The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: dad1153 on March 29, 2006, 10:43:42 PM
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I attended the taping of GSN’s Chain Reaction pilot (or should I say ‘pilots’) this afternoon at Sony Studios in New York City. I also got to meet a few fellow board members (you know who you are!). Please remember that the following are (a) impressions from a TV show still in development that could substantially change in its final form, and that (b) there’s still no guarantee the show will make it to air. If properly handled and promoted though, this could be the GSN equivalent of the second coming of Lingo.
-LONG HOURS[/u]: Taping started at 2:30PM and wrapped around 7:45PM. The reason for the lengthy taping schedule (besides the usual stoppage of tape for technical or other reasons) was that three[/u] pilots were taped on the same day. The first two pilots were taped with two three-player teams, and the last pilot featured the winning teams from the first two shows going at it. This last pilot was by far the best of the three shows taped since contestants, technical staff and host had gotten over their initial jitters/kinks and delivered a nail-bitter competition. Too bad there were only a handful of audience members left (including relatives from some of the contestants) but that only left more pizza and sodas for the audience members that stayed ‘till the end.
-HOST[/u]: The host of the ‘Chain Reaction’ pilots was Tim Vincent from Access Hollywood. Imagine Distraction host Jimmy Carr a few inches taller, a few pounds lighter and with his naughty comments toned down to a minimum (but not completely absent). That’s Tim in a nutshell, and even though he lacks gameshow hosting experience these ‘Chain Reaction’ pilots showed the man has camera presence and potential when (or if?) he detaches himself from the teleprompter. There were lots of tape stoppages (normal for a gameshow pilot) but Tim got a couple of solid adlibs involving the new blindfold end game (‘Basic Instinct 2’) and consolation of the losing team (group hug!). After the tapings were over I asked Tim if he saw old 'Chain Reaction' shows for research and he said yes, he had seen a couple. He didn't know who the host was though, but a production assistant told me it was the Cullen version.
Continues Below
-SET[/u]: considering it was thrown together at the last minute and shoved into a tiny corner of Sony’s gigantic (and coooooold!) studio the set’s minimalism actually worked to the game’s advantage. Imagine two gigantic ice blocks the size of a Family Feud podium for the three-member teams to stand behind, each with a single horizontal neon tube in the middle that looks like a frozen Star Wars lightsaber. Now, in-between these two, add a similar-looking podium with a vertical purple (!) neon light/lightsaber for the host to stand behind. Throw in lights on a blue canvas that bathes the camera-left side of the set in red and the camera-right side in blue, and voala! Like Lingo the real action is on the TV screen via computer-generated graphics though, not the set. Through most of the length of all three games I watched the screen was split three ways: half of the screen (the right side) was filled with the ongoing Chain Reaction, while the left side was split between two shots of the red and blue teams or a medium/CU shot of the contestant whose turn it is to guess the correct word. Occasionally the director cut to a jib overhead shot of the set or a CU of Tim Vincent, but for most of the game the CG letters from the Chain Reaction share equal billing with the teams of contestants trying to solve them.
