The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: ChuckNet on July 05, 2004, 09:41:06 PM
-
Here's a few of my personal choices...
First would be the infamous $20K Pyramid "Famous Losers" heartbreaker w/Didi Conn from 1979.
An eerily similar one occured on the $25K just 3 yrs later, during their 2nd wk on-air...the final WC category is "Things You Clip", and Jay Johnson offers partner Tom the clue "Something out of a newspaper" - a big no-no - as a clue, Tom gets it, and as they're celebrating his $25K win, the buzzer sounds, but they go to commercial before anything can be explained.
Upon returning, Dick says "You've prolly noticed that the mood around here is a bit more sedate than it was a moment ago...", even indirectly referencing the aforementioned Famous Losers incident, before playing a clip of Jay's illegal clue and explaining that it was no good and they had to take back Tom's $25K that he thought he'd won.
A $otC from 1984 where a contestant lost the cash jackpot after being beaten by only *$2*.
Any High Rollers ep where a contestant lost the Big Numbers by default via their leaving "1" as the very last number on the board.
And here's a near-heartbreaker: on Hit Man, champ Leon Reed (who'd previously appeared on Bullseye and TTD, maybe more) was asked the question "Who sang 'As Time Goes By' in Casablanca?" during the Triple Crown...he answered "Sam" (the character), but Peter's card read Dooley Wilson (the actor) and he was called incorrect, which only would've made a difference if he got to the final question in the $10K column...guess what question Peter was in the middle of reading when time ran out? :-(
However, good sense apparently prevailed...after deliberating during the break, Peter explained that Wolpert and crew had decided that Leon's earlier response of Sam on the ATGB question was acceptable, and he'd won the $10K as a result...he was quite delighted by this bit of news, as I recall. :-)
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
How about the Davidson $100k Pyramid $100k loss on "things that stick out". Boy that one was really heartbreaking. Although the woman who lost that, came back and still won the $100k anyway.
anytime a contestant loses on a full count in 3 strikes on Price that is heartbreaking, or when there is a Double Overbid with both contestants just barely over.
-
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 08:41 PM\'] A $otC from 1984 where a contestant lost the cash jackpot after being beaten by only *$2*.
[/quote]
Was this the guy whose main game loss enabled the cash jackpot to reach $100,000 for the first and only time?
-
Here are a couple of heartbreakers from the early seasons of J! (1984- )
1. Season 2 (or 3?) - Contestant has correct response in FJ, but fails to
phrase in the form of a question - she breaks down on her podium and the
audience is silent as Johnny Gilbert begins the ads....
2. Lionel Goldbart forgets his phrasing in a 1986 TOC semifinal game....
3. Season 4: Unheralded housewife Cheryl Van Middlesworth knocks off
4xer Ron Triguero in her first game, then wins three more that Alex describes
as "winning ugly". She goes into the FJ of her last game $200 short of what
would have been at least a tie and a trip to the TOC ($5,400 - 2,800), but
cannot close the deal as Larry Frantz nails FJ, and Cheryl misses with a wager
of $201 (won $36,900, but way short of an at-large berth).
-
[quote name=\'rmfromfla\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 09:01 PM\'] Here are a couple of heartbreakers from the early seasons of J! (1984- )
1. Season 2 (or 3?) - Contestant has correct response in FJ, but fails to
phrase in the form of a question - she breaks down on her podium and the
audience is silent as Johnny Gilbert begins the ads....
[/quote]
Add to the J! heartbreaks(though more recent): Brian Weikle's error in wagering that cost him the 2003 TofC.
Those contestants forgetting proper phrasing in FJ! are the reason they now have the players write down "Who" or "What" before the answer is revealed.
Other heartbreaking losses:
Pretty much any 198 or 199 score in Fast Money on FF.
Contestants losing all or almost all on a Big Bet on CS(especially if it's several thousand risked) due to a King-Ace or THree-Two(or a Two or Ace push in the early years).
-
To answer Don's question regarding Sale.
The champ was Dawn McKellar and she was going for 99K from early 1984. She made a tremendous comeback during the speed round on the previous episode and managed to win, but lost on this one.
I will pose this question to Sale fans out there, we know David Rogers won a 109K jackpot, and after this episode the jackpot stood at 100K, did he win the 109K, 9 shows after this?
-
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 08:41 PM\'] First would be the infamous $20K Pyramid "Famous Losers" heartbreaker w/Didi Conn from 1979. [/quote]
Not having your collection, I'm a little in the dark on this one (and I pride myself on knowing a pretty good amount of this minutae). Can someone elaborate on what happened (and five brownie points if that someone's first name doesn't begin with Z ;-) )?
Doug
-
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 09:48 PM\'] [quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 08:41 PM\'] First would be the infamous $20K Pyramid "Famous Losers" heartbreaker w/Didi Conn from 1979. [/quote]
Not having your collection, I'm a little in the dark on this one
[/quote]
As per a Google search(Chuck D. posted about this on Usenet in 1997 in a thread similar to this one) Didi said "An unhappy Vegas visitor", the contestant says "LOsers". They're all celebrating, Dick hears a buzzer, they go to commercial. They come back from commercial and Dick says the clue can't be accepted because an unhappy Vegas visitor is not "Famous". If the category were "Losers", it'd have been accepted.
-
Once upon a time there was a contestant on TPiR who was the only winner of the day (a magnificent contestant), ended up as Top Winner in the Showcase up against an idiot who bid $3,900 on her Showcase (in 2003) and he bid $19,000 on an $18,273 Showcase and lost. That was heartbreaking, I thought.
Although, maybe I'm impartial... ;-)
-
I recall a couple "Wheel" eps. where the first- and second-place finishers were separated by $50. Ouch!
And of course, any TPiR contestant who plays Dice Game and gets all the numbers right, except for one where the contestant went lower on a 5--and it turns out to be a 6 (or higher on a 2 and it's a 1).
--Sam
-
[quote name=\'Rastaub\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 09:34 PM\'] To answer Don's question regarding Sale.
The champ was Dawn McKellar and she was going for 99K from early 1984. She made a tremendous comeback during the speed round on the previous episode and managed to win, but lost on this one.
I will pose this question to Sale fans out there, we know David Rogers won a 109K jackpot, and after this episode the jackpot stood at 100K, did he win the 109K, 9 shows after this? [/quote]
I would think so. With the episodes that have been given to me, I can make some sort of conjecture as to what happened:
Unless someone can prove me wrong on this, I believe that this was the only time in which the $ale Jackpot went over the $100,000 mark. David should have won the $109,000 nine shows later. Also, it was not too long from now that Bill Vasser won the $70,000.
It was also not too long from now that the Winner's Board was put into play. There were too many cash jackpot winners between the time David hit the $109,000 and the time the cash jackpot stayed at the static $50,000.
Just a theory of mine
The Inquisitive One
-
On The Price is Right, back in September, there was a contestant who just played One Away as well as she possibly could've... and lost. Lost because of an downright dirty price, one that only 0 out of 100 people would've gotten right. Good contestant too... just felt like ick after the game was through.
She won her showcase at the end of the show, at least. Guess that's a consolation.
-
[quote name=\'Frank15\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 10:16 PM\'] On The Price is Right, back in September, there was a contestant who just played One Away as well as she possibly could've... and lost. Lost because of an downright dirty price, one that only 0 out of 100 people would've gotten right. Good contestant too... just felt like ick after the game was through.
She won her showcase at the end of the show, at least. Guess that's a consolation. [/quote]
The One Away price in that case was probably a "forced loss" due to being over budget.
Two heartbreaking Showcase losses: THe contestant who missed their showcase by $30, only to lose as her opponent missed her SC by $29, and the contestant who bid $1, thinking the other player went over, only to have the other player win both SCs.
-
The $62,400 loss on WOF when the contestant missed a letter on "THE THRILL OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT"? That should be considered a loss...
