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

[Matt Ottinger]

Considering "what was broken with Donnymid" is "everything", it shouldn't be that hard to fix.

I know it sounds better and seems to make a more powerful statement when you talk in extremes, but to say that "everything" was wrong with Donnymid is a gross and somewhat ridiculous exaggeration.  There were many, many things about it that we didn't like, but there were also many things that were very much in line with the classic show, and some modern tweaks that might actually have been a slight improvement.  For any of us who had the chance to see the TRULY god-awful pilots from a few years earlier, Donnymid was a treat.

[Jumpondees]

Well, I am not going to hold my breath for this one until I see it actually go to prodcution.  Remember that it was not that long ago that TBS was working on a Match Game revival that never materialized.

[Neumms]

Note of optimism: It's for a network, so they could do returning champs.

Maybe their comedy bent will influence celebrity partner selection. Minor characters from "Seinfeld" and "The Office" and generally funny people could be an improvement on the infotainment stars and boring athletes Donny was getting.

And maybe the front-game category names will actually be funny. Funny without cutaways to the celebs chuckling, presumably at something else.

[clemon79]

Considering "what was broken with Donnymid" is "everything", it shouldn't be that hard to fix.

Well, "improve", perhaps. I think "fix" is a long way away from Donnymid.

I know it sounds better and seems to make a more powerful statement when you talk in extremes, but to say that "everything" was wrong with Donnymid is a gross and somewhat ridiculous exaggeration. There were many, many things about it that we didn't like, but there were also many things that were very much in line with the classic show, and some modern tweaks that might actually have been a slight improvement.

While I agree to a point (I'm one of those who thought Donny was a tolerable host, for example), I'm curious to know what you think the improvements were. I'm open to the idea that there might be some, but damned if I can think of one. I'm wondering what I may be missing.

[toetyper]

anyone wanna speculate  what time slot TBS would put  pyramid? 7pm? 8pm? 11pm?

[chad1m]

11pm?

11 won't happen, since they've spent too much time and money on advertising Conan in that timeslot. But you certainly pose a valid question. Maybe a 10:30 slot to lead into Andy with Conan? It's just hard to picture Pyramid airing that late in the day.

[rebelwrest]

11pm?

11 won't happen, since they've spent too much time and money on advertising Conan in that timeslot. But you certainly pose a valid question. Maybe a 10:30 slot to lead into Andy with Conan? It's just hard to picture Pyramid airing that late in the day.

For some reason, I think 6:30 PM seems to be a strong time for cable.  Maybe because since its mainly opposite the nightly newscasts.  If TBS put Pyramid at 6:30 PM it could have a strong showing.

[Tony Peters]

Any concerns I might have for Pyramid are, sadly for me, rendered moot since I don't have cable or satellite (cable doesn't even go out to where I live; plus, our family budget is very limited, and we have determined that satellite internet is more important/useful to us than satellite TV).

[Neumms]

Any concerns I might have for Pyramid are, sadly for me, rendered moot since I don't have cable or satellite (cable doesn't even go out to where I live; plus, our family budget is very limited, and we have determined that satellite internet is more important/useful to us than satellite TV).

:-(
Thanks for letting us know.

[Matt Ottinger]

I'm curious to know what you think the improvements were.

First instinct, and I know it's somewhat controversial, is the set.  I personally think it was a high-tech gloss that proved it was a modern show, but would not have taken anything away from traditional game play.  I also agree with you that Donny was not really part of the problem.

[clemon79]

First instinct, and I know it's somewhat controversial, is the set.  I personally think it was a high-tech gloss that proved it was a modern show, but would not have taken anything away from traditional game play.  I also agree with you that Donny was not really part of the problem.

No, I'll buy that. I thought you had things in mind that were closer along the lines of the actual game format.

[chris319]

It hasn't been proven for nearly two and a half decades. I wouldn't be so sure that it can work in 2011 without "reimaging".

What's to "reimage"? It's a pretty basic format, like Jeopardy! and WOF which have been on for decades without radical changes. Given the way producers approach game shows these days, it's a "be careful what you wish for" situation. You wouldn't want a "variety show within a game show", would you?

[trainman]

Any concerns I might have for Pyramid are, sadly for me, rendered moot since I don't have cable or satellite (cable doesn't even go out to where I live; plus, our family budget is very limited, and we have determined that satellite internet is more important/useful to us than satellite TV).

My guess is that TBS will put the episodes online.

[Neumms]

It hasn't been proven for nearly two and a half decades. I wouldn't be so sure that it can work in 2011 without "reimaging".

What's to "reimage"?

I would love for them to shorten the front game, mainly because I've always found it boring. 20 seconds was an interesting twist, but then it was too easy to crap out and make the game a runaway. I say make it two rounds, celeb gives once, civilian gives once. That leaves time for post-mortems at the Winners' Circle.

I'm with you, Matt, on the set. I think there could have been more lighting effects when somebody won, but modernization was smart. The CBS pilot set updated the old versions just enough to be completely dorky, like Drew's TPIR set "updates."

I didn't mind finding new music, either. It's just that what they picked had no hook and no melody.

[Jimmy Owen]

Maybe I'm overthinking this, or maybe stuck in the past, but if you have only four categories in the front game, that would change the mini-pyramid to a square shape.