Author Topic: H2 Changes, for its last season (Read 25268 times)

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #90 on:** August 12, 2003, 02:16:18 PM »

Quote

Agreed, but on the other hand, would the current version allow Robert Fuller to be as great and convincing a natural bluffer as he was? He didn't need scripted material--his bluffing was reason enough for him to be there.

I guess what I'm saying is yes, they would, if they had someone who was that clever. My impression is that the bluff answers are provided as a crutch and too many celebrities choose to rely on the crutch rather than risk actually being creative on their own.

(BTW, Robert Fuller was my favorite celebrity on Squares for exactly that reason, and I had the wonderful opportunity to tell him so at the Hollywood signing of Peter Marshall's book.)

The flip side we haven't mentioned is the awkwardness on the original show when a star couldn't come up with a bluff. Personally, I never cared for those moments, and providing stars with a bluff prevents that from happening.

pyrfan · « **Reply #91 on:** August 12, 2003, 11:46:59 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Aug 12 2003, 01:16 PM\']The flip side we haven't mentioned is the awkwardness on the original show when a star couldn't come up with a bluff. Personally, I never cared for those moments, and providing stars with a bluff prevents that from happening.[/quote]
I don't like those moments either, and I'm not saying that they should do away with the written bluffs entirely. As you said, Matt, I just think that the celebs don't even try to come up with their own bluff and just go straight for the \"crutch\" too often.

By the way, I think Suzanne Pleshette handled the lack of a bluff best. About 5 or 10 seconds after Peter asked the question, she just said, \"Peter, I don't have a bluff for this. I'm sorry.\" Contrast that with Jonathan Winters, who I love and who is a comic genius if ever there was one but whose humor I don't think really worked on HS that well. He would eat up about a minute of camera time with some shtick and then admit that he had no idea what the answer was -- sometimes for two questions in a row.

I just think there's just got to be a happy medium between not having a bluff at all and going straight for the written help.

Brendan

AH3RD · « **Reply #92 on:** August 13, 2003, 05:24:49 PM »

\"Last\" season?! They're cancelling it? And after only 5 seasons?

uncamark · « **Reply #93 on:** August 13, 2003, 05:39:11 PM »

[quote name=\'pyrfan\' date=\'Aug 12 2003, 10:46 PM\']By the way, I think Suzanne Pleshette handled the lack of a bluff best. About 5 or 10 seconds after Peter asked the question, she just said, \"Peter, I don't have a bluff for this. I'm sorry.\" [/quote]
And of course, there was Tony Randall, who did a whole schtick out of not knowing the answer, to which Peter would immediately cry, \"It's a game of bluff, you silly goose!\"--not to mention the seeming disgust he showed whenever the writers hit him with opera questions that would never be posed to him on \"Texaco's Opera Quiz\" on the Saturday afternoon Met broadcasts.

Brandon Brooks · « **Reply #94 on:** August 13, 2003, 06:53:55 PM »

[quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Aug 13 2003, 04:24 PM\'] \"Last\" season?! They're cancelling it? And after only 5 seasons? [/quote]
Have you been under a rock?

It's not canceled yet; the contract with the O&Os is expiring after this year. And five (excuse me, six) years is a pretty damn healthy run for any show.

Brandon Brooks

ChuckNet · « **Reply #95 on:** August 13, 2003, 10:09:38 PM »

Quote

It's not canceled yet; the contract with the O&Os is expiring after this year. And five (excuse me, six) years is a pretty damn healthy run for any show.

Amen to that...it frequently made the wkly Nielsen top 20 for most of its run and as I've pointed out previously, 6 yrs is twice as long as Davidson's version lasted.

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

JMFabiano · « **Reply #96 on:** August 24, 2003, 04:38:30 PM »

And can we please bring back Caroline too? If anyone deserves another chance to shine, it's her.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #97 on:** August 24, 2003, 06:16:38 PM »

[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' date=\'Aug 24 2003, 03:38 PM\'] And can we please bring back Caroline too? If anyone deserves another chance to shine, it's her. [/quote]
As a guest, maybe, but I doubt she'd be a regular for a long time. The idea of going from national talk show host to being a game show regular, in just the course of a season seems like a step down, just IMO.