Brian
100 plus 100 equals 600?
We want some more pro wrestling (STILL) and NASCAR questions!
-
[quote name=\'brianhenke\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 11:28 PM\'] The $62,400 loss on WOF when the contestant missed a letter on "THE THRILL OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT"? That should be considered a loss...
[/quote]
I was thinking of that before, but couldn't remember the puzzle. That took place in the mid 80's with quite the run on the $5,000 space if I remember right..
-
PYL: One contestant falls $3 short of the lead on his last spin, losing the game.
TPiR: One contestant bids $11,500 on a SC worth $11,494.
WWTBAM: Mark McDermott, Lawrence Kaplan, and Kati Knudsen's $218,000 losses.
Greed: Dan Avila's loss going for $2,200,000.
-
[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 09:21 PM\'] Pretty much any 198 or 199 score in Fast Money on FF.
[/quote]
I'll add a Family Feud heartbreaker from Louie Anderson's regime. During the playing of Fast Money as the answers were being revealed, Louie would have the family member touch the screen if "he knew" that answer would take the team to 200 and win them the $10000/$20000. Well, one day he screwed up by telling the person to touch the screen because he knew the #1 answer had been given by the contestant. What he didn't know was the answer wasn't enough to give 'em the bonus money and they had to settle for five bucks a point.
-
During the Family Channel's run of Shop 'til You Drop, one couple had a final total of $2499. Two other couples on the original Lifetime had totals of $2495 and $2493, respectively. Also, early in the first season where $2500 was the target, one couple, due to some confusion in running to the stores, could only get five boxes to the prize table. The sixth one, which missed by a couple seconds, would have put them over the top.
I've also seen at least five occasions on Supermarket Sweep where the team found the third product in the bonus sweep, but didn't get their hands on the money before the bell. Ouch! And I've also seen no fewer than five Double Dare obstacle course runs which the player just missed the last flag at the buzzer.
Speaking of kids' game shows, my Beta-to-VHS transferring recently turned up an ep of Fun House where the girl player was looking in the Chomping Choppers for the cash tag but couldn't find it. That was the Power Prize tag! And staying with the franchise but returning to last-second losses, on College Mad House, the Duke Blue Devils just missed the last tag in the house as time ran out.
This is one that I've mentioned before: Getting a Bonus Lingo on the second ball. Since that player is pulling for the first time, the team might have won the vacation had he/she gone first.
Let's not forget Amie from Whammy!. Twenty-five thousand one hundred nine dollars lost to a Double Whammy on the last spin of the game.
Finally, it's a borderline game show, but on the season 3 championship of American Gladiators, Mark Ortega beat Joseph Mauro for the men's title by 2 hundredths of a second. That was more of a heartstopper, but the woman's final that show did have a heartbreaker in the middle of the competition: Kimberly Lentz did not finish the Maze in time, missing out on taking over the lead. She trailed the rest of the way, and her opponent, Kathy Mollica, cruised to victory.
ObGS: Last weekend we saw the woman later known as Zap battle Bob Eubanks to a draw in arm-wrestle. Wonder what he would have thought if he saw Zap on AG and recognized her from his show!
-
[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 09:27 PM\'] This is one that I've mentioned before: Getting a Bonus Lingo on the second ball. Since that player is pulling for the first time, the team might have won the vacation had he/she gone first.
[/quote]
They also would have been reaching into a bowl which hadn't been stirred around and a ball removed from seconds before. No reasonable person can assume that person had any higher likelyhood to pull the right ball out.
-
[quote name=\'SamJ93\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 08:12 PM\'] I recall a couple "Wheel" eps. where the first- and second-place finishers were separated by $50. Ouch! [/quote]
ISTR a WoF rerun on GSN, where a player put the last $73 of his "winnings" on account. He failed to win another round. His margin of defeat? $23.
-
Earlier this year, around February, an elderly lady played One Away for one of Price's standard-issue cars. She made the first number a 3. It turned out that she had four numbers -- the other four, obviously -- right. As the entire audience shouts, "THREE!" she asks Bob to change the last number.
During the Showcase Showdown, she told Bob she was with a group from her church and pointed out her minister in the audience (who had been among those who had been yelling the right answer). It turned out that everyone had agreed to donate anything they won to the parish. You don't get much more heartbreaking than that (even if she did make a really goofy mistake).
-
This was one of my unfavorite game shows moments, which some of you might have in your collections:
In a 1986 episode of "Super Password," contestant Carl Mueller was trying for $50,000 in the end game with celebrity Janis Paige. After a couple of clues, Janis passed the word "frog," but Carl said it right after she said "pass." They got through the rest of the list, and just when they got back to "frog," the buzzer rang and Carl shouted out the answer a fraction of a second after. During the commercial, they checked the tape because it was so close, but the judges said his answer was after the buzzer, so he ended up with $900, not 50 grand.
This was one of the big faults of SPW, in my opinion -- the fact that you didn't get credit for a word after the giver said "pass." I realize that on shows like "Body Language," where most of the clues are related to one another within a puzzle, that you don't want to give a player credit for saying an answer after the giver has said "pass," because they might be responding with the right answer when they're really giving an answer for the new clue word and not actually throwing an answer backwards. (True, this could happen on the old "Pyramid" as well, where you COULD throw an answer backwards and get credit for it, but there was only one instance that I ever saw where a receiver was clearly giving an answer for a new clue word and not throwing an answer backwards, so I think the rule worked very well for them.)
However, in a format like the SPW end game, where each correct answer has to begin with a specific letter of the alphabet, this rule makes no sense. Would the producers really think Carl was answering "frog" to clues for a word that began with the letter "G"?
This episode aired over 18 years ago, but I still think Carl got ripped off. In earlier episodes of the show, the contestant did indeed get credit for saying the correct answer after the celeb passed the word. I never saw the point of changing that rule, especially when it left the contestant at a disadvantage.
Actually, unless I'm mistaken, I believe the starter of this post has this episode in his collection. Exalted poster, did you have the same reaction?
Brendan
-
One of the faults of the show? Are you serious? It makes sense. Once you pass a word, it's out of play until you come back around and get it again. It just so happens that he couldn't pick up the last one. Heartbreaking? Prolly. Unfair? Not even close.
I nominate the $46,000 check being passed over in favor of a sure $899 on "Treasure Hunt," and Sal Mecca's Q5 flameout on Millionaire.
-Travis
-
[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 12:48 AM\']Earlier this year, around February, an elderly lady played One Away for one of Price's standard-issue cars. She made the first number a 3. It turned out that she had four numbers -- the other four, obviously -- right. As the entire audience shouts, "THREE!" she asks Bob to change the last number.
During the Showcase Showdown, she told Bob she was with a group from her church and pointed out her minister in the audience (who had been among those who had been yelling the right answer). It turned out that everyone had agreed to donate anything they won to the parish. You don't get much more heartbreaking than that (even if she did make a really goofy mistake).[/quote]
Yeah, but heartbreaking for whom? The contestant, or her church ;)? And you give her a little too much credit: she wasn't exactly elderly, unless around 45-50 is the new "elderly."
And dare we remember her not wanting to spin again on 40 cents....
-
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 01:17 AM\'] One of the faults of the show? Are you serious? It makes sense. Once you pass a word, it's out of play until you come back around and get it again. It just so happens that he couldn't pick up the last one. Heartbreaking? Prolly. Unfair? Not even close.
I nominate the $46,000 check being passed over in favor of a sure $899 on "Treasure Hunt," and Sal Mecca's Q5 flameout on Millionaire.
-Travis [/quote]
I think the poor gal who whizzed away (I think) $50,000 and her husband stormed out of the audience in spite was more tragic.
My choice for heartbreaker is a contestannt on the UK version of "Millionaire". She said her dream was to reach at least £1000 because she had never had that much money. She flat-out struggeled on her quesions and was out of lifelines by the time she had reached the £1000 question. Instead of taking £500, she took a chance and lost everything. Her (and her mothers) reactions were of shock. She left the studio almost in tears
About that $60K loss on WOF. Does it exist on tape ?
