You Deserve It flub: dollar amounts revealed beforehand!

[Blaq]

I was flabbergasted when watching this week's episode of You Guessed It. The show accidentally reveals the position of all hidden dollar amounts!

In each round, they list the amounts in play on the left side of the board, with a total displayed at the very top left. The total represents the amounts not yet displayed; as the 9 amounts in play appear below, the animation quickly counts down from that round's bank down to zero. Watching YDI on my DVR this week, something seemed off. I perceived irregularities in the rhythm of the now familiar countdown. Ever the nerdy, detail-oriented game show fan, I rewound and single-framed through the animation. What I saw left me floored.

Taking round 2 as an example, the amounts in play are 100, 200, 300, 400, 1500... 6000, 7500. As these are quickly listed on the left of the board, the $25,000 above them shrinks. Read the following in columns, from left to right:

$25,000  $24,900  $24,700  $24,400  $24,000  $22,500  $18,500  $13,500  $7,500       $0

[     ]  [  100]  [  100]  [  100]  [  100]  [  100]  [  100]  [  100]  [  100]  [  100]
[     ]  [     ]  [  200]  [  200]  [  200]  [  200]  [  200]  [  200]  [  200]  [  200]
[     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [  300]  [  300]  [  300]  [  300]  [  300]  [  300]  [  300]
[     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [  400]  [  400]  [  400]  [  400]  [  400]  [  400]
[     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [1,500]  [1,500]  [1,500]  [1,500]  [1,500]
[     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [4,000]  [4,000]  [4,000]  [4,000]
[     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [5,000]  [5,000]  [5,000]
[     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [6,000]  [6,000]
[     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [     ]  [7,500]

I'd noticed that pattern on every round since the first episode. This time, the top-left number counted down like this:

$25,000  $24,700  $19,700  $13,700   $6,200   $5,800   $5,600   $1,600     $100       $0

In other words, it decreased by:

           $300   $5,000   $6,000   $7,500     $400     $200   $4,000   $1,500     $100

And what were the hidden amounts in that round?

           #1       #2       #2       #4       #5       #6       #7       #8       #9
            $300   $5,000   $6,000   $7,500     $400     $200   $4,000   $1,500     $100

That's right: I spotted a blatant flub where a prime-time game show disclosed amounts meant to remain hidden. (In real time, a contestant can't perceive every step in the countdown, but I was subsequently able to know whether the first/last couple of amounts were large or small, allowing me to avoid some—not all—large amounts if I was on the show.) The software developer in me thinks there was a bug where the wrong array (right-side hidden amounts vs. left-side exposed amounts) was used in the animation. I assume this was corrected during the taping run; since self-contained episodes can be broadcast in any order, the previous weeks' episodes may simply have been taped after the bug was corrected.

Needless to say, I'm quite proud of myself...

[Blaq]

Last week, I posted about single-framing through a recorded episode to deduce the location of all 9 hidden amounts. A contestant wouldn't have that advantage so, this week, I played along without the help of the pause button.

I was able to perceive several subtotals at the beginning and end of the animated cash pot countdown. Even though I didn't know the location of all 9 amounts, I would've been able to pick the low amounts out of the top/bottom slots, leaving untouched any high amounts in those same slots. Given the top-heavy money distribution, this would've given me—or any eagle-eyed contestant—a significant advantage.

I still don't understand how ABC could let this blunder make it to air.

[clemon79]

I still don't understand how ABC could let this blunder make it to air.

I just want to say I am loving this detective work.

I'm quite sure everyone looked at the animation and nobody thought for a second about how the loop that did it might have been written. Whoever they outsourced that to could give a good goddamn what the actual app is being used for, and was just told as part of the spec that this effect was needed. So they said to themselves "Okay, I need to write a loop to do this, it needs to look plausible and somewhat random, and I've already randomized these nine variables that add up to the correct amount." Then:

For (int i; i <= 9; i++)
{
   Total = Total + Array[i];
   Thread.Sleep (Math.Abs(400 - (100 * (i-1)));
}

Three lines, out the door. It's Smirnoff time!