Now, if she had still done H2 *last* season, then yes, it'd be cool.

ChuckNet · « **Reply #98 on:** August 24, 2003, 06:29:43 PM »

Quote

I am NOT a big fan of secret square rollover since it often ends up with a major case of mo' money syndrome (\"thats not the secret square but you can take it and win or look for the prizes\") so im kinda glad to see it go.

I disagree (no pun intended...LOL). I've always thought \"mo' money syndrome\" applied when the overblown budget becomes the focal point of the show (i.e., Twenty-One, the $1M Pyramid pilots)...but when it's just there, as in the case of H2's Secret Square jackpot, I see no objections and am disappointed to see it go.

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

zachhoran · « **Reply #99 on:** August 24, 2003, 07:59:40 PM »

Another point with the new Squares format: WIll the formats for the tournament weeks(College, TofC, etc., assuming they still have those) be changed as well to fit the new two-out-of-three format?

Kevin Prather · « **Reply #100 on:** August 24, 2003, 08:54:21 PM »

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Aug 13 2003, 04:39 PM\'] [quote name=\'pyrfan\' date=\'Aug 12 2003, 10:46 PM\']By the way, I think Suzanne Pleshette handled the lack of a bluff best. About 5 or 10 seconds after Peter asked the question, she just said, "Peter, I don't have a bluff for this. I'm sorry." [/quote]
And of course, there was Tony Randall, who did a whole schtick out of not knowing the answer, to which Peter would immediately cry, "It's a game of bluff, you silly goose!"--not to mention the seeming disgust he showed whenever the writers hit him with opera questions that would never be posed to him on "Texaco's Opera Quiz" on the Saturday afternoon Met broadcasts. [/quote]
What i'm waiting to see is something like this...

Tom: What war did the US win against the British in 1789?

Celeb: Easy. The answer is Weird Al Yankovic...no wait! *holds up a piece of paper and skims it* ...The Revolutionary War!

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #101 on:** August 24, 2003, 10:28:10 PM »

Quote

What i'm waiting to see is something like this...

Tom: What war did the US win against the British in 1789?

Celeb: Easy. The answer is Weird Al Yankovic...no wait! *holds up a piece of paper and skims it* ...The Revolutionary War!

You'll be waiting a long time. As people who actually work on the show have told us many, many times, the celebrities are never given the correct answers to the questions. They are typically given a gag answer and a plausible bluff in case they're stuck, but never the right answer.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #102 on:** August 24, 2003, 10:50:43 PM »

That policy differs from that of BTB'76, on which, IIRC, the disclaimer stated \"The celebrities have been furnished with the questions and answers.\" Well, at least Jack came clean.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #103 on:** August 24, 2003, 10:53:19 PM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Aug 24 2003, 09:50 PM\'] That policy differs from that of BTB'76, on which, IIRC, the disclaimer stated \"The celebrities have been furnished with the questions and answers.\" Well, at least Jack came clean. [/quote]

Si...
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Bouleva...5410/other.html
It's near the bottom.

Isn't a similar disclaimer used on Osmond Pyramid as well, where it says something about the celebrities have seen the Winner's Circle material, or something related, which is likely why there's been so many wins.

BTW, I think this has now become the longest thread ever, beating out that \"Who Will Replace Barker\" thing over at EZBoard. :-)

JMFabiano · « **Reply #104 on:** August 25, 2003, 01:57:55 AM »

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Aug 24 2003, 05:16 PM\'] [quote name=\'JMFabiano\' date=\'Aug 24 2003, 03:38 PM\'] And can we please bring back Caroline too? If anyone deserves another chance to shine, it's her. [/quote]
As a guest, maybe, but I doubt she'd be a regular for a long time. The idea of going from national talk show host to being a game show regular, in just the course of a season seems like a step down, just IMO.

Now, if she had still done H2 *last* season, then yes, it'd be cool. [/quote]
Point taken, but I suppose my suggestion was more of a personal bias thing. First yes it would be cool. And also I'd hate her to be forgotten post-talk show. Now that would be a waste.

J.