-GAMEPLAY[/u]: The core of ‘Chain Reaction’s’ gameplay remains virtually unchanged. Two teams (team red and team blue) of three contestants (all civilians) take turns guessing words (seven in this version) that are related to one another. Both teams start with a $1,000 Bank. Players from each team (in their respective turns) can choose to go above or below a word on the board and see the next letter. If the player fails to give the correct word control passes to the other team. If they guess the right word they win the amount of money assigned to that round. Completing the seven-letter chain reaction allows the team to go for the Speed Round where they have ten seconds to guess the two words in the middle of a four-word chain reaction. During this Speed Round the top and bottom words are revealed and the first letters of the middle words are revealed. If the team doesn’t guess the Speed Round correctly the opposing teams gets one chance to steal it and its pre-assigned total. The monetary amounts for the first three ‘Chain Reaction’ games are:
1st CR: $100 for every word guessed correctly. Speed Round prize: $150
2nd CR: $200 for every word guessed correctly. Speed Round prize: $250
3rd CR: $300 for every word guessed correctly. Speed Round prize: $350
NOW HERE COMES THE BIG (BUT NOT NECESSARILY BAD) GAMEPLAY TWISTS:[/u]
Continues Below
On the 4th round of Chain Reactions players are allowed to wager up to $500 on each word guess (minimum wager is $100), but the team will lose the amount wagered if they can’t give the correct answer. Since the guessing turns rotate between the three members of each team all three contestants have to keep track of both team’s bank and their opponents’ bank to ponder whether to wager high or low. The Speed Round for the 4th CR is $750. The 5th and final CR has no Speed Round but the wager limit is raised to $1,000 per correct word (again, minimum wager of $100). One of the games I saw came down to the last word on the 5th and final Chain Reaction. The red team was ahead with $3,350 to the blue team’s $2,800. The contestant on the blue team whose turn was it to guess wagered $600 and guessed the correct and final word to complete the chain. Blue team won the game $3,450 to the red team’s $3,350, and got a chance at…
-THE END GAME[/u]: a new podium (that also looks like a block of ice with a neon light/lightsaber frozen vertically) is brought on stage and placed in the center front of the other three podiums. All neon lights flash the color of the winning team (red or blue) as one member of the team (not sure if it’s pre-determined, if it’s the team member that earned the most money or the last team member to guess the winning word) is blindfolded[/u] and placed at the center of the stage with his/her hand directly over a reception bell (the type you see in hotels and reception desks). The other two team members are facing each other on the side of the center podium but are looking over-the-shoulders of their partner over into monitors positioned for them to see. Imagine the Friend or Foe setting at the podium but with a blindfolded contestant where Kennedy used to stand (host Tim Vincent is slightly off to the right of the stage). The team members that aren’t blindfolded see have to describe a word puzzle to their blind partner one word at a time (like the broken sentences in the Alphabetics portion of Super Password). Any team member can pass, or the blindfolded team member (the only one that can guess the words) can click on the bell buzzer (or be forced to hit the buzzer by the other two team members) so they can guess incorrectly so the team can move on to another word.
There are 90 seconds to guess as many words as possible and the End Game prizes are:
Less than 7 words guessed correctly[/u]: the team keeps whatever money it earned during the Chain Reaction rounds.
Exactly 7 words guessed correctly[/u]: the team doubles whatever money it earned during the Chain Reaction rounds.
10 words guessed correctly[/u]: the team triples whatever money it earned during the Chain Reaction rounds.
During the opening of the show Tim Vincent says that the most money that a team could win in this ‘Chain Reaction’ format would be $25,000. This can only happen if the teams were to wager $500 and $1,000 on every word during the 4th and 5th Chain Reaction rounds though, and then went on to get 10 words in the End Game.
-CONTESTANTS[/u]: even though they didn’t get to keep their winnings (most of the teams split $1,000 between them) the contestants of the three ‘Chain Reaction’ pilots were fun and energetic. Some contestants were a little too pumped-up and excited (which is what they’re asked to do by the producers to sell the show). Most of the contestants were either actors or contestants from previous gameshows (particularly the ABC and syndicated versions of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire) that were called by the ‘Chain Reaction’ producers and asked to participate. One of them, John Castellano, stood out from the bunch of good-looking twenty/thirty-something participants with his winning attitude and rotund, older figure. John won $250,000 on ‘Millionaire’ during the Regis Philbin era, appeared with his family (which was present at the taping) in 1990 on the Ray Combs version of Family Feud and is a veteran of The Price Is Right & The $10,000 Pyramid from the 1970’s.
Why do I mention John here? Because the inclusion of somebody that breaks the casting mold established by the last couple of seasons of ‘Lingo’ (18-40; older people need not apply) gives hope to those of us that wish to appear on a GSN gameshow but aren’t good-looking model types. There were other great contestants on the three ‘Chain Reaction’ pilots I saw today (particularly Christ McQuee, a $16,000 winner on the syndicated version of ‘Millionaire’ late last year that single handedly brought her team to victory at the last possible moment of the last puzzle on the last Chain Reaction of the last pilot taped today), but good ol’ John Castellano had more personality in his pinky finger than all other team members on all three pilot shows combined.
To the best of my knowledge the answers and puzzles weren’t fixed or recreated on any of the pilots. What we saw were genuine reactions to genuine gameplay happening, including a blowout of one team over the other on the second pilot show (the 1st and 3rd shows went down to the wire). I’ve taken notes of some of the puzzles and banks that were recorded during these three pilots, but I’m tired and need to go to bed early. I’ll post this information in a follow-up post if somebody here is interested. If nobody cares then I’ll forget about it. Hope my incomplete and lame eyewitness account of the ‘Chain Reaction’ pilots was of interest to you.