[Sodboy13]

Three lines, out the door. It's Smirnoff time!

What is "Lindsay Lohan's day-planner on a Tuesday," Alex?

[clemon79]

What is "Lindsay Lohan's day-planner on a Tuesday," Alex?

No more calls, please. Brilliant. Absolutely friggin' brilliant.

[chris319]

I still don't understand how ABC could let this blunder make it to air.

I just want to say I am loving this detective work.

I'm quite sure everyone looked at the animation and nobody thought for a second about how the loop that did it might have been written. Whoever they outsourced that to could give a good goddamn what the actual app is being used for, and was just told as part of the spec that this effect was needed. So they said to themselves "Okay, I need to write a loop to do this, it needs to look plausible and somewhat random, and I've already randomized these nine variables that add up to the correct amount." Then:

For (int i; i <= 9; i++)
{
   Total = Total + Array[i];
   Thread.Sleep (Math.Abs(400 - (100 * (i-1)));
}

Three lines, out the door. It's Smirnoff time!

On the other hand, it's possible that they contracted with CBS Electronics to write this code. They have a little bit of experience doing game shows, but it's not like them to allow something like this to slip by.

If they didn't contract with CBS Electronics, maybe they should have.

[dale_grass]

On the other hand, it's possible that they contracted with CBS Electronics to write this code. They have a little bit of experience doing game shows, but it's not like them to allow something like this to slip by.

If they didn't contract with CBS Electronics, maybe they should have.

I'm not sure whether to leave a snarky comment, so I'll ask first: who did the electronics for the Press Your Luck board?

[chris319]

who did the electronics for the Press Your Luck board?

Don't you think they learned a little something from that experience which occurred, what, 25 years ago? Who do you think redesigned the board after the Michael Larson incident?

[dale_grass]

who did the electronics for the Press Your Luck board?

Don't you think they learned a little something from that experience which occurred, what, 25 years ago? Who do you think redesigned the board after the Michael Larson incident?

Well, that's why I asked.  I always assumed the same group of people who originally programmed it added the additional patterns later.

[clemon79]

I always assumed the same group of people who originally programmed it added the additional patterns later.

That's funny, because I'd assume that the group of people who originally programmed it were fired and their *replacements* added the additional patterns later.

[chris319]

I always assumed the same group of people who originally programmed it added the additional patterns later.

That's funny, because I'd assume that the group of people who originally programmed it were fired and their *replacements* added the additional patterns later.

Now Chris, why would they fire those people for a problem that they, the producers, Standards & Practices and CBS daytime didn't anticipate? If anyone should have anticipated this problem it was Bill Carruthers. He owned the show. What's he going to do, fire himself?

[clemon79]

Now Chris, why would they fire those people for a problem that they, the producers, Standards & Practices and CBS daytime didn't anticipate?

Fair point. I just wouldn't think that the people who created the problem initially would be the ones given the keys to the car to fix it in the first place. But, yes, fair point.

[dale_grass]

Now Chris, why would they fire those people for a problem that they, the producers, Standards & Practices and CBS daytime didn't anticipate?

Fair point. I just wouldn't think that the people who created the problem initially would be the ones given the keys to the car to fix it in the first place. But, yes, fair point.

Why not?  (a) The problem wasn't caused by incompetence (honestly, who would have forseen somebody recognizing patterns, memorizing the patterns, and getting on the show) and (b) it was handily fixed.

[chris319]

The job of stage electronics was to build an array of slide projectors and associated controllers. They did, and it worked and it met the producer's requirements. They apparently had a problem with pattern memorization with Second Chance on ABC. Again, that's for the producer to worry about.

Nowadays it would be trivially simple to generate a new pattern (list of random numbers) for each game.

[tyshaun1]

Apparently they had to make the board light up each square once before going to a new pattern in order to make it fair for each player in keeping with S&P compliance. Truth be told, as a PYL junkie for years, I didn't totally pick up on any patterns until I read of what Larson did in 1994 (Never saw the original run in the Louisville market). I noticed tendencies in the board's patterns, but never a set of patterns that the board constantly repeated.

Tyshaun

/where's the time machine?