That could be said for the same towards The Money List, and I think that Fred Roggin is having some real fun in hosting that program, and it shows while on the air. The game format, with trying to list names or titles, is pretty clever, as I was playing along thinking of some items to fit in a certain category. My own quibble is that the winning team does not get any prize or cash money if they win the front game.

As for GSN's Big Saturday Night, which sounds like as if the cable network is capitalizing on the success that Univision has had with Sabado Gigante for so many years, some of the comedy skits presented (such as an actor playing a young Alex Trebek in grammar school or another as the Whammy in jail) are just not that funny to begin with. The games played during the breaks seemed to be done at times in a hyper, rushed, rambled manner, such as the two Tom Green Pyramid-type rounds shown.

I might tuned again at times, but I will have to remind myself to put the mute button on my remote during the playbreaks, and restore the sound back when 20Q and The Money List are back on. If not, then I will instead concentrate on continuing in listening to WABC-AM Radio's Saturday Night Oldies, where host Mark Simone sometimes has interviews with former game show hosts on occasion.

cyclone45 · « **Reply #21 on:** June 18, 2009, 03:46:04 PM »

20Q and The Money List air uninterrupted on Sunday, no playbreaks. I'd suggest watching it then.

Mr. Armadillo · « **Reply #22 on:** June 19, 2009, 10:29:50 AM »

[quote name=\'William A. Padron\' post=\'218355\' date=\'Jun 18 2009, 01:54 PM\']As for GSN's Big Saturday Night, which sounds like as if the cable network is capitalizing on the success that Univision has had with Sabado Gigante for so many years, some of the comedy skits presented (such as an actor playing a young Alex Trebek in grammar school or another as the Whammy in jail) are just not that funny to begin with.[/quote]

Those skits were supposed to be comedy?

William A. Padron · « **Reply #23 on:** June 19, 2009, 11:59:23 AM »

[quote name=\'Mr. Armadillo\' post=\'218436\' date=\'Jun 19 2009, 10:29 AM\']Those skits were supposed to be comedy?[/quote]

Pretty lame, weak attempt in that department. All I can say that if this level of alleged entertainment is kept up that way at BSN, I sure hope that GSN, Sony and Liberty Media will then soon disown any responsibilty and disavow any knowledge of those very feeble comedy bits, but then blame the writers...LOL!

JasonA1 · « **Reply #24 on:** June 28, 2009, 12:56:44 AM »

Finally caught the "fun" at Big Saturday Night. All three wraparound hosts were terrible. The woman was reading a story in their Weekend Update bit about the expansion of Oscar nominees from 5 to 10 movies. She proudly proclaimed that her favorite movies "Paul Blart" and "Mall Cop" could now be nominated. That read was so botched, Keegan Michael-Key called her out on the air. Speaking of Keegan, on tonight's show, he talked back to the producers in his IFB. Very amateurish. "She has 20 points? Say it again. 22 points." At one point in a game with stick-up-on-a-board letters, some letter cards were flipped to their blank side. Keegan was told in his IFB to "flip over that card" or words to that effect, and again argued with the people in his ear as he turned a letter O upside down that was located right next to a blank letter card. "Wonder why they had me do that..." he crowed to the contestants.

Watching The Rich List now, but 20Q was both good and bad. The general concept of the game was implemented in some neat ways for TV. I just didn't like how it came together as a whole. I'd like a more streamlined format. Start with the same qualifying game, but make it more like the Password All-Stars qualifier. Have four or five players answer a number of those Cat-asked 20Qs until two players get a certain number (I'd say 2). Those two play the current "semi-final" game (i.e. the "guess, pick one of the questions in black..."). The first to a certain goal (2 or 3) wins a sum of cash and plays the bonus game.

I'd make the bonus game something against the clock, where the contestant plays the classic 20 Questions (host: "it's a mode of transportation!" contestant: "does it have wheels?" Q: "Yes!") trying to get so many subjects before time is up. Or, use their current "bank of questions" format against the clock. You can still frame it as "man vs. machine" with Q administering the questions. On the air show, I didn't like game where one player went in isolation. On the show I watched tonight, it boiled down to "who knows Dolly Parton better?" Having it come down to one subject didn't feel fair. My streamlined format could straddle, or just take a half hour.