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No, this was far from a lame account sir. Thank you very much. Sounds like the actual endgame is staying the same, but the payouts are all different. Not sure if I like how convoluted the dealings of money are...but I'll keep the jury out of things 'til I actually see the constant wagering mechanics in play. Sounds pretty darn nice, though.
-Jason
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Well done, sir, and if I weren't so tired, I'd add some more. Perhaps later.
But be careful not to drink too much: you may get psoriasis.
(Someone want to take this one?)
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That actually sounds pretty exciting. Faithful to the original, and the changes didn't FUBAR the rules. Then again, in this case, I wonder how many people (outside of this forum) would really remember "Chain Reaction" in its NBC or USA form? (ditto for Lingo, esp. since it didn't even run a full season)
Thanks for the recap...I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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[quote name=\'Queen of Nerdocrombesia\' post=\'114714\' date=\'Mar 29 2006, 10:53 PM\']
...be careful not to drink too much: you may get psoriasis.
(Someone want to take this one?)
[/quote]
I'll bite. On the first pilot's end game one of the words the blindfolded contestant was trying to guess was 'Hang Over.' The team members gave as clues (each saying a word at a time) something like: 'Sickness' 'That' 'Comes' 'In' 'The' 'Morning' 'After' 'You' 'Drink' 'Too' 'Much' (or something similar to that pattern). The blindfolded team member slams the buzzer with fortitude and says without the slightest bit of irony: PSORIASIS[/u]. Huge laughs from audience, crew and fellow contestants alike. Tape stops, but laughs continue for a good minute or so before composure returns and everybody picks-up from where they were. I really hope this makes it into a GSN blooper special someday because it's ten times funnier to watch than to describe.
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I am duly impressed.
Not crazy about the blindfold, and I think the math is a bit wacky to triple up to $25,000. But those are very minor concerns. This makes me happy.
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Sounds almost exactly like the original's format, complete with the "GO!" endgame. I liked Chain Reaction, so this seems very interesting........ and the wager element sounds like it could add some spice, as well. Hope it's a go (no pun intended).
Tyshaun
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There was a little bit of spice in the material for the game. One chain looked like this:
PRIVATE
DICK
BUTT--
I really feel bad for the players who "took one under Dick." (The last word was "Button," as in Dick Button, the figure skater.)
A few of the exchanges during the show were worth mentioning. Contestant Steve had an interesting response to
B
FREEZE:
Belly Button. Not long after that, the computer that ran the game had a "belly button freeze," accounting for one of the many stoppages that held up taping.
The bonus round had the same comic potential as it always did. The answer that justified my visit (which Queen alluded to):
What sickness do you get from drinking too much?
PSORIASIS
Oh, the heartbreak. But yes, a fun show I hope makes it to GSN. Couple more observations coming up next.
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I realize this is all conjecture at this point, but I don't think the wager is a good move.
Looking at a blank chain, even given one letter, there is no way I bet the limit unless I have a big lead, or ground to make up. I'm not sure why they magically decided that two Wager Chains were necessary. I like the idea of that speed chain bonus deal, though. I suppose it's a wash.
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Some of the play elements were not quite all there:
1. Chains weren't explained word-by-word as they used to be. The only explanation of anything was that Beaver Stadium is the name of the stadium at Penn State. I'd be willing to bet that not many people remember who Dick Button was, but nobody explained his significance to the world of figure skating.
2. Tim forgot to mention that if a player used more than one word at a time in the bonus round, they'd have to throw the word out and move on. But they do get extra points for using the original NBC cuckoo...or trying to. There was one bobble where it should've gone off but didn't. A couple of things throught the taping session went unheard and required pickups to correct.
3. The player answering the questions seemed to ring the bell most often, contrary to how it was done on NBC. A few times the bell-ringing became a group effort.
4. Tim's British accent got in the way of the game once or twice. There was about a minute of him trying to pronounce the word "sore" to acceptable American dialectical standards.
