The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => Game Show Channels & Networks => Topic started by: aaron sica on March 06, 2020, 12:04:09 PM
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Per a BUZZR Facebook post, the '70s Concentration (with Jack Narz) is being added to the schedule on March 30.
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Holy schnikes! So exciting to see entries from that survey making their way to the network...
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:O
Maybe that poll was legit ?
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Wow! Weeknights at 7:30 they said on Facebook.
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:O
Maybe that poll was legit ?
Right?! Now I wish I had a copy of that survey to remind us what shows were on there. I recall this, BZZZ!, Scrabble, Scattergories, and 25 Words or Less for sure. I want to say Barker’s Price as well.
Still, a game show that hasn’t been reran in...what, 42 years? Just when you think this channel will stop amazing you, they prove you wrong.
Wow! Weeknights at 7:30 they said on Facebook.
Awesome time slot, indeed! Guess this means LMAD is going out to pasture again?
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Excellent news! I’ve only seen just the handful of Narz episodes on YouTube and I voted for this program in the poll. Excited to see it make the schedule!
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:O
Maybe that poll was legit ?
Right?! Now I wish I had a copy of that survey to remind us what shows were on there. I recall this, BZZZ!, Scrabble, Scattergories, and 25 Words or Less for sure. I want to say Barker’s Price as well.
Still, a game show that hasn’t been reran in...what, 42 years? Just when you think this channel will stop amazing you, they prove you wrong.
Wow! Weeknights at 7:30 they said on Facebook.
Awesome time slot, indeed! Guess this means LMAD is going out to pasture again?
Here was the question; the follow up question had you select one out of all the below options selected as the one you'd like to see most.
Would you like to see any of the following shows added to the Buzzr schedule?
Remote Control
Concentration
Whew!
The Price is Right (Barker)
Shop Til You Drop
Hot Streak
Wheel of Fortune
Jeopardy!
Celebrity Sweepstakes
Liar's Club
25 Words or Less
High Rollers
Win Ben Stein's Money
Scattergories
Scrabble
None of These
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I too could have sworn Bzzz! was on there too, but it's not in any of the screengrabs I pulled up. It was SOMEWHERE, right?
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It's pretty incredible that in 10 years, Narz Concentration went from having about 2 episodes in circulation (and possibly presumed lost) to airing 5 nights a week on a channel that you can stream for free on the Internet. What a world.
I wonder if their promos will poke fun at the fact that this version of Concentration is more classic than Classic Concentration.
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Buzzr is already airing commercials with a music background that uses a sample of the noise the trilons make when they spin. Talk about some shows that I never thought i'd see on a network!
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I too could have sworn Bzzz! was on there too, but it's not in any of the screengrabs I pulled up. It was SOMEWHERE, right?
I'm almost positive it was. I seem to remember being very surprised by the option, considering the only other time it aired in reruns was for a very brief spell in the early-2000s. I believe it was on WGN.
I'm guessing Tribune has a Fremantle connection of some sort? I know they syndicated Feud and Celebrity Name Game at some point.
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I always thought Whew would be a good one to go after and air on Buzzr. Not necessarily because of its notoriety and love amongst most of us, but because it was a shorter-length show (due to the 5 minute CBS newsbreaks), look at all the commercial time they would have within this 30-minute slot.
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I too could have sworn Bzzz! was on there too, but it's not in any of the screengrabs I pulled up. It was SOMEWHERE, right?
I'm almost positive it was. I seem to remember being very surprised by the option, considering the only other time it aired in reruns was for a very brief spell in the early-2000s. I believe it was on WGN.
I'm guessing Tribune has a Fremantle connection of some sort? I know they syndicated Feud and Celebrity Name Game at some point.
Tribune syndicated Feud beginning in I think Louie's last season. The distribution arm was out of business by the time CNG premiered; they did briefly revive it, or at least the production portion, for Arsenio Hall's return to late night.
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I guess the survey should have been a clue, but still, nice surprise to see this!
I too could have sworn Bzzz! was on there too, but it's not in any of the screengrabs I pulled up. It was SOMEWHERE, right?
I'm almost positive it was. I seem to remember being very surprised by the option, considering the only other time it aired in reruns was for a very brief spell in the early-2000s. I believe it was on WGN.
There were a couple of separate questions, asking if people would be interested in dating/relationship shows and, if so, which shows? Bzzz! was on that list. I don't recall the entire list, but I remember Newlywed Game (with Eubanks), Dating Game (no version specified), and Singled Out also being on it.
I'm guessing Tribune has a Fremantle connection of some sort? I know they syndicated Feud and Celebrity Name Game at some point.
Someone on BUZZR's FB page said a while back that Fremantle had bought out Tribune Syndication, and that's how they got Bzzz! I hadn't heard of such a purchase and question whether that person knew what they were talking about. But it does make sense that there would be some kind of connection, given the shows you mentioned and Bzzz! if they didn't buy the Edwards-Billett library outright.
I always thought Whew would be a good one to go after and air on Buzzr. Not necessarily because of its notoriety and love amongst most of us, but because it was a shorter-length show (due to the 5 minute CBS newsbreaks), look at all the commercial time they would have within this 30-minute slot.
Hot take: I've halfway wondered if, given the success of the Press Your Luck revival, Fremantle might be considering another cartoon villain game show, and have gone after Whew! thinking a revival of it might fit the bill. (Not for ABC necessarily, but for syndication/GSN/streaming/etc.)
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I guess the survey should have been a clue, but still, nice surprise to see this!
I too could have sworn Bzzz! was on there too, but it's not in any of the screengrabs I pulled up. It was SOMEWHERE, right?
I'm almost positive it was. I seem to remember being very surprised by the option, considering the only other time it aired in reruns was for a very brief spell in the early-2000s. I believe it was on WGN.
There were a couple of separate questions, asking if people would be interested in dating/relationship shows and, if so, which shows? Bzzz! was on that list. I don't recall the entire list, but I remember Newlywed Game (with Eubanks), Dating Game (no version specified), and Singled Out also being on it.
Yes, that's it! It was a question dedicated to relationship shows. On another note, the survey has major implications around the existence of Celebrity Sweepstakes (which I'm really gunning for). There are a couple of nighttime episodes in some hands and the NBC finale studio master that's been around appears in vacuum-sealed mint condition. Hope remains, even if it's just the PM version...
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I too could have sworn Bzzz! was on there too, but it's not in any of the screengrabs I pulled up. It was SOMEWHERE, right?
I'm almost positive it was. I seem to remember being very surprised by the option, considering the only other time it aired in reruns was for a very brief spell in the early-2000s. I believe it was on WGN.
