The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Kevin Prather on May 09, 2012, 06:56:39 PM
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A fairly well-accepted consensus was that John Davidson did a poor job hosting Pyramid, but what did you think of the other changes to the show? Were Double Trouble and Gamble good additions?
I for one liked the Double Trouble cards. I thought they'd make a good feature in the tournament. "You've proven to be some of our best players, so here's an additional challenge for you."
Discuss.
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A fairly well-accepted consensus was that John Davidson did a poor job hosting Pyramid, but what did you think of the other changes to the show? Were Double Trouble and Gamble good additions?
I thought Gamble for a Grand was a rather cheap way of eliminating the 7-11, myself.
/at least it wasn't for a $1000 Big W gift card.
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I thought Gamble for a Grand was a rather cheap way of eliminating the 7-11, myself.
Agreed there. It needed a prize of more than $1100 to make sense. How much were the trips worth that they eventually offered?
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My rationale has been this. Pyramid was brought back once with very few tricks and razzle dazzle. That version lasted for 6 years on CBS daytime with a concurrent syndicated run of 3 years. $50,000 Pyramid went a year and out. Davidson and Donny came on and went off after two orders.
I think both Gamble for a Grand and Double Trouble changed the game mid-stream in a bad way - especially Double Trouble. It didn't happen at a prescribed time, which disrupted the rhythm of the half IMO. The 7-11 and the Gamble co-existed, which makes Gamble's playing for $1,000 that much more strange. As Gamble for [a Prize], it made sense from a stakes standpoint, but it still remained a round in which one player could voluntarily play the game differently, and that didn't sit right with me.
Double Trouble was a neat concept in that knowing you were going for a two-word phrase changed the game and made it an interesting mental exercise for the receiver. The giver would often clue the words individually, and you could see the wheels turning when the receiver figured out one, got a clue for the second, and now had to scan their brain for a phrase that would work. That said, it just wasn't Pyramid. It would perhaps be interesting as part of something else, or part of an entirely revamped show...but not there.
-Jason
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Could someone be a comrade and link to a particularly bad round of Double Trouble?
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I liked the new bonuses. I thought they were a nice way of bringing variety to the show. They would usually have Double Trouble on Tuesday and Thursday episodes.
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I thought the Gamble was the most interesting idea. But with $10,000 at stake in the present game and potentially $25,000 or $100,000 later, I wouldn't risk it unless I was already significantly ahead or significantly behind (and then only if it was for cash).
Double Trouble was interesting too, but the way it worked out, there was no reason to take it until your last turn, so (it seems like) there were too many games where the team going last only needed 3 or 4 to win.
Jason: I would say that it did in fact work as something else. It was the bonus round on Shoot for the Stars.
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Count me in as someone who enjoyed Double Trouble as well. Adds a good challenge to the game.
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Count me in as someone who enjoyed Double Trouble as well. Adds a good challenge to the game.
A different pace to the game. I think that it had a great added element to the game however did it feel out of place? Maybe? Problably would have been better if 2 word phrases were standard for the entire second round. If you change the pace, change it for the entire round as an added level of difficulty. Who ever said that Pyramid needed to be 1 word phrases only? It felt kind of an evolution to the game but never got a chance to fully mature IMO.
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Who ever said that Pyramid needed to be 1 word phrases only?
No one, because it wasn't. Don't ever change.
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Multiple-word answers were common, however, the Double Trouble category took away the ability to be credited for cluing for each word individually until the receiver said the two-word phrase. For example, under the standard gameplay rule, you could have the receiver answer "Palace" and then "Buckingham," and you were immediately given credit (the order did not matter). However, in Double Trouble, they would not count it correct until "Buckingham Palace" was said.
John Davidson often implored players to give clues for the full phrase, rather than one word at a time, particularly if a team did poorly. (Fine if the answer is "peanut butter," but if it's "rocking chair," I'm going "another word for stone, another word for seat.") That strategy session from the host was essentially useless, because that player would not play Double Trouble for the rest of the episode.
The other odd departure was that each team was compelled to select one of the Double Troubles (for obvious competitive reasons). JD also suggested teams "get it out of the way early," but I would chance that the other team bombs out on their DT. Then, if I chose 4th, the other team is forced to take the remaining standard category they may not want, leaving me with 45 seconds for a partial DT category (and, maybe, the ability to pass).
