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Author Topic: "The little things" you miss on shows  (Read 10653 times)

BrandonFG

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"The little things" you miss on shows
« on: September 22, 2022, 05:26:52 PM »
The things you miss from TPiR inspired this thought: what are the "little things" you miss from shows that don't exist as much, either due to changes in technology or because TV shows just aren't done that way anymore? It can be quirky stuff but let's not go overboard or make this too much of a "get off my lawn" thread.

-After the set of consolation prizes, they'd display the legal stuff like sponsors, eligibility requirements, wardrobe, etc. on an unfocused closeup of a prominent set piece. For Pyramid it was one of the spikes atop the big pyramid...on PYL the light pattern on the contestant island. Bonus points for Split Second using the lines of the game board.

-Dedicated time for the closing credits. I'm not asking for two minutes of the audience church clapping to the theme song*, but I see a show like America Says where the credits literally start the moment the team gives the winning answer. It all feels rushed, esp. when John Michael Higgins spends so much time asking the team what they'd do with $15K. He's a decent ad-libber but they could've shaved off :15 here and there.

-Contestants who were the right mix of guy/girl next door with a touch of oddball. Now it seems like the secret talent is mandatory to get some juicy social media content.

*/I actually would love that, but I know that's pretty much a thing of the past
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Jimmy Owen

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2022, 05:59:46 PM »
Announcers reading fee plugs, Hosts who are not actors or stand-up comics, live-to-tape shows that aren't edited to ribbons. Lots more stuff.
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Ian Wallis

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2022, 06:00:27 PM »
-Dedicated time for the closing credits. I'm not asking for two minutes of the audience church clapping to the theme song*, but I see a show like America Says where the credits literally start the moment the team gives the winning answer. It all feels rushed, esp. when John Michael Higgins spends so much time asking the team what they'd do with $15K. He's a decent ad-libber but they could've shaved off :15 here and there.

*/I actually would love that, but I know that's pretty much a thing of the past

I certainly agree with that.  Sometimes the credits go by so fast that you can hardly read them.  It's almost a case of why even bother?  I guess the art of the well-crafted melodic theme song is long in the past.  You never seem to hear more than about 20 seconds of themes these days anyway.

One thing I really miss is the spontaneity - sometimes technical errors would occur, or set pieces would malfunction, or the host might read the wrong question - things like that.  Today's shows are edited so heavily that you'd never see things like that - they're missing the charm of yesterday's shows, where you just never knew what might happen.  I think it takes some of the human element out of it, which is too bad.

Another thing I miss are the sets of yesteryear.  They were more charming than a computer-generated image.
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SamJ93

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2022, 07:14:44 PM »
I guess the art of the well-crafted melodic theme song is long in the past.  You never seem to hear more than about 20 seconds of themes these days anyway.

And even if it is a catchy melody, it still sounds like it was recorded using 2 Casio keyboards and a drum machine acquired from a pawn shop--GSN's recent original shows are particular offenders in this regard. I definitely miss the full orchestrations and use of real horns, strings and percussion on the old shows. Of course, Edd Kalehoff and other composers made extensive use of synths as well, but in a way that either complemented (rather than replaced) the orchestra or fit the show's vibe (e.g. the first J! '84 theme), whereas today it just sounds cheap.
« Last Edit: March 15, 2023, 10:11:07 PM by SamJ93 »
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TimK2003

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #4 on: September 22, 2022, 08:24:06 PM »
I miss the era when there were in-show pitches for contestants, as well as if you wanted to just see the show in person...and how simple it was to do so (postcard or SASE).

Now many shows PAY for audiences and look for specific caffeine-hyped wannabe actors.

BrandonFG

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #5 on: September 22, 2022, 11:35:30 PM »
Forgot one…I miss seeing shows airing in order, and the host welcoming you to a new show or telling you to tune in tomorrow/Monday for the next exciting episode. You get to see the kinks ironed out in real time. With the exception of the season premiere, most shows air in whatever order so that we see a big win first.
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SuperMatch93

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2022, 06:07:48 AM »
I miss the days when a slightly out-of-the-ordinary moment didn't warrant endless clickbait articles written by people who don't even understand the rules of the game.
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Chelsea Thrasher

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2022, 07:02:00 AM »
One thing I really miss is the spontaneity

I'm 90% sure this is a key reason why, out of everything out of the GSN factory of originals, People Puzzler is the show I cherish most. The show is still leaving a decent bit in edit from what I've seen and heard, but even under the modern era constraints of just 20 minutes of content time, the game is light enough that you still get a significant amount of ad lib time, Leah playfully mocking the contestants or going off on a tangent, etc.  With the increasingly antiquated fixation on stuffing as many ads as possible into a half hour, that's been countered by a lot of producers with a desire to stuff either the most game or the most show into the remaining time, usually sacrificing one for the other (either a lightning-focus on the game at the expense of the "show" elements, or an utter lack of game in order to focus on the ~drama~)

With the sole exception of Press Your Luck, People Puzzler walks that line the best of any new or revived show I've seen produced in at least the last decade.

