PYL 2019 has a host!

[cyclone45]

Interesting that Square 6 now says MOVE two spaces rather than GO BACK 2..not complaining, it's just interesting.

[ITSBRY]

The Instagram photo of the board sure looked like each square was an individual screen with a physical lighted border but the promos make it look like the whole board is just one big rear projection screen. I’m assuming/hoping those promo boards are just cgi renderings to mask gameplay but it’s really hard to tell for sure.

[Joe Mello]

The Instagram photo of the board sure looked like each square was an individual screen with a physical lighted border but the promos make it look like the whole board is just one big rear projection screen. I’m assuming/hoping those promo boards are just cgi renderings to mask gameplay but it’s really hard to tell for sure.

At this point, I assume the entire set or most of it is custom LED's and what we see on the TV is a capture of the game software instead of a camera pointing at the in-studio board.

[BrandonFG]

Per Jason Hernandez, we indeed see the computer software, and not the board itself.

ETA: No it's not, which makes more sense. I couldn't imagine having all that chrome, for it to not be shown on-camera.

Now back to watching.

[Sodboy13]

They done good here.

[stutzunoon]

Was fun to see the show come back, although it definitely had its hits and misses.

The set is stunning and it's great to see the original whammies with newer ones as well.

The original game is just as much fun as I remembered it to be, but the hosting wasn't really up to par in my opinion.  It seemed to me like Elizabeth Banks was doing a bad imitation of a game show host. 

The bonus game was interesting but seemed to go on forever.  Maybe they should have hid a bonus on the board and make every stop capture a square on the board.  After 6 or so spins you keep what you have and if you captured the bonus you get 5 or 10x your bank.

As for the music, the 1st part of the theme sounded great but they didn't include the B-section vamp portion of the song nor the win fanfare. It felt like Family Feud where they only use clips of the main theme for all cues.  Maybe I'm just spoiled by Pyramid & Match Game's attention to detail down to the music.

Overall it was 3 out of 5 stars for me.

[Stackertosh]

The Set is very nice as well as the new Whammies the Oprah one is  funny.

The Front Game is amazing its fun watching PYL. I don't care for the Bonus Game i felt like i was watching Deal or No deal with the crying family members and the emotional stories. I wish they played two games with the returning contestant.

Elizabeth Banks hosting wasn't all there for me it felt like i was watching Game Show Marathon with Ricki Lake hosting.

The Theme is a great update it started to get annoying, they kept playing the same parts and it felt like Family Feud. I was hoping they would use the prize music.

[Kevin Prather]

Regarding the bonus round. If I understood Elizabeth correctly, the million is won the moment a contestant reaches $500,000. Is that right, or does the contestant still have to finish the round they are on without hitting a whammy?

[Sodboy13]

The way she said it, it's immediately game over, $1 million the moment your score crosses $500K. I like the idea of having to play through the full game to claim it instead, but let's be honest, it's something that probably isn't going to happen very often either way.

[weaklink75]

Fast National Ratings are in...

https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/tv-ratings-tuesday-june-11-2019/

I think it's OK- 3rd in viewers, but 2nd in the demo (double 3rd place, and only a tenth behind first); and face it, 10pm is not the best timeslot for it. Tonight will be a better picture in it's normal 8pm slot (though it is up against Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final, and you have 2 of the top 25 media markets in Boston and St. Louis playing..)

[mystery7]

I give it a solid 8. Faithful to the original with a couple of nice updates plus a bonus round, all wrapped in a set that would make Ed Flesh proud. But I do have quibbles:

- I think they picked the wrong announcer. Dude. It's a game show, not a trailer for a Michael Bay movie. Brad Abelle just about pulls that style off for Pyramid. You (Neil Ross, if I read the credit right)...not so much.

- The processing of the Whammies' voices was a little off...seems like it was only sped up without doing whatever other extra step they did on the original. Super trivial, I know, but somehow it gets me.

- Music is an almost slavish re-record of the original. That said, I wished for the other half of it, and I probably would've written the "we're back" cue differently. Agreed on the lack of a win cue. We kinda needed it since there didn't feel like quite enough drama at the end of the main game. Sorta disappointed they used the lower-pitch board sound from the first season.

- I miss having the answers displayed.

- Showing the prices of the prizes is nice but the pause in revealing them seems to take away some momentum. I'd show the price as soon as the board stops.

- Elizabeth Banks is good overall but her enthusiasm doesn't seem to be there in the heat of the game. Not sure how I feel about her not saying "stop at..." at the end of each spin like Peter did (and Todd did on Whammy). I do like her rapport with the players, and she seems to genuinely feel for them. That goes a long way.

- Still not 100% convinced we need the bonus round.

[Kevin Prather]

Maybe this has been answered before. Is there some ABC S&P rule against disclosing contestants' last names? Why has first names only become a trend?

[TimK2003]

Maybe this has been answered before. Is there some ABC S&P rule against disclosing contestants' last names? Why has first names only become a trend?

Not just an ABC thing. With the exception of the long-running Price/Wheel/Jeopardy/Millionaire/Feud quintet, I can't think of any other current game shows that divulge last names.  I dont even think the current LMAD calls their contestants by their first and last names if ever.

[BrandonFG]

I think someone here suggested that some shows may do this to avoid the possibility of stalkers, given how much of our info exists on the Internet nowadays? That said, the trend started around the time of Weakest Link, when social media didn't exist, and one would've been a little more hard-pressed to find that kind of info back then, so who knows?

[The Ol' Guy]

Play classic PYL with three players, three questions per round. Highest scoring player stays around while three new contestants play a second game. The highest scoring winner between the two complete games gets to play a shortened variation of the bonus. Shouldn't be more than 15 minutes. Cut the chat, and you can create some drama by watching the winner of the first game agonizing over the ups and downs of the challengers to his/her crack at the bonus. Making the bonus a half hour has that undercurrent of..."You can quit now at the end of round 1 with $12,000 and your two dream prizes...but, God, PLEASE DON'T, or or we'll have to interview you for 20 minutes to fill the rest of the time." Trim a bit of the money amounts and have more good prizes during the regular games so you'll be able to afford to let the winners of both regular games keep their cash.