Author Topic: CBS Cancels Guiding Light (Read 44107 times)

clemon79 · « **Reply #165 on:** April 04, 2009, 02:00:42 PM »

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'212115\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 09:17 AM\']
Ooh ooh ... I just had an idea for a quickie tie-breaker to be added to any format that needs it. Civilian players are shown a Winner's Circle-type category, which they will try to convey to the celeb with whom they won their game. Starting at no more than five, they bid on how few clues they need, à la NTT. If the person with the low bid is successful, he wins; if not, he loses.[/quote]
I completely fail to see what's wrong with Words That Begin With The Letter Whatever.

MikeK · « **Reply #166 on:** April 04, 2009, 02:20:51 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'212119\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 02:00 PM\']I completely fail to see what's wrong with Words That Begin With The Letter Whatever.[/quote]
One small gripe I had about "Words Which Start With _" had to do with the number of words which started with that letter. For example, if I had a choice of words which start with S or start with V, I'd take V every time because there are less words which start with V. The way I see it, the smaller the pool of words which start with a specific letter, the more likely I feel I'd get 7/7 and in a better time than with a more common starting letter. If both starting letters were relatively common, then this would be a non-issue.

Fedya · « **Reply #167 on:** April 04, 2009, 02:34:35 PM »

I thought that by the mid-80s the writers generall picked letters of about the same frequency for the tiebreaker.

clemon79 · « **Reply #168 on:** April 04, 2009, 02:48:12 PM »

[quote name=\'MikeK\' post=\'212120\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 11:20 AM\']
One small gripe I had about "Words Which Start With _" had to do with the number of words which started with that letter. For example, if I had a choice of words which start with S or start with V, I'd take V every time because there are less words which start with V.[/quote]
True, but I think this is an absolutely negligible advantage in the grand scheme of things. (Also, more often than not, I think they tried to pair up letters with similar rarity; I'd be surprised if you ever saw S versus V as in your example.)

If anything, I would switch it up such that the team that caused the tie *didn't* get to select, since they're the ones that got everyone into this pickle in the first place by failing to win.

But honestly I don't think it effected the outcome of the game much, if at all. Certainly not enough to scuttle it in favor of a slower, tedious, less exciting Bid-A-Note clone.

Unrealtor · « **Reply #169 on:** April 04, 2009, 03:08:07 PM »

[quote name=\'MikeK\' post=\'212120\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 01:20 PM\']
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'212119\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 02:00 PM\']I completely fail to see what's wrong with Words That Begin With The Letter Whatever.[/quote]
One small gripe I had about "Words Which Start With _" had to do with the number of words which started with that letter. For example, if I had a choice of words which start with S or start with V, I'd take V every time because there are less words which start with V. The way I see it, the smaller the pool of words which start with a specific letter, the more likely I feel I'd get 7/7 and in a better time than with a more common starting letter. If both starting letters were relatively common, then this would be a non-issue.
[/quote]

I've never understood this argument. The difficulty lies in communicating the word, not in how many potential answers there are. The fact that there are fewer words beginning with V doesn't help you much unless your partner has no idea how to communicate "verisimilitude" and you start shouting every word you can think of that starts with the letter V. (And even then, I doubt anyone would be able to list off every word in their vocabulary beginning with a given letter, even an uncommon one, within 30 seconds.)

Jay Temple · « **Reply #170 on:** April 04, 2009, 03:43:48 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'212119\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 01:00 PM\']I completely fail to see what's wrong with Words That Begin With The Letter Whatever.
[/quote]
I mainly was thinking of applying it to Winner's Circle ties. There are three reasons I think my idea is better in that situation:
1. It's faster, which is especially important if one of the main games already ended in a tie.
2. It makes more sense to break a WC tie with WC material, just as they break a main-game tie with main-game material.
3. It avoids the decision of which contestant is partnered with the celeb who already lost both games.

ETA Regarding the choice of letters in the Begins With tie-breaker, I decided that if I ever had the choice, I'd do these things:
Choose a vowel over a consonant, because it's almost like they've given you a syllable.
Don't choose a consonant that's frequently silent (like "h" or "k") over one that isn't.
Choose a consonant that can only make one sound at the beginning of a word. (Words that start with "R" always start with the /r/ sound, but words that start with "C" could start with the /k/ sound, the /s/ sound or the /ch/ sound.)
Choose the less common initial over the more common.

But I hope they rendered these decisions moot by having the overall set of words be about equally difficult.

clemon79 · « **Reply #171 on:** April 04, 2009, 04:03:34 PM »

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'212133\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 12:43 PM\']
1. It's faster, which is especially important if one of the main games already ended in a tie.[/quote]
Explaining how this thing works, and then going back and forth and establishing the bid is faster, never mind the actual execution? Huh-uh.

Quote

2. It makes more sense to break a WC tie with WC material, just as they break a main-game tie with main-game material.

Don't disagree here, but this is still slow, tedious, and anticlimactic.

chris319 · « **Reply #172 on:** April 04, 2009, 04:36:18 PM »

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If the person with the low bid is successful, he wins; if not, he loses.