5. The blindfold made for good theatrics and a nice tease going into the breaks, but I suspect that if the show sees air there'll be monitors in the desk, or laptops a la Pyramid.
6. There was no theme. I'm not sure if they had one in mind yet or were going to add music in post, but the mind wonders as to whether there'll be an all-new theme or at least a remix of the Bob Cobert original I love so much.
I'll leave the rest of the summaries to the others.
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John Castellano was on syndicated BAM last season I believe. I think he was the record store owner from Staten Island whose store was flooded. He is easily one of the best contestants they ever picked for the show, and I believe his show was the clip shown on the Daytime Emmys.
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sound like it's an interesting twist to the format....yet keeps most of the basics to the game. The blindfold does smell of "it's a pilot, so we're keeping it cheap" sorta thing...
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Thanks for the terrific account. The wagering rules made me a little dizzy, but you explained them clearly; I'm just not sure they're a good idea.
Hoping to see this one go to series, and soon!
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[quote name=\'mystery7\' post=\'114722\' date=\'Mar 29 2006, 11:25 PM\']
4. Tim's British accent got in the way of the game once or twice. There was about a minute of him trying to pronounce the word "sore" to acceptable American dialectical standards.[/quote]
Tim mentioned during a stoppage that he was from Wales. He also told some of us (the diehards that stayed 'till the very end) that he's the East Coast-based correspondent for 'Access Hollywood' that was bumped-up when Pat O'Brien left the show. If the show migrates to the West Coast when/if its picked-up (a real possibility) then Tim would either have to quit 'AH' or quit the 'Chain Reaction' project to stay (which renders this whole debate about his performance worthless). Also, at least indirectly and in spirit, the spectrum of Pat O'Brien was hanging around the set last Wednesday during taping.
6. There was no theme. I'm not sure if they had one in mind yet or were going to add music in post, but the mind wonders as to whether there'll be an all-new theme or at least a remix of the Bob Cobert original I love so much.
Dude, it's a pilot. There was also no logo beyond the words in the monitors that looked like the words 'Chain Reaction' replacing the words of the 'Street Smarts' logo. I'll tell you what was there: annoying sound effects. Every time the chain reactions letters were going (in an electronic effect similar to that of the old train schedules flipping on a board) there was a sound effect that sounded like a small round of a Tommy machinegun from the 1930's going off. It's a testament to how rock-solid the gameplay of 'Chain Reaction' was that, despite the sound effect and no music, the pilot's gameplay managed to be compelling and held the audience/contestants on pins and needles. Good 'Millionaire'-type tension music and better sound effects can only enhance something that's already strong.
A few things here and there that I just remembered since the last posting:
-while a few words in the chains here and there were suggestine and/or mildly blue ('Start the chain on 'RUMP' and finish on 'GIRL,' start on 'BOOB' and finish on 'DOWN,' etc.) a few of the chains were very clever in leading the contestants and audience into believing one word was used only to have another word turn out. When one of the members of the blue team said 'American Idol' after the letters 'ID' appeared below 'AMERICAN' we all started clapping/cheering, then gave a collective (and loud) GASP! when it did't turn out to be right. Eventually the 'ID' gave way to the word 'IDIOT' (as in 'American Idiot').
-One of the puzzles started with the word 'Dick' and had a 'C' below; this eventually gave way to 'DICK CLARK.' Another puzzle ended with the word 'Sharks' and had a 'C' above. The contestant put it together and said 'CARD SHARKS,' which prompted Tim to mention that Bob Eubanks hosted that show and that 'Card Sharks' airs on GSN. I don't recall Chuck Woolery ever plugging other GSN shows/hosts from a puzzle off of 'Lingo.'
-Speaking of GSN, on all three pilots Tim had the same throw line to commercial after the first chain was completed: (paraphrasing) 'As we go to commercial log on to GSN.com to play along with 'Chain Reaction.' Like 'Lingo' a good play-along online experience could be made out of the game's basic gameplay and GSN is likely to make this a selling point;
-I didn't see this but a fellow Invision board member swore to me he/she saw Michael Davies stick his head inside the studio for just a second during taping. Make of that what you will.
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[quote name=\'dad1153\' post=\'114710\' date=\'Mar 30 2006, 04:43 AM\']
The host of the ‘Chain Reaction’ pilots was Tim Vincent from Access Hollywood. Imagine Distraction host Jimmy Carr a few inches taller, a few pounds lighter and with his naughty comments toned down to a minimum (but not completely absent). [/quote]
Crikey!
