Author Topic: The talent of the Talent (Read 15539 times)

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #30 on:** December 09, 2004, 09:13:30 PM »

[quote name=\'Game Show Man\' date=\'Dec 9 2004, 02:00 AM\']I find it absolutely hilarious that you guys should think to apply the same derogatory adjectives to Todd Newton that detractors of game shows have applying for years to the greats of our business. Besides, Newton is still a relatively new emcee. [/quote]
The fact that he's new is beside the point. Had he not dumped a 4 lb. bag of C&H down his trachea before every taping; he would have been fine.

Jay Temple · « **Reply #31 on:** December 09, 2004, 09:18:05 PM »

[quote name=\'Neumms\' date=\'Dec 9 2004, 06:01 PM\']As others have noted, there's not much to the game here. PYL's sole point of interest is the drama and excitement.

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And a lot of the drama and excitement stem from the possibility that one player will make a dramatic comeback with a string of extra spins. When there's a big gap between the lead and the next player, and there are lots of Whammys but only a few extra spin spaces, it makes a lot more sense to pass your spins. The mix on PYL made it a tougher decision.

chris319 · « **Reply #32 on:** December 09, 2004, 10:00:27 PM »

The producers of LMAD did a heck of a lot to make their show fresh every day, and to expand beyond mere "the box or the curtain?" problems. Second Chance/Press Your Luck/Whammy! was the same damn thing every day.

wheelloon · « **Reply #33 on:** December 09, 2004, 11:29:54 PM »

Yes, I realize the chance of it being picked up again is next to zilch... but it doesn't hurt to fantasize, does it?

I don't mean for PYL to become a quarter-million dollar game show. My point was that inflation has been huge since 1986! It would be nice to see the values upped even just a little bit...

But, realistically, for a network game show to attract a large audience, I hate to say it, but it has to have a pretty big payout... TV viewers like big, big, big, big bucks on game shows, which is part of the reason I believe that Millionaire was such an instant hit.

Yes, i know the entire show was basically just about hitting a plunger at the best possible time... but at the same time, look at the huge cult following behind the show! BTW, at least I think so in my opinion, don't the game shows with the most basic concepts often do the best popularity-wise? i.e. WOF, J!, CC, MG, FF, TPIR, TTTT... It doesn't get more basic then just smacking a plunger, or if it does, how?

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #34 on:** December 10, 2004, 03:33:09 AM »

One of the things that works in the 80's PYL's favor for me is that I can never remember if I have seen a particular episode before, though I probably have. It's like a new show every time.

Don Howard · « **Reply #35 on:** December 10, 2004, 08:19:04 AM »

The contestants on Press Your Luck, with a few exceptions, acted like normal human beings. On Whammy!, with few exceptions, the players all acted like characters.

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #36 on:** December 10, 2004, 09:11:11 AM »

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The producers of LMAD did a heck of a lot to make their show fresh every day, and to expand beyond mere "the box or the curtain?" problems. Second Chance/Press Your Luck/Whammy! was the same damn thing every day.

I understand your point, but I have to disagree with it. What made "PYL" such an enjoyable ride is that no two shows were exactly the same. You never knew when someone would hit a whammy on the last spin and lose the game. Or, hit $5000 + One Spin and make a big comeback. Or, win $100,000 in a two-part episode. Or, get in a "spin battle" and have the dollars rack up over several minutes. Even Peter Tomarken said on occasion that he was amazed at some of the things that happened.

You could think of it like a game of chess - maybe the first two or three moves are always the same, but after that it's different every single time - and unpredicatable.

wheelloon · « **Reply #37 on:** December 10, 2004, 12:13:14 PM »

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I understand your point, but I have to disagree with it. What made "PYL" such an enjoyable ride is that no two shows were exactly the same. You never knew when someone would hit a whammy on the last spin and lose the game. Or, hit $5000 + One Spin and make a big comeback. Or, win $100,000 in a two-part episode. Or, get in a "spin battle" and have the dollars rack up over several minutes. Even Peter Tomarken said on occasion that he was amazed at some of the things that happened.

You could think of it like a game of chess - maybe the first two or three moves are always the same, but after that it's different every single time - and unpredicatable.

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One of the things that works in the 80's PYL's favor for me is that I can never remember if I have seen a particular episode before, though I probably have. It's like a new show every time.

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The contestants on Press Your Luck, with a few exceptions, acted like normal human beings. On Whammy!, with few exceptions, the players all acted like characters.

You all hit it like a nail on the head!

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #38 on:** December 10, 2004, 02:19:56 PM »

[quote name=\'wheelloon\' date=\'Dec 9 2004, 11:29 PM\']I don't mean for PYL to become a quarter-million dollar game show. My point was that inflation has been huge since 1986! It would be nice to see the values upped even just a little bit...
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Not really. Considering the minimum wage was at approxmently $3.13/hr, in regards to current purchasing power; inflation really isn't *that* bad; and certainly not in perspective to a game show.

wheelloon · « **Reply #39 on:** December 10, 2004, 02:34:50 PM »

Well, minimum wage has at least doubled since then... minimum wage in MD is 6.50, so I was just thinking that a little increase wouldn't hurt...

Plus, look at the rise of the Dow Jones since 1986... in my opinion, that is huge!

But to get back to this topic... Tomarken had quite a sense of humor that really helped to get people to watch PYL. His humor could be dry sometimes, sometimes corny, sometimes a *tiny* bit racy... but it all was always funny.

I believe for any game show to succeed, the host has to have a sense of humor, and a GOOD sense of humor at that... take the example at the bottom of my post... that's why I think Pat has been such a hit now for over 20 years...

aaron sica · « **Reply #40 on:** December 10, 2004, 02:46:00 PM »

[quote name=\'wheelloon\' date=\'Dec 10 2004, 12:13 PM\']You all hit it like a nail on the head!

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Please don't overquote like that.

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #41 on:** December 10, 2004, 02:46:21 PM »

[quote name=\'wheelloon\' date=\'Dec 10 2004, 02:34 PM\']Well, minimum wage has at least doubled since then... minimum wage in MD is 6.50, so I was just thinking that a little increase wouldn't hurt...
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Federal Minimum wage was $3.35/hr in 1986.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_...v110/ai_4742738
meaning that $6.70/hr would be doubled. We haven't reached that threshold yet.

aaron sica · « **Reply #42 on:** December 10, 2004, 02:48:30 PM »

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Dec 10 2004, 02:46 PM\']Federal Minimum wage was $3.35/hr in 1986.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_...v110/ai_4742738
meaning that $6.70/hr would be doubled. We haven't reached that threshold yet.

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Not to mention upon checking the department of labor's website, min. wage in Maryland is $5.15 as of 1/1/04, unless they've changed it since then...

chris319 · « **Reply #43 on:** December 10, 2004, 05:34:59 PM »

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Even Peter Tomarken said on occasion that he was amazed at some of the things that happened.

A valiant effort to pump interest into a game that's as interesting as watching other people spin a roulette wheel.

tyshaun1 · « **Reply #44 on:** December 10, 2004, 06:34:30 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Dec 10 2004, 05:34 PM\']A valiant effort to pump interest into a game that's as interesting as watching other people spin a roulette wheel.

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But, come on, Chris, you have to admit that watching roulette can be exciting sometimes, as you watch someone barely miss or hit their target number, costing or winning some person thousands of dollars by the tick of a wheel. In essence, that's the best description of PYL I've heard, electronic roulette.
Nobody's saying that PYL was the greatest game created by man, and I personally don't think every episode of the show was particularly interesting, it's just a fun (IMO) way to spend 30 minutes, nothing more.

Tyshaun