Giving a distinct advantage to the person who goes second (you didn't say how it is determined who goes first). If the player going first botches it, the other player wins for basically sitting on his laurels.

tpirfan28 · « **Reply #173 on:** April 04, 2009, 04:45:29 PM »

Another interesting article on GL and the future of its slot.

The following quote snippet is from the second "section" of the article, after the breakpoint.

Quote

As it stands, I’m encouraged by the first real contender to emerge: a Michael Davies-produced revival of the “Pyramid” format. The Sony-based Mr. Davies is a game show junkie with strong respect for the genre; left to his own devices, I’m pretty sure he can find a way to make the show feel relevant—or at least fun— for 2009 audiences.

I hope CBS considers limiting “Pyramid” to a half-hour, thus allowing the show to be paired with another game. “The Joker’s Wild,” also owned by Sony, would be a great candidate; it’s got a tinge of “Deal or No Deal”-style randomness that could work well again.

“Sale of the Century” is another format prime for a comeback, particularly with its strong product-placement possibilities.

catnap1972 · « **Reply #174 on:** April 04, 2009, 05:22:22 PM »

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“Sale of the Century” is another format prime for a comeback, particularly with its strong product-placement possibilities.

Uh, we already tried that one...didn't work out so well.

Or does anyone think Dismantle wouldn't fuck it up again?

aaron sica · « **Reply #175 on:** April 04, 2009, 05:23:13 PM »

[First, note to the Mods: Can the title be changed to current tense, like "is cancelling"?]

OK, here's my two cents on Pyramid. Like a lot of you, Pyramid is one of my favorite shows. I'm pleased as anything that the two versions are back (moreso with $25,000 because there's no tournament).

The $20,000 and the 80's $25,000 are my two favorite versions of the show. The $20K for two reasons: visual (I love the solari boards for the score and timer), and second, the tiebreaker aspect. It gets very exciting when a game ends with a high score such as 43-42, with suspense building with each round. That's why the $25K is a close second - the tiebreaker is no big deal. Wipe the score clean Get 7 in 30 seconds, can your opponent do it in the same time? It cut down on straddling, but really made tiebreakers uneventful, IMHO.

As far as WC ties - I never saw any problem with bringing the same two players back the next day. Quite a fair deal.

chad1m · « **Reply #176 on:** April 04, 2009, 05:43:42 PM »

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' post=\'212142\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 05:23 PM\']I never saw any problem with bringing the same two players back the next day. Quite a fair deal.[/quote]Except for Mrs. Muckenfuss from Podunk, MO, who gathered up her last $500 to spend on airfare and hotel to play on the fifth game on the five day taping of Pyramid who, thanks to a tie, has been bumped for the next taping, set to commence in a week.

clemon79 · « **Reply #177 on:** April 04, 2009, 07:39:42 PM »

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' post=\'212142\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 02:23 PM\']
That's why the $25K is a close second - the tiebreaker is no big deal. Wipe the score clean Get 7 in 30 seconds, can your opponent do it in the same time? It cut down on straddling, but really made tiebreakers uneventful, IMHO.[/quote]
I so do not agree with this. Team A posts a really good time, Team B, against all odds, beats it, Dick sells it like Ric Flair getting kicked in the head. That's great television.

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Except for Mrs. Muckenfuss from Podunk, MO, who gathered up her last $500 to spend on airfare and hotel to play on the fifth game on the five day taping of Pyramid who, thanks to a tie, has been bumped for the next taping, set to commence in a week.

I'm quite sure that's happened to Jeopardy! contestants too. Life sucks sometimes. That's the risk you take. That's why the contestant coordinators line up the people they really want to be on earlier in the week.

aaron sica · « **Reply #178 on:** April 04, 2009, 07:43:12 PM »

[quote name=\'chad1m\' post=\'212147\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 05:43 PM\']
[quote name=\'aaron sica\' post=\'212142\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 05:23 PM\']I never saw any problem with bringing the same two players back the next day. Quite a fair deal.[/quote]Except for Mrs. Muckenfuss from Podunk, MO, who gathered up her last $500 to spend on airfare and hotel to play on the fifth game on the five day taping of Pyramid who, thanks to a tie, has been bumped for the next taping, set to commence in a week.
[/quote]

Mrs. Muckenfuss would be highly pissed at me because I didn't take that into consideration when I wrote the rule book for the show. Very good point.

clemon79 · « **Reply #179 on:** April 04, 2009, 08:29:27 PM »

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' post=\'212162\' date=\'Apr 4 2009, 04:43 PM\']
Mrs. Muckenfuss would be highly pissed at me because I didn't take that into consideration when I wrote the rule book for the show. Very good point.[/quote]
The *other* way to get around that is to book your contestants who have come from out of town for earlier in the week, and then save a few locals (and I'm sure there is no shortage of locals) for the positions where if they get bumped it's not the end of the world.