[quote name=\'mmb5\' post=\'252357\' date=\'Dec 11 2010, 10:41 PM\']It's got to be better than that sports trivia in the bar show on STO.[/quote]
Not even close. Before I get into my issues with the show, here's how the game is played...
9 bowlers participate. Whenever 5 consecutive strikes are made, each of those 5 bowlers wins $100. Each bowler plays three balls for the show. In the first go-round, only true strikes count towards the five in a row. In turn 2, at least 9 pins down counts as a strike, while 8+ pins on the third turn make a strike. However, the fifth strike in a streak must have all 10 pins downed to count. Occasionally, a colored pin appears as the headpin, in the 1 spot. If the person rolls a 10-pin strike on that turn, he wins $100. Any player who rolls 10-pin strikes on all three turns (in bowling, a turkey) wins a $50 gift certificate to a restaurant. A final bowling "challenge", the 1-8-9 pins on today's show, is attempted by one bowler. Taking down all the pins gets everybody on the team $50 each.
Today's show was among the batch of four recorded in the spring at Ptak's, in a suburb just outside of Cleveland. The production standards are very low. The graphics and video look like they're a step below public access quality. The lighting is horrible, even by bowling alley standards. During one crucial ball near the end of the show, the cameraman's view is fully blocked by someone's head. One of the hosts missed a ball where someone won $100 until after the turn completed, though every other $100 possibility was caught before the play, including what seemed like a one-minute plug for whichever company sponsored that ball. And this $100 frame with 1 min+ plug happened at least 4 times during the show. The hosts, STO personality Chuck Galeti and former local radio sidekick Paul Rado...Galeti is tolerable but Rado is annoying and SCREAMS WAY TOO DAMN MUCH. I don't mind the announcer, "Big Daddy" Marty Allen, though I'm sure his announcing style would remind a few people here of Burton Richardson. Hopefully things change for the better when they tape eps. 5 to 8 next weekend down the street... If I didn't delete it off the DVR, I'd share some clips.
I'm giving 69,000 bonus points for a good-looking female model showing off her midriff throughout the show. Meow. She doesn't come close to saving the show.