I'm guessing Tribune has a Fremantle connection of some sort? I know they syndicated Feud and Celebrity Name Game at some point.
Tribune syndicated Feud beginning in I think Louie's last season. The distribution arm was out of business by the time CNG premiered; they did briefly revive it, or at least the production portion, for Arsenio Hall's return to late night.
I sit corrected. :) I may have been confusing it with Tribune stations signing on to air the show (WGNT being one).
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Not the ad, but....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgzdL_JjvBU
EDIT: Clipped from the B episode of Classic Concentration today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rTeaNxlSgQ
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They ran that promo on Monty's SS and Rayburn's MG today. Looking forward to seeing Jack Narz back on Buzzr again. Of the shows mentioned, I'd like to see Celebrity Sweepstakes and Scrabble. I'm also still holding out hope for Barker's TPIR making it to Buzzr eventually.
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Of long-running G-T shows of the 70s, "Concentration" and ABC Password were always the two "lost" titles, albeit for different reasons. Nice to see the one where the tapes still existed finally taken care of! I haven't "live recorded" off GSN/BUZZR in years but this will be one time where I'll be resuming.
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The way the promo department cut the promo and managed to line up the board creaks and claps with Jack's actions (clapping, stomping his foot at one point) is excellent.
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The only "meh" thing is it comes at LMaD' expense. It's my fav on BUZZR right now. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
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The way the promo department cut the promo and managed to line up the board creaks and claps with Jack's actions (clapping, stomping his foot at one point) is excellent.
Hard co-sign. Having the board hydraulics(?) serve as a field drum is an inspired choice.
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:O
Maybe that poll was legit ?
Right?! Now I wish I had a copy of that survey to remind us what shows were on there. I recall this, BZZZ!, Scrabble, Scattergories, and 25 Words or Less for sure. I want to say Barker’s Price as well.
Still, a game show that hasn’t been reran in...what, 42 years? Just when you think this channel will stop amazing you, they prove you wrong.
Wow! Weeknights at 7:30 they said on Facebook.
Awesome time slot, indeed! Guess this means LMAD is going out to pasture again?
Here was the question; the follow up question had you select one out of all the below options selected as the one you'd like to see most.
Would you like to see any of the following shows added to the Buzzr schedule?
Remote Control
Concentration
Whew!
The Price is Right (Barker)
Shop Til You Drop
Hot Streak
Wheel of Fortune
Jeopardy!
Celebrity Sweepstakes
Liar's Club
25 Words or Less
High Rollers
Win Ben Stein's Money
Scattergories
Scrabble
None of These
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I too could have sworn Bzzz! was on there too, but it's not in any of the screengrabs I pulled up. It was SOMEWHERE, right?
I want to see it all on Buzzr!
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Question for the NY/NJ folks...where and when was it originally run and was it ever repeated beyond its 1978 cancellation?
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It was on WNBC for most of its run and then WOR for its last season. It did not air beyond its cancellation so it was never "behind" apparently when it came to bicycling the show. ("To Tell The Truth" by contrast aired it's final year of episodes in New York one year after production ended on WPIX).
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First, I’m digging this promo.
From the standpoint of attracting casual viewers, I am a bit puzzled about the 7:30 timeslot. I’d think they’d want to put the more familiar Trebek-hosted version in a prime viewing slot. (I’m a bit surprised they haven’t put Trebek CC somewhere between 7:00 & 11:00 Eastern already—though I understand if they can’t/don’t want to run it against new episodes of Trebek’s far more familiar show, which would be happening in some markets almost anywhere in that timeframe.) It concerns me a bit that casual viewers will see 70’s Concentration as a downgrade from Trebek CC and walk. Although, being a lesser known, less well-regarded version in its franchise(s) hasn’t seemed to hurt this Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour run. (And to the extent that social media is an indicator, the response to the Concentration announcement seems to be much more positive so far.)
As for LMaD, likely there will be some other schedule shifting, and I doubt it will get shafted too much. I mean, we don’t know yet what they’ll do with it, but barring some unforeseen issue, I’d think it’s unlikely that it will go from new episodes in the prime time lead-in slot, to nearly non-existent. Heck, it might even get a timeslot upgrade if BUZZR decides to give the oft-repeated episodes of Password Plus or Supermarket Sweep a rest. We should see soon enough.
Last thought... hearing Johnny O. give semi-detailed 70s prize descriptions in quick succession over Showcase music beds... they’re enjoying teasing us, aren’t they?
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The show is 40 years old. It's a low-rated network that exists because it has extremely low production costs.
Why in the hell are they making a 4-week lead-in time for this? I can understand one week or so, but four?
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For exactly the reasons you give. It's a low-rated network. Might as well try to get as much mileage out of something new as possible.
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The show is 40 years old. It's a low-rated network that exists because it has extremely low production costs.
Why in the hell are they making a 4-week lead-in time for this? I can understand one week or so, but four?
Maybe the schedules for the intervening weeks are already set in stone? Their strategy might not make sense to you or me but it's what they are going with.
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And I'm enjoying and appreciate the build-up.
It feels like some of you are quite salty about a 40 year old show on a low-rated network that exists because it has extremely low production costs.
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Maybe the schedules for the intervening weeks are already set in stone?
They may well be, considering everything up through 6 am on the 30th has already been published on the website.
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BUZZR may not be top-tier in ratings, but it's a niche network with a loyal audience. I'm noticing a lot more actual commercials lately (as opposed to pay-per-response spots), which is an indicator that there are more eyeballs are on the network, & advertisers see value in them. (I'm just talking about the straight feed, not the inserted Pluto TV ads--though apparently BUZZR gets a cut from those too (https://digiday.com/media/consistent-and-reliable-pluto-tv-is-driving-incremental-revenue-for-video-programmers/).) So it seems BUZZR is doing exactly what it was created to do--make a little money off Fremantle's large classic game show library.
As for the Concentration build-up, this is a show that, to my knowledge, hasn't aired anywhere in 40 years, so it's "new" content to many of us. Even many of the YouTubers & tape traders have limited exposure to it. So BUZZR is pushing it hard as a new show. They know their audience & are engaging it.
Anyway that's my $.02.
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The only "meh" thing is it comes at LMaD' expense. It's my fav on BUZZR right now. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
Nothing "meh" about it. Per a comment on Twitter, LMAD moves to 8:30pm.
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Maybe the schedules for the intervening weeks are already set in stone?
They may well be, considering everything up through 6 am on the 30th has already been published on the website.
It might be a rights issue (does NBC still have them?)- the contract might start on the Monday of the week containing April 1st...
