The Game Show Forum

The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Otm Shank on September 24, 2012, 01:06:00 AM

Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: Otm Shank on September 24, 2012, 01:06:00 AM
In the first episode aired, the contestant gave a clue that was bleeped, and the celebrity answered right away. I did a quick flip-back in my DVR and realized the contestant sang about three words from Steve Miller ("fly like an..."). Obviously the 1kHz tone was all that was keeping them from forking over royalties (although debatable, but lawyers must be lawyers).

In this afternoon's episode (first-run for me, so I won't spoil) they seemed to dub in the countdown music to blank out a sung clue. But an interesting admonition came up: in a category of things associated with [a certain singer], Mike Richards said, "remember, no singing."

Let's set aside the no-singing rule from the Rock & Roll Pyramid pilot, because that was not allowed for an entirely different reason. But it would have been odd, in the heat of trying to finish the 7-out-of-7, to hum/sing a few notes and be cuckooed for it. (And I know that "Favorite Things" was buzzed when the clues from "Sound of Music" were sung, but those broke other rules.)

It's an odd overprotective rule, but it seems to constrain a logical expression of a clue. I understand why it's in place, but shame that overlitigiousness is rewarded and affects totally unrelated form of entertainment.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: toddyo on September 24, 2012, 12:24:38 PM
It's an easy and polite way of saying - don't sing songs so we don't have to pay a royalty and can repeat this episode endless times.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: JMFabiano on September 24, 2012, 05:41:35 PM
It's an easy and polite way of saying - don't sing songs so we don't have to pay a royalty and can repeat this episode endless times.

Weird as certain eps of Password (Plus and Super) had singing clues and were not censored.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: parliboy on September 24, 2012, 06:20:35 PM
Yes, but did royalties work the same 25 years ago?
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: Kevin Prather on September 24, 2012, 06:27:43 PM
On today's show:
A player actually lost credit for singing in the main game.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: JMFabiano on September 24, 2012, 06:35:31 PM
Yes, but did royalties work the same 25 years ago?

My question was more if reruns are somehow immune in this case.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: bandit_bobby on September 24, 2012, 10:36:52 PM
In my opinion, that kind of ruling's ridiculous.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: JMFabiano on September 24, 2012, 11:16:28 PM
Yes, but did royalties work the same 25 years ago?

My question was more if reruns are somehow immune in this case.

Now that I think of it,Password was probably a bad example, cause obviously people wouldn't be singing the songs verbatim.  But I do remember lyrics used once in a while on classic Pyramid.  Do we know if any $25K or $100K eps. were pulled for this reason, or any classic show for that matter?  (Besides the obvious, namely Name That Tune and the like.  Yet GSN had no problems with DWTS which used some real tunes?!!?)

I guess I'll live with the rule, as long as it's explained to contestants beforehand so we have no more awkward bleeps.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: clemon79 on September 24, 2012, 11:29:20 PM
I guess I'll live with the rule,
Your other option being?
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: trainman on September 24, 2012, 11:33:31 PM
...as long as it's explained to contestants beforehand so we have no more awkward bleeps.

I'm pretty sure it is explained to contestants beforehand, but that's no guarantee of anything.  After all, "Jeopardy!" contestants get the "phrase your response in the form of a question" rule explained to them beforehand, but they occasionally forget.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: JMFabiano on September 24, 2012, 11:37:57 PM
I guess I'll live with the rule,
Your other option being?

Um, complaining that it'll ruin the show FOREVER?

Anyway, if Password could survive a while without opposites...
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: clemon79 on September 24, 2012, 11:58:32 PM
Um, complaining that it'll ruin the show FOREVER?
Exactly.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: Fedya on September 25, 2012, 08:50:48 AM
Quote
Yet GSN had no problems with DWTS which used some real tunes?!!?

1. DWTS was created after the explosion in cable channels, unlike the 1980s game shows.  Nobody really thought that the 1980s game shows were going to be re-run 25 years or more later.  This possibility was probably considered from the very beginning for DWTS.

2. Since DWTS uses music as an integral part of the show, I'd presume they considered the issues they'd confront in re-running the shows and took care of them in advance, as opposed to game shows where singing a few bars of a tune as a clue once every several weeks was all that happened.

Still, actually taking credit away for singing seems arbitrary.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: Thunder on September 25, 2012, 08:27:08 PM
Um, complaining that it'll ruin the show FOREVER?
Exactly.

A very large freezer.

The master bedroom's closet.

Mr. Lemon's jokes.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: J.R. on September 25, 2012, 08:34:48 PM
A very large freezer.

The master bedroom's closet.

Mr. Lemon's jokes.
Things that are filled with Gazpacho?
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: Thunder on September 25, 2012, 09:05:38 PM
Gives you the car anyway... (http://"http://www.freeimagehosting.net/3olgx")
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: chris319 on September 25, 2012, 09:38:58 PM
I believe a very limited amount of music can be used without incurring royalties. In the days of olde it used to be four bars but they changed that to three or five seconds -- an expert on music royalties could tell you. But that's how clues could be sung on P+ and SP.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: mbclev on September 26, 2012, 01:15:36 AM
They're trying to litigate or legislate spontaneity out of our lives with all this "no singing" stuff.  Most game shows these days are owned by foreign companies based in countries where people are generally don't do things on the "spur of the moment."  (I read a book on European customs and manners and found out that the Dutch are generally not spontaneous.)

Thank God there's one show that's still American-owned, and that is "It's Academic".  I'm enclosing some YouTube clips where former host Mac McGarry breaks out into song spontaneously:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b3NDQXPhbc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KArygw4M3w4
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: BrandonFG on September 26, 2012, 10:17:14 AM
I believe a very limited amount of music can be used without incurring royalties. In the days of olde it used to be four bars but they changed that to three or five seconds -- an expert on music royalties could tell you. But that's how clues could be sung on P+ and SP.
Slightly related, but when I worked in news, if we played a video with a song clip, we had to fill out a royalties sheet for anything over (IIRC) 10 seconds (might've been 5). Not sure how it would work with The Pyramid.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: clemon79 on September 26, 2012, 11:18:48 AM
They're trying to litigate or legislate spontaneity out of our lives with all this "no singing" stuff.
You are taking game shows WAY too goddamn seriously if you are making statements like this.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: Kevin Prather on September 26, 2012, 04:44:41 PM
They're trying to litigate or legislate spontaneity out of our lives with all this "no singing" stuff.
You are taking game shows WAY too goddamn seriously if you are making statements like this.
I direct you to take another look at the handle, and ask if you are the least bit surprised.
Title: Odd, new Pyramid "ruling"
Post by: clemon79 on September 26, 2012, 06:29:10 PM
I direct you to take another look at the handle, and ask if you are the least bit surprised.
Not in the least. Makes my statement no less true, though. :)