Author Topic: As The World Turns Cancelled (Read 52780 times)

TLEberle · « **Reply #135 on:** December 20, 2009, 03:46:53 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'232038\' date=\'Dec 10 2009, 09:52 AM\']Press Your Luck is one of the flimsiest game formats ever to see the light of day. It should never have been put on in the first place. If CBS were smart they would go with a non-FMNA property.[/quote]What makes it flimsy? The game makes sense, you can pick up in the middle of an episode, it has a built in climax and excitement during the money rounds...sure, it doesn't make you put your brain in fifth gear, but there are only a handful of game shows left that do that anyhow.

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'232055\' date=\'Dec 10 2009, 01:21 PM\']...particularly when they cite this as evidence. What the hell does this even mean? Losing your money is losing your money, and it doesn't matter if it's a little cartoon demon or the disembodied head of Colin Mochrie ridiculing you when it happens.[/quote]Except when it does. People who are outside of the game show realm here remember PYL as the game with the whammies. If you replace that with a generic FAIL graphic, take away the animations and all of that recognizability, Press Your Luck becomes Second Chance v2.0.

chris319 · « **Reply #136 on:** December 21, 2009, 04:00:13 AM »

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There's not a doubt in my mind you'll find a way to catch up.

Why would we want to?

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Was Imie Camelli still in charge of the celebs?

Imie took over from Kay Henley when Mindreaders was cancelled.

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What makes it flimsy?

Answer some questions and press a plunger. Do you want to press the plunger again? That's about all there was to it. Outside of the questions there was practically no mental activity required.

chad1m · « **Reply #137 on:** December 21, 2009, 04:10:49 AM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'232616\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 04:00 AM\']Outside of the questions there was practically no mental activity required.[/quote]And outside of... well... nothing, there's no mental activity involved with Deal Or No Deal, yet it's proved to be a sustainable and enjoyable program in at least seventy countries. So I hope you're not trying to say that a (in your opinion) "flimsy" format doesn't make it entertaining and suspenseful for viewers, because programs less "cerebral" than PYL have proven that you don't need a Ph.D to have a good game show.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #138 on:** December 21, 2009, 09:13:25 AM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'232616\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 04:00 AM\']Answer some questions and press a plunger.[/quote]
Making it slightly more involved than, say, Jeopardy!.

An awful lot of formats are pretty flimsy when pared down to their essentials. And a lot of otherwise bad games end up making adequate or even successful TV shows because of what was dismissively referred to earlier as "window dressing". I'm no PYL groupie, but it's not hard to see what elements of the TV show (as opposed to the format) made the program successful.

Mike Tennant · « **Reply #139 on:** December 21, 2009, 10:12:08 AM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'232627\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 09:13 AM\']An awful lot of formats are pretty flimsy when pared down to their essentials. And a lot of otherwise bad games end up making adequate or even successful TV shows because of what was dismissively referred to earlier as "window dressing". I'm no PYL groupie, but it's not hard to see what elements of the TV show (as opposed to the format) made the program successful.[/quote]I would add that any game show that runs 3 years and still has (electronic) home versions and other related merchandise being produced over 23 years after it was canceled--more merchandise, in fact, than was produced at the time it was first run--must have something the public likes. Is it Pyramid? No, but not every game show has to be. There's room for all different kinds. Given the obvious affection the American public has for PYL, it certainly wouldn't be unreasonable for CBS to consider a revival.

joker316 · « **Reply #140 on:** December 21, 2009, 12:06:46 PM »

Not to mention, the fact that a movie was to be made about the show's most famous contestant.

chris319 · « **Reply #141 on:** December 21, 2009, 12:24:56 PM »

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a lot of otherwise bad games end up making adequate or even successful TV shows because of what was dismissively referred to earlier as "window dressing".

Name some.

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it's not hard to see what elements of the TV show (as opposed to the format) made the program successful

Excitable contestants and prizes.

