The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: tvmitch on April 21, 2009, 08:30:37 PM
-
Just a reminder (since the network isn't on many of our favorite channel lists) that the new MTV show "The Phone" starts tonight at 10pm Eastern. Looks like a combination of "The Mole" and, umm, "24." $50K goes to a winning team that finishes a task first...tonight, something to do with a bomber. Looks fairly slick.
Here's a 2-minute trailer video (http://\"http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/348155/the-phone-trailer.jhtml#id=1608294\").
-
[quote name=\'mitchgroff\' post=\'213672\' date=\'Apr 21 2009, 08:30 PM\']
Just a reminder (since the network isn't on many of our favorite channel lists) that the new MTV show "The Phone" starts tonight at 10pm Eastern. Looks like a combination of "The Mole" and, umm, "24." $50K goes to a winning team that finishes a task first...tonight, something to do with a bomber. Looks fairly slick.
Here's a 2-minute trailer video (http://\"http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/348155/the-phone-trailer.jhtml#id=1608294\").
[/quote]
Executive producer: Justin Timberlake.
If this show is as consistently polished as that trailer was, I'll forgive him for "SexyBack".
-
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'213676\' date=\'Apr 21 2009, 06:20 PM\']
Executive producer: Justin Timberlake.[/quote]
"You've won the game and $1,000. Now, you can keep that or trade it for what Bob's put in this box he's holding in front of him..."
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'213684\' date=\'Apr 21 2009, 10:18 PM\']
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'213676\' date=\'Apr 21 2009, 06:20 PM\']
Executive producer: Justin Timberlake.[/quote]
"You've won the game and $1,000. Now, you can keep that or trade it for what Bob's put in this box he's holding in front of him..."
[/quote]
You win one Internets. Congradulation!
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'213684\' date=\'Apr 21 2009, 09:18 PM\']
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'213676\' date=\'Apr 21 2009, 06:20 PM\']
Executive producer: Justin Timberlake.[/quote]
"You've won the game and $1,000. Now, you can keep that or trade it for what Bob's put in this box he's holding in front of him..."
[/quote]
Now there's a show.
I saw an episode of the Aussie version of this a couple months back, and it came across as a fairly clever idea, and was an engaging program overall. Haven't seen tonight's episode yet, but my fear going in is that, since it's for MTV, "clever" and "engaging" will get swapped out for "XXXTREME!!!"
-
It's a good thing I didn't watch this show since I removed MTV from my lineup a couple years ago. With a show whose EP is Justin Timberlake, sorry but I'll stick with TNG/Catch-21 block on GSN.
-
[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'213702\' date=\'Apr 22 2009, 03:11 AM\']It's a good thing I didn't watch this show since I removed MTV from my lineup a couple years ago. With a show whose EP is Justin Timberlake, sorry but I'll stick with TNG/Catch-21 block on GSN.[/quote]
Wait a second... I thought you couldn't get digital cable from your home parent's basement?
-
[quote name=\'J.R.\' post=\'213703\' date=\'Apr 22 2009, 04:18 AM\']
[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'213702\' date=\'Apr 22 2009, 03:11 AM\']It's a good thing I didn't watch this show since I removed MTV from my lineup a couple years ago. With a show whose EP is Justin Timberlake, sorry but I'll stick with TNG/Catch-21 block on GSN.[/quote]
Wait a second... I thought you couldn't get digital cable from your home parent's basement?[/quote]
I'm curious what sort of cable arrangement allows you to surgically remove an individual channel from your lineup. I'd think that MTV would be on even the most basic of a basic package.
Meanwhile, did anybody see this? The promos actually looked kinda interesting.
-
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'213709\' date=\'Apr 22 2009, 11:02 AM\']
I'm curious what sort of cable arrangement allows you to surgically remove an individual channel from your lineup. I'd think that MTV would be on even the most basic of a basic package.
[/quote]
See, some TVs (like mine) allow you to remove/block channels from its lineup without having a cable box. It's actually pretty convenient...allowed me to block Fox News however many months ago.
-
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'213709\' date=\'Apr 22 2009, 04:02 PM\']
Meanwhile, did anybody see this? The promos actually looked kinda interesting.
[/quote]
The original Dutch and Aussie versions are good fun - quite Mole like in its feel and sense of humour. I largely suspect those aspects to have been taken away in favour of NON-STOP HARDCORE ACTION and EXPLOSIONS for this one by the looks of the trailers, but I live in hope that they've kept some of the charm. Hopefully I'll find out later.
-
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'213709\' date=\'Apr 22 2009, 10:02 AM\']
Meanwhile, did anybody see this? The promos actually looked kinda interesting.
[/quote]
I did, and it was better than I expected. Think cheesy action movie meets The Amazing Race. It's like tracking down Carmen Sandiego, with no major geographical knowledge needed.
Basically, the contestants build a bank up to $50,000 through a course of physical and mental challenges. All the while, it all intertwines with a "story". In the first episode, it was a serial bomber wreaking havoc throughout Seattle. At the end, however, the team has to play against one another for the entire bank in a trivia round, recalling "pay attention" facts from the mission (e.g. What color was the car that blew up when your game first started?). The winner of that round gets the choice of whether or not they want to split the bank with their teammate.