-Joe R.
-
Boy, that $50K heartbreaker incident from Treasure Hunt makes me wanna paraphrase what Geoff Edwards said to her:
"Rose, diid jamacia mistake?"
-
There was a contestant last year on WOF who had most of the letters in WINNIPEG revealed in the bonus round, but still lost. And it cost her $50,000 (But it was close to being $100,000).
-
[quote name=\'rmfromfla\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 09:01 PM\'] Here are a couple of heartbreakers from the early seasons of J! (1984- )
1. Season 2 (or 3?) - Contestant has correct response in FJ, but fails to
phrase in the form of a question - she breaks down on her podium and the
audience is silent as Johnny Gilbert begins the ads....
[/quote]
A couple of Summer 1997 J! heartbreakers:
1. Memorial Day 1997 saw the scores 10400-5200-5200 going into FJ!. All three players get it right, with the leader wagering zip to assure at least a tie, one of the other players wagering 5200, and the other wagering..... 5199. WOuld have been the first nonzero three way tie in J! history.
2. July 1997 and the Buenos Aire/Aires incident where leaving off the final S cost a player the win.
-
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 01:17 AM\']
and Sal Mecca's Q5 flameout on Millionaire.
[/quote]
Anyone who wins zip on Millionaire qualifies as a sad loss :)
-
One episode of The $20,000 Pyramid where Jamie Lee Curtis spent over 40 seconds on the last subject in the Winner's Circle.
-
Anyone who wins zip on Millionaire qualifies as a sad loss :)
I think any contestant who misses the $500,000 question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" would qualify - and there have been a few of them.
It's been discussed on this board before, but for me the most heartbreaking of those was the contestant who didn't know who sang "I Will Always Love You" on the question about longest-running No. 1 songs.
That still hurts to think about it...
-
[quote name=\'bandit_bobby\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 06:43 AM\'] There was a contestant last year on WOF who had most of the letters in WINNIPEG revealed in the bonus round, but still lost. And it cost her $50,000 (But it was close to being $100,000). [/quote]
And what made you think the $100,000 was right next to the $50,000? What are you? Psychic?
-
[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 04:32 AM\'] Boy, that $50K heartbreaker incident from Treasure Hunt makes me wanna paraphrase what Geoff Edwards said to her:
"Rose, diid jamacia mistake?" [/quote]
Another Geoff Edwards-hosted loss of $50K: The $50K Jackpot riddle that was missed in 1974 that we recently.
-
I am not kidding about the $50K loss on WOF. I didn't see it, but I saw a report about it, and I swear the $50K was one off the $100K.
-
[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 08:28 AM\'] [quote name=\'bandit_bobby\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 06:43 AM\'] There was a contestant last year on WOF who had most of the letters in WINNIPEG revealed in the bonus round, but still lost. And it cost her $50,000 (But it was close to being $100,000). [/quote]
And what made you think the $100,000 was right next to the $50,000? What are you? Psychic? [/quote]
Sajak showed where the 100 grand was after the puzzle was missed. He does that sometimes, but only when they are really close to it, though. I guess he thinks it makes them feel better.
-
That happened on last night's Wheel rerun too. The contestant lost a shot at $25,000. But the wheel nearly had gone over to the space that held $100,000.
-
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 08:15 AM\'] It's been discussed on this board before, but for me the most heartbreaking of those was the contestant who didn't know who sang "I Will Always Love You" on the question about longest-running No. 1 songs.
[/quote]
Who did sing it? The Beatles?
Sorry; never heard of it....so it looks like I would have lost too...
-
[quote name=\'gsnstooge\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 08:15 AM\'] One episode of The $20,000 Pyramid where Jamie Lee Curtis spent over 40 seconds on the last subject in the Winner's Circle. [/quote]
This made me recall another $20kP heartbreaker: Brianne Leary gave an illegal gesture on the first box. The subject was "Parts of the Statue of Liberty", and she raised her arm as she said "Her torch". The contestant got the other five and won $500 but was within a brain lapse of $15,000.
While we're at it, we should qualify any $900 SPW round where the tenth word was lost on an illegal clue. One particular player I recall was Kris Kuba, who was on CS in 1978 and couldn't buy a break in MC either. She did, however, win $25K her next time at SPW.
Another last second-loss: On Legends of the Hidden Temple, this one player got the treasure and had to pass through the temple gate with it, but he was behind Olmec, just feet from the gate as the clock hit zero.
[quote name=\'Dsmith=Jul 6 2004\' date=\' 11:23 AM\']Who did sing ["I Will Always Love You"]? The Beatles?[/quote]
According to Lawrence Kaplan, Celine Dion. IMO, he should not have gone for it. Dolly Parton wrote it, but Whitney Houston recorded it.
-
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 11:18 PM\'] [quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 09:21 PM\'] Pretty much any 198 or 199 score in Fast Money on FF.
[/quote]
I'll add a Family Feud heartbreaker from Louie Anderson's regime. During the playing of Fast Money as the answers were being revealed, Louie would have the family member touch the screen if "he knew" that answer would take the team to 200 and win them the $10000/$20000. Well, one day he screwed up by telling the person to touch the screen because he knew the #1 answer had been given by the contestant. What he didn't know was the answer wasn't enough to give 'em the bonus money and they had to settle for five bucks a point. [/quote]
That really proves why Louie was so bad as a game show host. For one thing, he would often ruin the suspense of a moment like that, something Dawson, Combs, and even Karn didn't do. The other thing is, if someone needed like say 40 points on the last answer to win, and answer given was #1, you should say it is #1, but not in such a way that it makes the person think they have won when they haven't, as was the case here.
-
[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 10:47 AM\'] [quote name=\'Dsmith=Jul 6 2004\' date=\' 11:23 AM\']Who did sing ["I Will Always Love You"]? The Beatles?[/quote]
According to Lawrence Kaplan, Celine Dion. IMO, he should not have gone for it. Dolly Parton wrote it, but Whitney Houston recorded it. [/quote]
Houston had used it for the film The Bodyguard, Mark O., but Jason is indeed correct about Dolly Parton writing it (I believe it was written in 1982 or so, and it served as her closing theme for her short-lived ABC variety series five years later).
Just out of curiosity, how much was that WWTBAM question worth?
Doug
-
Most heartbreaking loss IMHO, is Cathy Singer's $31,408 loss.
If you were her, and had that much money, and took that 1 passed spin that cost her the loot, how long would you have taken to stop the board to avoid her fate?
-
[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 12:06 PM\'] Most heartbreaking loss IMHO, is Cathy Singer's $31,408 loss.
If you were her, and had that much money, and took that 1 passed spin that cost her the loot, how long would you have taken to stop the board to avoid her fate? [/quote]
Are you serious, dude?
The board was random....there's really no "way" to avoid her fate.
-
[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 11:56 PM\'] Greed: Dan Avila's loss going for $2,200,000. [/quote]
This would win the award hands down. People still recognize Dan on the street from his Greed show.
Tim :-)
-
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 09:34 AM\'] [quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 10:47 AM\'] [quote name=\'Dsmith=Jul 6 2004\' date=\' 11:23 AM\']Who did sing ["I Will Always Love You"]? The Beatles?[/quote]
According to Lawrence Kaplan, Celine Dion. IMO, he should not have gone for it. Dolly Parton wrote it, but Whitney Houston recorded it. [/quote]
Houston had used it for the film The Bodyguard, Mark O., but Jason is indeed correct about Dolly Parton writing it (I believe it was written in 1982 or so, and it served as her closing theme for her short-lived ABC variety series five years later).
Just out of curiosity, how much was that WWTBAM question worth?
Doug [/quote]
$500,000.
