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Author Topic: Buzzr Discussion  (Read 436025 times)

parliboy

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #60 on: April 27, 2015, 06:10:39 PM »
...So all the guy found was Collyer-era stuff, and he thought it was boring? Why, because it wasn't in color or has those pesky commercial breaks?

No, because they didn't use an editing room back then to chop away every second of time that would allow something to breathe.

I'd seriously like to see this guy try live or live-to-tape and see how exciting he makes it.  But let's pull up the quote itself:

"I wasn't really able to get through them all because things were really, really boring back then, but it was still sort of cool. I'm glad they upped the game."

No, little boy, they haven't upped anything.  In fact, in most cases, they've actually removed game from the format.
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chad1m

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #61 on: April 27, 2015, 06:30:25 PM »
No, little boy
Are we really going to demean some twenty-something non-game show devotee for not liking something like that was produced for TV sixty years ago? It's nice when average Joes appreciate the games that paved the path to today, but goodness. I respect the genre, but if you put '50s Price in front of me at the wrong time, I'm liable to snore right in Uncle Bill's face.

TLEberle

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #62 on: April 27, 2015, 06:53:30 PM »
No, little boy
Are we really going to demean some twenty-something non-game show devotee for not liking something like that was produced for TV sixty years ago? It's nice when average Joes appreciate the games that paved the path to today, but goodness. I respect the genre, but if you put '50s Price in front of me at the wrong time, I'm liable to snore right in Uncle Bill's face.
At the very least I'll demean him for using the word "up" as a verb. (Upon further review, Dan and Gene are snarking at the new host and not the article writer.)

To your point, not necessarily. We've said repeatedly that you can't look at the old stuff through a 2015 lens, but if he's going to do research for his role then he should do research. Sometimes research is boring. Of all the game shows of yore, I would think that Beat the Clock would be least boring because there's almost constant movement.

It would be interesting to take episodes from the original article, the Montreal run, the All-New version and the one from 2002 to see just how much content there is in a half-hour compared to Minute to Win it. For example, the Hall episodes have five stunts plus Bonus Shuffle.
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BrandonFG

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #63 on: April 27, 2015, 07:13:48 PM »
No, little boy
Are we really going to demean some twenty-something non-game show devotee for not liking something like that was produced for TV sixty years ago? It's nice when average Joes appreciate the games that paved the path to today, but goodness. I respect the genre, but if you put '50s Price in front of me at the wrong time, I'm liable to snore right in Uncle Bill's face.
It doesn't have anything to do with him not being "one of us". I'm sure he meant it as an off-the-cuff statement, but he's doing a new version of an older show, and it looks like he didn't do a lot of research. Like Dan and Travis mentioned, there's more than just the Bud Collyer version, and to merely go off that is kinda half-assed on the research side.

It wasn't necessarily my cup of tea, but the Gary Kroeger version from 2002 was contemporary enough to give him an idea. Granted, that one would look "boring" compared what Fremantle prolly wants to do here, but he made it sound like he only watched because the producers told him to, saw a quick clip, and was done.
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parliboy

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #64 on: April 27, 2015, 10:54:46 PM »
Oh dear, I'm afraid I contributed to a minor, cordial shitstorm.

Are we really going to demean some twenty-something non-game show devotee for not liking something like that was produced for TV sixty years ago? It's nice when average Joes appreciate the games that paved the path to today, but goodness. I respect the genre, but if you put '50s Price in front of me at the wrong time, I'm liable to snore right in Uncle Bill's face.

It might be a matter of viewpoint, Chad.  Last week I introduced my ninth graders to keyboard input and control structures in Java.  As part of that, I used the 20Q website to discuss boolean evaluation and while loops (Yes, kids, it does know what a tortilla is.)  And before we did 20 questions, I related it through the appropriate TV format: "What's My Line?"  So if I can get a room of 30 teenagers to watch John Charles Daly, a man twice their age can darn well sit through some Bud Collyer when he's trying to get a job.

It doesn't have anything to do with him not being "one of us". I'm sure he meant it as an off-the-cuff statement, but he's doing a new version of an older show, and it looks like he didn't do a lot of research. Like Dan and Travis mentioned, there's more than just the Bud Collyer version, and to merely go off that is kinda half-assed on the research side.

Meh, I don't care if he's one of us.  He doesn't have to be to do a competent hosting job.  But they haven't had a strong host yet, in my book.  Maybe someone can tell me if his past work with Sourcefed bodes better here.

But remember, this is supposed to be the partner Youtube channel to that D2 that's launching in a few weeks.  So he's insulting the core programming of the channel that he's hoping he'll get onto.  From a PR perspective, it's putting your best foot in your mouth.  There's no good reason to create such an uphill battle for himself, and that he would do that makes me wonder what the corporate handlers were thinking.

At the very least I'll demean him for using the word "up" as a verb. (Upon further review, Dan and Gene are snarking at the new host and not the article writer.)