In a nutshell, it was an hour pretty well spent. I'll be watching next Tuesday.
-
[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'213702\' date=\'Apr 22 2009, 03:11 AM\']
It's a good thing I didn't watch this show since I removed MTV from my lineup a couple years ago. With a show whose EP is Justin Timberlake, sorry but I'll stick with TNG/Catch-21 block on GSN.
[/quote]
Once you dig the cable box out of your neighbor's azalea bushes, perhaps?
-
I've gotta say, I'm both surprised and impressed - maybe surprised because I'm impressed. When it started off with the big 'splosion, I was worried about the tone the game would take. But it seems pretty true to the Aussie version, just... bigger. There are more of those Fear-Factor-type elements, but I don't feel like they detracted from the game or the overall viewing experience one bit. The whole package comes across as a sharply-produced mix of Amazing Race meets Estate of Panic, and it's a combo that works well for me, at least through one episode.
/I'm setting the DVR for an MTV series?
-
Right, I've wacthed the first two episodes now.
The tasks in the main are quite good (if someone can tell me the quick way to measure the rope for episode 2's third mission I'd love to know what it is). The way losing teams are dispatched is quite darkly comic (although it would have been nice if they made a bit more of putting a second team in the format).
However The Operator is one-dimensional and seems to have all the charm of a particularly grey brick... I accept they want to make the storylines more traditionally filmlike to appeal to the US audience and in doing so have relegated his role somewhat, but the fun of the AussieDutch show is that the cluemaster is a charming millionaire bastard (basically) getting the contestants to do his dirty work for him for his own entertainment which gives a much better chance for comedy and room for more subtle tasks. The trade-off is fewer explosions but I think the writing is better. You pays your money...
Still, at least MTV haven't ruined it, so hurrah for that at least.
-
[quote name=\'Brig Bother\' post=\'214557\' date=\'Apr 30 2009, 05:16 PM\']
(if someone can tell me the quick way to measure the rope for episode 2's third mission I'd love to know what it is)[/quote]
I haven't seen it. What are they asking them to do?
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'214559\' date=\'May 1 2009, 01:23 AM\']
[quote name=\'Brig Bother\' post=\'214557\' date=\'Apr 30 2009, 05:16 PM\']
(if someone can tell me the quick way to measure the rope for episode 2's third mission I'd love to know what it is)[/quote]
I haven't seen it. What are they asking them to do?
[/quote]
The task is: there's a bundle of rope in the room (some of it in knots), and three locations marked on the wall with their heights marked in feet (the idea being it's the exact amount of rope needed to rappel from top to bottom so the environmentalists can reveal a bit banner revealing a corporate conspiracy to the world) - all of them around 500 foot (496, 513 and something else). In five minutes, they have to work out how long the rope is and therefore which landmark they need to go to.
Usually with this sort of 'surely it's impossible!' thing there's a really easy solution... but I don't know what it is and we aren'tt old.
-
[quote name=\'Brig Bother\' post=\'214561\' date=\'Apr 30 2009, 05:29 PM\']
Usually with this sort of 'surely it's impossible!' thing there's a really easy solution... but I don't know what it is and we aren'tt old.[/quote]Are they locked in? Do they have access to any outside tools? If so, I would find out what a known length of the rope weighs (I'm 6'1", so a six-foot length would be pretty easy to find and chop off - again, assuming the tools to do so) and then weigh the entire bundle of rope. From there it's simple math.
-
The "quick" way was to look at the drawings of Seattle's skyline and look for the drawing that has a red rectangle next to one of the buildings with the word "BANNER" nearby. because that building is the one that will need the rope to hoist the "EVILCORP IS POLLUTING SEATTLE'S WATER SUPPLY" sign. The team was in a University of Washington professor's office that was being used as the activists's nerve center, and it had schematics of various buildings around town, labeled with their height.) So easy it hurts, assuming you take a moment to step back and look at your surroundings.
(That reminds me, I need to call Mumsy and tell her to start hoarding the bottled stuff...)
The Operator reminds me of someone who is trying too hard to be like Glenn Hugill, even if he doesn't know it. I like the idea of teams being in their own action movie, but it all goes to hell after the Hit Man final, and the share/steal money decision. If you watch just the four bank-building events and don't care about who wins the final bank, it's not bad.
-
I still liked weighing the rope. :)
-
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'214566\' date=\'May 1 2009, 01:57 AM\']
The "quick" way was to look at the drawings of Seattle's skyline and look for the drawing that has a red rectangle next to one of the buildings with the word "BANNER" nearby. because that building is the one that will need the rope to hoist the "EVILCORP IS POLLUTING SEATTLE'S WATER SUPPLY" sign. The team was in a University of Washington professor's office that was being used as the activists's nerve center, and it had schematics of various buildings around town, labeled with their height.) So easy it hurts, assuming you take a moment to step back and look at your surroundings.
[/quote]
Mmm, I need to rewatch it now to see how obvious the clues were. Thanks for that!
The Operator reminds me of someone who is trying too hard to be like Glenn Hugill, even if he doesn't know it.
A UK Glenn Hugill produced version would, I'm pretty sure, be immense.
The main difference is that in other versions, the man in charge drives the narrative, whereas in this version he merely explains it which isn't as much fun.