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From the standpoint of attracting casual viewers, I am a bit puzzled about the 7:30 timeslot. I’d think they’d want to put the more familiar Trebek-hosted version in a prime viewing slot. (I’m a bit surprised they haven’t put Trebek CC somewhere between 7:00 & 11:00 Eastern already—though I understand if they can’t/don’t want to run it against new episodes of Trebek’s far more familiar show, which would be happening in some markets almost anywhere in that timeframe.) It concerns me a bit that casual viewers will see 70’s Concentration as a downgrade from Trebek CC and walk. Although, being a lesser known, less well-regarded version in its franchise(s) hasn’t seemed to hurt this Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour run. (And to the extent that social media is an indicator, the response to the Concentration announcement seems to be much more positive so far.)
I honestly think you're selling the 70's version short...first, BUZZR skews older so, believe it or not, the Narz version may well be the more familiar of the two versions...while the Trebek version was network, it failed to get clearance in some major markets during different periods of its run...plus, by the time it premiered, game shows were on the decline...the Narz version aired during the glorious game show heydays...
As for the "casual viewers", I have CC airing at my place of employment (that dare not speaketh its name) on a 50" monitor on Saturday afternoons...the most attention it ever seems to get is "boy, Trebek sure was young there...." and then they move on...on the other hand, people seem to stop and watch when something older is on...CC simply wasn't that visually interesting in spite of the "newer" technology...the 70s version is a cornucopia for the senses...the moving trilons, the thumpity-thump sounds, the 70s color schemes...it just begs to be watched...
I think BUZZR knows exactly what they're doing by putting it in that time slot...
BTW, very happy to see that LMaD is moving into the later spot because, in spite of popular opinion, I can't stand "Supermarket Sweep"...
JakeT
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I giggle each time that Marjorie Goodson's wardrobe is provided by Ginger Bort.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXaXerFmWms
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I giggle each time that Marjorie Goodson's wardrobe is provided by Ginger Bort.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXaXerFmWms
That reminds me of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfXm5qFZnXQ
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...the 70s version is a cornucopia for the senses...the moving trilons, the thumpity-thump sounds, the 70s color schemes...it just begs to be watched...
And HEARD. That music package is so interesting and diverse! It wasn’t until I heard the cues in the clear on TVPMM that I recognized that most of what I know about Theme and Variations I learned from Concentration.
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Loving that Concentration is on the schedule. Supermarket Sweep is one of the few Buzzr shows I cant get into.
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...the 70s version is a cornucopia for the senses...the moving trilons, the thumpity-thump sounds, the 70s color schemes...it just begs to be watched...
And HEARD. That music package is so interesting and diverse! It wasn’t until I heard the cues in the clear on TVPMM that I recognized that most of what I know about Theme and Variations I learned from Concentration.
Agreed on that. While each decade had a number of really good game show themes, I always thought the '70s were the best decade of all for game show music.
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Last night's ep was great! It felt like Jack Narz was in his element and loved the cheeky quips he made along the way. My favorite was his quip about 'Name that Tune' and 'that guy with the funny name'
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Agreed on that. While each decade had a number of really good game show themes, I always thought the '70s were the best decade of all for game show music.
Seconded. The 1980s started out okay, but eventually became nothing but tuneless synth music.
I'm predisposed toward the show anyway, but I always thought The Money Maze had a great music package (which only exists on YouTube in a short promo). The tunes were repurposed for two other shows by different production companies: The Guinness Game, of course, but also Match Game used one of the themes as think music for a very short time (presumably somebody recognized it).
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Tonight's show is the debut of the "Free Look" space. And Jack makes a goof that has to be corrected later.
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And Jack makes a goof that has to be corrected later.
But was it Jack's goof or a producer's goof? Someone offstage seems to have told Jack he'd missed a Take, so he then had the contestant exercise it. During the break, they must have reconsidered and reviewed the tape and realized he hadn't missed one, so they returned the gift to the other contestant.
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Like most people, my evening job has me working from home for at least the rest of the semester. At 7:30 p.m., I should probably spend my time watching Jeopardy!, but instead Concentration has my attention. The only other show I can remember that became "appointment television" was Monty's Split Second.
There's a car cue that Concentration and TPiR used for years. I dunno how it took me so long to catch that it's a rendition of the Concentration theme.
/Still partial to CC's car game over the Double Play
//It's a generational thing
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Are a lot of the second Double Play puzzles like 2000s Wheel of Fortune puzzles written like a sentence (e.g. "The Hatfields battled the McCoys," "Magellan was an explorer," "Jupiter is the largest planet")?
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Are a lot of the second Double Play puzzles like 2000s Wheel of Fortune puzzles written like a sentence (e.g. "The Hatfields battled the McCoys," "Magellan was an explorer," "Jupiter is the largest planet")?
I was wondering the exact same thing, and I have to say I absolutely love it because it adds another dimension.
It's not just a common phrase/popular expression, but rather a concise piece of trivia.
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Definitely makes it harder. Wonder if they get a bit easier when the bonus game changes.
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Definitely makes it harder. Wonder if they get a bit easier when the bonus game changes.
Considerably (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xx_6sOSm8HU&t=10m24s).
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Like most people, my evening job has me working from home for at least the rest of the semester. At 7:30 p.m., I should probably spend my time watching Jeopardy!, but instead Concentration has my attention. The only other show I can remember that became "appointment television" was Monty's Split Second.
There's a car cue that Concentration and TPiR used for years. I dunno how it took me so long to catch that it's a rendition of the Concentration theme.
/Still partial to CC's car game over the Double Play
//It's a generational thing
6:30 Central is Wheel time here in Chicago, to the point where it has been tradition in my office to have one TV (normally split into 4 screens) switched over to dedicated Wheel on mute every weeknight. Working at home, I've been propping my phone up on a stand and tuning in Concentration instead these last two weeks. Granted, I'm watching on a small screen, but I'm amazed at how pristine the quality is. The show's a load of fun, too.
/ditto on the car game, Brandon
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The one thing I've noticed watching this version and Classic is how much the contestants hem and haw in addition to Alex vamping on that version. I haven't decided which style I prefer though, since Jack's version is fairly dry.
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The one thing I've noticed watching this version and Classic is how much the contestants hem and haw in addition to Alex vamping on that version. I haven't decided which style I prefer though, since Jack's version is fairly dry.
I'm finding it hard to prefer one version over another as well. "Classic" is definitely a looser atmosphere, but the Narz series is more down to business. I did notice (and kind of like) with the 70s shows that when a contestant solves a puzzle, they waste no time in telling them they're right. With "Classic", there's the "Is it (answer)??" from Alex, the brief pause, then the dings/audience cheers/board reveal.
That said, I strongly prefer the car round over Double Play, but I kind of prefer Narz's smooth hosting style over Trebek's.