And, that 45 seconds just seemed to mix up the pace too much.
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Multiple-word answers were common, however, the Double Trouble category took away the ability to be credited for cluing for each word individually until the receiver said the two-word phrase. For example, under the standard gameplay rule, you could have the receiver answer "Palace" and then "Buckingham," and you were immediately given credit (the order did not matter). However, in Double Trouble, they would not count it correct until "Buckingham Palace" was said.
This is an interesting point where two perfectly fine wrinkles combine to form a stupid wrinkle.
1) The phrase must be said in its entirety, not separately
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2) If the guesser says part of the answer, the giver can start saying that part in clues
equals
3) "Say Buckingham Palace" becomes a legal clue.
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Who ever said that Pyramid needed to be 1 word phrases only?
Two words I can see just fine. "It's what Jif makes." or "Blank and jelly." "Peanut butter." *ding* No trouble there.
But any more than that… eh. I remember an early $10KP game where they stumbled their way through trying to convey "from sea to shining sea", "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" and "shall not perish from this earth"? (With that last one, neither the giver nor receiver knew what it was from.)
Not saying that any of those aren't common knowledge (although I think the start of the Gettysburg Address is far more well-known), but there's just more margin for error. What if you get "America the Beautiful" and "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" mixed up, since the latter is also called "America" and ends in the equally well-known line "let freedom ring"? What if you leave off "Frankly", since only the film version of Gone with the Wind has that word?
Likewise, I remember a $100KP where "Keeps the doctor away" came up as the last thing in "Things associated with apples". Whoever gave the clues recoiled, let the last few seconds run out and said something to the effect of "how the heck am I gonna describe THAT?!"
(As an aside, anyone remember any other Pyramid answers longer than two words?)
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What if you get "America the Beautiful" and "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" mixed up, since the latter is also called "America" and ends in the equally well-known line "let freedom ring"?
Then A)You get nothing, you lose, good day sir and B)Need to take a course in Americana. There's no difference in getting these two songs mixed up and any other two words.
Likewise, I remember a $100KP where "Keeps the doctor away" came up as the last thing in "Things associated with apples". Whoever gave the clues recoiled, let the last few seconds run out and said something to the effect of "how the heck am I gonna describe THAT?!"
"An apple a day..."
There. Done.
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Likewise, I remember a $100KP where "Keeps the doctor away" came up as the last thing in "Things associated with apples". Whoever gave the clues recoiled, let the last few seconds run out and said something to the effect of "how the heck am I gonna describe THAT?!"
"An apple a day..."
There. Done.
When I saw that round, I thought of that immediately — "come on, lady, just say 'an apple a day'." Dick said pretty much the same thing after the round.
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There were merits to Davidson's Pyramid??
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There were merits to Davidson's Pyramid??
Show your work please.
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Who ever said that Pyramid needed to be 1 word phrases only?
No one, because it wasn't. Don't ever change.
I guess you didn't take it as a rhetorical question. Nuff said.
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I guess you didn't take it as a rhetorical question. Nuff said.
Coulda fooled me.
News You Can Use: "Nuff Said" doesn't win you an argument, it just makes you look silly.
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News You Can Use: "Nuff Said" doesn't win you an argument, it just makes you look silly.
Unless you are Stan Lee, in which case it *totally* wins you the argument. :)
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Unless you are Stan Lee, in which case it *totally* wins you the argument. :)
Know what? If saussage actually turns out to be Stan Lee, well, I don't know what I'll do. It'll be severe and hilarious.
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Know what? If saussage actually turns out to be Stan Lee, well, I don't know what I'll do. It'll be severe and hilarious.
I'm....I'm not worried.
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I thought Gamble for a Grand was a rather cheap way of eliminating the 7-11, myself.
I'm actually more OK with that than I am the slapdash playing of the Double Trouble. As dumb as it was to have the Mystery Seven showing to all the world, I liked the idea that you could win a bonus prize by sacrificing knowing the link. Similarly, I like having the option of winning a bonus something by giving up some of your time.
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I liked the intro they used with Johnny/Henry/Dean talking over the doot, doot, doot, "This is the Winner's Circle...", etc.
