Pyramid

[golden-road]

Hoping not to earn another trip to the Free 4 All/TTD90 Room, I propose a new version of Pyramid:

Producer: Sony Pictures Television

Host: Donny Osmond

The Set: The 2002 set, but with a couple of changes. One of which is a display above the Winner's Circle; this display shows the amount played for, the amount earned in the Circle, and the player's grand total. The other is a display in front of the player desks; this displays the total (I'll explain), the word in play, and the logo in all other instances.

The Rules: Basic Pyramid, but instead of Front Game/Circle/Front Game/Circle, we have three rounds of six categories each. Instead of points, we use money; $50 in Round One, $100 in Round Two, and $150 in Round Three ($7300 max). The only way money is lost is for an illegal clue (I would use the standard "Cukoo" in this case).

Ties: These are rare, but possible. The '73 - 81/'02 - '04 Tie-Breaker is used, and the winner gets a bonus $5000.

Bonuses: There are of them, and any three can be used on any day: 24-7 (Same as the Big 7/7-11, worth $2400), Mystery 7, Gamble for Two Grand/Gamble for a Prize.

The Circle: Each time is worth $10,000, and we use these amounts (starting at bottom left, as always): $200-$250-$300-$500-$750-$1000.

Champs remain for five days.

The Tournament: We use the $100K formula. On tourney days, there are no bonuses except the $5000 tie-breaker. Also, we use points in the Main Game; 50 in R1, 100 in R2, 250 in R3. The Circle has no individual amounts, and an illegal clue or the clock running out wins nothing. The players for the next day are determined by having the odd man out face the player with the higher point score. If there is a tie, we flip a coin. Seeding for the tourney is done by have the two fastest Circle players (in standard play) face off first.

Note: If a tourney makes it to the last episode of the season, we use the classic Pyramid format. The two players scheduled to play that day play the first game (with one point per answer, and still no bonuses). The winner plays the Circle, with the standard values.

Scanarios (sp?):
The $100K is not won in the first Circle: The loser and odd man out play the second game.

The $100K is not won in the second Circle: The higher Circle score is bumped to $100,000. A tie will divide the money between the two who played the circle; in this case the odd man out gets $15,000.

The $100K is won in the first Circle: the other two play for $25,000, the odd man out in this instance gets $10,000.

The $100K is won in the second Circle: $20,000 for the runner-up, $10,000 for the odd man out.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'golden-road\' date=\'Jan 10 2005, 03:07 AM\']Hoping not to earn another trip to the Free 4 All/TTD90 Room, I propose a new version of Pyramid: [/quote]
You'll earn it. Trust me.

Producer: Sony Pictures Television

Strike one.

Host: Donny Osmond

Strike two.

The Set: The 2002 set

Strike three. Yer out; and we haven't even touched upon the rest of your proposal. More points off for completely unoriginal "bonus" ideas.  Additionally, I fail to see how awarding money versus points adds a great deal of content to the game.  Save yourself the carpal tunnel next time--and don't type up another proposal.

[parliboy]

While I agree with the previous poster's assessment, I'll try to be a tad more constructive, with a minimum of real estate:

What does this proposal do that corrects the problems of the previous run?

[clemon79]

I find:

1) Mark's assessment worthless and insulting, both to the OP and to those of us who enjoy quality posts. If you're gonna tell 'em it sucks, tell 'em why, and you utterly failed to do that. Osmond wasn't a bad host, I don't care if the game is played in Ken Ober's basement if it's a good one, and the company signing the checks is irrelevant. Find something else to get out your frustrations on.
 
2) The front-game scoring hack interesting, although I don't like the idea of a player being ahead on money where they would not be on points. The game is elegant in its simplicity and doesn't need that.

3) The winner's circle scoring system smacking of Mo' Money. What was wrong with $50-$300? I always question any bonus game that sends a contestant away with more than a grand in consolation money.

4) The tournament disposable. Personally I think the tournament is a silly idea anyhow, although it did serve to create nail-biting Winner's Circle moments in the 80's, which was good. Taking it away if "you run out of season space" is a lot of crap. Don't do it at all if you can't do it right.

5) Parliboy correct. What does this fix? It sounds like it's adding more cooks to an already overworked soup.

[passwordplus]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Jan 10 2005, 03:27 AM\'][quote name=\'golden-road\' date=\'Jan 10 2005, 03:07 AM\']Hoping not to earn another trip to the Free 4 All/TTD90 Room, I propose a new version of Pyramid: [/quote]
You'll earn it. Trust me.

Producer: Sony Pictures Television

Strike one.

Host: Donny Osmond

Strike two.

The Set: The 2002 set

Strike three. Yer out; and we haven't even touched upon the rest of your proposal. More points off for completely unoriginal "bonus" ideas.  Additionally, I fail to see how awarding money versus points adds a great deal of content to the game.  Save yourself the carpal tunnel next time--and don't type up another proposal.

[snapback]70710[/snapback]

[/quote]

How did he get to Strike Three so quickly, please explain your reasons.

[DrJWJustice]

[quote name=\'passwordplus\' date=\'Jan 10 2005, 03:30 PM\']How did he get to Strike Three so quickly, please explain your reasons.

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[/quote]

If I may interject here, the reason would be obvious to you if you had read all of the posts.  He's proposing a 'new' version of Pyramid that would supposedly improve on the most recent edition.  Try reading carefully next time and put two-and-two together before posting.  In case you still don't understand, read further....