DOND had a touch more strategy than PYL.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #142 on:** December 21, 2009, 01:14:02 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'232644\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 12:24 PM\']Name some.[/quote]
Well, for one, Press Your Luck. You mentioned Card Sharks earlier. The 70s Match Game format was considered weak by many, including Gene Rayburn. Certainly Deal or No Deal has been criticized for being pretty lightweight. I'm sure there are plenty of others.

A good, tight format is certainly a major, major part of a game show's potential success, but it is not nearly the only thing.

Vahan_Nisanian · « **Reply #143 on:** December 21, 2009, 01:15:26 PM »

Actually, I finid it to be the exact opposite.

PYL is the one that has a touch more strategy. There are Q&A rounds, and also, winning plenty of money can really pay off depending on how precise your timing is in stopping the board. The best time to stop is when there are no Whammies left on the board.

DOND is 100% luck and 0% skill. There is no strategy in DOND whatsoever.

DoorNumberFour · « **Reply #144 on:** December 21, 2009, 01:59:21 PM »

[quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'232649\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 01:15 PM\']DOND is 100% luck and 0% skill. There is no strategy in DOND whatsoever.[/quote]
Eh, not particularly. The strategy in DOND comes in the form of knowing when to say when.

I'm a huge PYL fan, and even I know that PYL's only true strategic value comes from the pass-or-play mechanic. The rest of the game is luck and knowledge.

chris319 · « **Reply #145 on:** December 21, 2009, 02:07:05 PM »

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Well, for one, Press Your Luck.

Well yeah, the very game we're discussing.

Card Sharks, yes.

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The 70s Match Game format was considered weak by many, including Gene Rayburn.

Compared to PYL? Fill in the blank and match the panelists vs. do you want to spin again ad nauseam? Who besides Gene Rayburn felt it was a weak format? No one in the company that I know of including old man Goodson felt so. Mr. Rayburn's opinion notwithstanding, do you think '70s Match Game was a weak format? It would have been staid and stodgy without the celebrity hijinks but the underlying format was adequate.

I'll help you out by naming another weak format: The Better Sex.

chris319 · « **Reply #146 on:** December 21, 2009, 02:11:04 PM »

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DOND is 100% luck and 0% skill.

The contestant determines the outcome by deciding when and if he accepts the banker's offer, invalidating your assertion that it's 100% luck.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #147 on:** December 21, 2009, 02:20:25 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'232654\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 02:07 PM\']the underlying format was adequate.[/quote]
OK, I'm good with 'adequate'. So that one example, not so much. But between the two of us, we've named several shows with weak formats that still managed to be decent TV shows. So it can be done, it's just not as easy if the format isn't strong.

Mr. Armadillo · « **Reply #148 on:** December 21, 2009, 02:29:28 PM »

[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'232653\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 12:59 PM\'][quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'232649\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 01:15 PM\']DOND is 100% luck and 0% skill. There is no strategy in DOND whatsoever.[/quote]
Eh, not particularly. The strategy in DOND comes in the form of knowing when to say when.

I'm a huge PYL fan, and even I know that PYL's only true strategic value comes from the pass-or-play mechanic. The rest of the game is luck and knowledge.
[/quote]
Isn't 'pass-or-play' exactly the same as 'knowing when to say when'?

chris319 · « **Reply #149 on:** December 21, 2009, 03:24:07 PM »

[quote name=\'Mr. Armadillo\' post=\'232661\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 11:29 AM\'][quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'232653\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 12:59 PM\'][quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'232649\' date=\'Dec 21 2009, 01:15 PM\']DOND is 100% luck and 0% skill. There is no strategy in DOND whatsoever.[/quote]
Eh, not particularly. The strategy in DOND comes in the form of knowing when to say when.

I'm a huge PYL fan, and even I know that PYL's only true strategic value comes from the pass-or-play mechanic. The rest of the game is luck and knowledge.
[/quote]
Isn't 'pass-or-play' exactly the same as 'knowing when to say when'?[/quote]
If you're comparing DOND to PYL, no. DOND contestants make their decisions in response to the banker's offer. PYL contestants base their decisions on hunch.