Trying to get our hopes up?

[jjman920]

I know folks aren\'t trying to give LGY any inch of credibility (as at this point they shouldn\'t), but I\'ll just add a little something.

 

Perhaps since there is now a sort of gateway to talk to Mike Richards, that isn\'t just Twitter, perhaps the fate of The Pyramid could be answered by him.

 

Unless it already has, I haven\'t really listened to his first two podcast episodes.

[PYLdude]

Sounds promising. I\'ve mentioned before I\'d rather see it in syndication

Other than a better chance of seeing it on your friendly local, what difference does it make between syndication and GSN? You certainly don\'t need a bigger prize fund.

Increased chances for being seen IMO...the prize budget was fine, but I\'ve often wondered just how many more people would be aware if it aired in syndication as opposed to a lower-tier cable channel.

 

That being said, I just like the possibility of a second season, no matter where it airs.

 

I agree with the idea that a syndicated series would do better than an exclusive-to-GSN series, with there definitely being more chances for eyeballs to see it. The problem though is that where would you put it on your schedule? Most of these slots are filled with either talk or court shows and I don\'t exactly see why station owners would be in such a rush to put new game shows on their stations (the success of Let\'s Ask America notwithstanding).

 

I\'d be for bringing The Pyramid back as a syndie series. But as I\'ve stated, I would like to see it back with a different host. Mike Richards does not do it for me.

 

And Chad, for the record, glass houses.

[TLEberle]

Our local CW affiliate has Family Feud and Millionaire in a two hour block; I don\'t think it is so dire for game shows as all that. Hollywood Squares marked out six years; what\'s to say The Pyramid (I don\'t think I\'ve ever gone so far out of my way to make sure that a definite article is included in something) couldn\'t stake out the same?

[PYLdude]

Our local CW affiliate has Family Feud and Millionaire in a two hour block; I don\'t think it is so dire for game shows as all that. Hollywood Squares marked out six years; what\'s to say The Pyramid (I don\'t think I\'ve ever gone so far out of my way to make sure that a definite article is included in something) couldn\'t stake out the same?

 

For every Feud, Millionaire, and H2, there\'s been the Temptations, Donnymids, Merv Griffin\'s Clusterfricks, Trivial Pursuits, Card Sharks 2001s, To Tell the Truths, Weakest Links, and insert designated failure here.

 

Feud is in an okay position right now, but once Millionaire bites the dust in the not-too-distant future (don\'t know if it can go much further than the 11 years it\'s already been on, can it?) is there a guarantee that the stations that carry it will replace it with a game show if one might be in the pipe? You\'ve got the double run airing together on your CW affiliate, but in my market it\'s in the post-news, pre-Chew slot on our ABC O&O. (the second half of the double run, FTR, still airs in late night after Nightline) Who\'s to say that in your case the station won\'t try to add another talker or episode of a talker, or in my case extend the news to cover the bottom of the hour?

 

Dire might be a little strong but not conducive to growth wouldn\'t be too much of a stretch IMO.

 

FTR, ETA: if anything, it would be our MyNetwork affiliate that picked up The Pyramid, but they\'ve decided that talk show reairings and Judge Joe Brown is what makes their afternoon (they moved Feud to 5:00 opposite the news). Although I\'m pretty certain now that Jeremy Kyle is leaving American airwaves they COULD find a spot for it...

[clemon79]

Unless they are planning on improving the calibre of celebrity guests, I\'m cool with letting any revival happen a few more years down the road.

 

Pretty much this. The takeaway I got from Teh Pyramid was that the quality of play was a major factor to making Dick Clark\'s versions great, and that quality of play just wasn\'t there.

[TimK2003]

GSN opted to release Baggage to syndication, and is enjoying a modest success in the ratings, which at last check was almost half of what Millionaire has been getting of late http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/493299-Syndication_Ratings_Syndies_Bounce_Back_in_Time_for_May_Sweeps.php. 

 

If given the chance, and a little hype, I can see Pyramid matching & exceeding the current ratings of Millionaire within the first two years in syndication -- becoming a viable heir to the Millionaire timeslot throne if Cedric tanks.  If the celebrity coordinators put a little more effort in finding & nurturing good or potential celebrity partners (seemed they did pretty good with the contestants this last time around), and keeping the celebrities consistent 5 days a week, they won\'t have such a Donnymess this time.

[Jeremy Nelson]

Unless they are planning on improving the calibre of celebrity guests, I\'m cool with letting any revival happen a few more years down the road.

