I actually enjoyed the show a lot. It was very good for a pilot first episode. Roger did pretty good, but someone needs to remind him that its only $2500 in the bonus, and don't get the Todd Newton complex of screaming at the top of your lungs when someone gets a crappy total. The set is nice, a lot like a sports bar/arena, even with servers. If the show gets picked up, they need more decoration on the set, however. It is just a tiny bit barren right now. Also, for god sakes, get better theme music. The current one is annoying. Hopefully they will do a 2 Minute Drill-esque theme change from a crappy song to a great and memorable theme, at least for me. The rules were pretty nice also, but they could use a tiny bit of touch ups. How about some solid categories? I don't like the rotating categories. The steal function is OK, but if the team misses, and the other team doesn't need that wedge, how about offering like $100 or something for a right answer?
One thing that irked me was the toss-up, however. A team can easily win by getting that and running the board. If a team runs the board, possibly the other team show gets 1 attempt at it. Maybe even throw in a bonus for running the board, like $500 or something. Then is the bonus. It's decent, but maybe add a 3 strikes and your out type rule. Miss a question 3 times and your round is over, and the other person gets to go. It leads to more strategic passing and guessing. Oh, how about raising the payouts just a little bit? $2500 for a bonus win isn't much. How about making that $5,000, and $10,000 for the double or nothing question. Oh, if a team wins the game, they should be able to come back the next game no matter what, not just if they get all 6 wedges in the bonus.
Overall, its not bad for a first episode at all. I expected Roger Lodge to be a bit rough around the edges, but honestly, he went from a scripted reality show to an unscripted game show just like that. He did just fine for his first try. All in all, this was every bit as good as I expected it to be. It still doesn't hold a flame to what is, in my books, the best sports game show ever (and one of the top 20 game shows of all time in my list) , 2 Minute Drill, but it certainly kicks the crap out of Stump The Schwab and most other newer game shows that have just come out. I can't tell you how nice it is to see a straddling and returning champ game show. It's not a major portion of the show, but at least it's something. Here's hoping it does get picked up after it's 5 game run. And I think it might, because they are running contestant searches apparently via email.
PS- Did anyone find it slightly humorous that ESPN won't let them use their E-mail service? They have to use Hotmail instead.