I think that up is a perfectly cromulent verb when followed by an appropriate pronoun.  (Where said pronoun does not represent anyone in this conversation)

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To your point, not necessarily. We've said repeatedly that you can't look at the old stuff through a 2015 lens, but if he's going to do research for his role then he should do research. Sometimes research is boring. Of all the game shows of yore, I would think that Beat the Clock would be least boring because there's almost constant movement.

But there's all that awkward talking about what you're going to do before you do it.
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WarioBarker

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #65 on: April 28, 2015, 12:28:01 AM »
Oh dear, I'm afraid I contributed to a minor, cordial shitstorm.
A shitdrizzle?

if I can get a room of 30 teenagers to watch John Charles Daly, a man twice their age can darn well sit through some Bud Collyer when he's trying to get a job.
Since when do potential game show hosts watch game shows?

Meh, I don't care if he's one of us. He doesn't have to be to do a competent hosting job. But they haven't had a strong host yet, in my book.
At least they got rid of whoever hosted Season 1 of Buzzr's Family Feud. That guy was annoying as hell.

It's not as if there aren't any competent hosts who also have YouTube channels, either: Todd Newton and Wink Martindale come immediately to mind, although Todd's kinda busy with various stuff (including The Price Is Right Live) and Fremantle might consider Wink "too old" to be able to relate to the young'uns.

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To your point, not necessarily. We've said repeatedly that you can't look at the old stuff through a 2015 lens, but if he's going to do research for his role then he should do research. Sometimes research is boring. Of all the game shows of yore, I would think that Beat the Clock would be least boring because there's almost constant movement.
But there's all that awkward talking about what you're going to do before you do it.
Explanations? Pfft, who needs explanations when you can give vague instructions so the humor comes from people failing to do a task that wasn't adequately explained to them? "Here's some things, do this thing, don't use your hands, here's the clockGOGOGO!"
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clemon79

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #66 on: April 28, 2015, 12:35:57 AM »
As I mentioned before, it's not as if there aren't any competent hosts who also have YouTube channels: Todd Newton and Wink Martindale come immediately to mind,

Are you still harboring the delusion that Wink is IN ANY WAY involved with the actual production of his YT channel aside from lending his likeness and the occasional voiceover?
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TLEberle

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #67 on: April 28, 2015, 01:19:55 AM »
Oh dear, I'm afraid I contributed to a minor, cordial shitstorm.
I wouldn't say that. You made some great points, and your line about "up" is the funniest think you've written. Your point about how it is terrible PR to badmouth your product is also on point as well.


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Since when do potential game show hosts watch game shows?
There's at least a handful of cases where hosts were fans of the genre before joining it (cf: Messrs. Summers, van Straaten unt Hardwick), so sorry, no points.

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It's not as if there aren't any competent hosts who also have YouTube channels, either: Todd Newton and Wink Martindale come immediately to mind, although Todd's kinda busy with various stuff (including The Price Is Right Live) and Fremantle might consider Wink "too old" to be able to relate to the young'uns.
They cannot afford Todd or Wink. They probably could not afford Graham Elwood. They might be able to afford Frank Nicotero (and by golly, why shouldn't he annoy a new generation of game show fans?). They have not put enough money into the project to hire someone like Mark L. Walberg if he were to pick up the phone. It is meant to be "game shows" for the Youtube generation, not a game show that airs on Youtube.

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Explanations? Pfft, who needs explanations when you can give vague instructions so the humor comes from people failing to do a task that wasn't adequately explained to them? "Here's some things, do this thing, don't use your hands, here's the clockGOGOGO!"
That is literally what they're doing. They are playing for the cash equivalent of Carl Kasell's voice on your answering machine and they are goofing around. I will say it again because it has to be repeated: they are not making these for us: they are making these for the teenagers who will not sit through a half-hour TV show but will watch a Youtube video.
 
I strongly suggest you temper your expectations and your hyperbolic brand of humor.
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jjman920

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #68 on: April 28, 2015, 01:36:45 AM »
From a PR perspective, it's putting your best foot in your mouth.  There's no good reason to create such an uphill battle for himself, and that he would do that makes me wonder what the corporate handlers were thinking.
Uphill battle for himself? That kind of talk could create an uphill battle for the channel.

"I wasn't really able to get through them all because things were really, really boring back then, but it was still sort of cool. I'm glad they upped the game."

Nothing says, "Hey watch these old game shows!" quite like "...things were really, really boring back then..."

"Buzzr. Let's Play."

No, no, the official tagline should be "Buzzr. Things Were Really, Really Boring Back Then."
Me: Of all of the game shows you've hosted besides Jeopardy!, like High Rollers or Classic Concentration, which is your favorite?
Alex Trebek: I'd have to say To Tell The Truth, because it was the first time in my career that I got to sit down while I was hosting.

parliboy

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #69 on: April 28, 2015, 02:13:54 AM »
I strongly suggest you temper your expectations and your hyperbolic brand of humor.