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Quite honestly...I'm surprised that GSN would even consider mounting a revival of this show...when's the last time reruns of it aired on GSN--April of '98?
Not that I'm complaining or anything--I've always enjoyed the show, but one would think they'd pick a show that's slightly more memorable...
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'114747\' date=\'Mar 30 2006, 04:53 AM\']
Quite honestly...I'm surprised that GSN would even consider mounting a revival of this show...when's the last time reruns of it aired on GSN--April of '98?
[/quote]
Correct.
Not that I'm complaining or anything--I've always enjoyed the show, but one would think they'd pick a show that's slightly more memorable...
They revived Lingo and Three's A Crowd, which are just as, if not, less memorable...I think that says enough right there. ;-)
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This sounds like a pretty awesome pilot! I sure hope that they don't tweak it too much more, and that it sells!
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[quote name=\'dad1153\' post=\'114745\' date=\'Mar 30 2006, 02:56 AM\']
-I didn't see this but a fellow Invision board member swore to me he/she saw Michael Davies stick his head inside the studio for just a second during taping. Make of that what you will.
[/quote]
Make nothing of it.... he was there, cause I spoke to him. He oversees all of his pilots.
The set is plain (REALLY plain), the gfx were slick. And the more Tim Vincent strays from the prompter , the better he'll do. All in all, It's a nice little show that will make a nice little companion to Lingo.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'114747\' date=\'Mar 30 2006, 04:53 AM\']Not that I'm complaining or anything--I've always enjoyed the show, but one would think they'd pick a show that's slightly more memorable...[/quote]
While some remakes benefit from nostalgic fondness, some remakes are simply good games that happen to have been done before. This isn't going to be marketed as, "That game you loved for six months in 1980, and liked a lot when they did it again on cable." This is going to be sold on its own merits, and the fact that a bunch of us are going to recognize it is just a bonus.
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It really sounds good. Not sure I like the blindfolds, but it still sounds like a fun format. Like Lingo, it's simple, easy to play along with, an good way to get their interactive formats going. I see this thing on GSN's schedule.
David
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[quote name=\'dad1153\' post=\'114745\' date=\'Mar 30 2006, 02:56 AM\']I don't recall Chuck Woolery ever plugging other GSN shows/hosts from a puzzle off of 'Lingo.'[/quote]
He made a passing reference to Greed when that word came up during a game of Lingo.
This sounds like a good show, and I'm looking forward to its debut.
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[quote name=\'dad1153\' post=\'114745\' date=\'Mar 30 2006, 02:56 AM\']
-I didn't see this but a fellow Invision board member swore to me he/she saw Michael Davies stick his head inside the studio for just a second during taping. Make of that what you will.
[/quote]
I was present to see what might've been Michael Davies (with a growing beard), his production assistants and GSN prez Rich Cronin walking out from the elevator and heading into the studio, while other post-college grad aged, pretty Embassy Row chicks and the Invisioners (and Millionaire's Jason Block) were in the hallway or commissionary enjoying refreshments in between tapings.
In fact earlier, Rich and I were washing our hands in the restroom. It's surreal experience being next to an executive of a U.S. cable television network. (I remember what he looks like because I saw him on GSN"s "Who Wants to Be the Next Governor of California?" doing a presentation.) Haha!
= = =
During the stopdowns, sitting behind me sounded like Embassy Row staffers. I was innocently evesdropping on their convo, only getting information that the pre-taping and actual taping of VH1's World Series of Pop Culture is in 1 to 2 weeks and that ESPN's World Series of Darts is coming another two weeks after that, too. No word from their mouths when they will actually premiere on their respective networks.
Other than have a nice time of the taping, It's pretty interesting and nice to learn what goes on behind the scenes and what makes a show...a show and how it's produced.
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[quote name=\'pianogeek\' post=\'114804\' date=\'Mar 30 2006, 04:45 PM\']
In fact earlier, Rich and I were washing our hands in the restroom. It's surreal experience being next to an executive of a U.S. cable television network. (I remember what he looks like because I saw him on GSN"s "Who Wants to Be the Next Governor of California?" doing a presentation.) Haha!