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Are a lot of the second Double Play puzzles like 2000s Wheel of Fortune puzzles written like a sentence (e.g. "The Hatfields battled the McCoys," "Magellan was an explorer," "Jupiter is the largest planet")?
That seems to be a holdover from the NBC ruleset, where the solution to the puzzle could be “something you know”. That being said, yeah, they are clearly leaning on those as puzzle-number-twos.
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The one thing I've noticed watching this version and Classic is how much the contestants hem and haw in addition to Alex vamping on that version. I haven't decided which style I prefer though, since Jack's version is fairly dry.
I'm finding it hard to prefer one version over another as well. "Classic" is definitely a looser atmosphere, but the Narz series is more down to business. I did notice (and kind of like) with the 70s shows that when a contestant solves a puzzle, they waste no time in telling them they're right. With "Classic", there's the "Is it (answer)??" from Alex, the brief pause, then the dings/audience cheers/board reveal.
There must have been some sort of offstage signal for Jack indicating the puzzle had been solved, or else he was briefed on it before the show started (which seems less likely). He obviously doesn't have a card showing the answer to the main game puzzles (which would be very easy for contestants to catch a glimpse); I'm kind of surprised he does have them for the Double Play round.
That said, I strongly prefer the car round over Double Play, but I kind of prefer Narz's smooth hosting style over Trebek's.
Jack's hosting has aged better with me than I would have thought. Alex is a lot looser here than on Jeopardy (and more comfortable than he was on, say, Battlestars), but there are moments when he tries to get too cute (a couple of days ago he was imitating a female contestant's Southern accent so frequently I wound up shutting it off).
We don't have enough Hugh Downs or Bob Clayton episodes for comparison, but my memory is they were drier than Jack.
You would think I'd have some memory of Ed McMahon hosting NBC's Concentration, since I absolutely remember Hugh Downs, but I don't. (Granted I was six years old at that point, but still.) Does anybody remember how Ed handled the show?
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They knew that the board noise was an iconic part of the show, so they're miking the board, right? Because the sound is too clear for it to be something that's picked up by the contestant microphones on the other side of the stage. (Also, if we could hear it that clearly over the contestant microphones, then that would mean it's so loud, everybody in the studio should have permanent hearing damage by the end of the tape day.)
I wonder how far away and partitioned Johnny's podium is. We can't hear the board at all during the head start plugs.
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The one thing I've noticed watching this version and Classic is how much the contestants hem and haw in addition to Alex vamping on that version. I haven't decided which style I prefer though, since Jack's version is fairly dry.
I'm finding it hard to prefer one version over another as well. "Classic" is definitely a looser atmosphere, but the Narz series is more down to business. I did notice (and kind of like) with the 70s shows that when a contestant solves a puzzle, they waste no time in telling them they're right. With "Classic", there's the "Is it (answer)??" from Alex, the brief pause, then the dings/audience cheers/board reveal.
That said, I strongly prefer the car round over Double Play, but I kind of prefer Narz's smooth hosting style over Trebek's.
Probably the reason why they were "more down to business" was because the show was in syndication and had no returning champions despite being a five-days-a-week game show in the 1970s. They wanted to make sure they got the two full games in and Double Play bonus. The NBC version of Concentration allowed games to straddle. Classic Concentration knew how to speed up the game when it returned in the late 80s. They were able to have returning champions and not straddle the game.
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These eps are from about midway through the syndicated run, correct? Seems like they've got things down to a science pretty much- it's been a delight to see these.
My thought was they want people to get that first Double Play puzzle, then the 2nd is a "you get it immediately or you're not going to get it" type.
When they went to the pick 'em bonus the last year, I wonder if anyone ever managed to win all four prizes?
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These eps are from about midway through the syndicated run, correct?
1976---a little past midway.
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I was wondering the exact same thing, and I have to say I absolutely love it because it adds another dimension.
I wonder what the overlap is between people who like the harder Double Play puzzles and people who don't like the evolution of Wheel of Fortune puzzles.
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My thought was they want people to get that first Double Play puzzle, then the 2nd is a "you get it immediately or you're not going to get it" type.
Based on tonight's episode, if a car is won after the first game, both of the Double Play puzzles following the second game could be "you get it immediately or you're not going to get it."
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I was wondering the exact same thing, and I have to say I absolutely love it because it adds another dimension.
I wonder what the overlap is between people who like the harder Double Play puzzles and people who don't like the evolution of Wheel of Fortune puzzles.
I don't quite follow; I for one think the puzzles are a lot more creative and difficult than before...therefore I enjoy the present day puzzle writing.
In fact I just digitized a 1992 episode where the bonus round puzzle was:
"Thing"
_ _ - _ _
Seriously, with two letters one each side of the hyphen, how many things could it have possibly been?
(Though the contestant did take 7 seconds to get it even after filling in 2 of the spaces)
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There must have been some sort of offstage signal for Jack indicating the puzzle had been solved, or else he was briefed on it before the show started (which seems less likely). He obviously doesn't have a card showing the answer to the main game puzzles (which would be very easy for contestants to catch a glimpse); I'm kind of surprised he does have them for the Double Play round.
There was one show this week, I believe it was Tuesday nights episode, where at one point they cut to the contestants and Jack, and you could see him putting a pice of paper into the breast pocket of his suit. I assumed he was refreshing himself on the puzzle answer.
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They knew that the board noise was an iconic part of the show, so they're miking the board, right? Because the sound is too clear for it to be something that's picked up by the contestant microphones on the other side of the stage. (Also, if we could hear it that clearly over the contestant microphones, then that would mean it's so loud, everybody in the studio should have permanent hearing damage by the end of the tape day.)
I wonder how far away and partitioned Johnny's podium is. We can't hear the board at all during the head start plugs.
Speaking of the board noise, we've all seen how the squares in the Narz version turn around faster than they did in the old NBC version, and they sound differently as well. Anyone got an idea as to what they did to the board to make this happen? I know its been mentioned before here what it was in the NBC original, so I take it this was an improvement of sorts.
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They knew that the board noise was an iconic part of the show, so they're miking the board, right? Because the sound is too clear for it to be something that's picked up by the contestant microphones on the other side of the stage. (Also, if we could hear it that clearly over the contestant microphones, then that would mean it's so loud, everybody in the studio should have permanent hearing damage by the end of the tape day.)
I wonder how far away and partitioned Johnny's podium is. We can't hear the board at all during the head start plugs.
