Billy Crystal on $25,000 Pyramid

[BillCullen1]

Starting 10/4, GSN is airing Pyramid with Billy Crystal and Lynn Redgrave. Billy broke the WC record in the 70s on this show.

[Kevin Prather]

If the current Pyramid crew could line up Billy Crystal to play in season two, that'd be a hell of a get.

[Scrabbleship]

If the current Pyramid crew could line up Billy Crystal to play in season two, that'd be a hell of a get.

Him versus Whoopi would be a nice throwback to the era where Comic Relief was a thing and is a nice little View tie-in on her end.

[TLEberle]

Is she good at the game? What about for those of us who don't care about the View-synergy?

[SRIV94]

Is she good at the game? What about for those of us who don't care about the View-synergy?

It's a legit question, but she strikes me as the type who would be good at the game.

[clemon79]

It's a legit question, but she strikes me as the type who would be good at the game.

Ellie Kemper struck me as the type who would be a decent Match Game panelist, too.

[Thunder]

Is she good at the game? What about for those of us who don't care about the View-synergy?

You're going to watch it anyway even if she gets more cuckoos than a Swiss clock store. The tie-in would be for people wanting to see Goldberg on another show.

[Kevin Prather]

Is she good at the game? What about for those of us who don't care about the View-synergy?

Test her out before you use her. And if someone don't care about her on The View, maybe they enjoy her from one of the other eleven thousand things she did in her career.

[BrandonFG]

It's been a while since I've seen her era of Hollywood Squares, and while I'm aware we're talking two different formats. But...from what I remember, while she did draw some of the spotlight to her at times, she at least cared enough to take the game seriously.

I don't think anyone "cares" about The View synergy; it's simply ABC promoting its daytime lineup. No more, no less.

[MSTieScott]

You're going to watch it anyway even if she gets more cuckoos than a Swiss clock store. The tie-in would be for people wanting to see Goldberg on another show.

Yes, but the goal is that the people who would tune in to see Whoopi would then enjoy Pyramid so much that they choose to watch the show again even if Whoopi isn't on it. Which is less likely to happen if the gameplay is suboptimal.

Additionally, a casual viewer who just happens upon the show that week without caring one way or the other whether Whoopi is on it will be less likely to return if the gameplay is bad.

[Thunder]

Mild disagree.

I believe that casual viewers will be more likely to watch again if they simply enjoy what they see. A 21-21 tie is fun to watch, but watching Whoopi Goldberg get the cuckoo and hitting the desk in frustration is just as entertaining.

[Nick]

A 21-21 tie is fun to watch, but watching Whoopi Goldberg get the cuckoo and hitting the desk in frustration is just as entertaining.

Vehement disagree, especially if you're matched against a seasoned veteran such as Billy Crystal.  It's unfair for one contestant to have to play with a dolt while the other sails to a win with fifteen points (I know, not unprecedented in Pyramid's history, but not a feat you want to duplicate).  Playing with equal dolts may even the playing field (re: Jon Lovitz vs. Deion Sanders), but when the contestants are running circles around their partners, it makes for poor TV.

[chrisholland03]

My two cents:

Unskilled gameplay is painful to watch.
Sustained 21-21 games are boring to watch.

It's nice when there's at least 1 tough item in each category to make things interesting.

I'm liking the 82/83 season Pyramid on GSN because there's a mixed bag of skill and difficulty

[Nick]

My two cents:

Unskilled gameplay is painful to watch.
Sustained 21-21 games are boring to watch.

It's nice when there's at least 1 tough item in each category to make things interesting.

I'm liking the 82/83 season Pyramid on GSN because there's a mixed bag of skill and difficulty

I agree with your first, third and fourth points.  Never from my experience watching Pyramid did 21-21 games seem boring and, more importantly, didn't seem to bore anybody in studio.  Given the celebrity stock they're using for this ABC edition, I doubt we have to be concerned about a litany of 21-21 games popping up in another ten-episode run, but I want the victory to be won on at least eighteen points.

[Thunder]

Vehement disagree, especially if you're matched against a seasoned veteran such as Billy Crystal.  It's unfair for one contestant to have to play with a dolt while the other sails to a win with fifteen points (I know, not unprecedented in Pyramid's history, but not a feat you want to duplicate).  Playing with equal dolts may even the playing field (re: Jon Lovitz vs. Deion Sanders), but when the contestants are running circles around their partners, it makes for poor TV.

And you're not the "casual viewer" that we were talking about up there.