 

Pretty much this. The takeaway I got from Teh Pyramid was that the quality of play was a major factor to making Dick Clark\'s versions great, and that quality of play just wasn\'t there.

But you know what? I didn\'t mind the quality of play- after all, if you take a look at the early $10K episodes, there\'s a lot of mumbling, stumbling, and failure. It happens. Your favorite sports team had rebuilding years (or decades) at some point, so it may take some episodes to cultivate good players in this generation, although I\'m baffled that the producers didn\'t pull someone who played in the \'80s heyday and still has some relevance (Levar Burton and Vicki Lawrence come to mind).

 

For me, the bad celebs wouldn\'t bother me so much if winner\'s circle payoffs didn\'t depend on main game performance- it\'s like the production company deliberately picked less than stellar players to keep the prize budget intact.

[clemon79]

But you know what? I didn\'t mind the quality of play- after all, if you take a look at the early $10K episodes, there\'s a lot of mumbling, stumbling, and failure.

Yes. Forty years ago. When it was a new concept, I expect stumbling blocks. It\'s not a new concept anymore.

 

although I\'m baffled that the producers didn\'t pull someone who played in the \'80s heyday and still has some relevance (Levar Burton and Vicki Lawrence come to mind).

This, and that one Italian gentleman (Nick something?) should not have been allowed within a half-mile of the studio


You have crappy contestants, fine, they\'re gone in a day. You have crappy celebrities, you\'re stuck with them for multiple shows. There is no excuse for crappy celebrities.

[TLEberle]

Could you find sixteen contestants who are C+ or better at Pyramid, willing to do it and able to get it in their schedule?

Sure, it was forty years ago, but it has also been ten years since we\'ve seen it on the air, and twenty years since it was mounted properly.

[clemon79]

Could you find sixteen contestants who are C+ or better at Pyramid, willing to do it and able to get it in their schedule?

Honestly? Yeah, I think I could. At the minimum, I could look at that Nick guy and say \"oh HELLS no.\"
 

Sure, it was forty years ago, but it has also been ten years since we\'ve seen it on the air, and twenty years since it was mounted properly.

And how many party games have you seen in the last twenty (or even ten) years that use a bunch of those mechanics? Someone who can play Celebrities well is probably going to be at least passable at Pyramid. It\'s a known quantity at this point, and I absolutely believe it is possible to locate people who can play it at a level worthy of televising.

[TLEberle]

Honestly? Yeah, I think I could. At the minimum, I could look at that Nick guy and say \"oh HELLS no.\"

I knew he was rubbish after the first half on Monday, but so did anyone watching who had a pulse.
 

And how many party games have you seen in the last twenty (or even ten) years that use a bunch of those mechanics? Someone who can play Celebrities well is probably going to be at least passable at Pyramid. It\'s a known quantity at this point, and I absolutely believe it is possible to locate people who can play it at a level worthy of televising.

Anybody can play Taboo or Time\'s Up In My Hat or Thingamajig or Tie One On or Paired Up or 25 Words or LessFewer. Not everybody can do it well, be entertaining and be competent when $25,000 is on the felt. Just about anybody who can talk can play the front game. That\'s not the case for the winner\'s circle; it does take a little bit more to play it not just properly but to be really good. You need practice to get there, but it does take a certain kind of person to be able to get there.

[clemon79]

Just about anybody who can talk can play the front game. That\'s not the case for the winner\'s circle; it does take a little bit more to play it not just properly but to be really good. You need practice to get there, but it does take a certain kind of person to be able to get there.

Okay, but they couldn\'t even get people who could play the front game. And I submit that someone with an organized enough mind to play the front game well is going to be at least not insulting in the Winner\'s Circle.

I still suggest that the argument \"give them a break, it had been ten years!\" doesn\'t hold water.

[TLEberle]

I agree with you more than I don\'t, which is good enough for me to call it good.

[jjman920]

I\'m sorry. When someone gives you the clue \"One with six zeros\" for a million and you take more than five seconds figuring it out, the quality of play has suffered. Also, I don\'t think that forty years ago they shelved an episode of the series because someone played so badly.

 

I say the \"it\'s been 10 years\" argument doesn\'t hold any water because it was just as long when Donnymid premiered and celebrity/contestant gameplay was the least of that version\'s problems.

 

When you make Tom Poston look good, something\'s just not right.

[chris319]

Anita Gillette and Lucie Arnaz are still living and are likely available.

 

Nipsey Russell and Soupy Sales, alas, are not.

 

Gordon MacRae once tried out for P+ but was not booked.