This Makes No Sense To Me...

[PYLdude]

The way the post was worded didn't immediately lead me to believe that he was talking about those two programs' bonus games, only the changing of their respective names and/or formats.

[dmota104]

I'll go along with everyone else in saying the WBMG from $otC was out of place.  

I haven't seen the Robb Weller-hosted pilot for "Split Second" -- but I have seen the pilot for "Money in the Blank" with Kevin O'Connell.  

The bonus round is basically "(amount) on the (color)" from "Three on a Match".  It provides a few comical moments and I do get the literal depiction of money in the blank.  But this endgame basically slowed down an other fast-paced show.  (No wonder this didn't sell.)

[Mr. Armadillo]

Povich's 21 - six true or false questions - they didn't have anything better?

The six questions were worth a total of 21 'points', and the rest of the show was a quizzer, so it's close enough to the maingame's format for me.  We don't want the endgame to be exactly like the front game.

Besides, I would argue that anything tougher than true/false would take too much away from the press-your-luck focus of the endgame.

[Jimmy Owen]

Where is it written that bonus games are supposed to be the similar to front games?

[Jay Temple]

To me, the ideal is for the main game and end game to be related, but not identical. Some good examples:

Pyramid: What is the word? vs. What is the idea?
Musical Chairs: Choose the next line vs. know the next line, or Choose the next line from 3 choices vs. Place the lines in order.
Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak: High scores in the main game come from guessing what words your teammates hadn't already used; win the main game by guessing what words they will come up with.

I don't usually like shows where the two parts are completely different, but when the end game just feels like the solo version of the main game, it feels like an end game for the sake of an end game. (See: Wheel.)

[JasonA1]

when the end game just feels like the solo version of the main game, it feels like an end game for the sake of an end game. (See: Wheel.)

Which is why I tolerate/enjoy Instant Reaction on Chain Reaction vs. let's just play another chain.

-Jason

[TLEberle]

Which is why I tolerate/enjoy Instant Reaction on Chain Reaction vs. let's just play another chain.

Especially on Chain Reaction, where it felt completely tacked on. And then there was the absolutely laughable jackpot of $2,000 split two ways.

[Twentington]

Rayburn's Break the Bank - what a fiasco!!

I would put BtB'85 into the same "main game that doesn't fit the bonus round" pile as Pitfall.

I don't usually like shows where the two parts are completely different, but when the end game just feels like the solo version of the main game, it feels like an end game for the sake of an end game. (See: Wheel.)

Meh. Bonus Land™ has worked for 30 years so far, and its only real changes were just patches to prevent everyone from picking the same prize and letters every time. (It really took them 7 years to think of a solution to everyone picking RSTLNE?)

[JasonA1]

I think it's been said in the past, but a better endgame - if you must keep within the format - could have involved Missing Link puzzles against the clock.

-Jason

[pyrfan]

The way the post was worded didn't immediately lead me to believe that he was talking about those two programs' bonus games, only the changing of their respective names and/or formats.

Ah. Good point. I probably should have added "coincidentally" when referring to "Celebrity" being in both titles. Rereading the post, I can see how it could have been misleading.

Speaking of "Double Talk," though, did the bonus round of "Shoot for the Stars" always have the same end game -- which DID relate directly to the main game -- or did it eventually morph into DT's bonus round?


Brendan

[JasonA1]

Speaking of "Double Talk," though, did the bonus round of "Shoot for the Stars" always have the same end game -- which DID relate directly to the main game -- or did it eventually morph into DT's bonus round?

By all indication, it did not morph. Like Bob Stewart was wont to do, the Double Talk endgame came from the unsold pilot "$50,000 a Minute," where it made more sense as a follow-up to that format's front game. I imagine one could discover several genesis pilots for all the different ideas he'd later reuse in this show or that show, out of context. To wit, Chain Reaction's bonus came from Get Rich Quick; the 50k-a-Minute front game was Twisters' endgame...

-Jason

[Clay Zambo]

I don't usually like shows where the two parts are completely different, but when the end game just feels like the solo version of the main game, it feels like an end game for the sake of an end game. (See: Wheel.)

I do see WHEEL, and I also see a difference.  In the front-game there's the risk of losing your turn to another player by choosing a letter that's not in the puzzle (or hitting a bad wheel-space), but you can learn from your opponents' mistakes, and you have the option to push your luck and spin again.  In the bonus game, you see the puzzle and get to call all your letters at once--no more, no fewer.  If they're there, great; if not, tough luck.  I've always found the Wheel bonus (even in the days when everybody chose RSTLNE) to be an elegant variation on the main game.