"Describe these tragedies"

[Jay Temple]

I was just watching a 1982 show where a main-game category was comedies. It occurred to me that I\'ve seen comedies or comedy performers as main-game categories many times, but I\'ve never heard Dick say, \"Describe these dramatic actors,\" or \"Describe these tragedies.\" The closest I can recall is Academy Award winners, which skews heavily toward drama, and things in some specific type of drama.

 

This got me to thinking what viable items you might see in a category of tragedies. (By viable, I mean you could describe it in 4 2/7 seconds, and I invite debate on what\'s viable.)

\"Titanic\"

\"Brian\'s Song\"

\"Death of a Salesman\"

\"Terms of Endearment\"

\"Romeo and Juliet\"

\"Sophie\'s Choice\"

the Cubs

[BrandonFG]

I think some of the ones you listed only work for that particular era. If these were on say, the GSN version, I think you could probably use \"Titanic\" and \"Romeo and Juliet\". I don\'t think the average contestant on GSN \"Pyramid\" would get any of the others.

 

What was on the list in that particular episode?

[TLEberle]

Brian\'s song: \"Movie where James Caan played football and had cancer.\"

Death of a Salesman: \"Arthur Miller play with Willy Loman.\"

So there\'s five items on the list, and maybe six if you remember what Sophie\'s choice actually was. I think I\'d go farther than just the world of films and I\'d certainly drop \"the Cubs\" as inappropriate.

[Marc412]

The \"Hindenburg\"?  \"Macbeth\"?  A suicide?

[chad1m]

\"Sophie\'s Choice\"

Brian\'s song: \"Movie where James Caan played football and had cancer.\"

A suicide?

I think the reason\'s pretty clear here why we don\'t see it - it\'s friggin\' depressing.

[jjman920]

\"Titanic\"

\"Romeo & Juliet\"

\"Philadelphia\"

\"Seven Pounds\"

\"The Green Mile\"

\"Pay It Forward\"

\"An Inconvenient Truth\"

 

Perhaps call them sad movies instead of tragedies, but I kind of agree with Chad. The entire category sounds like a downer. Also, there haven\'t been many a memorable tragedy out, so finding the right ones to work with today\'s audience would be tough.

[Fedya]

I think I\'ve seen \"Diasasters\" show up in the Winner\'s Circle as a category.

[BillCullen1]

I think I\'ve seen \"Diasasters\" show up in the Winner\'s Circle as a category.

 

You indeed have. They usually say earthquakes and floods as clues. If a celeb was in the receiving chair, I might try Ishtar and Heaven\'s Gate as clues.

[Jay Temple]

I think some of the ones you listed only work for that particular era. If these were on say, the GSN version, I think you could probably use \"Titanic\" and \"Romeo and Juliet\". I don\'t think the average contestant on GSN \"Pyramid\" would get any of the others.

 

What was on the list in that particular episode?

The two that I remember were M*A*S*H and The Jeffersons. (Roxie Roker was one of the celebs that day.) It wasn\'t exclusively sitcoms, though.

 

It occurs to me that they did have a category that was kind of close to this one. Once or twice Dick gave the description of \"people or characters who came to an untimely end.\"

 

Chad\'s reason (It\'s a downer) is certainly enough of a reason not to have it.


Trying to write a list of dramatic actors presents its own problems. Name categories are hard anyway, and if you bend over backwards to exclude people who have been in a high-profile action or comedy film, you\'re going to run out of recognizable names quickly.

[MikeK]

I think I\'ve seen \"Diasasters\" show up in the Winner\'s Circle as a category.

The only way this gets better is if Tom Poston was involved in some way.


Reference:

[clemon79]

You indeed have. They usually say earthquakes and floods as clues. If a celeb was in the receiving chair, I might try Ishtar and Heaven\'s Gate as clues.

 

And you\'d lose. The Towering Inferno or Dante\'s Peak or any of a number of others would get them to \"Disaster movies,\" though, which would flip the trilon.

[SRIV94]

So there\'s five items on the list, and maybe six if you remember what Sophie\'s choice actually was. I think I\'d go farther than just the world of films and I\'d certainly drop \"the Cubs\" as inappropriate.

Watch the last 104 years of baseball again and say that. 

[TLEberle]

I think the reason\'s pretty clear here why we don\'t see it - it\'s friggin\' depressing.

\"Depressing things\" show up on quiz shows all the time, and I have enough trust in His Dickness to handle it with the proper amount of grace and tact; so why can\'t it be a Pyramid category?

[clemon79]

\"Depressing things\" show up on quiz shows all the time, and I have enough trust in His Dickness to handle it with the proper amount of grace and tact; so why can\'t it be a Pyramid category?

 

Absolutely. While we\'re at it:

 

\"Describe to your partner these famous serial killers.\"

 

\"Describe to your partner these well-known rape victims.\"

 

\"Describe to your partner these locations that have been bombed or nuked.\"

 

Chad\'s got a point.

[TLEberle]

I think that deliberately misses the point. There is a difference between describing the eruption of a volcano or the explosion of the Hindenburg and identifying serial killers or victims. The Space Shuttle accidents were terrible incidents in our history but they\'re still part of the body of our knowledge and I think it would be OK for them to show up in a game.