-
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 08:15 AM\'] It's been discussed on this board before, but for me the most heartbreaking of those was the contestant who didn't know who sang "I Will Always Love You" on the question about longest-running No. 1 songs.
That still hurts to think about it... [/quote]
That's not heartbreaking. If that was the case, this was way too easy for a $500K question.
Brandon Brooks
-
The question itself was
Which of the following songs spent the most weeks at #1 on the Billboard hot 100 chart?
A: Macarena
B: One Sweet Day
C: Candle in the Wind
D: I Will Always Love You
I don't know about that being too easy for $500,000, at least by the show's standards in January 2000.
-
[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 01:39 PM\'] The question itself was
Which of the following songs spent the most weeks at #1 on the Billboard hot 100 chart?
A: Macarena
B: One Sweet Day
C: Candle in the Wind
D: I Will Always Love You
I don't know about that being too easy for $500,000, at least by the show's standards in January 2000. [/quote]
Oh! I always thought it was One Sweet Day. That's not as easy as I thought.
Brandon Brooks
-
Oh! I always thought it was One Sweet Day. That's not as easy as I thought.
It was "One Sweet Day", but what made it heartbreaking is that the guy guessed without even knowing who sang each of the songs. After thinking about it for a couple of minutes, he guessed "I Will Always Love You", thinking it was sung by Celine Dion.
-
I think it was quite heartbreaking on a Wheel rerun I saw a short time ago from last season, where after the speed up round, there was a tie, and then they did a toss up to decide the winner. It was heartbreaking for the contestant who lost that toss up. Though the contestant still walked off with $11,700, not a bad half hour's work.
-
It was also not too long from now that the Winner's Board was put into play. There were too many cash jackpot winners between the time David hit the $109,000 and the time the cash jackpot stayed at the static $50,000.
And therein lied the problem, IMO, w/offering the CJ as a separate entity...no contestant in his/her right mind is gonna pass up well over $50K for the chance at adding the lot of prizes generally worth slightly less in total...the syndie version rectified this by replacing said option w/one to buy the lot, sans CJ, which almost always ensured a champ coming back for that final show.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
In a 1986 episode of "Super Password," contestant Carl Mueller was trying for $50,000 in the end game with celebrity Janis Paige. After a couple of clues, Janis passed the word "frog," but Carl said it right after she said "pass." They got through the rest of the list, and just when they got back to "frog," the buzzer rang and Carl shouted out the answer a fraction of a second after. During the commercial, they checked the tape because it was so close, but the judges said his answer was after the buzzer, so he ended up with $900, not 50 grand.
And to add insult to injury, Janis didn't realize the clock had started at the beginning of the round and wasted about 2 secs before Bert prompted her...if not for that pause, Carl might have won the $50K anyway.
However, Carl later turned up on WoF about 8 years later and did all right for himself, so don't feel TOO bad for him. :-)
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
One more for the list: in early 1984, a MG/HS champ was faced w/the Head-to-Head phrase "______ Pizza"...partner Jon Bauman has his answer written down quickly, but doesn't put it in the card slot...then, inexplicably, he discards that answer, writes a new one, and puts that one in the slot.
Gene then asks for the contestant's response, which is "Pepperoni Pizza" and generates cheers/applause from the audience.
Cut to a distraught-looking Jon: "I HAD it...and I lost it!" (Reveals answer, "Large Pizza")...the entire audience boos, and adding insult to injury, all of the other 8 celebs claim they would've said "pepperoni", had they gotten it.
In a rather unwise move, Gene jokingly suggests the contestant punch Jon if he wants, which explains why we see him (equally jokingly) lying prostrate on the studio floor upon returning from the final break.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
Pretty much any 198 or 199 score in Fast Money on FF.
I can go that one better: on a 1989 daytime ep, the winning fam had 199 points after the next-to-last question in Fast Money, and their final question was "Name the month in which you use your air conditioning the most". The 2nd player's response was June...guess how many points it got? :-(
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
[quote name=\'rmfromfla\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 09:01 PM\'] 1. Season 2 (or 3?) - Contestant has correct response in FJ, but fails to
phrase in the form of a question - she breaks down on her podium and the
audience is silent as Johnny Gilbert begins the ads....
[/quote]
This sounds like something that was described in "Come On Down." Jefferson Graham noted that a woman wagered a $60,000 pot (didn't think it was likely in the mid-80s), but didn't win because she didn't phrase in a question. Can anyone confirm?
Also, during the break between Double and Final Jeopardy, don't the coordinators tell contestants to put the question at the top of their screens?
-
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 02:55 PM\']
Pretty much any 198 or 199 score in Fast Money on FF.
I can go that one better: on a 1989 daytime ep, the winning fam had 199 points after the next-to-last question in Fast Money, and their final question was "Name the month in which you use your air conditioning the most". The 2nd player's response was June...guess how many points it got? :-(
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby") [/quote]
My guess is "zero", but that doesn't make any sense. Was the question: "The month which you use your air conditioning the least?
-
[quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 11:03 AM\']That really proves why Louie was so bad as a game show host. For one thing, he would often ruin the suspense of a moment like that, something Dawson, Combs, and even Karn didn't do. The other thing is, if someone needed like say 40 points on the last answer to win, and answer given was #1, you should say it is #1, but not in such a way that it makes the person think they have won when they haven't, as was the case here.[/quote]
I don't think that makes him a bad host. That "touch the screen" thing was just something he liked to do for good luck. It didn't always work, but it was fun to watch when it did. I think it was a nice touch.
I don't get your "ruin the suspense" complaint either. If Anderson let up on the suspense at all, it was because it was a foregone conclusion that the money was won. He would joke around a bit, yes (this was his favorite spot for the "touch the screen" trick), but really there would be no suspense to milk, anyways.
[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 12:06 PM\'] Most heartbreaking loss IMHO, is Cathy Singer's $31,408 loss.
If you were her, and had that much money, and took that 1 passed spin that cost her the loot, how long would you have taken to stop the board to avoid her fate?
Are you serious, dude?
The board was random....there's really no "way" to avoid her fate.[/quote]
Dude, I thought we all knew that the board was many things, but not random. Still, any big loss on a game of chance should qualify, and I'll add Amie's last-spin $25,109 loss on Whammy! to that list. She didn't say a word to Todd after that, and I don't blame her.
-
[quote name=\'STYDfan\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 03:41 PM\'] [quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 11:03 AM\']That really proves why Louie was so bad as a game show host. For one thing, he would often ruin the suspense of a moment like that, something Dawson, Combs, and even Karn didn't do. The other thing is, if someone needed like say 40 points on the last answer to win, and answer given was #1, you should say it is #1, but not in such a way that it makes the person think they have won when they haven't, as was the case here.[/quote]
I don't get your "ruin the suspense" complaint either. If Anderson let up on the suspense at all, it was because it was a foregone conclusion that the money was won. He would joke around a bit, yes (this was his favorite spot for the "touch the screen" trick), but really there would be no suspense to milk, anyways.
I disagree, I think there is some suspense there when it comes down to that last answer regardless of how many points are needed. Sure some answers given could seem logical, and you may think that it would win, but it doesn't always work out. So to me, no matter how close you may be to 200, (within reason of course), before that final answer, there's always gonna be some suspense there as to whether or not they will make it.
-
[quote name=\'STYDfan\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 04:41 PM\']
[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 12:06 PM\'] Most heartbreaking loss IMHO, is Cathy Singer's $31,408 loss.
If you were her, and had that much money, and took that 1 passed spin that cost her the loot, how long would you have taken to stop the board to avoid her fate?
Are you serious, dude?
The board was random....there's really no "way" to avoid her fate.[/quote]
Dude, I thought we all knew that the board was many things, but not random. [/quote]
You make it sound like she should have memorized the damn light pattern -- a totally ridiculous notion.
