BUZZR "Prime Time Party" beg. February 6th

[snowpeck]

Quick question for those more familiar... how far has Buzzr gotten with its Press Your Luck reruns?

Ooh! I know this one, because that's the run I'm patiently waiting for more episodes of!

The most recent episode of Press Your Luck that Buzzr has aired (not including the two Michael Larson episodes and that episode they aired as part of an Independence Day marathon) is episode 131 (original air date: March 21, 1984).

Ah ok. So we're still a ways off from finding out if they have more episodes or not.

[TLEberle]

Winning Sale of the Century was never about being the best at trivia.

I don't think that's a bad thing--you pointed out anticipating where the question will go, but I think that they were interestingly worded, which makes it entertaining, and the ease of them meant that the viewers had lots of chances to play along/

The difference is that Michael at least participated in the premise of the show and purchased some Instant Bargains.

Going to Mark's thing about the stuff being unappetizing, I think that the point is 1) you have a way to break up the quiz into smaller parts and to drop in some comedy as well and 2) the viewers get to see something interesting that they wouldn't see on The Price is Right, and whether the contestant buys or not is secondary. (as it happens, I think Instant Cash was brought in partly to reduce the work load of the prize procurers and the stage hands). Nobody was going to be lusting after the soup tureen in the shape of a fish, but I bet they remembered it, similar to the prizes on the original TPIR and High Rollers.

It makes me wonder how different things would have been if, after a contestant got a question wrong and lost $5, Jim kept reading the question and allowed the other two contestants a chance at the rebound.

I think they get fewer questions in per game and the flow of play breaks up some.

[MSTieScott]

Winning Sale of the Century was never about being the best at trivia.

I don't think that's a bad thing--you pointed out anticipating where the question will go, but I think that they were interestingly worded, which makes it entertaining, and the ease of them meant that the viewers had lots of chances to play along/

Counterpoint: When you get a champion who's really good at buzzing in the instant Jim reads the key word, you get a lot of half-finished questions, and while trivia aficionados can play along with "Which of our presidents was known as the sage of—", it isn't as much fun for the average viewer.

[PYLdude]

Winning Sale of the Century was never about being the best at trivia.

I don't think that's a bad thing--you pointed out anticipating where the question will go, but I think that they were interestingly worded, which makes it entertaining, and the ease of them meant that the viewers had lots of chances to play along/

Counterpoint: When you get a champion who's really good at buzzing in the instant Jim reads the key word, you get a lot of half-finished questions, and while trivia aficionados can play along with "Which of our presidents was known as the sage of—", it isn't as much fun for the average viewer.

Counter counterpoint: Sale isn't just about the trivia aspect. I'd even argue that it plays a backseat to what the real game is...testing one's adversity to risk, especially with over one hundred grand in goodies on offer. It's not just how good are you at trivia, it's how well do you pair that with your own avaricious tendencies (that might not be the best word to use there but it's what I felt fit best).

[TLEberle]

Your choice of words did not impede understanding.

And honestly, maybe the writers would then have to decide whether to rewrite that question as "What name links the third US president to the President of the Confederacy?" or "Which Founding Father shares his name with the couple who were according to the TV theme tune, 'movin' on up'?"

[Matt Ottinger]

Having played (OK, and lost...) both, I can tell you that as a player, I much preferred the Sale format of beating your opponents to the key word in the question over the Jeopardy format of beating your opponents to the flashing light once you've all had time to process the clue.  Sale is more like quiz bowl in that respect.  You win by processing the information faster, not simply by hand-eye coordination.

As a viewer, Jeopardy's structure is infinitely better to watch, because everybody at home has time to process the clue.

[BillCullen1]

Speaking of SOTC on Buzzr, something unusual happened this past week. On three shows, the winning contestant opted to take the first prize, which was a motorcycle, and leave. Most winners choose to hang around, but three people in one week choose the first prize and leave. Pretty safe to say that did not happen often.

[PYLdude]

I bet you didn't really see too many non-car buys either, for those who didn't stick it out to get at least to the car. By my count, to this point you had three lot wins, one second level prize buy, and the three motorcycle buyers in this past run of shows. I know that we'll see at least one car buy (when the twin Fieros return as a prize), if the lease does indeed extend that far.

[Strikerz04]

I bet you didn't really see too many non-car buys either, for those who didn't stick it out to get at least to the car. By my count, to this point you had three lot wins, one second level prize buy, and the three motorcycle buyers in this past run of shows. I know that we'll see at least one car buy (when the twin Fieros return as a prize), if the lease does indeed extend that far.

Assuming we make the next few weeks, you'll see a couple of more interesting buys/retired champions

[snowpeck]

I bet you didn't really see too many non-car buys either, for those who didn't stick it out to get at least to the car. By my count, to this point you had three lot wins, one second level prize buy, and the three motorcycle buyers in this past run of shows. I know that we'll see at least one car buy (when the twin Fieros return as a prize), if the lease does indeed extend that far.

Assuming we make the next few weeks, you'll see a couple of more interesting buys/retired champions

It looks like they're cycling back to the beginning after episode 81.

[WhammyPower]

Something that is NOT cycling back to the beginning is Match Game.  New eps. of Match Game 78 added as of yesterday.

[MSTieScott]

Password Plus continues with new-to-Buzzr episodes, and Perry Card Sharks hasn't looped back yet, either.

[snowpeck]

Password Plus continues with new-to-Buzzr episodes, and Perry Card Sharks hasn't looped back yet, either.

I forgot to mention when Sale would be looping back. That happens on April 17. Password Plus jumps forward to some later shows that they've run in marathons before on April 27 and presumably loops back to the beginning after that.

The farthest I could go in the listings shows them still plugging ahead with Perry Card Sharks at the end of the month. They'll be at episode 102 (9/12/78) by that point.

[PYLdude]

Something that is NOT cycling back to the beginning is Match Game.  New eps. of Match Game 78 added as of yesterday.

Funny, these don't appear to be from the same cuts as the others as we aren't getting the fee plugs in these eps. I know that really isn't a great big deal but considering that Buzzr for the most part has aired the episodes intact it definitely is noticeable.

[TPIR75]

Tattletales has also been progressing at 9:30pm.  If I've been following the few available episode guides correctly, #128 with Scoey Mitchell, Joe Campanella, and Allen Ludden & Betty White aired last Friday.  I haven't watched Monday or Tuesday's episodes yet to see if they have gone farther.