Speaking of the board noise, we've all seen how the squares in the Narz version turn around faster than they did in the old NBC version, and they sound differently as well. Anyone got an idea as to what they did to the board to make this happen? I know its been mentioned before here what it was in the NBC original, so I take it this was an improvement of sorts.
http://www.gameshowforum.org/index.php/topic,7.msg285581.html#msg285581
When the show moved to California two new boards were built using the same idea as the original board from New York - my guess is the motors worked better and sounded differently.
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My thought was they want people to get that first Double Play puzzle, then the 2nd is a "you get it immediately or you're not going to get it" type.
Based on tonight's episode, if a car is won after the first game, both of the Double Play puzzles following the second game could be "you get it immediately or you're not going to get it."
Yeah, I was wondering how they'd play it when there was a chance to win two cars, and was disappointed to see the answer was "Well, they're not going to win two cars." If that's how you're gonna play it, then make the second trip to Double Play worth $100 for the first puzzle, and a cash amount less than you paid for the car for the second one. In a game where cash is as scarce as this one, offering up $1,000 would still be a very alluring prize, I think.
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Yeah, I was wondering how they'd play it when there was a chance to win two cars, and was disappointed to see the answer was "Well, they're not going to win two cars." If that's how you're gonna play it, then make the second trip to Double Play worth $100 for the first puzzle, and a cash amount less than you paid for the car for the second one. In a game where cash is as scarce as this one, offering up $1,000 would still be a very alluring prize, I think.
I had this same thought down to the same cash prize.
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At some point in the run, they had a mini game before playing the bonus game with 9 numbers, and whichever prize was matched first was the prize played for in the bonus game, so it wasn't always the car. I think there was a way to win more than one prize but I'm not sure how that was done.
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At some point in the run, they had a mini game before playing the bonus game with 9 numbers, and whichever prize was matched first was the prize played for in the bonus game, so it wasn't always the car. I think there was a way to win more than one prize but I'm not sure how that was done.
Pick multiple prizes then the Wild Card without making a natural match.
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This is the first time I've fully watched a series hosted by Jack Narz (I've only seen one-off episodes on YT as well as various clips, including a montage at a Game Show Congress that he attended), so getting the opportunity to watch Narz in action on "Concentration" is a treat. A definite solid host who takes the game seriously but is open to having a little fun from time to time. I do agree that his hosting the format is better than Trebek, whose style on CC was a tad too loose at times.
The Double Play bonus round is not perfect (given the mechanics of the times, doing something similar to the CC car game would be impossible), but it's definitely a challenge. And I like the use of what's essentially trivia as answers for the second half of the round.
JD
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Interesting that Jack mentioned a couple of times on Thursday's (4/2) episode of a "new twist" to the game play. At first, he thought it was in Game 2, but then when he came back from commercial, he mentioned that it will premiere "on a future episode".
Any guesses as to what he was referring to?
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Interesting that Jack mentioned a couple of times on Thursday's (4/2) episode of a "new twist" to the game play. At first, he thought it was in Game 2, but then when he came back from commercial, he mentioned that it will premiere "on a future episode".
Any guesses as to what he was referring to?
"Call 3."
Clip from tonight's episode with this change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgzdL_JjvBU&t=101s
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Interesting that Jack mentioned a couple of times on Thursday's (4/2) episode of a "new twist" to the game play. At first, he thought it was in Game 2, but then when he came back from commercial, he mentioned that it will premiere "on a future episode".
Any guesses as to what he was referring to?
Probably three numbers called in the second game.
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I'm enjoying these episodes, but watching the contestants stroll across the studio at the opening is just so hokey. It feels like they should be holding hands and skipping to their podia.
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It's a tough balancing act. Most of the Concentration contestants we've seen so far haven't had much chance to demonstrate any personality, but they're good at keeping the game moving. On the other hand, we get a better chance to know the contestants on Classic Concentration, but a lot of them (especially in the episodes Buzzr is currently airing) are getting too chatty. Their mini-monologues before every pick really slow the game down.
("Let's try to find a match for the bicycles or a wild card..." Oh, is THAT your strategy?)
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It's a tough balancing act. Most of the Concentration contestants we've seen so far haven't had much chance to demonstrate any personality, but they're good at keeping the game moving. On the other hand, we get a better chance to know the contestants on Classic Concentration, but a lot of them (especially in the episodes Buzzr is currently airing) are getting too chatty. Their mini-monologues before every pick really slow the game down.
("Let's try to find a match for the bicycles or a wild card..." Oh, is THAT your strategy?)
Yeah, I've found myself getting slightly annoyed by the constant banter that goes on during the main game, especially Alex. He brings the game to a dead halt at times with his constant off hand comments (A PLUSH carpet! Let me riff on it for 30 seconds!), like he's trying to over compensate for his reputation (at the time) as a stiff host on Jeopardy! I don't know if they kept the monitor on during the banter or not, it would seem to give the opposing player he's not talking to an advantage, no?
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We get a better chance to know the contestants on Classic Concentration, but a lot of them (especially in the episodes Buzzr is currently airing) are getting too chatty. Their mini-monologues before every pick really slow the game down.
("Let's try to find a match for the bicycles or a wild card..." Oh, is THAT your strategy?)
Yeah, I've found myself getting slightly annoyed by the constant banter that goes on during the main game, especially Alex. He brings the game to a dead halt at times with his constant off hand comments (A PLUSH carpet! Let me riff on it for 30 seconds!), like he's trying to over compensate for his reputation (at the time) as a stiff host on Jeopardy!
I'm going to guess that the contestants were urged to blabber on to make sure there was enough program to fill the half hour (on the second program that reran today, for example, the solves were fairly quick). I'm guessing if a show ran long (i.e. tiebreaker), some of the extraneous chit chat would have been edited out.
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Which rebus design do you like better? I think I prefer the Narz version's rebuses; having 5 extra squares to work with does help a bit.
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Which rebus design do you like better? I think I prefer the Narz version's rebuses; having 5 extra squares to work with does help a bit.
For the episodes I've seen thus far, there seems to be more drawings used as part of the rebuses on the Narz version. And I'm not just talking about the Double Play rounds. Maybe because of the extra row of squares?
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I wonder how far away and partitioned Johnny's podium is. We can't hear the board at all during the head start plugs.
I'm listening to it with my headphones tonight, and you can hear the board rotation quietly in the background behind Johnny's voice.
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having 5 extra squares to work with does help a bit.
"Better cut that pizza into four pieces, I don't think I'm hungry enough to eat eight."
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having 5 extra squares to work with does help a bit.
"Better cut that pizza into four pieces, I don't think I'm hungry enough to eat eight."
Bravo! I couldn't have said it better!