-
[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 05:07 PM\'] [quote name=\'STYDfan\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 04:41 PM\']
Dude, I thought we all knew that the board was many things, but not random. [/quote]
You make it sound like she should have memorized the damn light pattern -- a totally ridiculous notion. [/quote]
I believe that STYDfan was saying that in theory, the contestant could have avoided hitting the Whammy by first learning the pattern and then memorizing it.
Of course, in theory, Alex Trebek, Pat Sajak and Bob Barker could die tonight, and be replaced tomorrow by Chris Lemon, Mike Klauss and yours truly respectively.
-
[quote name=\'dzinkin\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 04:12 PM\'] Of course, in theory, Alex Trebek, Pat Sajak and Bob Barker could die tonight, and be replaced tomorrow by Chris Lemon, Mike Klauss and yours truly respectively. [/quote]
And summarily see ratings for said shows plummet. :)
-
[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 05:07 PM\'] You make it sound like she should have memorized the damn light pattern -- a totally ridiculous notion. [/quote]
Hey, it worked for Paul Larson.
-
[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 10:47 AM\'] [quote name=\'gsnstooge\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 08:15 AM\'] One episode of The $20,000 Pyramid where Jamie Lee Curtis spent over 40 seconds on the last subject in the Winner's Circle. [/quote]
This made me recall another $20kP heartbreaker: Brianne Leary gave an illegal gesture on the first box. The subject was "Parts of the Statue of Liberty", and she raised her arm as she said "Her torch". The contestant got the other five and won $500 but was within a brain lapse of $15,000.
While we're at it, we should qualify any $900 SPW round where the tenth word was lost on an illegal clue. One particular player I recall was Kris Kuba, who was on CS in 1978 and couldn't buy a break in MC either. She did, however, win $25K her next time at SPW.
Another last second-loss: On Legends of the Hidden Temple, this one player got the treasure and had to pass through the temple gate with it, but he was behind Olmec, just feet from the gate as the clock hit zero.
[quote name=\'Dsmith=Jul 6 2004\' date=\' 11:23 AM\']Who did sing ["I Will Always Love You"]? The Beatles?[/quote]
According to Lawrence Kaplan, Celine Dion. IMO, he should not have gone for it. Dolly Parton wrote it, but Whitney Houston recorded it. [/quote]
<BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ>
I'm sorry. Dolly Parton did indeed record "I Will Always Love You". It appears now on some country music compilations.
But thanks for playing our game!
-
[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 05:21 PM\'] [quote name=\'dzinkin\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 04:12 PM\'] Of course, in theory, Alex Trebek, Pat Sajak and Bob Barker could die tonight, and be replaced tomorrow by Chris Lemon, Mike Klauss and yours truly respectively. [/quote]
And summarily see ratings for said shows plummet. :) [/quote]
But only in theory, of course. :-P
-
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 11:18 PM\'] [quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jul 5 2004, 09:21 PM\'] Pretty much any 198 or 199 score in Fast Money on FF.
[/quote]
I'll add a Family Feud heartbreaker from Louie Anderson's regime. During the playing of Fast Money as the answers were being revealed, Louie would have the family member touch the screen if "he knew" that answer would take the team to 200 and win them the $10000/$20000. Well, one day he screwed up by telling the person to touch the screen because he knew the #1 answer had been given by the contestant. What he didn't know was the answer wasn't enough to give 'em the bonus money and they had to settle for five bucks a point. [/quote]
Something like this happened recently on 100 Mexicanos Dijeron...except replace the "touch the screen" thing with the verbal teases Marco uses sometimes ("La encuesta....(jokingly stalls)....la encuesta....(stalls again)...etc, etc")
-
Assuming "encuesta" means "survey".
The full line would then be: La encuesta dice!
-
[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 05:27 PM\'] [quote name=\'Dsmith=Jul 6 2004\' date=\' 11:23 AM\']Who did sing ["I Will Always Love You"]? The Beatles?[/quote]
According to Lawrence Kaplan, Celine Dion. IMO, he should not have gone for it. Dolly Parton wrote it, but Whitney Houston recorded it.
<BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ>
I'm sorry. Dolly Parton did indeed record "I Will Always Love You". It appears now on some country music compilations. [/quote]
I know Dolly recorded it (commercials for one of those "country music compilations" showed up on GSN!), but did her version chart? What I meant was that Whitney, not Celine Dion, recorded the version that went to #1.
-
[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 05:01 PM\'] I know Dolly recorded it (commercials for one of those "country music compilations" showed up on GSN!), but did her version chart? What I meant was that Whitney, not Celine Dion, recorded the version that went to #1. [/quote]
My Billboard book only covers Top 40 charts, but allmusic.com noted it as hitting #53 in 1982.
-
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 02:19 PM\']
Oh! I always thought it was One Sweet Day. That's not as easy as I thought.
It was "One Sweet Day", but what made it heartbreaking is that the guy guessed without even knowing who sang each of the songs. After thinking about it for a couple of minutes, he guessed "I Will Always Love You", thinking it was sung by Celine Dion. [/quote]
I remember being quite surprised by that answer, considering I don't ever remember "One Sweet Day" being a very popular song, unless there's a second, non-Mariah version I'm unaware of. As opposed to two versions of "I Will Always Love You."
I remember a painful main game loss in Family Feud back in February... what made it painful was that the family that won should not have, in my opinion. On the triple round question, something like "Tell me what you'd do if you saw someone stealing your car," not exact wording, there was one answer left, and the stealing family was trying to take the steal. They said "take down a description," or something to that effect. The actual answer was "do nothing." The judges counted their steal attempt as correct though, and as such, they won the game. Some of the worst judging I've ever seen in a gameshow.... So that was painful.
-
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 03:10 PM\']
This sounds like something that was described in "Come On Down." Jefferson Graham noted that a woman wagered a $60,000 pot (didn't think it was likely in the mid-80s), but didn't win because she didn't phrase in a question. Can anyone confirm?
[/quote]
A few players did indeed lose the game because of not phrasing properly in the early Trebek years, but I certainly don't recall anyone having $60K after DJ! or FJ!(even with the double dollars format). Jeff is wrong on the amount wagered.
-
[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 04:57 PM\'] Assuming "encuesta" means "survey".
The full line would then be: La encuesta dice! [/quote]
Si, senor! (As Marco would say often when someone gets a right answer or a Dinero Rapido win)
-
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jul 6 2004, 03:10 PM\']This sounds like something that was described in "Come On Down." Jefferson Graham noted that a woman wagered a $60,000 pot[/quote]
Geez. I didn't know pot was so expensive !
-Joe R.
-
My Billboard book only covers Top 40 charts, but allmusic.com noted it as hitting #53 in 1982.
The song also hit No. 1 on the country charts during its original release (I think 1974), and recharted when Dolly recorded a new version of it in 1982. I don't listen to country, but remember reading those statistics in Billboard when Whitney's version became so popular.
I remember being quite surprised by that answer, considering I don't ever remember "One Sweet Day" being a very popular song, unless there's a second, non-Mariah version I'm unaware of.
No, it was Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men. No. 1 on the Hot 100 for 16 weeks in 1996.
-
I remember the hullabaloo at the time about Whitney's version, and various media were trying to say it was really Dolly's song. But I remember on the last Idol that the song was introduced as Whitney's. Of course, I knew better.
-
A few players did indeed lose the game because of not phrasing properly in the early Trebek years, but I certainly don't recall anyone having $60K after DJ! or FJ!(even with the double dollars format). Jeff is wrong on the amount wagered.
There's quite a few errors in Jeff Graham's book...if you don't believe me, just ask Chuck Wollery. :-D
But I digress...former Double Dare champ (ironic, huh?) Alan Lusher also wound up losing on his ep by failing to phrase his FJ! response properly, although he still would've lost anyway, since his wager wasn't enough to take him out of 3rd place.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
What exactly is the system for accepting answers not in question form, anyway? It seems sometimes they count such answers as correct, and other times not. Is it just decided on a whim, or what, exactly?
