ABC to burn off Million Dollar Mind Game

[weaklink75]

I watched it and thought this is perfect...for the UK. It just feels like it could work there for some reason- but not here (too slow, and I don't think the average person would get more than one or two of the questions). Probably the most elegant GS setup ever done in the US however.

[beatlefreak84]

I taped it and watched it last night...not a terrible show, but I can definitely see why ABC decided it wouldn't work in primetime.  I liked the variations of the questions, but I know the average viewer might not be into questions with that high difficulty.  The cooperative team with rotating captain was also a nice change of pace from the usual "one vs. the house" we're used to seeing.

Nevertheless, there were definitely some things to fix:

-Still too few questions in an episode; even with the discussion time placed on a clock, the show felt painfully slow.
-I don't like that one person can vote to keep going and drag the team "kicking and screaming" into the next question; why didn't they just make it majority rule?
-Seriously...STRADDLE the freakin' game!  Yet another show where you can tell when a game is going to end just by looking at how much time is left.

But, all that being said, I thought Vernon Kay was decent as host, and the show is certainly harmless fun on a Sunday afternoon.  So, I'll watch again.

Anthony

[Fedya]

Six against the house isn't much better than one against the house.

Most of the rest of your problems could be solved very simply by doing what the Russian original did: having two teams play against each other.  I can't stress this enough.

Seriously...STRADDLE the freakin' game!

The Self-Contained Show is the One True God.  Thou shalt have no other gods before thee save The Self-Contained Show.

Am I also the only one here who disagrees with the idea that the questions were on average overly difficult?  Sure, one or two of them were tough, but I thought a lot of them could be solved with some lateral thinking and bouncing ideas off teammates' heads -- even the ones I wouldn't have gotten.  The first question (spoiler below), for example, is one that a reasonably bright ten-year-old could have had the insight on and impressed all the adults.

For the people who didn't watch, the first question was:

Champagne has it; ginger ale doesn't.  A foreigner has one, but an immigrant doesn't.  What is it?

[colonial]

I DVR'd the premiere and watched it last night.....thank you early blowout Saints-Colts game

 

THE GOOD...

-- The writing on the slow was clever and original.  As Fedya noted, the questions were, looking back, not as difficult as implied, but were written in a way that the viewer needed a second or third glance to make sure your reasoning toward an answer was correct.

-- The home playalong factor, to me, was high.  My wife was sitting with me during the show.  She ignored the show for the first few questions when, suddenly, something clicked and she was drawn in.  Pretty soon, we were working together to answer the questions at hand.  The format has "party game/board game" potential in the U.S., given a few tweaks.

-- After watching him stumble and bumble on "Skating with the Stars," I feared the worst with Vernon Kay fronting the show.  However, I was pleasantly surprised with his performance.  He knew his limitations and allowed the contestants to be the stars of the program.

-- "Million Dollar Mind Game" managed to avoid a few intangibles that have tripped up a number of modern U.S. game shows.  Two examples...

          -- One of the six contestants admitted to working as a pro wrestler whose finishing move was "The Phil-abuster."  Kay referenced it once or twice, then dropped it.   A show like, say, "Deal or No Deal" or "Wipeout" would reference this every 30 seconds during the telecast, with the former bringing out John Cena to polite applause.
       
          -- In one round, the captain went over the majority of his teammates, all of whom had the right answer, and proceeded to give the wrong answer.  Again, Kay let it slide after one reference.  A modern game show would refer to the contestant at hand as "evil" and remind the others that he can't be trusted every 2-3 minutes.

-- Liked the "rotating captains" gimmick.

-- It was refreshing to see a group of contestants that did not appear to come straight out of Central Casting.  The lack of screaming, whooping, etc., was also a welcome relief.


THE BAD...

-- Other web pages and social media sites are reporting that at least two of the questions featured on Sunday's show were used during contestant auditions.  Massive S&P screwup if that's true.

--  The show looked too formal.  The set had a Connery-esque "Casino Royale" feel to it (even the music at times seemed to come straight out of 007), and Kay was dressed as if he were presenting the contestants with a wine list.  It would have been acceptable for the contestants to wear "businesswear" to the affair, not come out like they just got out of a Men's Wearhouse/David's Bridal catalog.

--  Agree with Fedya that having two teams play against each other would have been a better option than "Team of Six vs. The House"

-- The money tree looked awkward -- it's as if the show wanted to keep going with the "six" gimmick and got lost along the way.

-- Yes, the stand-alone episodes stink, but they could have worked if the show employed a tournament format.  Eight teams, four quarterfinal matches, two semis and a final.

