Pyramid "sneak peek" on GSN

[Game Show Man]

Personally, it felt like the 80's show never left.  I LOVED the $500/$5,000 for 7-7, and I was impressed by Chandra Wilson's playing of the game.  Even Mikey managed not to suck; he was a bit stiff, but otherwise he was just fine.  By God, THIS is how you do The Pyramid.

[Steve Gavazzi]

This is easily the best thing GSN has done since Lingo.  There are a few things that I wish they were doing a little differently, and things felt just a little off without the 7-11 and the Mystery 7, but dammit, it's Pyramid.  The celebs were into it, the contestants could play well, and overall, the things they got wrong were vastly outweighed by what they got right.

Mike isn't the most perfect host I've ever seen, but damn, he's clearly trying, which is more than I can say for the host of a certain other show he's associated with.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that many of TPIR's problems would at the very least be lessened if it were hosted by its executive producer.

[GSFan]

Overall, they did a great job.  I'm curious to see how the show will develop beyond its first production cycle.  It would have made for better television if we were allowed a little more time with the contestants.  I understand the nature of the beast, but could we spend a bit more time with the $20,000 winner before getting back to the commercials?  What a shame that everyone on air had a last name, except for the contestants.

[NickS]

What a shame that everyone on air had a last name, except for the contestants.

Perfesser?  Is that you?

All jokes aside, my only gripe is the overabundance of Helvetica/Swiss/Arial/enter cheap sans-serif font here.  Great that you're upping the prize budget but would it kill you to get a couple of font licenses?  Doesn't have to be Clarendon or Bookman but have some creativity here.

I think Mike's doing perfectly acceptable hosting; there's some strengths and weaknesses but completely curious to see how he grows into the role.  Let's be happy that someone actually more or less made a really good revival here.

[40onTheBlue]

What a shame that everyone on air had a last name, except for the contestants.

GSN's originals and revivals all seem to do this. Anybody know why?

[40onTheBlue]

I was just about to write about those zooms, myself--but aside from that, the camera work did the requisite job of making the big Pyramid look big.  The remixed theme seems nice, but was too low in the mix.
Nice work, GSN.

Yeah, the winner's circle was indeed done fabulously. If they can take  that work and apply it to the front game, all will be well. As for the  theme, I agree that it was buried too deep into the mix. I'm also not  sure about the arrangement; it feels a little too casual and not BIG  enough to make an impact. My personal preference would've been for them  to use the original 70's version of Tuning Up, but this new recording is pleasant enough. I'll get used to it.

[JasonA1]

I'm quite okay with what I just saw. I found it interesting that Mike stood behind a different podium than I have been seeing in other clips and production photos. Was this one of the pilots, maybe?

This was not.

-Jason

[BillCullen1]

Clark, Cullen and Stewart must be smiling from up above. I wonder who the announcer is on this version.

[Matt Ottinger]

Golly, that made me happy.

[Kevin Prather]

I will be a loyal viewer of this.

[Jay Temple]

What a shame that everyone on air had a last name, except for the contestants.

We already knew that they don't have returning champions. Within an individual show, this is the only thing that I dislike even a little.

Prize structure (known): terrific
Host: He was a little over the top, but so was Dick Clark in the first-week show that I've seen. I expect that he'll sound more natural on the later episodes.
Quality of game play: pretty good considering that the game hadn't been played "for real" in eight years. Of course, we already know that some celebs didn't fare so well.
Graphics: What I saw was well-done, but I think "$500" would have been better than "7 out of 7." I really liked the fact that the make-believe trilons were turning to reveal the categories as well as removing them.
Writing (main game): I loved, loved, loved that they had a few longer items in the main game, like "air-traffic controller". In the 1980's, they would have shortened this to just "controller."
(Winner's Circle) The writing is as good as it was in the 1980's, and maybe even with a little more variety. We saw WHAT A __ MIGHT SAY and WHAT J__ G__ MIGHT SAY, but not in the second box, where they always used to be, and at least in the latter case, I don't disagree with that placement.
The game itself: Virtually unchanged (except for the tie-breaker, which we haven't seen but we know is new), and I'm especially gratified that they still get to choose whether to give or receive in the Winner's Circle.

[Kevin Prather]

Quality of game play: pretty good considering that the game hadn't been played "for real" in eight twenty-one years.

There, fixed that for you.

Writing (main game): I loved, loved, loved that they had a few longer items in the main game, like "air-traffic controller".

Not sure how I felt about "A baggage handler" though. Is that really the common phrase?

(Winner's Circle) The writing is as good as it was in the 1980's, and maybe even with a little more variety. We saw WHAT A __ MIGHT SAY and WHAT J__ G__ MIGHT SAY, but not in the second box, where they always used to be, and at least in the latter case, I don't disagree with that placement.

Just as long as they don't start doing what Donnymid did, and have multiple "_____ says" and "why you ______" in the same round.

[clemon79]

Not sure how I felt about "A baggage handler" though. Is that really the common phrase?

I was completely fine with it.

[Matt Ottinger]

Not sure how I felt about "A baggage handler" though. Is that really the common phrase?

Absolutely.  But it's a completely different job than a bellman or a porter, and if that's what gets stuck in your head first, it's going to be very hard for you to come around to the right answer.  A tough one, but not evil.

[TLEberle]

Absolutely.  But it's a completely different job than a bellman or a porter, and if that's what gets stuck in your head first, it's going to be very hard for you to come around to the right answer.  A tough one, but not evil.

And would "baggage handler" be dealt with more or less easily than "skycap" for example?