Also, when a contestant gives too general of an answer, Alex usually asks them to be more specific, but occasionally, he won't ask that of the contestant, and just count it as wrong. Again, is it just random, or some actual system behind this?
-
[quote name=\'Frank15\' date=\'Jul 7 2004, 10:21 PM\'] What exactly is the system for accepting answers not in question form, anyway? It seems sometimes they count such answers as correct, and other times not. Is it just decided on a whim, or what, exactly? [/quote]
Off the top of my head, I think Alex allows contestants to fix their responses during the Jeopardy! round, but not in Double Jeopardy!.
Of course, someone will probably contradict me within five minutes. :-)
-
[quote name=\'Frank15\' date=\'Jul 7 2004, 10:21 PM\'] What exactly is the system for accepting answers not in question form, anyway? It seems sometimes they count such answers as correct, and other times not. Is it just decided on a whim, or what, exactly? [/quote]
Alex will accept the response and remind the contestant about their phrasing if the contestant forgets in the first Jeopardy! round, except on the Daily Double. Once DJ! rolls around, the responses will always be called wrong if not phrased as a question .
-
Before they got strict about the phrasing rule in DJ, one of the most famous
examples about Alex reminding contestants happened on 1/13/86:
Nancy Smith hits a Daily Double late in the round. She has $4,600 and is
in third place. The category was Classical Music and the clue was an audio.
She responds "The Wedding March?", and then Alex says "Phrase It....",
to which she said "What is the Wedding March?". Nancy gets it correct,
the signal to end the round goes off, and she is in the lead going into FJ.
Oddly enough in FJ, she wagers $6,000 on a clue about which country
did the U.S. have the most overseas military bases in (Germany) which
gives her $12,600 and a co-champion with the day's other challenger,
Gardner Stern, who wagered all of his $6,300.
But on the next show, both co-champs were defeated....
And as we all know, the rule was changed in S3 - the most famous
incident being Lionel Goldbart's gaffe in the 86' TOC...
-
I still like Al Franken's response from the Power Players week. He forgot to give his response in form of a question, but right away followed it up with "What is it?". lol
-
[quote name=\'rmfromfla\' date=\'Jul 8 2004, 10:04 AM\'] Oddly enough in FJ, she wagers $6,000 on a clue about which country
did the U.S. have the most overseas military bases in (Germany) which
gives her $12,600 and a co-champion with the day's other challenger,
Gardner Stern, who wagered all of his $6,300.
But on the next show, both co-champs were defeated....
[/quote]
Interesting story, but why is it odd that Nancy bet for the tie?
:)
-
Quizzer,
The scores coming into FJ were:
Steve Willis (3x, $31K) 5,800 + 5,700 = 11,500
Nancy Smith 6,600 + 6,000 = 12,600
Gardner Stern 6,300 + 6,300 = 12,600
Hypothetically, in most situations, you play for the win instead of
taking a risk that when you come back on the next show, you could
be beaten by the player that you allowed to tie (or in this case,
both were beaten by the new player on the next show).
-
Actually, in some cases, it's better to play for the tie, because then you know what to expect from at least one of your opponents, and you can adjust your gameplan accordingly.
-
[quote name=\'rmfromfla\' date=\'Jul 8 2004, 06:24 PM\'] Hypothetically, in most situations, you play for the win instead of taking a risk that when you come back on the next show, you could be beaten by the player that you allowed to tie (or in this case, both were beaten by the new player on the next show). [/quote]
That appears to be the majority opinion, especially since you'd be allowing someone back who now has experience with the buzzer.
However, another perfectly valid theory is that you allow someone back that you beat in this game because you think you have a good chance of beating them in the next game, and you have no idea about the new challengers. There's also the possibility that you've made a friend who'll do the same for you in the next game if your situations are reversed.
There are issues with both theories, and yours does seem to be the most popular. Still, there is validity in playing for a tie, if that's the choice you've made.
-
A real heartbreaker was for the person who came THIS CLOSE to beating Ken Jennings. I'm talking about Michael (I think that's his name) who took him to the limit a few weeks ago.
-
That was our own Matt Ottinger I do believe.
-
Bobby was referring to Michael Cudahy...but I feel Ottinger did a better job than Cudahy did, mostly due to Cudahy's wagering blunder in Final Jeopardy.
Andy
-
[quote name=\'WilliamPorygon\' date=\'Jul 7 2004, 09:46 PM\'] [quote name=\'Frank15\' date=\'Jul 7 2004, 10:21 PM\'] What exactly is the system for accepting answers not in question form, anyway? It seems sometimes they count such answers as correct, and other times not. Is it just decided on a whim, or what, exactly? [/quote]
Alex will accept the response and remind the contestant about their phrasing if the contestant forgets in the first Jeopardy! round, except on the Daily Double. Once DJ! rolls around, the responses will always be called wrong if not phrased as a question . [/quote]
That is what essentially did in David Siegel during the 1995 Tournament of Champions. He forgot to phrase a Daily Double response in game one of that tournament's finals, which was ultimately costly, because he wagered $800 on that Daily Double, and he lost to Ryan Holznagel by $1301. (Mark Dawson might have joined Siegel in misery in the last Tournament of Champions had Brian Weikle not miscalculated his Final Jeopardy wager in game 2 of the finals.) More recent examples, as I said in an earlier thread, include those mistakes of Anthony Trufilio and Heather Mock (Trufilio forgot to put a "What is" in front of "99% perspiration" in Thomas Edison's famous saying, and Heather forgot to do the same in front of 1999, the year the New York Yankees won the World Series before 2000), as well as a contestant who didn't say "What is" before "Old English" the first day the clue values were raised to their present levels in 2001 (not only did that mistake cost the contestant the game, it also cost him the chance to win the game after Double Jeopardy). I wonder if these players (including the ones mentioned earlier) still get needled about their mistakes to this very day, either in jest or maliciously, like Bill Buckner continues to get needled about his infamous 1986 World Series error.
-
I think I read somewhere that in the early seasons, you were counted wrong if your phrasing was wrong, even if it was in form of a question, like if you said "What is Thomas Jefferson?". Is this true?
-
[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Jul 8 2004, 09:02 PM\']Is this true?[/quote]
No. In the early days of the Fleming version, people had trouble with their phrasings, and Art kept asking them to rephrase the question until they got the phrasing right. After they felt it became tedious, they allowed it as long as the meat of the response was correct and it was in question form. This has always been the policy on the current version.
-
That guy who kept sticking out his tongue on a recent repeat of WOF. His bonus puzzle (phrase):
PROOF
POS-T--E
And then the poor people who solved SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR AND FREDDIE PRINZE JR, and kept saying "prince" (like the media says) instead of "prinze".
Brent
-
[quote name=\'gameshowsteve\' date=\'Jul 9 2004, 01:13 AM\'] They allowed it as long as the meat of the response was correct and it was in question form. This has always been the policy on the current version. [/quote]
There was an instance some time in the last few years where "Is it ____?" was accepted as an answer (I think there was quite a noisy round of laughter at that, which leads me to suspect it was a tournament or special week). I also think I remember a case where the correct response was a question in itself (a title, I believe) and accepted without any additional phrasing.
-
[quote name=\'rmfromfla\' date=\'Jul 8 2004, 06:24 PM\'] Quizzer,
The scores coming into FJ were:
Steve Willis (3x, $31K) 5,800 + 5,700 = 11,500
Nancy Smith 6,600 + 6,000 = 12,600
Gardner Stern 6,300 + 6,300 = 12,600
Hypothetically, in most situations, you play for the win instead of
taking a risk that when you come back on the next show, you could
be beaten by the player that you allowed to tie (or in this case,
both were beaten by the new player on the next show). [/quote]
rmfromfla,
Knowing that you've hung around the Jeopardy! forum, and reading Ronnie's recaps, I'm surprised that betting for the tie still seems odd to you as a concept. :-)
-
[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' date=\'Jul 9 2004, 11:46 PM\'] There was an instance some time in the last few years where "Is it ____?" was accepted as an answer (I think there was quite a noisy round of laughter at that, which leads me to suspect it was a tournament or special week). [/quote]
I am appalled by myself for never having thought of that before. Is there a rule as to how the "questions" must be phrased? For phrasing the answers as "Is it ___?" is, of course, answering in the form of a question, yet of course, no one answers with such questions....