[/quote]
Holy Smokes.
No foolin', but i'm in the restroom @ Sony , and i'm looking at this guy (for a quick second, i'm serious) standing at the stall next to me....like I know him. Believe me , i'm not the kinda guy to start a conversation while i'm doing 'personal business'.
Looking at photos now, I'm convinced it was him.
That's what you call a 'missed opportunity'. Ironic, isn't it? :)
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I just watched a tape of the original (I have the day off). Its a good show and I hope the pilot sells in time for a summer premier.
By the way, this may have been the 'classic' Ian Valentine said they were looking at in a tvgameshows.net interview last fall.
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[quote name=\'dad1153\' post=\'114745\' date=\'Mar 29 2006, 11:56 PM\']Every time the chain reactions letters were going (in an electronic effect similar to that of the old train schedules flipping on a board)...
[/quote]
The "game show scoring display" fans here would know that as a Solari board -- actually, so would I, obviously, as a "train station departure time display" fan.
Allow me to add to the chorus of thanks for the detailed report!
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Were there any motorized spotlights?
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[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'114834\' date=\'Mar 30 2006, 11:10 PM\']
Were there any motorized spotlights?
[/quote]
Ha ha.....there was no friggin budget for motorized spotlights, or, hell, any motorized anything for that matter.
They're using a friggin blindfold because they don't want to build a podium with hidden displays on it for the two side players to use in the bonus round...they're looking at the clues on off camera monitors....Cute for a blindfold joke, but c'mon , GSN , spend a dollar for pete's sake!
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'114851\' date=\'Mar 31 2006, 04:30 AM\']
They're using a friggin blindfold because they don't want to build a podium with hidden displays on it for the two side players to use in the bonus round...they're looking at the clues on off camera monitors....Cute for a blindfold joke, but c'mon , GSN , spend a dollar for pete's sake!
[/quote]
It was a pilot. Done on the quick, right? Not a lot of time to build a fancy concealed-monitor podium. Besides, I think they were more interested in testing the format on some kind of set rather than creating visuals, which they can do easily if it gets picked up.
My common sense tells me that if they do pick it up, they'll actually have the time and the budget to do it properly - sans blindfold and with a slightly more than minimalist set - and they probably (hopefully) will.
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Were there any motorized spotlights?
Ha ha.....there was no friggin budget for motorized spotlights, or, hell, any motorized anything for that matter.
Well then it couldn't have been a Michael Davies production. Was there any eerie music?
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Well then it couldn't have been a Michael Davies production. Was there any eerie music?
Dude, it's a pilot. If GSN picks it up youl'll see motorized everything and more lights than at a William S. Burroughs memorial. Until then gameplay is king in setting-up the pilot; gameplay will be watered-down in no time for the actual show.
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No music at all except for what they used in the Speed Chains. A couple people thought the SFX were kinda eerie.
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[quote name=\'dad1153\' post=\'114887\' date=\'Mar 31 2006, 04:52 PM\']
Well then it couldn't have been a Michael Davies production. Was there any eerie music?
Dude, it's a pilot.[/quote]
I believe Chris was being sarcastic.
Curt
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[quote name=\'dad1153\' post=\'114887\' date=\'Mar 31 2006, 03:52 PM\']
Well then it couldn't have been a Michael Davies production. Was there any eerie music?
Dude, it's a pilot. If GSN picks it up youl'll see motorized everything and more lights than at a William S. Burroughs memorial. Until then gameplay is king in setting-up the pilot; gameplay will be watered-down in no time for the actual show.
[/quote]
I'd venture a pretty safe guess that Chris is familiar with being around game show sets. :)
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If GSN picks it up youl'll see motorized everything
God forbid.
gameplay is king in setting-up the pilot
Thanks for the tip. ("Game play" is two words, BTW.)
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[quote name=\'dad1153\' post=\'114887\' date=\'Mar 31 2006, 03:52 PM\']... If GSN picks it up youl'll see motorized everything ...[/quote]
Including a motorized host? Somehow I figured some show would eventually come along and have a Cullenbot built for it.
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I'm sorry, "AMERICAN IDIOT"? I'm feeling like one, because this doesn't click for me at all. Is this phrase "in the language", as they say, or is it a title of something?