OVERALL GRADE: B -- Honestly, I liked it, and I'm disappointed that ABC didn't try the show over the summer.  It could have worked Wednesdays or Sundays at 8p ET during the "silly season."  

JD

[Brig Bother]

But the Russian original doesn't have two teams against it each other in the traditional sense, it has one team vs the viewers who send in the questions. In fact the Russian show goes out live, and people can e-mail questions in unchecked and if the spinner comes up a certain way can be used there and then.

The English Wiki entry is quite interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Where_When

[Fedya]

No; I was thinking about the Russian Brain Ring, which had two teams against each other and similar riddle-type questions.  (I think that's the same link I included in one of my previous posts.)

[Brig Bother]

No; I was thinking about the Russian Brain Ring, which had two teams against each other and similar riddle-type questions.  (I think that's the same link I included in one of my previous posts.)

But the show isn't based on Brain Ring, which may be a similar concept, it's based on What? Where? When? which predates it by about 15 years by the looks of things.

[Fedya]

Ah, I see you're right.

I still submit that a lot of the problems with Million Dollar Mind Game could be solved by having it be two teams playing against each other.  A fun little game for small stakes, at that.

But that's not what the Suits With Focus Groups think will bring in the ratings.

[TLEberle]

I still submit that a lot of the problems with Million Dollar Mind Game could be solved by having it be two teams playing against each other.  

Now you have twelve people all talking over each other as opposed to merely six.

[Fedya]

Well since they're competing against each other, they talk about as loud as the families on Family Feud when families were allowed to huddle and think up answers to steal while the other team was playing the question.  If I remember correctly from the few episodes I saw back when I was in college, it played out a lot like Final Jeopardy.

Now, I suppose you can say the Suits would argue that's bad TV too.

[trainman]

-- Other web pages and social media sites are reporting that at least two of the questions featured on Sunday's show were used during contestant auditions.  Massive S&P screwup if that's true.

I tried out for the show way back when, and I didn't recognize any of the questions (of course, I obviously wasn't at all of the audition sessions).

[Vgmastr]

Not sure if anyone stuck around for episode 2, but

The show does straddle, as the episode ended with the team two questions away from the million with all of their helps intact and two incorrect answers.

I thought that the questions were easier than the premiere, as there were a few occasions where I figured out the answer before the team did which didn't happen at all last week.

[That Don Guy]

I thought that the questions were easier than the premiere, as there were a few occasions where I figured out the answer before the team did which didn't happen at all last week.

It seemed to me that there were too many "light bulb moments" happening right after the 30-second point; I got the feeling that the producers told them to throw around wrong answers for the first 30 seconds.  I can think of two reasons for this; it prevents the contestants agreeing on an answer early and then having 45 seconds of silence, and it gives the viewers 30 seconds to see if they can come up with the answer.

You would think that at least one of them would have known the story behind "Steal My Thunder" and would have known the answer the second the question was read.

[Neumms]

It seemed to me that there were too many "light bulb moments" happening right after the 30-second point; I got the feeling that the producers told them to throw around wrong answers for the first 30 seconds.  I can think of two reasons for this; it prevents the contestants agreeing on an answer early and then having 45 seconds of silence, and it gives the viewers 30 seconds to see if they can come up with the answer.

That's an easy fix--the Russian version allows you to stop the clock then carry over the time. I think that would make things interesting. You want to make sure you're right, yet seconds are at a premium. Presumably only the captain can stop the clock, so that presents an interesting dynamic, too.

I don't even mind that it's one team against your basic money ladder, but they could frame the lifelines less like lifelines: The 30-extra-seconds could be replaced by the carryover seconds--whenever you have some, the captain can ask for them. You don't really need switch-the-question, since you get three free misses anyway. And allow each player one veto in the course of the game. That could add some compelling conflict, as should the "if one person says risk it, you risk it" rule. (It may work better with teams of strangers, though.)

[Neumms]

I watched it and thought this is perfect...for the UK. It just feels like it could work there for some reason- but not here (too slow, and I don't think the average person would get more than one or two of the questions). Probably the most elegant GS setup ever done in the US however.

I watched episode 2, and loved it. No, the folks at home won't get them all, but once you hear the answers, you kick yourself because they SHOULD be so easy.

I love the Casino Royale feel. I'm not wild about Vernon. He's not offensive, but he doesn't add anything. ABC is 0 for how many on imported game show hosts? Put Ben Stein in a white tux, let him rib the guy with the Colonel Sanders bow tie and bring some wit to the whole thing, then the show won't be too slow.

What I really didn't like was the forced clapping. Players shouldn't clap for themselves. It's gauche. And the host shouldn't be clapping all the time either.