Quote from: BrandonFG
what are the "little things" you miss from shows that don't exist as much, either due to changes in technology or because TV shows just aren't done that way anymore?

Silence makes sound more meaningful and most modern shows have no idea (nor have the time) to know when to shut the hell up. On myriad older shows, you'd have the dramatic pause of a contestant thinking over a clue. The little note of stillness before a trilon goes {thunk}. That beat before the laughter on older Family Feud when you're trying to accept that they just said whatever they just said.  The little still pause after a dubious clue or before that last answer before a big win. Everything from Millionaire on - and especially from Weakest Link on, which producers proudly noted in interviews was never silent, there's always *something*.  Steve Harvey and the audience immediately react. There's think music beds underneath everything. Some chime or sting. Some fake audience laughing once more from the dead because there's no time to take your time.   The lack of physical set pieces and the end of human operators means someone in the back pushes a button and you never hear it and you never wait for it.

Going back again to People Puzzler, there are moments that the show almost revels in it's moments of silence.  The one shot of Leah staring at the contestant trying to decide whether to mock them or console them. The contestant's nervous laughter that goes on a moment too long so it feels JUST a little awkward and so makes it human. A comparatively rare GSN original that doesn't even pretend to have an audience in it's production design, so everything you don't hear makes everything you do feel just that 10% more interesting.

KrisW73

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #8 on: September 23, 2022, 11:30:36 AM »
Silence makes sound more meaningful and most modern shows have no idea (nor have the time) to know when to shut the hell up. On myriad older shows, you'd have the dramatic pause of a contestant thinking over a clue. The little note of stillness before a trilon goes {thunk}. That beat before the laughter on older Family Feud when you're trying to accept that they just said whatever they just said. 

On the same note those rare occasions that the category dropped off the trilon which made a big bang during the silence of the Winner's Circle on Pyramid.

BrandonFG

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #9 on: September 23, 2022, 11:43:01 AM »
Going back again to People Puzzler, there are moments that the show almost revels in it's moments of silence.  The one shot of Leah staring at the contestant trying to decide whether to mock them or console them. The contestant's nervous laughter that goes on a moment too long so it feels JUST a little awkward and so makes it human. A comparatively rare GSN original that doesn't even pretend to have an audience in it's production design, so everything you don't hear makes everything you do feel just that 10% more interesting.
It took a little time to grow on me, but People Puzzler is a very charming show. Kinda like a throwback to an era when shows had a chance to breathe. Leah’s sarcasm works here, and the contestants are that mix of regular people who are a little quirky. Same goes for Chain Reaction, although I wouldn’t mind seeing Dylan open up a little more.

To your other point, I wish more producers realized you can have a couple seconds of silence and it won’t turn your show into a train wreck.
"I just wanna give a shoutout to my homies in their late-30s who are watching this on Paramount+ right now, cause they couldn't stay up late enough to watch it live!"

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Ian Wallis

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2022, 11:52:50 AM »
Forgot one…I miss seeing shows airing in order, and the host welcoming you to a new show or telling you to tune in tomorrow/Monday for the next exciting episode. You get to see the kinks ironed out in real time. With the exception of the season premiere, most shows air in whatever order so that we see a big win first.

I agree on that one too.  Problem is that - outside of Jeopardy - I can't think of another show that has returning champions, which makes it easy not to air them in taping order.  Sometimes I can't figure out how they decide which order to run them in.  If there are big wins, they can "strategically" place them, but what about typical generic show x vs show y where nothing special happens - sometimes we've seen by episode numbers that those run out of order too, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Another thing I miss are the eggcrate scoreboards that so many shows used.  There's just a certain charm about them.
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Jimmy Owen

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #11 on: September 23, 2022, 12:31:12 PM »
There are returning champs on 25WoL. Haven't seen enough of the new Pictionary to know if they do the same.
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WhammyPower

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #12 on: September 23, 2022, 01:27:18 PM »
Haven't seen enough of the new Pictionary to know if they do the same.
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BrandonFG

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #13 on: September 23, 2022, 01:27:56 PM »
Another thing I miss are the eggcrate scoreboards that so many shows used.  There's just a certain charm about them.
I'm surprised not too many shows haven't tried to replicate the look of eggcrates or vanes, but using the monitors. Outside of Contestants Row, the only other show I know of that did this was GSN's Pyramid.
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colonial

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Re: "The little things" you miss on shows
« Reply #14 on: September 23, 2022, 01:42:18 PM »
History's Pawnography from a few years back did eggcrate displays on its scoreboards. Not the greatest show, but the use of eggcrates was noticeable.

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