It was a kinda sorta throwback to Bob Clayton's "Keep your eye on this spot".
News You Can Use: "Nuff Said" doesn't win you an argument, it just makes you look silly.
Unless you are Stan Lee, in which case it *totally* wins you the argument. :)
Excelsior!!!
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I liked the intro they used with Johnny/Henry/Dean talking over the doot, doot, doot, "This is the Winner's Circle...", etc.
It was a kinda sorta throwback to Bob Clayton's "Keep your eye on this spot".
Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Never a fan of winner-clip montage openings, I really liked this.
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Who ever said that Pyramid needed to be 1 word phrases only?
No one, because it wasn't. Don't ever change.
I guess you didn't take it as a rhetorical question. Nuff said.
Because you gave no indication it might have been rhetorical. Nuff said.
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Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Never a fan of winner-clip montage openings, I really liked this.
Really? Interesting. As much as I love the montage, I admit that I really dug the opening for Davidson Pyramid. In fact, after the announcer stopped talking the awesome kinda ended. And if Henry Polic the Twoth was announcing, the awesome never really got started.
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I liked the intro they used with Johnny/Henry/Dean talking over the doot, doot, doot, "This is the Winner's Circle...", etc.
It was a kinda sorta throwback to Bob Clayton's "Keep your eye on this spot".
Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Never a fan of winner-clip montage openings, I really liked this.
Disagree - I loved the winner-clip openings - what other shows did that? Not many.
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I dug the winner-clip montage too. Just for the sheer joy and euphoria that would often happen whenever someone conquered the Pyramid.
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I liked the intro they used with Johnny/Henry/Dean talking over the doot, doot, doot, "This is the Winner's Circle...", etc.
It was a kinda sorta throwback to Bob Clayton's "Keep your eye on this spot".
Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Never a fan of winner-clip montage openings, I really liked this.
Disagree - I loved the winner-clip openings - what other shows did that? Not many.
Off the top of my head, "Big Showdown", Wink's "High Rollers", and "Wipeout". "Every Second Counts" showed silent clips of winning couples.
For winners AND losers there's PYL and quite a few runs of LMaD...
As for Davidson's 100K, I would say the intro was quite cool. However, even had someone other than Davidson or Clark hosted, I felt the show was missing something...even watching as a kid. It kinda felt thrown together.
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Didn't the New Price is Right do that beginning about halfway through the run?
Looking at it now, I'm sort of meh on the Davidson Pyramid. Back when I was 8, though, I was so excited to see another version of Pyramid on the air that I didn't care.
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Didn't the New Price is Right do that beginning about halfway through the run?
I believe you're right. I remember one guy doing a cartwheel after winning 3 Strikes.
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Didn't the New Price is Right do that beginning about halfway through the run?
I believe you're right. I remember one guy doing a cartwheel after winning 3 Strikes.
Oh yeah. :)
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Didn't the New Price is Right do that beginning about halfway through the run?
Kind of. The original opening had a few Davidson clips, behind-the-scenes stuff, non-Davidson clips, and bits of the 1993 pilots. Exactly halfway through the run, it became shorter and was comprised solely of Davidson clips, including the aforementioned Three Strikes cartwheel.
Did The $1,000,000 Chance Of A Lifetime use a winner's montage opening? I know the 1986-91 Chain Reaction did, at least early on.
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Did The $1,000,000 Chance Of A Lifetime use a winner's montage opening? I know the 1986-91 Chain Reaction did, at least early on.
Yes.
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Didn't the New Price is Right do that beginning about halfway through the run?
Kind of. The original opening had a few Davidson clips, behind-the-scenes stuff, non-Davidson clips, and bits of the 1993 pilots. Exactly halfway through the run, it became shorter and was comprised solely of Davidson clips, including the aforementioned Three Strikes cartwheel.
Here is a couple of examples...Here's a episode I found in YouTube land that has the opening from the beginning of the season without the cartwheel guy...
Davidson TPIR Example 1 (http://"http://youtu.be/fdMSK3m8ZX8")
...and here is a Doug Davidson's hosting reel that is on Doug Davidson's YT page that starts off with the part of the shortened opening with the cartwheel guy.
Davidson TPIR Example 2 (http://"http://youtu.be/NnLUjQLDhw0")