Author Topic: Let's go to the Bonus Round... (Read 11386 times)

uncamark · « **Reply #15 on:** December 09, 2003, 02:51:35 PM »

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Dec 9 2003, 09:02 AM\']Another show that comes to mind that didn't have a bonus round: the ABC run of "Break the Bank". I've heard people say that the bonus round on the syndie version didn't really fit.[/quote]
It didn't--but Dan Enright wanted a beat-the-bad-guy end game anyway (said bad guy being the Bust card).

You can also add the early days of "Scrabble" and "Face the Music" to shows with final rounds that weren't end games (both face-the-champion rounds). Also, in the last two Ralph Edwards seasons of "NTT," the Golden Medley was a competition between the players rather than a solo end game (and despite Bob Stewart's claim that the "Password" Lightning Round was the first end game, there's strong evidence that the "NTT" Golden Medley deserved that title--and "Play Your Hunch" had two different end games before "Password" came on the air).

gameshowguy2000 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 09, 2003, 08:31:53 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Dec 9 2003, 11:40 AM\'] [quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Dec 9 2003, 07:42 AM\'] Were they allowed to use the pitstop with less than 15 seconds on the clock, which was the case with Catherine? There was a bit of a debate about that on Usenet when her episode aired. [/quote]
I honestly don't remember a single rule that implied that she could not, and since using a Pitstop froze the clock completely and not just the ten seconds a player had to answer a question, I don't see where it would have created a problem.

I just remember yelling "YOU STILL HAD A PITSTOP! MY DOG COULD HAVE FOUND "GHIRADELLI" UP THERE GIVEN 15 SECONDS!" [/quote]
IIRC correctly, Catherine had a pit stop, a pass, and THREE seconds left on that clock. 3 seconds isn't enough to even USE that last pit stop or pass!

If I were in the shoes of Catherine, I would've bailed out with the $500K too. I wouldn't have found Ghiradelli's number.

BTW, what was the number for Ghiradelli?

ChuckNet · « **Reply #17 on:** December 09, 2003, 08:32:26 PM »

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And she HAD A PITSTOP LEFT. SHE HAD A FREAKIN' PITSTOP LEFT. {crying}

Best. Endgame. Ever.

Amen to that...sometimes an endgame like the Wonderwall can make it worth sitting through the first 20 min. of an otherwise lackluster show.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

clemon79 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 09, 2003, 09:17:14 PM »

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Dec 9 2003, 06:31 PM\'] IIRC correctly, Catherine had a pit stop, a pass, and THREE seconds left on that clock. 3 seconds isn't enough to even USE that last pit stop or pass! [/quote]
My internal Department Of Ridiculously Obscure Information remembers it as four seconds, but we're arguing semantics. All she had to do was bang her thumb on a button she was holding in her hand, and then she had fifteen seconds to either be ready to blurt out an answer or hit the Bailout button the moment the clock resumed ticking. If you can't do that in three or four seconds, I suggest you work on some hand-eye coordination exercises.

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If I were in the shoes of Catherine, I would've bailed out with the $500K too. I wouldn't have found Ghiradelli's number.

But at least you take the fifteen seconds to think and look! If you don't have an answer THEN, sure, you bail out. (Heck, it might have been legal to bail out DURING a pitstop, but assuming it wasn't she had ample time to do so when it ended.)

(Of course, the trick is doing that with a level head and a million bones on the line, which is why she bailed out with $500K, and I don't blame her either for making that decision. But still, if she were just a LITTLE more level-headed, and aware of the situation...)

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BTW, what was the number for Ghiradelli?

I haven't any idea, and I'm of the opinion that anyone here who does and is willing to admit it needs to get out more.

TLEberle · « **Reply #19 on:** December 10, 2003, 01:39:22 AM »

Oh, pick me! Pick me!

Let's go to the RealPLayer...

<fast forward>

DC: Who was known as the Galloping Gourmet? You have twelve seconds.
CR: (29), Graham Kerr.
DC: The Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory can be found in what city? Six seconds, four, three, two...

Catherine bails out and leaves with $502,500. She had more than enough time to activate the pit stop button, search for the answer and either give the answer, guess, or quit.

The correct answer is (6) San Francisco. And they make damn good chocolate.

Travis

HYHYBT · « **Reply #20 on:** December 10, 2003, 02:02:24 AM »

Would it be useful here to make a distinction between "bonus round" and "end game"? The original Scrabble Sprint, whatever Face the Music called its, Final Jeopardy!, and the Showcases are all end games but are not bonus rounds because you're still competing against other players.

In a sense (a nonsensical sense, if you like), The Price is Right has both, separately, and in backwards order. The Showcases are an end game, but the individual pricing games are essentially a bonus for getting out of Contestants' Row.

I really like the idea of making the Wonderwall its own show.

Anyway, bonus rounds help keep a straddling game from getting monotonous, and help keep one game from running into another in the viewer's mind (and maybe the participants' too for all I know), or give a self-contained show a big finish. If the main game has enough variety in itself, and an appropriate (not necessarily huge, but decent) payout, it could do without.