Remember that awkward moment you felt when Pat Finn first said "The Joker's Wild is a game of definitions"?  I think we're entitled to some leeway when you remove too much from the game and try to keep the game's title to leech its prior goodwill.  Some of their shows are worse at this than others.  Their attempt to do Body Language is darn right insulting to the title, but you can kinda tolerate their Password if you can accept that they're going to use different words for "Moist" than we will.

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That is literally what they're doing. They are playing for the cash equivalent of Carl Kasell's voice on your answering machine and they are goofing around. I will say it again because it has to be repeated: they are not making these for us: they are making these for the teenagers who will not sit through a half-hour TV show but will watch a Youtube video.

What you mean is "will not sit through commercials".

I don't think that the shows are abbreviated is such a big deal.  Their games of Password aren't too much shorter than a standard 25-point game would be back in the day.  They just play one per show, is all.  As to the money, again, I had my kids sit through "What's My Line?"

Really, it comes down to the fact that the hosts can't host.  Or more to the point, they don't try to.  The basic way they play it is that the host breaks the fourth wall and cheer-leads like an extra in The View's audience, and the contestants don't.   At least until the finals, when everyone remembers that if they're the grand champions, they have a chance to be paid almost scale; then the contestants play it pretty straight.

As an aside, I have a special challenge in case anyone from Buzzr is reading: dare your hosts to go through a tape day (oh, excuse me, "season") without using the phrase "you guys".  Go on, you know you don't have the guts.
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Fedya

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #70 on: April 28, 2015, 08:59:38 AM »
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I think that up is a perfectly cromulent verb when followed by an appropriate pronoun. 

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MSTieScott

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #71 on: April 28, 2015, 01:59:01 PM »
But remember, this is supposed to be the partner Youtube channel to that D2 that's launching in a few weeks.  So he's insulting the core programming of the channel that he's hoping he'll get onto.  From a PR perspective, it's putting your best foot in your mouth.

I'm not so sure it's as detrimental as that. Buzzr the YouTube channel is designed to catching the eyeballs of Millennials who watch YouTube -- and if there's one thing that YouTube users love doing, it's mocking things. Coming right out and saying "We're not like those boring, old videos you've seen online" is pretty much speaking their target audience's language.

What I don't understand is the speculation that Buzzr the digital subchannel might also eventually air content from Buzzr the YouTube channel. From what I've read about the digital channel, it sounds like (at least at launch) it's going to be the game show equivalent of MeTV and This TV. So far, those networks haven't deviated from their initial identities, and while I don't know whether they're perceived as successes, it seems like they're doing okay. Their advertising skews undeniably old, but for a digital subchannel, I'd like to imagine that a steady revenue stream is enough.

If Buzzr TV can achieve the modest success of a MeTV, then I hope they wouldn't consider televising their YouTube productions. Not only because of my personal, selfish desire to see more of the classics on TV again, but because if they start producing their YouTube shows for TV, then Tiny Riot! is going to have to rethink their "we don't have to worry too much about the rules" mentality.

parliboy

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #72 on: April 28, 2015, 08:28:54 PM »
I'm not so sure it's as detrimental as that. Buzzr the YouTube channel is designed to catching the eyeballs of Millennials who watch YouTube -- and if there's one thing that YouTube users love doing, it's mocking things. Coming right out and saying "We're not like those boring, old videos you've seen online" is pretty much speaking their target audience's language.

Actually, they started with "let's do stuff that they already do on late night TV".  I don't know how different you want to claim you are when you're playing it that safe.

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What I don't understand is the speculation that Buzzr the digital subchannel might also eventually air content from Buzzr the YouTube channel.  From what I've read about the digital channel, it sounds like (at least at launch) it's going to be the game show equivalent of MeTV and This TV.

Yes... at least at launch.

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If Buzzr TV can achieve the modest success of a MeTV, then I hope they wouldn't consider televising their YouTube productions. Not only because of my personal, selfish desire to see more of the classics on TV again, but because if they start producing their YouTube shows for TV, then Tiny Riot! is going to have to rethink their "we don't have to worry too much about the rules" mentality.

Not really, it'll just be in the late night block when even fewer people care.  Can't sell an infomercial spot?  Show Youtube videos instead.
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BrandonFG

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #73 on: April 28, 2015, 08:39:44 PM »
If done well, I wouldn't mind seeing the Youtube games on Buzzr, perhaps to fill a commercial break or two (find a way to break the Youtube episodes into two or three minute "rounds" and you're possibly on to something).

For example, show an episode of Password+. During the break, show part of a round of Youtube Password, "brought to you by Rosetta Stone". Air the next part of the Youtube game during a subsequent break.

/I said "if done well"
//From what I've seen, those games can stay on Youtube.
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TLEberle

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Re: Buzzr Discussion
« Reply #74 on: April 28, 2015, 08:45:24 PM »
Wasn't that what Prime Games was on Game Show Network? Two hour block of three classic programs bookended by the interstitial home games?
Travis L. Eberle