Bill Cullen hosting a modern show

[SamJ93]

[quote name=\'J.R.\' post=\'240156\' date=\'May 1 2010, 03:29 AM\'][quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'240155\' date=\'May 1 2010, 02:06 AM\']I would much rather watch the slow and steady pace of Bill Cullen than the faux-drama buildups of Jack Barry[/quote]
That got me thinking. I wonder how Jack Barry would do hosting a modern show?

Jack: "Is that your final answer?"

Mary: "Yes"

Jack: "You said B, now to continue on, this must be right right answer. If you are wrong, you will lose it all. This was a decision of great importance. I asked you the question "What is the color of a Stop sign?" I gave you the options of Green, Red, Yellow or Mauve. You told me you wanted B as your final answer. A choice that you made without lifelines. For the opportunity to stay in the game and see another question, Mary Richards of Denver, Colorado, your response is...  RIGHT FOR $500!"
[/quote]

Good for a laugh, but is it really that far off from what Chris Tarrant and Regis (at least in the early episodes) did to draw out the suspense on high-level questions?

[Unrealtor]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'240092\' date=\'Apr 27 2010, 11:18 PM\'][quote name=\'Dan88\' post=\'240091\' date=\'Apr 28 2010, 12:07 AM\']And a bonus round. And a $25,000 bonus for a nine-letter word. And no Numbers Games or Conundrums.

I'm sorry, Matt, but they'd have to mount a better pilot if they wanted Bill -- Countdown should not be dumbed-down for American audiences, because a dumbed-down Countdown just isn't Countdown.[/quote]
I always thought an Americanized Countdown belongs on PBS. No big budget, keep the Numbers Game and Conundrum, and still offer the leather-bound dictionary as the grand prize*.

If there should be a reward for winning a regular game (do the Brits do that?), I'd offer something small, like a gift card to Brookstone ($500 or $1,000), or even Barnes and Noble (I could lose my mind in either store), and maybe $100 card for the runner-up. Small, yet satisfying (that's not what she said)...

*According to Amazon, a $6,000 value!
[/quote]

A bookseller like B&N or Amazon would be a great choice for a gift card. Goes with the overall intellectual atmosphere.

As for the amount, why not $5 or $10 per point, depending on prize budget and discount from the sponsor? If you add a round or two to the current UK format to stretch from 45 minutes with short ad breaks* to 60, I figure that the average winning score will end up around 100.

* - at least in comparison to here. IIRC, Countdown's 45-minute slot has the same 39 minutes of show as Price's 60-minute timeslot.

[GiraffeBoy]

[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'240049\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 06:39 PM\']Regis always joked they called Cullen first for WWTBAM?[/quote]
Hey, that used to be part of my sig on a.t.g-s!

[quote name=\'Regis\']"They wanted Bill Cullen, who's been dead for eight years!"[/quote]
I'll agree with WWTBAM and the clock starting *after* the choices are read (like they did at Disney).  He'd fit in perfectly.

--Charlie