Answering my own question, it's Google to the rescue: apparently American Idiot is the title of a Green Day album. Which of course only begs the question, "Green Day?"
The better answer here was definitely AMERICAN IDOL.
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[quote name=\'Peter Sarrett\' post=\'114917\' date=\'Mar 31 2006, 05:10 PM\']
I'm sorry, "AMERICAN IDIOT"? I'm feeling like one, because this doesn't click for me at all. Is this phrase "in the language", as they say, or is it a title of something?
[/quote]
Yeah, few years past ya, my friend. "American Idiot" is the title (and title track) of a hugely successful Green Day album. To a contestant base (and target audience) of good-looking twentysomethings, it's absolutely a reasonable link in a chain.
EDIT: Duh, you already found out who they are. But, yeah, it's well-known enough to be in contemporary vernacular.
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I'm a little confused about how one valid two-word phrase can be a "better answer" than another.
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[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'114920\' date=\'Mar 31 2006, 05:20 PM\']
I'm a little confused about how one valid two-word phrase can be a "better answer" than another.
[/quote]
I think Peter is suggesting that "American Idol" is gonna leave fewer viewers scratching their heads than "American Idiot", which is probably going to confuse soccer moms and old people. Which is probably true, but we know that GSN is totally shooting for that 18-35 audience they will never get instead of being happy with the old people with assloads of cash who do watch them.
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So how many of those 18-35ers would remember who Dick Button was? Or the significance of "Jordan Almond," which got my airplanes circling?
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[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'114920\' date=\'Mar 31 2006, 05:20 PM\']
I'm a little confused about how one valid two-word phrase can be a "better answer" than another.
[/quote]
A valid question. In puzzles or in a game such as this, I think a phrase that is likely to be familiar to more people is better than one which is likely to be familiar to fewer. If I'm playing along and an answer isn't familiar to me, I'll feel some combination of angry, frustrated, and cheated. I do not think the list of emotions a producer would prefer to engender in his game show audience include anger, frustration, or betrayal.
If the host explains the answer, that ameliorates some of that feeling with a "Huh. I didn't know that-- I just learned something," but I'll still feel like I had no chance of correctly guessing that answer.
So AMERICAN IDOL, a phrase familiar to anyone watching television (and therefore 100% of the show's audience), strikes me as a better answer than AMERICAN IDIOT, a phrase familiar to people who keep up to date with popular music (substantially less than 100% of the show's audience), in that it will be recognized by, and therefore be more satisfying to, a greater number of viewers.
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Oh, I think an explanation is warranted whenever someone's "obvious" guess is wrong. But if I'm watching that unfold, I'm thinking "Clever! They led them down the garden path with that one."
Also, is it "ID____" that makes this situation? What about a guess of "Idol" when only the I is showing?
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[quote name=\'mystery7\' post=\'114923\' date=\'Mar 31 2006, 08:30 PM\']
Or the significance of "Jordan Almond," which got my airplanes circling?
[/quote]
I believe the Jordan Almond reveal got a bit of a collective "Whaa?" from the audience gathered, myself included. One can marvel why it wasn't at the little catering nook (as opposed to a 'Soup Nook' misstep in the first show).
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[quote name=\'mystery7\' post=\'114923\' date=\'Mar 31 2006, 05:30 PM\']
So how many of those 18-35ers would remember who Dick Button was?
[/quote]
Well, probably anyone who watched NBC's Olympic figure skating coverage, for one.
Or the significance of "Jordan Almond," which got my airplanes circling?
....anyone who's been to a wedding, most likely.
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Having also attended the pilots, while I know I'm a little late jumping in on this thread, I'd echo most of the sentiments my fellow attendees expressed: Tim's good, but needs to rely on the teleprompter a little less, set was a bare-bones setup that screamed "temporary", and the gameplay was probaby the best thing about it, combined w/the potential for teams to take home over $37K in one day (I did the math, LOL).
As for the bonus round, it's clear that the players really need to get back into the groove, since some of them had trouble forming coherent sentences. Sample clues:
"What-country-is-hockey?" (Canada)
"What-mammal-swims-blowhole?" (Dolphin)
"What-TV-accesory-improves-radio..." (Time ran out at this point; they were trying to convey Antenna)
There may also be returning champs...Tim mentioned @ the end of the 1st pilot that the winning team would be "coming back tomorrow", but knowing GSN, this may not be the case. We'll see, though.
