The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: whewfan on January 05, 2012, 09:20:32 PM
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We know hosts have opinions on certain aspects of the game they host. Sometimes they find ways to comment on it.
Drew Carey is certainly an example, openly complaining about how long Three Strikes is, looking at his watch when going through the "one of you 4 that bids closest...", how ugly the green and purple wheel was (okay so he was RIGHT about that) and giving absolutely no enthusiasm for the perfect showcase bid (along with other aspects of the game where some enthusiasm would be appreciated, but I digress)
Pat Sajak was obviously not a fan of the WOF category "Megaword". He'd feign enthusiasm introducing the category, and when he asked the player to form a sentence, he had a look as if he was thinking "why am I bothering to ask... the producers will accept ANY sentence"
When PW+ redid the puzzleboard to the blue checkerboard motif, Allen commented he thought it looked hideous. His disapproval of some of the rule changes also showed through his face. I don't think Allen liked the changes in Password All Stars either, with the option being decided by flashing arrows, as well as a complex new lightning round.
Richard Dawson certainly spoke up whenever a contestant said an answer that should've been accepted but wasn't on Family Feud, especially later in the run. In fact, in the show's later years he simply told the family "we're bringing you back" without consulting the producers.
Bill Cullen probably didn't like the judging on Pass the Buck, and he found some subtle, gentle ways of commenting on it.
While this may not count, as it was a pilot, David Letterman obviously was growing disinterested in The Riddlers. He made comments on how "exciting" the game was, and joked to go out and buy the home game. The panel wasn't enjoying the game much either, especially Michael Mc.Kean. However, David's trademark humor really showed through. He could've been a fine game show host in a Groucho mold, but with a more compelling format.
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We know hosts have opinions on certain aspects of the game they host. Sometimes they find ways to comment on it.
Really? They do?
That was day one at radio production. Even if you think the song is a dog, you surely don't represent that on the air or at a station gig.
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Really? They do?
That was day one at radio production. Even if you think the song is a dog, you surely don't represent that on the air or at a station gig.
Yes, they do. I agree with you that they shouldn't, but he gave some very good examples of them doing it anyway.
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And among that, he cited utter crap examples like Drew's blown perfect Showcase reveal, without the slightest bit of acknowledgement as to how they got to that point.
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This has been another edition of "Whewfan Makes Stuff Up Off The Top of His Head". Next is "Proof or Not Real" on most of these GSF stations.
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Yes, they do. I agree with you that they shouldn't, but he gave some very good examples of them doing it anyway.
My reply was in response to his absolutely pointless lead in of "Sometimes people talk."
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Yes, they do. I agree with you that they shouldn't, but he gave some very good examples of them doing it anyway.
My reply was in response to his absolutely pointless lead in of "Sometimes people talk."
Ok, mea culpa. I thought you were responding to the second sentence in the quote.
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Sajak and Megaword was the first one I thought of. (Also, I'm told they rejected at least one sentence.)
And not really a "complaint", but whenever someone picked RSTLNE under the original Bonus Round rules, Pat's reaction was basically "yeah, whatever, let's just go through the motions here." I'm still surprised it took them 7 years to fix that.
On the flip side, has any host openly praised a certain part of a show, no matter how minor? I know Alex said that he likes the current Jeopardy! board chimes.
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When Dick Clark was hosting the $25KP, he said more than once that he liked it better now that losing one game didn't send you home. He was too nice to say "losing one game because your celebrity partner's an idiot."
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When Dick Clark was hosting the $25KP, he said more than once that he liked it better now that losing one game didn't send you home. He was too nice to say "losing one game because your celebrity partner's an idiot."
Except you are assuming that's the only reason someone could have to like that feature of the show, and that's a fallacy at its face. One bad round on the Pyramid is often enough to cost you the game, and it doesn't matter if you have Betty White on the other side of the desk, if you're new to the entire operation, it might take more than one round to hit the ground running
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I actually don't find this to be such a terrible discussion question at all. There's definitely a difference, though, between "complaining" about the show that's giving you a paycheck and the sort of not-taking-it-seriously pokes that a Sajak or Woolery might make.
