Author Topic: Various Thoughts and Questions (Read 5757 times)

James Allen · « **on:** July 03, 2003, 05:58:57 PM »

Hello again, all.

I love the new board. I'd been out of the game show posting loop for awhile, what with atvgs having turned into a wasteland many moons ago. I'm happy to have found out about this place.

I have a ton of posts to sift through, so pardon me if I am redundant.

Will WWTBAM be back on network TV anytime soon? (Say, as a two week \"event\" like it used to be?)

I don't care for the current Hollywood Square endgame. It seems to take the car key aspect of the Davidson version and add an uninteresting True/False bit. Why have a forced endgame on a show that doesn't need one? It's like if Jeopardy suddenly went back to the 1978 endgame.

I miss Win Ben Stein's Money.

I like Lingo. I don't care for Funny Money. The new Pyramid is frustrating in that it's pretty good but just short of being great.

Watching The Price is Right these days just shows what an all-time great game it is. And one key to this is that, in all these years, they haven't messed with the format .

By the way, I love the prime time shows. Showcase showdowns of 50K+? I never thought I'd see such a thing!

Richard Karn is a nice guy and everything, but he's a dull game show host.

Todd Newton is probably the anti-christ. But seriously, he's not too engaging. No wonder he's also a talking head on E! (Tom Beregon has similar looks to Newton, but he is much more interesting and likeable, i.e. he seems like he's a real person.)

Speaking of E!, you've probably hashed this one out around here, but it's about the E! THS about HS. I enjoyed it very much. I wonder, anyone find any errors in the show worth talking about?

They also showed a clip of the HS pilot (with Bert Parks) I assume it exists in full. Has anyone seen it?

That's enough for now. Take care, all.

Robert Hutchinson · « **Reply #1 on:** July 03, 2003, 06:37:57 PM »

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I don't care for the current Hollywood Square endgame. It seems to take the car key aspect of the Davidson version and add an uninteresting True/False bit. Why have a forced endgame on a show that doesn't need one?

IMO, Hollywood Squares needs an endgame if it's not going to straddle. The alternatives would be \"Joan, you were ahead when the horn sounded, so here's $25,000!\" or \"We're out of time, and you win whatever's on the screen in front of you, good night.\"

clemon79 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 03, 2003, 06:42:29 PM »

[quote name=\'James Allen\' date=\'Jul 3 2003, 02:58 PM\'] Will WWTBAM be back on network TV anytime soon? (Say, as a two week "event" like it used to be?)

[/quote]
I don't think ABC has ruled out the possibility, but don't hold your breath.

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I miss Win Ben Stein's Money.

Me too. It's something I would Tivo if they were running new shows. I even liked Nancy.

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Watching The Price is Right these days just shows what an all-time great game it is. And one key to this is that, in all these years, they haven't messed with the format .

Overall, I agree, but they have made little tweaks here and there to deal with inflation issues.

The one TPiR game I think has been most adversely affected? Lucky Seven. Without that gimme (or at least within 1) for the first number, it's damn near impossible to win anymore.

James Allen · « **Reply #3 on:** July 03, 2003, 07:00:06 PM »

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IMO, Hollywood Squares needs an endgame if it's not going to straddle. The alternatives would be \"Joan, you were ahead when the horn sounded, so here's $25,000!\" or \"We're out of time, and you win whatever's on the screen in front of you, good night.\"

True. But the old way with the Secret Square type question and the prize envelope was satisfying enough. The current one just takes too long, taking away from main game play; and with a show like HS, the main game (i.e. interacting with the celebrities) is the important ingredient.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #4 on:** July 03, 2003, 07:10:03 PM »

Now see, I just love the new endgame. Simply put, Hollywood Squares is all about the celebrities, and one could argue that those little nuggets of information (even the wrong ones) are very entertaining. I even enjoy \"Behind the Squares\". I just feel that people don't tune into the show to see which contestant gets more tic-tac-toes.

Brandon Brooks · « **Reply #5 on:** July 03, 2003, 07:48:48 PM »

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Todd Newton is probably the anti-christ. But seriously, he's not too engaging. No wonder he's also a talking head on E! (Tom Beregon has similar looks to Newton, but he is much more interesting and likeable, i.e. he seems like he's a real person.)