In any event, hopefully these kinks will be worked out, should this make it to air...since the rest of the pilot was quite good, I'll hope so!
Chuck Donegan (The Optimistic "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'115215\' date=\'Apr 3 2006, 09:17 PM\']
"What-country-is-hockey?" (Canada)
"What-mammal-swims-blowhole?" (Dolphin)
"What-TV-accesory-improves-radio..." (Time ran out at this point; they were trying to convey Antenna)
[/quote]
Okay, so it IS the Instant Reaction we know and love? The original post implied that they were forming statements, not questions.
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'115215\' date=\'Apr 4 2006, 12:17 AM\']
As for the bonus round, it's clear that the players really need to get back into the groove, since some of them had trouble forming coherent sentences.
[/quote]
Natural after 15 years...but syntax errors were always a problem with that format. Witness John Ritter saying that Holland had two lips on the get Rich Quick pilot. Or the team on Go that won $10,000 for knowing "What is around a loaf of pie?"
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'115216\' date=\'Apr 4 2006, 12:21 AM\']
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'115215\' date=\'Apr 3 2006, 09:17 PM\']
"What-country-is-hockey?" (Canada)
"What-mammal-swims-blowhole?" (Dolphin)
"What-TV-accesory-improves-radio..." (Time ran out at this point; they were trying to convey Antenna)
[/quote]
Okay, so it IS the Instant Reaction we know and love? The original post implied that they were forming statements, not questions.
[/quote]
The brain-dead contestants couldn't come up with questions, so you ended up with the above lines....this is going to be a hurdle for GSN, who LOVES to put them purty-people on tee-vee as contestants... works for Lingo (hey, I can spell 5 letter words), but this one's going to be a bigger challenge....
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'115252\' date=\'Apr 4 2006, 07:01 AM\']
The brain-dead contestants couldn't come up with questions, so you ended up with the above lines....
[/quote]
Yes, but my point was that reading the original post, it came off sounding like they were specifically required to make up general statements, like "This - is - the - capital - of - Missouri", as opposed to inquisitive statements like "What - is - the - capital..." etc.
What were the host's instructions?
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'115254\' date=\'Apr 4 2006, 10:11 AM\']
[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'115252\' date=\'Apr 4 2006, 07:01 AM\']
The brain-dead contestants couldn't come up with questions, so you ended up with the above lines....
[/quote]
Yes, but my point was that reading the original post, it came off sounding like they were specifically required to make up general statements, like "This - is - the - capital - of - Missouri", as opposed to inquisitive statements like "What - is - the - capital..." etc.
What were the host's instructions?
[/quote]
There were none. He was too busy coming up with witty lines for tying on the blindfold.
The impression I got was they had to form questions, like the original. Of the two pilots i saw, ALL of the questions started with one of the 5 W's. Getting all the parts of the question in there was the challenge for the pilot contestants. Sentence Tree, anyone?
The other issue (which i'm sure will be resolved for the show. At least it damn well better), was that the judges, and the host, were all slow in cuckoo'ing a bad question or mistake. Both pilot bonus rounds had stop-tapes. And that should be a major concern for Davies and company : this bonus is complicated and judging needs to be smart,strict, and most of all, quick..... both eps i saw, it wasn't.
Smart and quick ain't exactly GSN contestant material, is it?
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'115256\' date=\'Apr 4 2006, 09:37 AM\']
Smart and quick ain't exactly GSN contestant material, is it?
[/quote]
Nope. Its "big" and "round".
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-THE END GAME[/u]: ...The other two team members are facing each other on the side of the center podium but are looking over-the-shoulders of their partner over into monitors positioned for them to see. ...
In prep for my "Chain Reaction" audition today, I was looking at a couple of episodes I've got from the Cullen run. Something surprised me about the endgame: I always thought that the answer screens were built into the game desk, but the celebs seem to be looking offscreen, not down. Am I right about this?
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I think they were looking at a countdown clock, otherwise they would have to blindfold the person in the middle, as they are doing in the new pilot.
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Not necessarily. A couple of off-screen monitors with a little cardboard shield on the upstage edge would be all you'd need to block the middle player's view.