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I like the 30-square board. You can have a one-row puzzle filling the entirety of the board, a two-row puzzle (each row of the rebus fits nicely in a block of 15 squares) or a three-row puzzle (each row being 10 squares), with no overlap into another row, i.e., there won't be something dangling from the first row of a 3-row rebus behind square 11. It seems Concentration has less empty squares than Classic, particularly in the corners.
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Interesting that Jack mentioned a couple of times on Thursday's (4/2) episode of a "new twist" to the game play. At first, he thought it was in Game 2, but then when he came back from commercial, he mentioned that it will premiere "on a future episode".
Any guesses as to what he was referring to?
"Call 3."
I know we don't really have a big enough sampling of episodes to draw from, but I found it interesting that they introduced this rule after we've seen four episodes demonstrating that the rule change wasn't really needed. The game already moved at a fast clip with good players and they often had to pad for time after two games and two Double Plays. Why a rule change to speed the show up?
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Interesting that Jack mentioned a couple of times on Thursday's (4/2) episode of a "new twist" to the game play. At first, he thought it was in Game 2, but then when he came back from commercial, he mentioned that it will premiere "on a future episode".
Any guesses as to what he was referring to?
"Call 3."
I know we don't really have a big enough sampling of episodes to draw from, but I found it interesting that they introduced this rule after we've seen four episodes demonstrating that the rule change wasn't really needed. The game already moved at a fast clip with good players and they often had to pad for time after two games and two Double Plays. Why a rule change to speed the show up?
Perhaps to squeeze in more puzzles, leading to more time for the players to amass more prizes / play Double Play?
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There must have been some sort of offstage signal for Jack indicating the puzzle had been solved, or else he was briefed on it before the show started (which seems less likely).
On an episode of Classic that I happened to see recently, Alex made reference to part of a puzzle that he thought was slightly confusing when he was briefed on it before the taping.
Granted, different production, different era, but I'd suspect that Narz (or any host) would be given a sneak peak at the puzzles before each game so that he wouldn't potentially end up in a situation where he's explaining the puzzle on camera and can't figure out part of it.
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There must have been some sort of offstage signal for Jack indicating the puzzle had been solved, or else he was briefed on it before the show started (which seems less likely).
On an episode of Classic that I happened to see recently, Alex made reference to part of a puzzle that he thought was slightly confusing when he was briefed on it before the taping.
Granted, different production, different era, but I'd suspect that Narz (or any host) would be given a sneak peak at the puzzles before each game so that he wouldn't potentially end up in a situation where he's explaining the puzzle on camera and can't figure out part of it.
Alex frequently mentioned that he was briefed on the puzzles and their solutions before the show, and would usually then joke at that point that he had forgotten what the solution was.
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I'm predisposed toward the show anyway, but I always thought The Money Maze had a great music package (which only exists on YouTube in a short promo). The tunes were repurposed for two other shows by different production companies: The Guinness Game, of course, but also Match Game used one of the themes as think music for a very short time (presumably somebody recognized it).
I love The Money Maze theme as well. Oddly, this one is missing from TVPMM. The one they have there is the theme to the pilot. I believe the prize cue is correct thought. Would love for this to surface.
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I would love to hear a Concentration/Tattletales mashup. It feels like one could seamlessly blend from one to the other.
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Wow, also noticed the similarity - TheTT theme right before the bridge along with the Concentration head starts.
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"Call 3."
Clip from tonight's episode with this change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgzdL_JjvBU&t=101s
Channeling its inner NBA. ("Three to make two.")
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I know we don't really have a big enough sampling of episodes to draw from, but I found it interesting that they introduced this rule after we've seen four episodes demonstrating that the rule change wasn't really needed. The game already moved at a fast clip with good players and they often had to pad for time after two games and two Double Plays. Why a rule change to speed the show up?
I think the bigger function of the rule change was to justify the show being on for so many years (i.e. look what we're doing NOW!!). But I also realized tonight (catching up on backlogged Concentration on the DVR) that speeding up one game of the two helps add the time necessary to play two pre-Double Play matching games to determine what prize the winner is playing for. I'd be willing to bet, if/when we get there, that the pre-Double Play matching game episodes have far fewer time filler segments (Money Game, $50 Double Play, etc.) than the ones Buzzr is showing now.
-Jason
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Two observations from tonight's game:
- Gee they love their "awl" and "ass" in this version
- Anyone else get Kellyanne Conway resemblance vibes from Kay? ;D
(a much more pleasant KC, that is)
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- Gee they love their "awl" and "ass" in this version
This sparked a fun conversation on Facebook last week. A few people mentioned that Concentration was how they knew what an awl was. :)
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- Gee they love their "awl" and "ass" in this version
Funny, that's what I do when I realize it's almost 7:30, awl ass
/sorry
//not sorry
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The first Double Play from tonight's episode was amazing--Kay gets a lengthy first puzzle in 3 seconds, then answers the second puzzle at the buzzer for the car.
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The first Double Play from tonight's episode was amazing--Kay gets a lengthy first puzzle in 3 seconds, then answers the second puzzle at the buzzer for the car.
I looked at my wife and said "Sounds like she started that before the buzzer sounded..." and sure enough Jack confirmed it a few moments later - great solve
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I'd be willing to bet, if/when we get there, that the pre-Double Play matching game episodes have far fewer time filler segments (Money Game, $50 Double Play, etc.) than the ones Buzzr is showing now.
I would not wager against you on that one. And I would be happy if you are right, because the Money Game and $50 Double Play feel sooooooo disappointing after a car game. Especially after a car WIN.
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When one player swept both games, they should have let the other contestant play both $50 puzzles. It would make the show look like a generous, fun place where they're more interested in giving things away than competition. Instead, it kind of looked to me like a sideline reporter interviewing someone on the losing team real quick before the Super Bowl champs interrupt to literally run a victory lap around them.
-Jason
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When one player swept both games, they should have let the other contestant play both $50 puzzles. It would make the show look like a generous, fun place where they're more interested in giving things away than competition. Instead, it kind of looked to me like a sideline reporter interviewing someone on the losing team real quick before the Super Bowl champs interrupt to literally run a victory lap around them.
Agreed. One of the eps. from the first week had a guy named Ronnie sweep and then win a car in the second attempt. I found it odd that they let him play for more instead of doing what you suggested, or giving his opponent both Double Play puzzles for $100. Granted, his opponent did win $50, so at least she didn't go home empty-handed.
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I like the 30-square board. You can have a one-row puzzle filling the entirety of the board, a two-row puzzle (each row of the rebus fits nicely in a block of 15 squares) or a three-row puzzle (each row being 10 squares), with no overlap into another row, i.e., there won't be something dangling from the first row of a 3-row rebus behind square 11. It seems Concentration has less empty squares than Classic, particularly in the corners.