-
I thought the most heartbreaking loss I have seen is 1985, Michael Freeman was going for all the prizes and a $72000 Jackpot on Sale of the Century, and was defeated by Alice Conkwright.
A lot of mixed reactions on that episode.
-
[quote name=\'BrentW\' date=\'Jul 9 2004, 03:02 PM\'] ...And then the poor people who solved SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR AND FREDDIE PRINZE JR, and kept saying "prince" (like the media says) instead of "prinze".
[/quote]
You've got the names reversed, but it doesn't really matter. I thought that was one of the worst puzzles in WOF history... you'd think SOMEBODY on the WOF staff would have known that was likely to happen and had the puzzle thrown out before it was ever used.
And then there's the lady who had FRANCIS FORD & SOFIA COPPOLA, and got gypped out of a car because they didn't like the way she pronounced "Coppola," even though the whole puzzle was showing and she read it without adding or changing any letters, she just used soft O sounds instead of hard O's.
I just hope the WOF staff is more careful with selecting their puzzles this year... last season there was a period where it seemed someone was getting the short end of the stick nearly every week, and it almost drove me to stop watching.
-
And then the poor people who solved SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR AND FREDDIE PRINZE JR, and kept saying "prince" (like the media says) instead of "prinze".
I thought "prince" was how it was pronounced...Prinze's late father said that he changed his surname from Pruetzel(sp?) to Prinze because "Bob Hope is already the king, but I will be the prince", spelling it w/a Z "to be unique".
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jul 10 2004, 11:38 AM\'] I thought "prince" was how it was pronounced...Prinze's late father said that he changed his surname from Pruetzel(sp?) to Prinze because "Bob Hope is already the king, but I will be the prince", spelling it w/a Z "to be unique".
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby") [/quote]
Well, I am quite sure that Freddie Prinze, Jr. pronounces it "Prinze." However, for those who think it should have been thrown out for the mispronunciation, remember that the "C" was already used up in Michelle, so that would rule it out as a possible choice in "Prin_e".
-
Another type of heartbreaker is missing your Showcase by exactly $100 during the "less than $100 DSW rule" era on TPIR.
-
Why? You still win big. I know if I went on, and I bid $251 off of the ARP of my showcase, I wouldn't be too dismayed.
-
Since when was this considered a heartbreaking loss?? You've won a showcase for crying out loud.
-
[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Jul 10 2004, 05:45 PM\'] Since when was this considered a heartbreaking loss?? You've won a showcase for crying out loud. [/quote]
We have a small contingency who seems to be under the impression that if someone doesn't win six cars / $50,000 / or any of a series of events designed to trigger a Curly Cry or protect your television from being thrown through the window, then they have failed, because it was available to them and they did not win it.
I have several creative names for this contingency, none of which I will share in this family forum. :)
-
It's simply knowing that you were so close to winning more that makes it heartbreaking. I mean, if you were $3515 away from your showcase, and won, you'd just be happy you won; you wouldn't think "oh, if only I had bid $x instead of $y." The focus is completely on the win, and none whatsoever on the possibility that the contestant could've won both showcases. But if you miss a Double Showcase Win by only a few dollars, then, even though you've won your showcase, you just feel "oh, why couldn't I just bid a couple dollars more?!" So yes, it is heartbreaking, even if the contestant does win, simply for being so close to having won more.
The situation is most evident in Millionaire. Specifically, a contestant walking away when they would've gotten the answer right if they had just gone on. All comes down to the simple question: "Would I feel worse if I answer the question and miss it, or if I walk away but would've had it right?"
-
[quote name=\'PPatters\' date=\'Jul 10 2004, 03:50 PM\'] Well, I am quite sure that Freddie Prinze, Jr. pronounces it "Prinze." However, for those who think it should have been thrown out for the mispronunciation, remember that the "C" was already used up in Michelle, so that would rule it out as a possible choice in "Prin_e". [/quote]
Agreed, but the "z" was showing. It's not like there was a question as to what letter was there. I agree with William. I always thought the Bible on WOF was as long as letters are not added or subtracted they will accept the pronunciation. I remember watching Mary what's-her-face on E.T. pronounce it "Prince" and I was like "what gives, WOF?"
I agree it should have been thrown out. And remember, it wasn't 1, but 2 teams (it was best friends week, I think) that tried to solve it, with the "z' showing. In fact I think the whole damn word was showing. And they still were being creeps about it. Finally the 3rd team said it like "prinzzzzzzzzzzzzzzze." :)
I also remember the whole "Copolla" thing, or however you spell it. She didn't add or subtract letters either, but still "BZZZZZZ!". I was pissed.
It pissed me off more because I remember one time where someone solved "SAINT LOUIS CARDINALS" as "SAINT LOUIE CARDINALS" and it was accepted correct. So they will take that, but they won't take "Prince."
Oy vey.
Last note: the puzzle where the contestant said "Is it...?": they said in response to Pat saying "Can you solve the puzzle?" or some such thing, and they said "Is it 'OH FIDDLESTICKS'?". They said they would take it since it was a natural grammatical response to Pat's question.
I think they make it up as they go along. :)
one more painful loss (I don't think it's been mentioned, but I'm too lazy to go back through all the posts): that one Million Dollar Spin on TPiR where the girl was literally like one millimeter away. I still can see that flipper just begging to flip over...
Brent
KEN JENNINGS RULES!!!!! :)
-
The only reason I can think of that being $100 away from a showcase price under the old rules would be depressing would be that if you're not listening closely, it could almost sound like you did win them both. It's sort of a goofy thing to bring up without including that, though.
-
[quote name=\'BrentW\' date=\'Jul 10 2004, 08:15 PM\'] one more painful loss (I don't think it's been mentioned, but I'm too lazy to go back through all the posts): that one Million Dollar Spin on TPiR where the girl was literally like one millimeter away. I still can see that flipper just begging to flip over... [/quote]
Oh yeah. I forget who it was who said "She could have sneezed on the wheel and won the million," but I think that sums it up.
And that Copolla incident is the most ridiculous thing ever. I've heard it pronounced "cuh-POH-lluh" MANY times.
-
I also remember the whole "Copolla" thing, or however you spell it. She didn't add or subtract letters either, but still "BZZZZZZ!". I was pissed.
Yeah, same here.
It pissed me off more because I remember one time where someone solved "SAINT LOUIS CARDINALS" as "SAINT LOUIE CARDINALS" and it was accepted correct. So they will take that, but they won't take "Prince."
On jumptheshark.com, one poster also discussed a time where a player pronounced the phrase "FRESH FROM YOUR GROCER'S SHELF" as "FRESH FROM YOUR GROSHER'S SHELF"...after deliberation, they decided to accept it as a "regional pronounciation", which seemed (IMO) like walking a thinner line than the Copolla heartbreaker.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
As for winning a showcase with a difference just short of the DSW, I would probably be upset for about a second or two...then run out to see my prizes up close. I'm good at forgetting the bad and remembering the good.
As for a real TPiR heartbreaker, on tpir.tv there is a clip of a woman named Terry bidding $2,200 on a showcase worth $2,230, for a difference of $30. Barker tells her that she'll win both showcases unless her opponent Susan is closer. Susan bid $4,700 on her showcase, and the ARP...$4,729, and a difference of only $29. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled for Susan, but could you imagine how Terry was feeling just then? Thinking you've won both showcases to realizing you've won NO showcases?