He does come across as a little non-engaging, but I think it may be because he simply is so young. He seems like a really nice guy, but I just think he needs to find his niche.

Tom is a very likeable guy, on and off camera. He doesn't come across as plastic as Newton sometimes is.

Brandon Brooks

Neumms · « **Reply #6 on:** July 04, 2003, 01:05:28 AM »

I don't think people tune in to see which gets more tic-tac-toes either, but they tune in for funny quips and the new endgame takes too much time from those. I think the reruns of the original nighttime Squares showed that \"Joan, time's up, you win [not $25,000 but] a car\" worked pretty well actually.

Todd Newton was better on \"Hollywood Showdown\" than on \"Whammy,\" it seems to me. He's full of fake enthusiasm on Whammy, much like the contestants. If he could pull it back a little, he'd be pretty good--not as witty as Bergeron, but pretty good.

ChuckNet · « **Reply #7 on:** July 04, 2003, 11:03:24 AM »

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I don't care for the current Hollywood Square endgame. It seems to take the car key aspect of the Davidson version and add an uninteresting True/False bit. Why have a forced endgame on a show that doesn't need one?

IMO, it's way better than the 60-sec. endgame they tried last season and seems more relevant to the maingame.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious \"Chuckie Baby\")

JasonA1 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 04, 2003, 11:22:40 AM »

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Will WWTBAM be back on network TV anytime soon?

As much good as it would do for the game show genre as a whole, I can say honestly I wouldn't watch it. I can watch Meredith on occasion, but that's the best I'll do.

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don't care for the current Hollywood Square endgame.

Well, the second endgame (prize w/question) saved time, and didn't pile on rewards. I liked the contestant could earn his keep in the maingame and happen to win maybe $7,500 more in the bonus or a car if he/she was lucky.

My only problem with the current endgame, is as you said, time. But that's a factor altered by \"Behind the Squares\" (which I also like, actually). It's just the new direction of the show. It's a lot better than that stodgy question-fest introduced before Whoopi left.

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I like Lingo. I don't care for Funny Money. The new Pyramid is frustrating in that it's pretty good but just short of being great.

Lingo is good. And surprisingly, \"Funny Money\" has begun to grow on me just a bit. If you look at it as a fun, comedy game, then you overlook the poor format. You get a laugh or two with the comedians and the caption round is okay. More than anything, I've been watching for specific comics - those I've seen on Comedy Central or elsewhere (in the case of George Gray and Graham Elwood).

As for \"Pyramid,\" that's probably the best assessment of it I've heard in a while. It's good, but what could be fixed would make it great,

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Richard Karn is a nice guy and everything, but he's a dull game show host.

Ditto.

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Todd Newton is...not too engaging.

He's been getting better on this go 'round of \"Whammy.\" Not every cash hit is screamed among other improvements.

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They also showed a clip of the HS pilot...Has anyone seen it?

Yes, it's on the trading circuit.

-Jason

BrandonFG · « **Reply #9 on:** July 05, 2003, 12:18:44 AM »

[quote name=\'James Allen\' date=\'Jul 3 2003, 04:58 PM\']I don't care for the current Hollywood Square endgame. It seems to take the car key aspect of the Davidson version and add an uninteresting True/False bit. Why have a forced endgame on a show that doesn't need one? It's like if Jeopardy suddenly went back to the 1978 endgame.[/quote]

Now, I actually think this is H2's best endgame EVER. Very suspenseful, 1) seeing if a contestant can get all 9 answers (BTW, when does the tournament repeat? I gotta see this sweep of the board), and 2) seeing if the key will work. It works best when it narrows down to just 2 keys; the audience's reaction is priceless.

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I like Lingo. I don't care for Funny Money. The new Pyramid is frustrating in that it's pretty good but just short of being great.

Lingo, along with Russian Roulette, need to be placed in syndication immediately. Funny Money is growing on me (and has a catchy theme song). Pyramid needs some improvement, but I give it a B/B-.

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Watching The Price is Right these days just shows what an all-time great game it is. And one key to this is that, in all these years, they haven't messed with the format .

TPiR is still cool, but the college crowd is getting kinda annoying, and this is as a college student. I actually prefer the 70s/80s audiences, with the \"game show contestant\" attire.

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Richard Karn is a nice guy and everything, but he's a dull game show host.

At least he interacts well with contestants though, much more than I can say for Louie.