This post of Mike's popped up in my mind today... there was a puzzle on Classic on Buzzr today (we're currently in puzzle-bonus-likely interrupted puzzle-bonus from Jan 1988) that at the start the show didn't open any squares for reasons that would become "evident". By the end when the entire puzzle was revealed over *half* of the spaces were just that sky blue background. It seemed like a puzzle that was designed for a tie breaker in the best 2-out-of-3 format popped up a few months too early. Alex was cracking jokes about it the entire time.
Ryan
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- Gee they love their "awl" and "ass" in this version
Funny, that's what I do when I realize it's almost 7:30, awl ass
/sorry
//not sorry
Better than what I was gonna say...
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I didn't realize that the "libraries" awarded as prizes were from Thomas Nelson, which was (and still is) primarily a religious publisher. That's a bit of a surprise; usually game shows stayed away from nonsecular prizes to my knowledge. (Peter Marshall's Backstage With the Original Hollywood Square was published by their general trade imprint Rutledge Hill, and the contract for it may have been signed before Thomas Nelson acquired the imprint.)
Also not sure why it never occurred to me to ask if St. Martin's would want to offer their books as prizes on the show--although by that time Classic Concentration would have been on, and that would have been about 50 books or more.
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Tonight's episode suggested a bit more clarity on the intermittent wrinkles like "Call 3."
Seems to me they're just rotating house rules to add some variety and have no negative impact on the at-home play-along factor.
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I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the financial contributions of Toni. It's become a matter not of if but when the HOME WAVE will appear among the head starts. I'm going to miss it when it's gone.
Discussion about the second game of the 4/15 episode:
I at first matched the male contestant's answer of "Cash to burn," although I quickly realized that the show was more likely looking for "Money to burn." But still: Is there any good reason the show could justify that "Cash to burn" was a wrong answer?
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I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the financial contributions of Toni. It's become a matter not of if but when the HOME WAVE will appear among the head starts. I'm going to miss it when it's gone.
Discussion about the second game of the 4/15 episode:
I at first matched the male contestant's answer of "Cash to burn," although I quickly realized that the show was more likely looking for "Money to burn." But still: Is there any good reason the show could justify that "Cash to burn" was a wrong answer?
Yes, here's my feedback: "Cash" is paper currency, the coins are "Change." While overall, both are considered "Money," as they appeared in the rebus, his guess of "cash" refers solely to paper currency, as I see it still does today.
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Where did you find this definition? My searches show that cash is any physical form of tender, while money relates to PayPal transfers and the like.
I remember a similar discussion over "currency" or such many years ago over a FJ answer.
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Where did you find this definition? My searches show that cash is any physical form of tender, while money relates to PayPal transfers and the like.
I remember a similar argument over "currency" or such many years ago.
Fair question, I based my feedback on the common everyday usage of the word "cash," rather than any current dictionary definition. Now that your question has prompted me to actually look up the legal and dictionary definitions, it indeed includes coinage. Well. Maybe Glenn was brought back later because someone asked that same question ;D
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Discussion about the second game of the 4/15 episode:
I at first matched the male contestant's answer of "Cash to burn," although I quickly realized that the show was more likely looking for "Money to burn." But still: Is there any good reason the show could justify that "Cash to burn" was a wrong answer?
The short answer is no, but "Money to burn" is the more common phrase, and "cash" would likely be spelled out differently. Unless there is something written in the show bible or contestant warm-ups, an invitation back may be in order.
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Discussion about the second game of the 4/15 episode:
I at first matched the male contestant's answer of "Cash to burn," although I quickly realized that the show was more likely looking for "Money to burn." But still: Is there any good reason the show could justify that "Cash to burn" was a wrong answer?
The short answer is no, but "Money to burn" is the more common phrase, and "cash" would likely be spelled out differently. Unless there is something written in the show bible or contestant warm-ups, an invitation back may be in order.
The host (whether it's Narz or Trebek) often says the answer has to be exactly what the judges are looking for, so I'm sure they're covered there.
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Of course the rule is that you must match what is on the judge's card exactly. But this one just didn't smell right. For a game that is built on soundalikes, it's a bit lazy that they just illustrated the word, and one with logical synonyms. (At the least, put M + honey on the top line, which is still lazy.)
While they can't accept any alternate answer, the ambiguity of the answer really should have resulted in a bring-back for the contestant.
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Jack often says "when you see (this) we know it means (that)"...like how a chest equals "just", so would it have been standard that when they showed the graphic of cash currency it meant "money" ?
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Tonight's episode suggested a bit more clarity on the intermittent wrinkles like "Call 3."
Seems to me they're just rotating house rules to add some variety and have no negative impact on the at-home play-along factor.
No negative impact for those playing along at home, but it seemed to have an effect on the game itself. The contestant starting the game hit something like seven matches in a row (making use of the Head Starts) before losing control to her opponent (who wound up winning). I'd be a little ticked if my opponent started a Call 3 game and ran the board all the way to a win without getting a turn.
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'K, I anticipate opinions on the second Fast Play round tonight. I for one had to compare the one Mike posted in Video to tonight's. My thought:
Kay read out the entire solution before the buzzer ended. John didn't get the "Door" ("tor") syllable until after the buzzer ended.
Anyone see it differently?
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'K, I anticipate opinions on the second Fast Play round tonight. I for one had to compare the one Mike posted in Video to tonight's. My thought:
Kay read out the entire solution before the buzzer ended. John didn't get the "Door" ("tor") syllable until after the buzzer ended.
Anyone see it differently?
Kay started her answer before the buzzer and finished without pausing or stumbling. John was still fumbling around with the first part of "inventor" when the buzzer sounded.
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'K, I anticipate opinions on the second Fast Play round tonight. I for one had to compare the one Mike posted in Video to tonight's. My thought:
Kay read out the entire solution before the buzzer ended. John didn't get the "Door" ("tor") syllable until after the buzzer ended.
Anyone see it differently?
Kay started her answer before the buzzer and finished without pausing or stumbling. John was still fumbling around with the first part of "inventor" when the buzzer sounded.
But, in my view she did pause though. That's why I thought it was the fact she completed the answer before the buzzer ended. If I were to transcribe it, her answer was
"Washingtonnnn....(Bzzz)CrossedTheDelaware!(zzzt)
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Buzzr's schedules for May 11th are up... and we loop back to 0971 that evening. It may only be 30 episodes, but that's still 30 more than we had before all this started.
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"Mount Vernon was closing" is probably my favorite wrong answer so far. It's a shame no one in the studio caught that to use for humor.
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I am in awe and absolutely love how they utilized a merman in a puzzle.