-
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jul 11 2004, 05:28 PM\'] On jumptheshark.com, one poster also discussed a time where a player pronounced the phrase "FRESH FROM YOUR GROCER'S SHELF" as "FRESH FROM YOUR GROSHER'S SHELF"...after deliberation, they decided to accept it as a "regional pronounciation", which seemed (IMO) like walking a thinner line than the Copolla heartbreaker. [/quote]
Um... as far as I've ever known, the word is pronounced "GROW-shur." With an "sh" sound for the c. I don't recall hearing it pronounced otherwise before....
...perhaps it's time I look for a TPiR playing of Grocery Game.
-
[quote name=\'Frank15\' date=\'Jul 12 2004, 04:22 AM\'] Um... as far as I've ever known, the word is pronounced "GROW-shur." With an "sh" sound for the c. [/quote]
And I guess that proves the judges' point, because that certainly isn't how we say it up here.
-
[quote name=\'Frank15\' date=\'Jul 10 2004, 09:08 PM\']The situation is most evident in Millionaire. Specifically, a contestant walking away when they would've gotten the answer right if they had just gone on. All comes down to the simple question: "Would I feel worse if I answer the question and miss it, or if I walk away but would've had it right?"[/quote]
Oh, come on! On Millionaire, if you walk away--even if you KNOW the next answer--you're usually still walking away with a decent amount of change. It's not all that heartbreaking...
-
As for a real TPiR heartbreaker, on tpir.tv there is a clip of a woman named Terry bidding $2,200 on a showcase worth $2,230, for a difference of $30. Barker tells her that she'll win both showcases unless her opponent Susan is closer. Susan bid $4,700 on her showcase, and the ARP...$4,729, and a difference of only $29. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled for Susan, but could you imagine how Terry was feeling just then? Thinking you've won both showcases to realizing you've won NO showcases?
That's one reason why if I had made it to the showcase, I wouldn't bet a "round figure". In other words, I'd probably bid something like $18,002 - just to try to sway the odds more in my favor if it were that close.
-
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jul 12 2004, 06:25 AM\'] That's one reason why if I had made it to the showcase, I wouldn't bet a "round figure". In other words, I'd probably bid something like $18,002 - just to try to sway the odds more in my favor if it were that close. [/quote]
And then you find out that the ARP was $18,001...:-P
-
[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' date=\'Jul 9 2004, 11:46 PM\'][quote name=\'gameshowsteve\' date=\'Jul 9 2004, 01:13 AM\'] They allowed it as long as the meat of the response was correct and it was in question form. This has always been the policy on the current version. [/quote]
There was an instance some time in the last few years where "Is it ____?" was accepted as an answer (I think there was quite a noisy round of laughter at that, which leads me to suspect it was a tournament or special week). I also think I remember a case where the correct response was a question in itself (a title, I believe) and accepted without any additional phrasing.[/quote]
And back in the Fleming days, on a celeb show Gene Shalit came up with his own question-phrasing that was out of the "who is/what is..." mold. When given a DD where he had to identify the song "Tenderly," his response was "Are they playing 'Tenderly?'" Accepted.
And as for Fleming, he generally in either round would accept someone who forgot, but would immediately say "please remember to phrase your response in the form of a question" or "please remember the form of response." If the contestant kept doing it, then they started penalizing--and in FJ!, his rule rundown always included "...you'll have 30 seconds to write down your question and *please* make sure it is in that form." It's only in the current version that it was set in stone that it's OK to forget in the first round, but not in DJ! or FJ!
-
A post-Hollywood Squares Jon Bauman had 25 seconds for the last word in Super Password and he said "Jack O'" and the contestant said "lantern" and was cheering for joy and then the illegal buzzer occured.
-
[quote name=\'tomobrien\' date=\'Jul 12 2004, 07:47 AM\'] [quote name=\'Frank15\' date=\'Jul 10 2004, 09:08 PM\']The situation is most evident in Millionaire. Specifically, a contestant walking away when they would've gotten the answer right if they had just gone on. All comes down to the simple question: "Would I feel worse if I answer the question and miss it, or if I walk away but would've had it right?"[/quote]
Oh, come on! On Millionaire, if you walk away--even if you KNOW the next answer--you're usually still walking away with a decent amount of change. It's not all that heartbreaking... [/quote]
Right. Even Tom himself had his head held up high after walking away with his half-mil, EVEN if he nailed his MDQ after walking. But still, Kudos on your big win, Tom.
-
A more recent heartbreaking loss came in the current Elizabeth Banks version of Press Your Luck in 2021 where a contestant won $0 in the main game and $0 in the bonus round:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQA5Va1jyyY
-
The WOF episodes where $1M was lost in the bonus round. That was heartbreaking, to say the least.
-
A more recent heartbreaking loss came in the current Elizabeth Banks version of Press Your Luck in 2021 where a contestant won $0 in the main game and $0 in the bonus round:
Last post in this thread was in 2004...and the reply this year is from an episode two years old.
We now have "BUMP of the Century! (https://imgur.com/a/AL6OhGM)"
-
Since the thread has been bumped, there is one correction that I wish to make from a reply way back, regarding Dawn McKellar’s loss on a 1984 episode of $ale of the Century.
While it is true she was playing for $99,000 that day and lost by only $2 in the main game, a bit of context.
Even if she overcame that $2 deficit at the buzzer, she would’ve still been a ways off from reaching the amount of money needed to purchase the cash jackpot, meaning that she could still take the car of that week and call it a run, or come back the next day for what would’ve been $100,000.
Not to diminish her reaction from losing the championship and a good shot at big money, but had she won, the obstacle would’ve still been in place, just pushed out a day later.
The Inquisitive One
-
Here's an episode of Make the Grade (Robb Edward Morris version) where one contestant stole a victory when a Fire Drill space was picked at the worst time possible (at the 11:37 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMovEjlARW8
-
Here's a heartbreaking bonus round loss from Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? (starts at the 23:25 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x7aGrp2dWA
-
Oof, couple of costly errors, though I think that demonstrates how merciless that end game was when compared to others of the era.
For the life of me I don’t remember anything about the episode other than a boy trying to make the final identification and he managed to separate the spinning light from the rest of the pedestal.
-
A more recent heartbreaking loss came in the current Elizabeth Banks version of Press Your Luck in 2021 where a contestant won $0 in the main game and $0 in the bonus round:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQA5Va1jyyY
Glutton for punishment that I am I want to see how the tiebreaker spin-off was carried out.
-
If I remember correctly, the other 2 contestants in the front game whammied out, so it was technically a solo $0 win.
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0hx-JA5bZM - Another close loss. Starts @ 21:28.
-
It may have been mentioned, but I seem to recall once on Wheel a woman had like $60,000 in her bank, the puzzle was THE THRILL OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT, and she either called a wrong letter or hit a Bankrupt or something, and the next player solved it for like a piddly $200.
Many heartbreaking losses on Grocery Game where players went over by 1 lousy cent too! UGH.
-
It may have been mentioned, but I seem to recall once on Wheel a woman had like $60,000 in her bank, the puzzle was THE THRILL OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT, and she either called a wrong letter or hit a Bankrupt or something, and the next player solved it for like a piddly $200.
First page.
-
Here's another Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? heartbreaker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRxy6hnWZXU
-
Here's a heartbreaking bonus round loss from Supermarket Sweep (starts at the 26:15 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czc6exnfsrc
-
On the UK side of things, a contestant on UK's version of Deal or No Deal got to the end with just the 1p and £250,000 boxes remaining. She was an older lady who got on the show and wanted to win enough money to buy a particular model of Bentley that had sentimental value to her, and only the £250K would have given her enough money to be able to buy it. The banker offered her £88,000, she said No Deal... and the subject of this thread is "Most heartbreaking losses" so you can fill in the rest.
-
As far as UK DoND goes, my vote goes to Trevor. He knocked out the £250k one box before the final offer, after never getting an offer over £10,000. He ended up with 1p.