Wheel's New Season...

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'Tony\' date=\'Sep 22 2005, 04:54 PM\']Having seen a little of the new season and having read all of your responses to this thread, I am now more convinced than ever of my opinion that Wheel should be canceled to make room for a proper revival of The $100,000 Pyramid (preferably involving Sande Stewart, and preferably NOT involving Stephen Brown).[/quote]
I vehemently disagree.  Even if the show doesn't interest you (and I concur in that regard; I'm very close to cancelling the TiVo season pass), losing what could be the second most popular game show would be nothing short of crippling to the genre.  Outside of Wheel, we have Jeopardy! (can't see it going away in the near future unless Trebek's replaced by Andy Dick), TPiR (who knows what'll happen when Barker retires or goes to the big studio in the sky), and Millionaire.  You, I and the hundreds of people who might see this post know that Wheel's not going anywhere, even if Pat admits that he eats babies in his spare time and if Vanna kills a kitten every time someone lands on a prize tag.

The show went from tolerable last year to presently sinking faster than the Titanic.  That's what Harry Friedman et al get for trying to reinvent the wheel every year.

[TLEberle]

You're going to have to back that up.  Wheel hasn't been tolerable since I was in high school.  I still watched out of sympathy some times, but it was no longer a regular thing for me to watch.  And that's been about six years.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Sep 22 2005, 04:20 PM\'][quote name=\'Tony\' date=\'Sep 22 2005, 04:54 PM\']Having seen a little of the new season and having read all of your responses to this thread, I am now more convinced than ever of my opinion that Wheel should be canceled to make room for a proper revival of The $100,000 Pyramid (preferably involving Sande Stewart, and preferably NOT involving Stephen Brown).[/quote]
I vehemently disagree.  Even if the show doesn't interest you, losing what could be the second most popular game show would be nothing short of crippling to the genre.  Outside of Wheel, we have Jeopardy! , TPiR, and Millionaire.

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Add to that Feud, though it too is arguably a shadow of its Dawson/Combs self, and certainly nowhere near as popular as during the first Dawson era. Count Lingo and the other cable game shows if you want to.

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Sep 22 2005, 07:00 PM\']You're going to have to back that up.  Wheel hasn't been tolerable since I was in high school.  I still watched out of sympathy some times, but it was no longer a regular thing for me to watch.  And that's been about six years.[/quote]
I never knew my opinion was wrong that I had to justify my actions.  It's my damn opinion, for heaven's sake.

Here are three fairly recent positive additions to Wheel:

1.  I think the Prize Puzzle/SPIN ID thing is a great gimmick to lure people to watch the show, even if the chance of you winning a prize on any given night is literally more than 1 in a million.
2.  I feel the Mystery Space has been a great addition, even though most contestants don't realize that risking a grand or two for a 50/50 shot at a $15,000 prize is a great proposition.
3.  I also like the bonus prize wheel, as it incorporates a key facet of the game into the bonus round, along with a potentially large payout.  Plus there's 1.5 MILLION COLORS OF LIGHT~!!!!!!1ONE  (Note to self:  Bed, Bath, and Beyond tonight.  Towels are on sale.)  Or is it 1.545 million colors this season, after inflation?

Those positive are negated by the wheel being littered with prize tags, the occasional bad players, very specific puzzle categories, ridiculously tough bonus puzzles (tough is good, too tough is not), and the huge video backdrop behind the players.  Thus, why I feel last season was tolerable.  Add in this season's changes (cheesy animated opens, even more prize tags, and the new layout of the locations of the commercial breaks) and the result, IMO, is a resounding <Karlberg>UGH!!!!!</Karlberg>

I'd ask you to say why Wheel was good six years ago, but I don't feel there's a need for you to give reasons why you believe your opinion is right.

[TLEberle]

The reason I asked was because I didn't think of things like the Mystery Space (You're right, it's a great thing for the contestants).  I'll spot you the SPIN ID, and I agree that the bonus wheel is an improvement over the blind draw, though I still think the bonus puzzle is a throwaway.

I was going based on the fact that long ago, Wheel of Fortune was relatively quiet, exciting, and an interesting game.  Now, we have the Eleventy Quintillion Colors of Light,  three Gift Tags on the wheel, wheel values that are hopelessly skewed, contestants yelling to top each other, and a final segment that means the show ends at 7:25.

My intent was not to provoke, or to incite a riot, I only wanted to know why you enjoyed the show so much.  And it turns out you are correct.

(EDIT: To that end, I blame a poor choice of words.  Something like "I disagree, but I would like to hear your take on it" would have been much better than "Please to back that up.")  I apologize for the misunderstanding.)

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Sep 22 2005, 07:29 PM\']Add to that Feud, though it too is arguably a shadow of its Dawson/Combs self, and certainly nowhere near as popular as during the first Dawson era. Count Lingo and the other cable game shows if you want to.[/quote]
Just like Travis' opinion on Wheel nowadays, I refuse to acknowledge this incarnation of Feud as a strong show which is carrying the game show genre.  I know it's getting halfway decent ratings and it'll be around for at least a few more seasons.  I see that show as one giant clustermuck, from the set to the host to the questions.

Lingo?  After seeing about 10 of this season's eps., I wish someone would've put that show out of its misery.  Love the overall concept of the show, hate that the eye candy over the past two seasons have been dumber than a box of rocks, and most contestants aren't much smarter.  (Exceptions to that rule are Ben and Josh.  Hi guys!)

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Sep 22 2005, 07:41 PM\']My intent was not to provoke, or to incite a riot, I only wanted to know why you enjoyed the show so much.  And it turns out you are correct.[/quote]
S'OK.  I've been under a great deal of stress lately.  Being out of the house 70+ hours/week and getting next to sleep nightly can do that to a person.

OBGS:  The teacher I'm working with said she'd "double the points on the next homework" in one of today's classes.  The class didn't hoot and holler.  However, I got a good chuckle out of it.  Darn you, Richard Karn.

[tvmitch]

Tonight's episode of Wheel had 10 puzzles - 7 regulars and 3 toss-ups. And it was good, I think. Yeah, the puzzles were easier, but it was something different than "Well, it's round 5, so F1NAL Sp1N!!!!!!!1" (sorry, out of system now!)

Made for more interesting strategy, if you were on the show playing that way. If you know there will be a couple extra puzzles, maybe you play more conservative.

General note: They did *not* play a fourth toss-up after Round 6 Proper.

[Steve McClellan]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Sep 22 2005, 04:36 PM\']Add in this season's changes [...] even more prize tags,

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I mentioned that after being at the taping of the shows which should air next week. The extra tag has not made an appearance yet; it may just be for that week.

[Clay Zambo]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Sep 22 2005, 06:44 PM\']OBGS:  The teacher I'm working with said she'd "double the points on the next homework" in one of today's classes.  The class didn't hoot and holler.  However, I got a good chuckle out of it.  Darn you, Richard Karn.
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That being a math class, I'd say the teacher should only award the double points to a student who can multiply by two.