The Game Show Forum

The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: JasonA1 on April 23, 2012, 02:58:16 PM

Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: JasonA1 on April 23, 2012, 02:58:16 PM
A wonderful article (http://"http://gameological.com/2012/04/a-game-of-sounds/") about Dick Clark & the Pyramid. To paraphrase the man himself, this article "captures the essence" of what made the show great (particularly in the 80s), and how producing game shows often has a tricky science underneath few appreciate.

-Jason
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: Matt Ottinger on April 23, 2012, 03:07:38 PM
A wonderful article (http://"http://gameological.com/2012/04/a-game-of-sounds/") about Dick Clark & the Pyramid. To paraphrase the man himself, this article "captures the essence" of what made the show great (particularly in the 80s), and how producing game shows often has a tricky science underneath few appreciate.
Just a beautiful article.  Thanks for sharing.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: Neumms on April 23, 2012, 04:11:52 PM
Indeed. And of all the hand-wringing we've done over Donnymid, I can't imagine anyone here called it "a scattered, prolix mess."
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: clemon79 on April 23, 2012, 05:33:08 PM
No, but I'll bet you a nickel that every one of us who reads it (with one exception I can think of) will read that line and say "Yep, couldn't put it into words, but that was it!"

An absolutely brilliant piece of writing.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: Jeremy Nelson on April 23, 2012, 05:52:08 PM
No, but I'll bet you a nickel that every one of us who reads it (with one exception I can think of) will read that line and say "Yep, couldn't put it into words, but that was it!"

An absolutely brilliant piece of writing.
Agreed. Whenever anybody asks why I wanted to be a game show host as a kid, I just tell them to go to Youtube and pull any episode of Dick Clark hosting '80s Pyramid. I understand how good he was with American Bandstand and shaping music and all, but up until now, it's been a little disconcerting to see his superb work on Pyramid go largely ignored by the media in the wake of his death- especially since he won 3 Emmys for it. So I'm extremely happy this article was written, and written extremely well, at that. Thanks for sharing!
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: J.R. on April 23, 2012, 06:03:30 PM
Excellent article, thanks very much Jason.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: parliboy on April 23, 2012, 06:15:28 PM
Onion network writer gets it. Film at 11.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: Clay Zambo on April 23, 2012, 06:18:07 PM
Get that guy a membership over here.  He's one of us.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: clemon79 on April 23, 2012, 06:32:58 PM
Get that guy a membership over here.  He's one of us.
Oh, no, He's far more literate. :) And we can be a pretty literate bunch.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: Kevin Prather on April 23, 2012, 06:57:21 PM
Very good article. Pretty much sums it all up.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: gamed121683 on April 23, 2012, 09:08:43 PM
Incidentally, for those who have the Discovery Fit & Health channel, they are repeating the Lyman Sisters documentary tonight at 11:00PM EST.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: Bryce L. on April 23, 2012, 09:26:15 PM
Get that guy a membership over here.  He's one of us.
Motion seconded... he knows what he is talking about, no doubt about it...
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: TheInquisitiveOne on April 23, 2012, 10:21:48 PM
That was a brilliant, well-written article that explained Clark's mannerisms as the host of Pyramid, and why his versions will forever stand the test of time.

Eloquent, and powerful. Very well done tribute.

The Inquisitive One
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: Bryce L. on April 23, 2012, 10:50:10 PM
Now if only more footage of his hosting had withstood the test of time, we would be all set...
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: GiraffeBoy on April 23, 2012, 11:47:37 PM
Good reading. Thanks for posting, Jason.

--Charlie
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: knagl on April 24, 2012, 03:06:25 AM
Great article, thanks for the link.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: The Ol' Guy on April 24, 2012, 07:37:09 AM
The writer mentioning Winning Lines as a tough game that Dick seemed to hold together made another show of his come to mind. With all the comments on Dick's career, I haven't to now read anything about Dick's hosting The Krypton Factor, another UK import. If it's been mentioned, pardon me. It's just that this also was, in my mind, a game that needed someone like Dick to keep things moving smoothly. Not sure if I caught more than one episode, but the memory that rings in my head comes from a situation where a contestant gave an answer that called for s ruling, and I remember Dick calling, "adjudicator?". I know it probably matched the style and terminology used on the original UK show, however, Dick Clark could get away with a call like that. He could say it in a way that didn't make him come off as a pompous showoff. Think about that word coming out of the mouths of some of our other favorites. It would just sound like they were trying to impress us.
Wonder if the judge wore a powdered wig?
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: Matt Ottinger on April 24, 2012, 07:54:43 AM
Not sure if I caught more than one episode, but the memory that rings in my head comes from a situation where a contestant gave an answer that called for s ruling, and I remember Dick calling, "adjudicator?".
Not to get all Horanish, but I think it was "Commissioner?"  Either way, you're right, it was an oddly coy thing (they couldn't just have a 'judge'?) made perfectly natural and logical by the way Dick did it.
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: JasonA1 on April 24, 2012, 12:13:47 PM
Not to get all Horanish, but I think it was "Commissioner?"

Yes it was. Watched the finale recently in tribute. Dick picking up a phone and dialing keys into commercials was equal parts weird and funny.

-Jason
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: The Ol' Guy on April 26, 2012, 06:53:27 AM
Based on the comments and corrections above - I'll go with you. Perhaps I heard Mr. Clark say what I thought I heard in a different setting. Like on Bandstand. "Though I appreciate the spiritual essence of The Beatles' Hey Jude, I cater more to the lighthearted Zen of The Monkees' Last Train To Clarksville." Yeah...that's it...
Title: Pyramid? This guy Gets It
Post by: Argo on April 29, 2012, 10:18:34 PM
Loved the article and finally someone that did their homework. I don't know if he is a game show fan, but it was the first report that I've seen that not only mentioned Dick Clark hosting a game show, but admitting the existence of anything other than The $25,000 Pyramid and that it was produced by Bob Stewart. All the reports I have seen before led to believe that pyramid was a Dick Clark Production.

On another note, is there any stations airing American Bandstand at all? I know VH1 aired it as special marathon years ago, but there should be somewhere it could be seen in its entirety other than best of dvd collections.

Again great article.

Thanks