Author Topic: Number Please (Read 9514 times)

DjohnsonCB · « **on:** September 25, 2004, 03:40:55 PM »

Jimmy Owen was right in what he said in the "Winner Take All" thread. "Number Please"--which I remember watching on ABC when I was all of 6--*did* have annoying and mostly unnecessary BG music throughout, and the gameplay was pretty simple and not that challenging. My memories of watching this show long ago were evidently more pleasant. Of course, this was the sort of game geared to my "intellect" back then.

This show clearly had "cautious re-entry into game shows in the wake of the scandals" written all over it. No brain-crushing questions, complicated rules or high stakes...just call out numbers and see the letters come up, then be first to buzz in and guess the phrases. In truth, this was the second of two tries at "Hangman"-type games that would reach perfection with the third go-round--"Wheel Of Fortune". Like "Down You Go" before it, "Number Please" was basically WoF without the wheel or Vanna. But the presence of a male model was an okay touch. Whatever its faults, it was good to see it again.

Don Howard · « **Reply #1 on:** September 25, 2004, 06:14:18 PM »

And when was the last time we heard the voice of Ralph Paul on a GSN telecast?

Chief-O · « **Reply #2 on:** September 25, 2004, 07:11:55 PM »

Yeah, I managed to wake up when it came on, and I saw a good part of it. And although I was still a little sleepy, I knew the music was annoying [and too abundant].

>> "Number Please" was basically WoF without the wheel or Vanna.
I agree. It really seemed like a simplified, altered version of the WOF/Hangman concept. It was ahead of its time in terms of the electronics, but the set was small and boring [even by 60's standards, IMO] and, well, we mentioned the music already. In addition, I think a bonus round would probably have helped things, but hey, this was just after the scandals.

But with me being the technical freak I am, I was surprised to see that this ep. was NOT a kinescope at all!

Thad Dixon · « **Reply #3 on:** September 25, 2004, 07:18:04 PM »

[quote name=\'DjohnsonCB\' date=\'Sep 25 2004, 03:40 PM\']Whatever its faults, it was good to see it again.[/quote]
And as someone who wasn't even born yet in 1961, I thought it was good to see it for the first time. One question I have regarding the show:

I noticed that every time the players got their three free choices of numbers at the beginning of a round (at least in the episode we saw last night), they chose three consecutive numbers (e.g. 2-3-4). Did the three free numbers always have to be in a row like that?

ilb4ever2000 · « **Reply #4 on:** September 26, 2004, 03:31:37 AM »

Number Please...the show where the music is by a guy on the xylophone.

Not the most intriguing show, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Is this GSN's oldest videotaped show (no kinescope)? I also noticed that there was a white circle in the upper-right corner of the screen for part of the show. Was this some sort of cue mark?

uncamark · « **Reply #5 on:** September 26, 2004, 03:47:00 AM »

[quote name=\'ilb4ever2000\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 02:31 AM\'] Number Please...the show where the music is by a guy on the xylophone.

Not the most intriguing show, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Is this GSN's oldest videotaped show (no kinescope)? I also noticed that there was a white circle in the upper-right corner of the screen for part of the show. Was this some sort of cue mark? [/quote]
1. When was the first prime time "Password?"

2. NBC did cue mark boxes up in the upper-right-hand corner at commercial breaks back then. Don't know if ABC did, as well--may've been.

ilb4ever2000 · « **Reply #6 on:** September 26, 2004, 09:32:45 AM »

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 02:47 AM\'] 1. When was the first prime time "Password?" [/quote]
Nighttime Password didn't start until January 1962.

Quote

2. NBC did cue mark boxes up in the upper-right-hand corner at commercial breaks back then. Don't know if ABC did, as well--may've been.

The white circle here was on during the show and disappeared at break, as opposed to the other way around.

mmb5 · « **Reply #7 on:** September 26, 2004, 10:51:29 AM »

[quote name=\'ilb4ever2000\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 02:31 AM\'] Number Please...the show where the music is by a guy on the xylophone.

[/quote]
It's actually a vibraphone.

--Mike, former vibraphonist/xylophonist

gsnstooge · « **Reply #8 on:** September 26, 2004, 10:52:10 AM »

I can see why this show lasted only a year, because until I saw the episode, I didn't comprehend the format.

Steve Gavazzi · « **Reply #9 on:** September 26, 2004, 01:04:44 PM »

[quote name=\'gsnstooge\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 10:52 AM\'] I can see why this show lasted only a year, because until I saw the episode, I didn't comprehend the format. [/quote]
I really don't see how that logic follows through...

ilb4ever2000 · « **Reply #10 on:** September 26, 2004, 05:17:17 PM »

[quote name=\'mmb5\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 09:51 AM\'] It's actually a vibraphone. [/quote]
Same thing.

mmb5 · « **Reply #11 on:** September 26, 2004, 05:36:53 PM »

[quote name=\'ilb4ever2000\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 04:17 PM\'] [quote name=\'mmb5\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 09:51 AM\'] It's actually a vibraphone. [/quote]
Same thing.

[/quote]
I know you're trying to needle me, but there is a very big disctinction. Other than a vibraphone is electric, has metal bars and is played with soft mallets and a xylophone is acoustic, has wood bars and is played with hard mallets, I guess they would be the same thing.

By your reasoning, Jeopardy and The Swan are the same since they both give out prizes.

As a former vibes player, even I found the music annoying. Vibes were meant to be an instrument played during solos or as an addition to a melody, never as a one-man-band setup. I guess they were trying to sound different than the melodramatic organ, but it didn't work.

--Mike
channeling his 15-year-old-band-geek...

ilb4ever2000 · « **Reply #12 on:** September 26, 2004, 06:04:08 PM »

[quote name=\'mmb5\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 04:36 PM\'] I know you're trying to needle me, but there is a very big disctinction. Other than a vibraphone is electric, has metal bars and is played with soft mallets and a xylophone is acoustic, has wood bars and is played with hard mallets, I guess they would be the same thing.[/quote]
I was only kidding, but thanks for explaining. I'm sorry.

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #13 on:** September 26, 2004, 06:33:10 PM »

[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 12:04 PM\'] [quote name=\'gsnstooge\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 10:52 AM\'] I can see why this show lasted only a year, because until I saw the episode, I didn't comprehend the format. [/quote]
I really don't see how that logic follows through... [/quote]
You expected logic from him? Using his "explination", TPiR would have only lasted 13 weeks, because he wouldn't understand that format either.

zachhoran · « **Reply #14 on:** September 26, 2004, 07:24:09 PM »

[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 12:04 PM\'] [quote name=\'gsnstooge\' date=\'Sep 26 2004, 10:52 AM\'] I can see why this show lasted only a year, because until I saw the episode, I didn't comprehend the format. [/quote]
I really don't see how that logic follows through... [/quote]
Gsnstooge posting or no Gsnstooge posting, Goodson had said in interviews that a successful game show usually has the rules explainable in one sentence.