I can remmeber Ludden saying with great sarcasm something along the line of "that's how we're playing the game now" when he didn't like a Password Plus ruling early in the run. More recently, I recall Jeff Probst, when he couldn't accept an almost-there response on Rock & Roll Jeopardy, telling the players "that's the kind of game this is".
Offhand, the only negative comment I can think of Cullen ever making about one of his own shows was after Winning Streak had been cancelled and he admitted in an interview that the format "just didn't work".
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And not really a "complaint", but whenever someone picked RSTLNE under the original Bonus Round rules, Pat's reaction was basically "yeah, whatever, let's just go through the motions here." I'm still surprised it took them 7 years to fix that.
Yeah, after a couple of years, Sajak got sarcastic about that letter combination...even more so when it was being picked in that order.
I know Alex said that he likes the current Jeopardy! board chimes.
I'm surprised they didn't change the whole SFX package with the new chimes, but yes, they are very nice.
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Gene Rayburn as a panelist during the Hollywood Squares portion of an episode of the MG/HS Hour:
"I have no idea, so I'm going to have to take a wild guess...which really isn't supposed to be the point of this game. You're supposed to either know it or bluff, but..."
(He did get to be a bit curmudgeonly as the years passed, didn't he?)
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Gene Rayburn as a panelist during the Hollywood Squares portion of an episode of the MG/HS Hour:
"I have no idea, so I'm going to have to take a wild guess...which really isn't supposed to be the point of this game. You're supposed to either know it or bluff, but..."
(He did get to be a bit curmudgeonly as the years passed, didn't he?)
That's true, the same as Barker. But I don't think Bob had any complaints except for the contestants, certain models, other than that. That's all I can think of.
I think Regis complaining about the Millionaire change-over. But he's not hosting that now. If that counts...
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That's true, the same as Barker. But I don't think Bob had any complaints except for the contestants, certain models, other than that. That's all I can think of.
True, but even Bob wore a smile 90% of the time (in public appearances, at least). It seemed to me that Gene just became very angry -- even in the waning days of the syndicated MG.
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Chuck Wollery argued with somebody off-camera about how he read the clues during the thirteen-week revival of Scrabble.
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Not sure how much of a "complaint" this is, but I do recall several instances on Face The Music where Ron Ely would lament that Lisa Donovan never got to sing very much of anything because 95% of what she sang had the title in the lyrics. Enough that he stated on multiple occasions that he wanted to hear her sing something all the way through - which they did do a couple of times at the end of some shows.
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Ron also commented on how the band sometimes didn't play certain songs very well. Once they played the Perry Mason theme, and Ron commented "That sounded PRETTY close to the Perry Mason theme". I am not saying it's a complaint, in fact when I started this thread, perhaps "complain" was too strong of a term. I should've phrased it as perhaps "commentary" on certain elements of the game, whether it's expressed verbally or with facial expression. So I am sorry if my introduction to the topic disturbed some people.
For me though, the king of commentary on how they disliked elements of a game is Jackie Gleason and You're in the Picture. During the game itself, the expression of "please forgive me, I am SO sorry" on Gleason's face as he plugs the sponsor is interesting to watch. Gleason spending the entire second show apologizing for the previous show was a bold and funny move.
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That's true, the same as Barker. But I don't think Bob had any complaints except for the contestants, certain models, other than that. That's all I can think of.
True, but even Bob wore a smile 90% of the time (in public appearances, at least). It seemed to me that Gene just became very angry -- even in the waning days of the syndicated MG.