As for the 'proposal', what does it do?  It leaves a lot of the stuff right as it was, so it looks an awful lot like the Osmond version (including keeping him behind the podium).  I'm with Chris Lemon on his hosting gig.  I thought he did justice to the role, and had the show lasted longer, I think he would have been very comparable to Dick Clark, much like Alex Trebek and Art Flemming (sp?) on J!.  

Addressing the 'proposal' itself, I disagree with the Mo' Money argument on general principal, as I often do, but I do agree that the consolation money is a bit too generous.  Kinda like the second bonus round on Chain Reaction -- $5,000 for getting all but one answer, with a $10,000 pot for getting that one extra answer?  Hell, that's a loss that feels like a win!  It made the game less exciting, and for that reason alone it needed to go.

[Robert Hutchinson]

[quote name=\'golden-road\' date=\'Jan 10 2005, 03:07 AM\']The Rules: Basic Pyramid, but instead of Front Game/Circle/Front Game/Circle, we have three rounds of six categories each. Instead of points, we use money; $50 in Round One, $100 in Round Two, and $150 in Round Three ($7300 max). [/quote]

This part, more than anything else, loses me. First of all, I can't clearly picture what you're describing--is it three "main game" pyramids followed by one Winner's Circle each show? That seems like it would be about as popular as replacing the first "big board" round of Press Your Luck with two more question rounds.

Second, where is $7300 coming from? Is that a typo for $6300? (21 x $50 + 21 x $100 + 21 x $150)

Third, that seems like an insane amount of money to award in a Pyramid front game. (I think the $5K tiebreakers in the '80s were pushing it.) You're going to occasionally have people winning more than $10K just in the main game, when you factor in bonuses. And if the losers get to keep their totals, you've got even the worst players probably leaving with several thousand dollars.

There was nothing wrong with Pyramid--nothing a modern audience "just wouldn't accept" today. Hell, despite themselves, the producers of the most recent version weren't that far off. It don't need fixin'.

[starcade]

The only needed changes are:

1) Guarantee the $100,000 given away to SOMEBODY.  If it goes past the three days, then you cycle til somebody goes to the top of the Pyramid.

2) Less commercial time for more post-mortems a la the Clark version.

[Sonic Whammy]

[quote name=\'starcade\' date=\'Jan 10 2005, 09:28 PM\']The only needed changes are:

1) Guarantee the $100,000 given away to SOMEBODY.  If it goes past the three days, then you cycle til somebody goes to the top of the Pyramid.

2) Less commercial time for more post-mortems a la the Clark version.

[snapback]70815[/snapback]

[/quote]

Hear freakin' hear!

(Man, I hope I never say that again...)

Anyway, I agree that I had absolutely no problem with the most recent version of the game. The 6-in-20 was a heck of a new challenge, and it made trying to get the potentially easy 10K in the Winner's Circle worth it.

Even the consolation money in the Winner's Circle didn't phase me that much. Even if there WERE returning champs, the fact that the money went up to a $1500 non-win max only reflected inflation, and I don't have a problem with that whatsoever. Heck, you hope that if you don't win the whole thing, you can get something a little decent, and even that wasn't guaranteed until you got at least 4 out of 6.

I do confess I would have liked to have seen Osmond try a clue or two himself, too, after a loss in the WC. But these days, with the laws of syndication and commercial time growing every year, there's really no chance for it. *sigh* What are you gonna do...?

Pyramid WILL be back someday, I have faith, and there won't be any need to fix it beyond what it is now.

Now if only we could do something about Password...

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'starcade\' date=\'Jan 10 2005, 07:28 PM\']2) Less commercial time for more post-mortems a la the Clark version.

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[/quote]
One of the few shortcomings about Donny's hosting work was that he actively disliked the Clark post-mortems (he thought it caused bad feelings for the contestant to have the host saunter over and deliver the perfect answer after a heartbreaking loss), and I think it was at least in part his idea not to do them on the new show.

[Steve Gavazzi]

Doesn't make said idea any less bad.

[Sonic Whammy]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jan 10 2005, 09:56 PM\']One of the few shortcomings about Donny's hosting work was that he actively disliked the Clark post-mortems (he thought it caused bad feelings for the contestant to have the host saunter over and deliver the perfect answer after a heartbreaking loss), and I think it was at least in part his idea not to do them on the new show.

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[/quote]

Really... I'm surprised Donny would be so against it like that.

Personally, I would think (in gest, of course) that the only person he would've had to have worried about ripping him a new one if he interjected like that would have been Vicki Lawrence. Had to love whenever she had her mistake or wrong answer pointed out, because you were always guaranteed a wild response.

Ah, those were the days.

[Skynet74]

I know a version of Pyramid that would work today. Bring the 1980's set back with the Music from the 70's version along with original host Dick Clark. The show would still kick ass even if Dick can only talk out of one side of his mouth.

 I don't mean to be rude or crude... but it's the truth. Dick is so well loved and such a good host that I feel America would embrace him no matter what. Handicaps included.


John

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Skynet74\' date=\'Jan 10 2005, 09:02 PM\'] I don't mean to be rude or crude...
[/quote]
And yet, you manage it so fantastically.

[golden-road]

I was thinking about the comments responding to the amounts in the Circle, so how about this:

Main Game: R1-$50, R2-$75, R3-$100, for a max of $4725.

Winner's Circle: $100-$150-$200-$250-$300-$500. All but the top is an even $1000, all but the first subject is $1400.

In addition, insert a series of angled extensions on top of the Circle display, so it resembles the '73 - '92 Circle.

Finally, reduce the tie-breaker bonus to $2500.