It's off-putting, it's off my Tivo, it's off in Portland, and soon enough, it'll just be flat-out off. I think a wide majority of us here have expressed strong disappointment that Temptation, a show many of us were looking forward to, thought showed a lot of promise, and believed was being done by people who "get it," turned out to be such an absolute clunker. The worst thing is that, even with what they're going for in this version of the show, everything could have been so much better with just a few adjustments and rearrangements. With that, I've thought about how I would fix the show, keeping the following caveats in mind:
- This is not an Australian network show. This is a relatively small-scale syndie effort distributed by 20th Television (Dollar Store Division,) so $70K cars, $5K Instant Bargains, and a shot at high-6-figure cash are all out of the question.
- It's not going to be a general knowledge quizzer. They want to target the female demo with a pop-culture-focused program, and that's what this version of Temptation was going to be, no matter how fixed or broken.
- Barring a lawsuit, Knock Off isn't going anywhere.
- The Fame Game will not feature nine famous faces, and will still be a letter-turning affair.
- The Home Shopping segments, no matter how insipid, don't interfere with gameplay and add a couple bucks to the revenue stream, so we're stuck with 'em.
- This is NOT an Australian network show.
And yet, we could still have this:
- Intro, title
- Brief contestant intro
- :30 Dis or Dat Speed Round "to get everybody warmed up" - a quick way for players to build cash early on with the simplest questions.
- Instant Bargain #1. And for the Bargains, either drop the pointless Shop Clock, or give Rossi the ability to say "Stop the clock!" and sweeten the deal when the contestant's hands aren't even in the same area code as the buzzer.
- Hey, since Rossi's there at the desk, how about 60 seconds or so of Getting To Know Our Players?
- $15 Fame Game
(break)
- Knock Off
- Instant Bargain #2
- :45 Speed Round
(break)
- $20/$25 Fame Game
- Instant Cash ($1,000 minimum, +$500 each day, and no ceiling)
- :45/:60 Final Speed Round (and if it's a full minute, I think the questions can stay at $5.)
- "For our departing contestants, you'll be able to go bargain shopping at home with your (Temptation) dollars on a Visa Gift Card, plus we're sending you off with our exclusive Temptation Tote Bag, filled with ($100-$200 of a sponsor's product.)"
- Champ goes to Shopper's Paradise, prize descriptions read
(break)
- Super Knock Off: "Each correct answer adds $25 to your shopping account. Get all six, though, and we'll give you a $100 bonus, for a total of $250, plus you'll also win this (Instant Bargain-esque prize package.)" I think that would add a little more tension and a risk element to the end game, and there's more "Temptation" if that last answer takes the bonus from $125 to $250, plus nets the player a prize.
- Champion's Decision (having this on its own at the end of the show practically screams to the audience, "Skip the last five minutes of our show!")
- No 5-day contestant limit. And if a player earns their way to the car, then "You can either take that car and drive off today, or you can come back tomorrow, and if you defend your title, you'll win every prize here in Shopper's Paradise. Plus, you'll have a chance to play Super Knock Off for $10,000 cash."
- If a champ wins the lot, then Super Knock Off is played for $500 in real money per answer, with all six getting the $10K.
So, there you have it. I know it's still not the best this show could be, but I like to think that this is a case of doing the best I can with what I have to work with. More than anything, I just think it's sad that this show is so broken, it'll die before there's any hope of it getting fixed, and we're all left to ponder what could have been.