Jay Temple · « **Reply #21 on:** December 10, 2003, 01:24:03 PM »

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Dec 9 2003, 01:51 PM\'] [quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Dec 9 2003, 09:02 AM\']Another show that comes to mind that didn't have a bonus round: the ABC run of "Break the Bank". [/quote]
It didn't--but Dan Enright wanted a beat-the-bad-guy end game anyway (said bad guy being the Bust card). [/quote]
Play the Percentages, in its final version, had a beat-the-bad-guy bonus round, but its "bad guy" was the one answer out of six shown that didn't make the survey. (Since the percentages of the other five were adjusted to add up to 100, it may well have shown up; it just wasn't one of the top five.)

As I noted on another thread, Concentration didn't need a bonus round. However, to work today you would probably need some guaranteed total for everyone who wins at least one game. Otherwise, you could have a two-game winner whose winnings literally amount to a hill of beans. (Randy West at the end of the show: "All players who win at least one game receive a gift card from J.C. Penney's, ..." or whoever they can line up as a sponsor.)

gameshowguy2000 · « **Reply #22 on:** December 10, 2003, 02:55:45 PM »

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Dec 10 2003, 01:39 AM\'] Oh, pick me! Pick me!

Let's go to the RealPLayer...

<fast forward>

DC: Who was known as the Galloping Gourmet? You have twelve seconds.
CR: (29), Graham Kerr.
DC: The Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory can be found in what city? Six seconds, four, three, two...

Catherine bails out and leaves with $502,500. She had more than enough time to activate the pit stop button, search for the answer and either give the answer, guess, or quit.

The correct answer is (6) San Francisco. And they make damn good chocolate.

Travis [/quote]
I knew that San Francisco was the answer. Just didn't know the number, but thanks, Travis.

And I never knew that a Pit Stop froze the main clock. I thought the main clock would still be running, just like it would once Dick Clark had finished reading the question. After he read the question, I'd hear the little "tick-tock"'s of the 15-second mini-clock, and that coincided with the main clock.

Blanquepage · « **Reply #23 on:** December 10, 2003, 07:18:43 PM »

Well now y'all can see the end game to the premiere episode of "Winning Lines" to totally refresh your memory of just how it played out. Scroll down to the "Bonus Round Madness" section for the updated clip.

....end plug. Back to work for me.

--Jamie

gameshowguy2000 · « **Reply #24 on:** December 10, 2003, 07:29:57 PM »

Thanks, Jamie.

As for the post on distinguishing Bonus Round from End Game:

Well, the Showcase round and Final Jeopardy! are 2 End Games not considered Bonus Rounds.

Speaking of Final Jeopardy!: I knew that players with negative scores are excluded, but why are people with $0 also excluded?

I know that people had to not be "In The Hole" to be in Final Jeopardy. Heck, I've seen players in Final Jeopardy wager $0. That leads me to believe that even if you have $0, you could still be in Final Jeopardy.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #25 on:** December 10, 2003, 07:35:44 PM »

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Dec 10 2003, 07:29 PM\'] Speaking of Final Jeopardy!: I knew that players with negative scores are excluded, but why are people with $0 also excluded?

I know that people had to not be "In The Hole" to be in Final Jeopardy. Heck, I've seen players in Final Jeopardy wager $0. That leads me to believe that even if you have $0, you could still be in Final Jeopardy. [/quote]
Negative (no pun intended).

Betting $0 when you have money and having $0 to bet with are two separate things. The people who bet $0 on Final J! still have money to give, but strategically choose not to. Would you walk into a casino with no money, and still expect to be able to put $100 on the blackjack table?

zachhoran · « **Reply #26 on:** December 10, 2003, 07:38:31 PM »

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Dec 10 2003, 07:29 PM\']
Speaking of Final Jeopardy!: I knew that players with negative scores are excluded, but why are people with $0 also excluded?

I know that people had to not be "In The Hole" to be in Final Jeopardy. Heck, I've seen players in Final Jeopardy wager $0. That leads me to believe that even if you have $0, you could still be in Final Jeopardy. [/quote]
A player with $0 at the end of Double J! could theoretically play Final J! and wager zero, but the best they could do is end up tied with their opponents(if both of them wagered everything and got FJ! wrong). A three-way tie on zero means nobody comes back, so it makes no sense for them to play in FJ!. During a tournament semi-finals on the other hand, that three-way tie on zero would need to be broken with a tie breaker question to see who would make the finals.

gameshowguy2000 · « **Reply #27 on:** December 10, 2003, 08:30:24 PM »

OK, now that's understandable. Thanks!

rugrats1 · « **Reply #28 on:** December 10, 2003, 09:54:26 PM »

Quote

A player with $0 at the end of Double J! could theoretically play Final J! and wager zero, but the best they could do is end up tied with their opponents(if both of them wagered everything and got FJ! wrong). A three-way tie on zero means nobody comes back, so it makes no sense for them to play in FJ!.

What if that person entered Final Jeopardy with $0 and got it right, but the other 2 contestants blew it all and ended with $0?

zachhoran · « **Reply #29 on:** December 10, 2003, 09:57:14 PM »

[quote name=\'rugrats1\' date=\'Dec 10 2003, 09:54 PM\']
What if that person entered Final Jeopardy with $0 and got it right, but the other 2 contestants blew it all and ended with $0? [/quote]
That would mean there'd be a three-way tie on zero, when that happens, no one comes back. This is Jeopardy!, not PYL we're talking about. If it was the semifinals of a tournament, there'd be a tiebreaker question asked to determine who would go to the finals.