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61
The Big Board / Re: Barry Enright discussion
« Last post by TimK2003 on April 14, 2025, 10:15:45 AM »
The B&E shows followed a formula, much like most of the GSN shows. Joker put B&E back on the map and made them a fortune. But by the 80s, the questions were easier than those on 5th Grader. "This 60s group led by Frankie Valli had hits such as "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry." You know them as the Four what?' Yeah, what a brain buster.

I thought TTD was their best show, though I was fond of their version of Break the Bank. I recall reading that when Joker and Dough were in production, the brainier people were put on Dough, and the less brainier went on Joker. Sounds right to me. Bullseye was okay. I liked it better without the celebs and I thought Jim Lange was a capable host who got stuck with turkeys to host. His hosting skills were better than Jack Barry, IMO.

Agreed that Tic Tac Dough was the most challenging show of their Big 3.  Joker's Wild was the first to have "special categories" that played a bit different than most others (Fast Forward _______ & the Mystery category were the two most used) -- but were only used on occasion.

SIDE QUESTION:  How often did the Mystery/Fast Forward categories appear on the show?

After a while, TTD started to play with Special categories that quickly morphed into the Red Box categories.  Originally they appeared occasionally, like TJW's special categories, but it didn't take long for the red box category to appear in darn near every game AND having up to 3 red box categories in a single game.   

There was nothing wrong with having just the center-box-double-question novelty for each game. 
62
The Big Board / Re: Barry Enright discussion
« Last post by trainman on April 14, 2025, 01:59:39 AM »
Oh, this is discussion about Barry and Enright? I opened this thread hoping for chatter about the Los Angeles Angels' pitching coach.
63
The Big Board / Re: Barry Enright discussion
« Last post by TLEberle on April 13, 2025, 09:14:11 PM »
Not much else. Ratings bad so let's keep the set pieces we have and also we can't change the title so it basically became a non-isolation booth version of 21.

The end game became a bit of an oddity and I remember watching the solo format first and didn't quite get why it existed, but it's not that different from any other show that tweaked something as a response to the sweeps book.
64
The Big Board / Re: Barry Enright discussion
« Last post by Neumms on April 13, 2025, 09:06:31 PM »
With the car plugs, maybe Buick or Chevrolet didn’t pay their bill that week but the show wanted people to know you could still win a car?

It’s like George still describing grocery items and small prizes on TPIR. Sponsors don’t buy the mentions anymore, but Fremantle would still be overjoyed to work out a deal. Also force of habit.

Can anyone elaborate on the revamp of Play the Percentages? I presume the ratings were low and they tried whatever someone thought of first, but maybe there’s more to it.
65
The Big Board / Re: Barry Enright discussion
« Last post by The Ol' Guy on April 13, 2025, 06:21:04 PM »
Have always preferred Joker's Wild to TTD and Bullseye. It moved quickly, and the suspense from not knowing what the wheels would offer up made for a fun half-hour. You didn't have the TTD tie games that went on and on. Also, IMO, the Joker board had more control over a player's fate than TTD. Even if a category you didn't know much about appeared in the TTD box you needed to block or win, there was still a chance you might know the answer. If you needed at least $100 to beat your opponent in Joker and three single categories popped up, you were done.   
66
The Big Board / Re: Barry Enright discussion
« Last post by Ian Wallis on April 13, 2025, 05:52:30 PM »
For me now, Break the Bank, Bumper Stumpers, and CBS TJW are the 3 I could spend a chill day binge-watching.

I was never a huge fan of Bumper Stumpers but I'll go along with the other two.  I was fascinated to see CBS Joker on GSN all those years ago - too bad it couldn't have lasted a bit longer.

And if we could only find more Jack Barry episodes of Break the Bank, I'd be happy :)
67
The Big Board / Re: Luckiest Man in America release set (PYL movie)
« Last post by jw2001 on April 13, 2025, 03:54:16 PM »
Thank you! There are several theaters in my area, but none of them are playing it. I'm not up for driving 45 to 60 minutes, so I'll watch it when it hits streaming.
68
The Big Board / Re: Barry Enright discussion
« Last post by Blanquepage on April 13, 2025, 02:51:54 PM »
Bullseye's stylish presentation was burned into my mind at a very early age, yet now I see a mediocre TJW clone in glitzy dress. The formula worked for B&E so that they stayed relevant for a nice while. Their products passed the time just fine, all the way up through the run of Bumper Stumpers. When they got to stuff like All About the Opposite Sex, things had definitely run their course. For me now, Break the Bank, Bumper Stumpers, and CBS TJW are the 3 I could spend a chill day binge-watching.
A wild idea that I recently had to improve Bullseye was, instead of general knowledge categories, to use different mind games like those of 1000 Heartbeats. A game of perception, knowledge, math, memory, etc. Maybe one of these days I'll test it out during a game night  :)
69
The Big Board / Re: Barry Enright discussion
« Last post by wdm1219inpenna on April 13, 2025, 01:51:51 PM »
Why did Jack and Dan have Play the Percentages and Hot Potato and Break the Bank and Hollywood connection? If one show gets cancelled you’re still in business. If your only show gets cancelled you’re a fish out of water. No producer is going to settle for just one property, not Bob or Chuck or Bob and Merrill. It’s just the business.
This actually makes perfect sense. Didn’t even think about the “insurance policy”.

I was going to say the same thing but you beat me to it.  The more shows on the better as far as hedging one's bet.  This is why Mark Goodson did so well for decades as he more or less always had multiple programs on daytime at any given time across all 3 of the big networks back in the B.C. years (Before Cable).
70
The Big Board / Re: Barry Enright discussion
« Last post by BrandonFG on April 13, 2025, 01:30:03 PM »
Why did Jack and Dan have Play the Percentages and Hot Potato and Break the Bank and Hollywood connection? If one show gets cancelled you’re still in business. If your only show gets cancelled you’re a fish out of water. No producer is going to settle for just one property, not Bob or Chuck or Bob and Merrill. It’s just the business.
This actually makes perfect sense. Didn’t even think about the “insurance policy”.
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