Third Time's a Charm? Pyramid in Development for TBS

[clemon79]

Especially with the affable Andy Richter as host, the teams of strangers thing might be attractive. Partly because they DO have a vested interest in the outcome.

No, that's really a horrible, awful, very bad idea. You do NOT want partners having equal financial interest in the outcome of the game, because the blood is gonna get REALLY bad, REALLY fast, if someone ends up screwing someone else.

It's a bad idea, period. It wasn't a good idea on The Rich List either. I utterly fail to see why anyone would want to port that dog to another show.

[byrd62]

...And going with Chris's point, we could rattle off quite a few celebrities from the 80s version that weren't necessarily big names then or now...

Teresa Ganzel being one of them.

[Jay Temple]

"One" of them? She was the queen!

I think Donnymid did two things better:
1. I agree about not putting a number in the title. (Sadly, they still managed to have a $100,000 Tournament where the winner didn't even have that much including her prior winnings!)
2. They handled passed words in the main game better. In the 80's, if you passed a word, you could still play it out while another word was on screen. On Donnymid, they made you play the word on the screen, but once you worked through them, the other words came back up. I used to attribute this to better computing, but they were already doing this on Body Language.

Also, while the general set-up of tournaments was terrible, they showed that having bonus cards doesn't take away from the excitement of a tournament. (cf $100,000 Pyramid)

[clemon79]

I used to attribute this to better computing, but they were already doing this on Body Language.

Manually. The words on BL were on cards, so I'm guessing a right answer was pulled out entirely, and a wrong one was moved to the back of the stack. Bob Stewart merely decided that the money he saved doing it all through a Chyron (and that includes a not-insignificant amount of preproduction as well, remember) was worth denying the contestants the opportunity for the backward answer.

(Another fringe benefit of this: less 7-11 and perfect-game bonuses to pay out! (IIRC they decided the Mystery 7 was important enough to allow for the backward answer, sans help. Or was that just when 7 of 7 was needed to force a tie or win?))

Also, while the general set-up of tournaments was terrible, they showed that having bonus cards doesn't take away from the excitement of a tournament. (cf $100,000 Pyramid)

The Super Six also did not fundamentally change the game, since it was merely a bonus prize for a perfect round, whereas if I'm in a tournament trying like hell to win $100,000, I'll tell you right now I'm gonna groan when I turn over the Mystery 7 and my round has just been made more difficult. (Yes, Stewart could have just moved the 7-11 over to both games. Guess what's cheaper?)

[tpirfan28]

(IIRC they decided the Mystery 7 was important enough to allow for the backward answer, sans help. Or was that just when 7 of 7 was needed to force a tie or win?)

I could almost swear there was an episode of 80s Pyramid where someone attempted to pass on a 7-required round and either was denied or was permitted and lost instantly at the end of the last word.

[Jimmy Owen]

I liked having the number in the title.  It told you what is the top prize.

[BrandonFG]

I liked having the number in the title.  It told you what is the top prize.

I did too, but I wouldn't be too hurt if they eliminated it. I'd rather it be something more than just "Pyramid" though, even if it's just "Pyramid 2011"...

[TonicBH]

Perhaps this is the old dog in me, but I'm one of those people who thought Pyramid's format, especially in the 80s, was good enough that it doesn't need tweaking. You make too many changes to an established format and you end up with the strange clustershard that was Million Dollar Password. All you really need is good category/clue writers (No "Colors of the Olympic Rings" or "What Tom Cruise's Dentist might say") and a half decent celebrity pool and you're pretty much set.

Hell, I bet some of the people who were common on the 80s and even Davidson's Pyramid could probably still do the show if you asked.

[Joe Mello]

Perhaps this is the old dog in me, but I'm one of those people who thought Pyramid's format, especially in the 80s, was good enough that it doesn't need tweaking.

The counter-argument to that is that if Pyramid is such a good format, why did it keep going off the air?

[clemon79]

The counter-argument to that is that if Pyramid is such a good format, why did it keep going off the air?

Until they started screwing with it, it enjoyed two five-year-plus runs. So that seems like a pretty poor counter-argument.

[BrandonFG]

Perhaps this is the old dog in me, but I'm one of those people who thought Pyramid's format, especially in the 80s, was good enough that it doesn't need tweaking. You make too many changes to an established format and you end up with the strange clustershard that was Million Dollar Password. All you really need is good category/clue writers (No "Colors of the Olympic Rings" or "What Tom Cruise's Dentist might say") and a half decent celebrity pool and you're pretty much set.

I've often said that the 80s daytime version is a show that should be taught in Game Show Producing 101. But there might be a minute or so of material lost since it went off the air, and that makes a huge difference. So the small tweaks for time would probably be necessary so the show doesn't feel rushed. I don't think viewers would cry foul over two fewer categories, as opposed to the "Pyramid Players" from '96.

Other than that I agree with you. Solid, consistent judging wouldn't hurt either.

[TLEberle]

I can't put faith in that guy reviving that show without adding dumb gimmicks that just don't work.

Such as?

[clemon79]

I can't put faith in that guy reviving that show without adding dumb gimmicks that just don't work.

Such as?

Pick something he did to fark up Chain Reaction. Dude could put a stop-the-clock button in the Winner's Circle every time the contestant wanted to guess. Institute a betting round.

I mean, yes, I see your point, but Davies isn't exactly unwilling to tinker where it isn't necessary, history has shown.

[JasonA1]

The counter-argument to that is that if Pyramid is such a good format, why did it keep going off the air?

And that damn Family Feud got cancelled before too! And Wheel of Fortune was canned from NBC - twice! Let's torch it and rebuild! Or...

I've often said that the 80s daytime version is a show that should be taught in Game Show Producing 101. But there might be a minute or so of material lost since it went off the air, and that makes a huge difference.

I think you can cut out enough non-game kibbitzing to keep the original format in tact. We can already bet with near certainty that the fifth segment wrap-up won't be in a new version. I think insisting changes for whatever modern-day production reason makes one sound wise and evolving with the times, but it's not always necessary. Just because there are examples of shows and producers changing things doesn't mean you always have to. Feud could be doing a fifth question proper. They just don't choose to.

-Jason

[TLEberle]

I mean, yes, I see your point, but Davies isn't exactly unwilling to tinker where it isn't necessary, history has shown.

Fair 'nough, but looking at Studio Seven, Grand Slam, Power of Ten, Millionaire and World Series of Pop Culture, and you'd be hard pressed to find a stray rule or an extra doodad; it was as if the idea was to strip everything away but the barest game mechanics.

On the other hand, even if you had competent teams I think the betting round absolutely cratered any modicum of excitement that had been built up over the last twelve minutes of Chain Reaction play. Given my choice, I think I would choose M. Davies to mount the revival rather than leave it up to chance with the new guard of producers.