Barker was a producer's dream in that regard. You could give him a stinkeroo of a game (Professor Price) and he would take it 100% seriously and sell it to the contestant and audience. If he had misgivings about it he didn't let the audience see it one little bit. That was his T or C experience coming into play. Any discussion of the merits of the game took place off camera. He was the consummate pro in that regard.
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I remember a Woolery Scrabble incident when the clue was along the lines of "He's responsible for many horrible rush hours", and the answer was Limbaugh. After the reveal, Woolery took an on-air shot at the writing staff and admitted he liked Limbaugh, followed by plenty of applause.
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I don't think this counts as an element of the game, but one host complaint that totally cracked me up: Pat Sajak walks onstage and says "Welcome to Wheel of Fortune, where we just finished taping a whole bunch of promos for the local stations that air our show...Audience, show of hands, who here hopes they never have to sit through anything like that again?"
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Ron also commented on how the band sometimes didn't play certain songs very well. Once they played the Perry Mason theme, and Ron commented "That sounded PRETTY close to the Perry Mason theme". I am not saying it's a complaint, in fact when I started this thread, perhaps "complain" was too strong of a term. I should've phrased it as perhaps "commentary" on certain elements of the game, whether it's expressed verbally or with facial expression. So I am sorry if my introduction to the topic disturbed some people.
'Face the Music' was hilarious when Sandy Frank kept those outtakes in the show. Someone posted on YT 'Round 2' of a FTM game (featuring Michael Lagmay, who won $100K on Name That Tune) where Ron was quoted (laughing), "I can't believe this...", when Michael and some clueless older lady kept missing the tie-breaker songs and/or 'famous faces'.
Another instance, was in the 'Championship game' where Ron would say, "Tommy Oliver and his band will play some musical clues for you. In tune, we hope." You could hear the stagehands laugh in the background. If it weren't enough (on a later show), when they went to Lisa for a musical clue, the camera was on Lisa, but the band members were reading the LA Times. Tommy Oliver held up a sign saying, "On Strike...For Compliments". Ron quickly apologized and the game went on.
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I think some of you guys are reading way too far into some of the comments...
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Another positive from Chuck: Scrabble had some sort of viewer contest going on that took time away from the game, so they went to speed-round format after the second clue of every game. Chuck said he liked it better that way. I didn't, but I liked the fact that he was willing to say so.
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Chris Tarrant is unashamedly scathing about most of the flops he's hosted, especially in his early years.
Of Cluedo, he said: "I absolutely hated hosting Cluedo, it's the worst thing I've ever done. It took forever to make the thing. We used to have to turn the studio audience over just to make sure they didn't get any bed sores"
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Another positive from Chuck: Scrabble had some sort of viewer contest going on that took time away from the game, so they went to speed-round format after the second clue of every game. Chuck said he liked it better that way. I didn't, but I liked the fact that he was willing to say so.
I think I see what he was really going for. Consider that it's 1-1 after two words, and then the start player on the third word scores, no stoppers. That player has a 2-1 lead heading into Speedword, nothing to do about it, and that's a tad unfair. It's the same reason 2-2 Speedword was originally implemented, I imagine.
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I think some of you guys are reading way too far into some of the comments...
What, no lame attempt at humor here? Despite your potential point, which is kinda valid?
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I was fascinated to see, in a couple of episodes uploaded not too long ago, that Pat wasn't exactly brimming with enthusiasm for Same Name and Before and After when they were introduced, either.
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I think some of you guys are reading way too far into some of the comments...
What, no lame attempt at humor here? Despite your potential point, which is kinda valid?
Namely because almost all of the examples of 'complaining' were lame attempts at humor by the hosts :D
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in Italy Paolo Bonolis is famous for that, and that's why he's so popular.
while other hosts try to be diplomatic at all times, Paolo is not afraid of telling a lady that she sucks at the game, or to define the set "designed by a viet cong" because he stumbled on a step.
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A line I used to use as a kid to get a laugh, "Thanks for playing. Here's a copy of our home game. Take it. You need the practice."