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I am in awe and absolutely love how they utilized a merman in a puzzle.
Jack obviously was, too. That was also proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was briefed on the puzzles beforehand because he commented before revealing the puzzle that he didn't even have to look at the solution because he remembered what it was.
I think the contestant should have been docked another second for the time it took her to get around to saying "Merman" instead of "Berman," though in the end it didn't matter since she failed to solve the second puzzle anyway.
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Last night's (4/20) certainly lived up to its date. The contestants moved so slow and took so long solving the puzzle that over half the show was over. By the time they got to the second puzzle, there was only time for three calls before they had to buzz for time. Unsurprisingly, there was no time for a bonus Double Play or money game with the contestants at the end, which feels rare in these batch of shows, so far.
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As I was watching the end of tonight's (April 21) "Concentration", my screen went to black with a spinning circle in the upper right corner and the show didn't come back till Jack said his goodbyes. Can someone post a shot of the complete puzzle in the Money Game, and did Lorraine solve it?
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Seems like they should have timed the first game as well in case something like this happens.
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An interesting occurrence on the 4/24 show:
During the money game, a prize was inadvertently revealed. On his next attempt, the same contestant matched it and was awarded it, at which point Jack said they would stop tape and move the prizes around a bit before resuming. After the edit, the prize was gone from the contestant's side of the board, the spaces he'd just matched had been turned back to numbers, and the prizes under some of the numbers had been shuffled. During the closing credits, Johnny mentioned the edit also. It was strange that they didn't edit out the match that was rescinded, though./spoiler]
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Or, you can just watch:
https://youtu.be/flyOHgJMkjw
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Has anyone else noticed the picture occasionally going out of focus on these episodes? I noticed it on the 4/28 episode as well as an earlier one.
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Has anyone else noticed the picture occasionally going out of focus on these episodes? I noticed it on the 4/28 episode as well as an earlier one.
You mean how, for the entire episode, the picture alternates approximately every one second between something that resembles an interlaced image and a deinterlaced image?
Yes.
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Has anyone else noticed the picture occasionally going out of focus on these episodes? I noticed it on the 4/28 episode as well as an earlier one.
You mean how, for the entire episode, the picture alternates approximately every one second between something that resembles an interlaced image and a deinterlaced image?
Yes.
Some of these episodes have made me feel very slightly physically ill because of this issue, but I soldier on
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Has anyone else noticed the picture occasionally going out of focus on these episodes? I noticed it on the 4/28 episode as well as an earlier one.
You mean how, for the entire episode, the picture alternates approximately every one second between something that resembles an interlaced image and a deinterlaced image?
Yes.
Same here. Yes, it kind of bugs me....probably not as much as it should, with me working in something that resembles the video business.
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Has anyone else noticed the picture occasionally going out of focus on these episodes? I noticed it on the 4/28 episode as well as an earlier one.
You mean how, for the entire episode, the picture alternates approximately every one second between something that resembles an interlaced image and a deinterlaced image?
Yes.
Same here. Yes, it kind of bugs me....probably not as much as it should, with me working in something that resembles the video business.
Maybe there were slight issues with the master tapes when they were digitizing the episodes or something...
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Has anyone else noticed the picture occasionally going out of focus on these episodes? I noticed it on the 4/28 episode as well as an earlier one.
yes:
Having watched the broadcast, the website feed, and now this, I'm curious what's causing all of the interpolation?
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There must have been some sort of offstage signal for Jack indicating the puzzle had been solved, or else he was briefed on it before the show started (which seems less likely). He obviously doesn't have a card showing the answer to the main game puzzles (which would be very easy for contestants to catch a glimpse); I'm kind of surprised he does have them for the Double Play round.
There was one show this week, I believe it was Tuesday nights episode, where at one point they cut to the contestants and Jack, and you could see him putting a pice of paper into the breast pocket of his suit. I assumed he was refreshing himself on the puzzle answer.
As a matter of fact, on the 5/6 episode, Jack specifically indicated that the had the answer in that pocket.
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For a variety of reasons, I think tonight's episode is my favorite of the Buzzr batch.
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So, one of my Youtube subscriptions that posted the batch of episodes from a couple of months ago has started posting more. Should I take this to mean that there's more new-to-Buzzr Concentration airing right now?
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So, one of my Youtube subscriptions that posted the batch of episodes from a couple of months ago has started posting more. Should I take this to mean that there's more new-to-Buzzr Concentration airing right now?
You should indeed; the new episodes just started up this week. :) You can still catch the past two new ones over the weekend, though!
LMAD '86 is showing new episodes now as well.
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Has anybody kept records on how often there's a car win on this version as opposed to, say, Classic Concentration? My first thought was there would be lots more wins on the latter, but it may be pretty much the same.
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I'm hoping for something other than that poor orange Chevette soon!
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I'm hoping for something other than that poor orange Chevette soon!
So was the second Double Play contestant on last night's show. She said she wanted it in blue. Jack told her she could pick whatever color she liked.
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Has anybody kept records on how often there's a car win on this version as opposed to, say, Classic Concentration? My first thought was there would be lots more wins on the latter, but it may be pretty much the same.
In the course of the first 30 episodes aired, I have only five car wins marked. It was always obvious that they were trying to make it deliberately tough with some of those Double Play puzzles though at least once I remember a case of one that theoretically should have been easy but the contestant whiffed.
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In the course of the first 30 episodes aired, I have only five car wins marked. It was always obvious that they were trying to make it deliberately tough with some of those Double Play puzzles though at least once I remember a case of one that theoretically should have been easy but the contestant whiffed.
That makes sense. I think I remember Adam Nedeff writing that originally Pyramid was budgeted for two Winner's Circle wins a week, so this was probably about one win a week or so.
Double Play had its fair share of "forget it" puzzles. It also probably had a lower win ratio than Classic when the latter had two car games per day. At least there theoretically anybody should have been able to win (even with the 35-second base time to start), but it was a much tougher game to master--one or two bad calls, the contestant loses track and the whole thing goes to pieces.
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Mentioning Pyramid, I also checked the charts I have for the June-November 1978 run that aired on GSN and allowing for the fact that some weeks were incomplete in that stretch, there was indeed never more than two wins per week, and out of 85 shows or 170 times at the Winners Circle, there were 22 wins (and two of those were Friday $5,000 tie wins with the celebs playing for the two contestants who'd both come back on Monday).
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I think I remember Adam Nedeff writing that originally Pyramid was budgeted for two Winner's Circle wins a week, so this was probably about one win a week or so.
Pretty sure it was "one win per eight episodes", since in one of his books he talks about CBS executives freaking out when Rob Reiner managed two wins during the premiere week in 1973.