The attempts at humor on 20Q were forgivable because they were brief. Big Saturday Night itself was too applause happy.

-Jason

SRIV94 · « **Reply #25 on:** June 28, 2009, 02:08:17 PM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'219100\' date=\'Jun 27 2009, 11:56 PM\']She proudly proclaimed that her favorite movies "Paul Blart" and "Mall Cop" could now be nominated.[/quote]
David Letterman told essentially the exact same joke earlier this week. Way for the writers to come up with something original.

rwalker · « **Reply #26 on:** June 28, 2009, 02:22:03 PM »

Slight change, no BSN for 7/4(at least according to my listings and the GSN site), so the contest is now extended to 8/15. I don't know if 20q and ML will be new episodes or not. More Howie at 10pm that night also, the pdf's don't have this. Evidently the GSN staff forgot that 7/4 is a holiday. lol.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #27 on:** June 29, 2009, 12:58:27 PM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'219100\' date=\'Jun 28 2009, 12:56 AM\']I'd make the bonus game something against the clock, where the contestant plays the classic 20 Questions (host: "it's a mode of transportation!" contestant: "does it have wheels?" Q: "Yes!") trying to get so many subjects before time is up.[/quote]
I think having their contestant play an actual game of Twenty Questions would be problematic on many levels. The producers and writers and judges, for example, couldn't anticipate every possible question a contestant might ask. Questions themselves might not be well thought-out or precise, and answers might not be as simple as "yes" and "no". And honestly, doing that kind of Q&A is something of a lost art. When it's done well, it's impressive, but (far more commonly) when it's done badly, it's painful to watch.

I caught the entire show for the first time Saturday as well. Yes, the girl and the weird-voiced intern are terrible, but Keegan Michael-Key seemed pretty good. I don't really have a problem with stuff happening that reminds us that it's live, so if he wants to talk back to his producers and director now and then, I can take it.

The Money List didn't appear to have any badly flawed questions this time around, so I'm hoping that the Warner Brothers Cartoon Stars thing was an anomaly. Felt bad for the girl on the Elton John Top-40 Hits question who named the one well-known song that peaked at #41, but that's the danger when a question has some sort of limiting qualifier, and "Top-40 Hits" is a fair, well-documented cut-off point.

More importantly, both the new shows offer real playalong, and that's always nice to see.

JasonA1 · « **Reply #28 on:** June 29, 2009, 01:24:17 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'219164\' date=\'Jun 29 2009, 12:58 PM\']I don't really have a problem with stuff happening that reminds us that it's live, so if he wants to talk back to his producers and director now and then, I can take it.[/quote]

It wasn't so much the reminder we were live, it was how lost he seemed, and how short he was being with the people in his ear. I have no problem with Richard Dawson confirming a ruling with Howard Felsher on air, or Dick Clark being reminded from off stage he's calling it a "1958 Chevrolet," but this was a different animal IMO.

You're right about "classic" 20 Questions. My main gripe with their bonus round was the one subject thing.

-Jason

BillCullen1 · « **Reply #29 on:** June 29, 2009, 05:02:00 PM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'219100\' date=\'Jun 28 2009, 12:56 AM\']I'd make the bonus game something against the clock, where the contestant plays the classic 20 Questions (host: "it's a mode of transportation!" contestant: "does it have wheels?" Q: "Yes!") trying to get so many subjects before time is up. Or, use their current "bank of questions" format against the clock. You can still frame it as "man vs. machine" with Q administering the questions. On the air show, I didn't like game where one player went in isolation. On the show I watched tonight, it boiled down to "who knows Dolly Parton better?" Having it come down to one subject didn't feel fair. My streamlined format could straddle, or just take a half hour.

The attempts at humor on 20Q were forgivable because they were brief. Big Saturday Night itself was too applause happy.

-Jason[/quote]

For 20Q, I think the contestants should win more money if they use less clues in the bonus game to get the answer. As it stands now, you get 20K no matter how many clues you use. I think it should be something like 1 - 3 clues, $20K, 4 - 6 clues, $15K, 7 - 9 clues, $12.5K, 10 clues or more - $10K. that way, someone is rewarded for using less clues. They may have to give them more allowable answers to give though, like three strikes and you're out.