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We've been talking about TPiR set pieces that haven't changed in over 30 years, and Family Feud's revamped set for the '06 season, and all that talk is making me wonder: what's the motive for new or revised game show sets? Is it the wear and tear of transport and storage that takes its toll? Do the producers feel it's good to freshen things up once in a while? Or is it strictly eye candy for the hell of it?
Now that I've asked that, here's another question: what are some of the most extreme makeovers you remember for game show sets? Changes from one version of the show to another don't count, of course. First one I can think of is the 1985 TTD set, which was so radical even the host was replaced. And to a lesser extent, the Joker's Wild set with the mirrored "Face The Devil" audience section.
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Jeopardy definitely has had drastic changes made to it's set. I hated that sushi bar motif; it really shrunk the set.
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When I was a kid, I took a set change as a hint that the show wouldn't be there much longer. Marshall Squares, Password '75, ABC Pyramid, Blyden WML, Garagiola $ale, etc.
Maybe the intent was to stir up interest in an old show, but it usually ended up as a precursor to cancellation.
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[quote name=\'jmangin\' date=\'Sep 9 2005, 05:18 PM\']Jeopardy definitely has had drastic changes made to it's set. I hated that sushi bar motif; it really shrunk the set.
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And I hate the current set. A whole bunch of random squares hanging from the rafters doesn't cut it for me, esp. on a show like Jeopardy...wish they'd go back to something like the checkerboard set (91-96).
Most drastic...to a lesser extent, I'd say Wheel, with the new puzzleboard, and video wall replacing the red/yellow/blue backdrops.
Honorable mention: Wheel going from the disco tiles to the sunshine backdrops.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Sep 9 2005, 05:30 PM\'][quote name=\'jmangin\' date=\'Sep 9 2005, 05:18 PM\']Jeopardy definitely has had drastic changes made to it's set. I hated that sushi bar motif; it really shrunk the set.
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And I hate the current set. A whole bunch of random squares hanging from the rafters doesn't cut it for me, esp. on a show like Jeopardy...wish they'd go back to something like the checkerboard set (91-96).
Most drastic...to a lesser extent, I'd say Wheel, with the new puzzleboard, and video wall replacing the red/yellow/blue backdrops.
Honorable mention: Wheel going from the disco tiles to the sunshine backdrops.
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JEOPARDY's '80s set looked good in a wide-angle shot, but not in close-ups. The "Sushi bar" set looked bland, as for the present-day set...WHAT THE %^@&!! The '91-'96 set is THE definative JEOPARDY set of the Trebek era.
If you saw WHEEL OF FORTUNE's Las Vegas set, you've seen the show's best set since the mid-'90s.
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Sep 9 2005, 05:20 PM\']When I was a kid, I took a set change as a hint that the show wouldn't be there much longer. Marshall Squares, Password '75, ABC Pyramid, Blyden WML, Garagiola $ale, etc.
Maybe the intent was to stir up interest in an old show, but it usually ended up as a precursor to cancellation.
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That's pretty much what I was thinking (although the Password change was necessary when the format of the show changed). Pyramid's change was gradual and lasted awhile (it's almost as if Bob Stewart said one day, "Oh my God, I forgot all my sets have to be blue!").
The Garagiola Sale set change also came from a format change (three solo players to two couples, a la Gambit), but it was pretty radical. I remember tuning in one day and wondering what the hell had happened.
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OH GOD I hate me tooing but I'll also agree on too many changes can lead to cancelation. as I've seen in many gameshows . But with this era's "So 5 minutes ago " lifestyle, it maybe make or break.
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Sep 9 2005, 05:20 PM\']Marshall Squares
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Oh, goodness yes, that was an ugly one.
The Family Feud overhaul for the vintage season of 1994-95 when Richard retook the hosting job stands out as well.
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I remember a set change on the original (NBC) "Match Game". The original set was almost entirely wood and (what was it?) burlap ... a very beautiful set, but made for black-and-white. So in '67 or '68, a brand-new set, which functioned like the old one, was introduced. All pastels and bright colors.
There are lots of pics out there of the original MG6x set ... but haven't seen the color set since it was broadcast.
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Set changes on revivals seem to want to stress how 'we are new & improved.' Good examples are the late Sixties syndicated 'To Tell the Truth' and 'What's My Line.'
From what you can gather on the 'E!' special, the the '99 'Feud' set was meant to convey this. All I saw was how 'we are cheaper and inferior' the original.
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[quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Sep 10 2005, 07:14 PM\']Set changes on revivals seem to want to stress how 'we are new & improved.' Good examples are the late Sixties syndicated 'To Tell the Truth' and 'What's My Line.'[/quote]
If you read the post directly above yours, you'll find a real good reason why TTTT and WML had such different sets. It likely had to do with more people having color TVs than each show trying to appear "new and improved". Look how basic the sets of TTTT and WML looked from premiere until the end of each of their respective first runs, both of which happened around 1967-8. Compare those sets with the vibrant sets of the revivals a year or two later.
From what you can gather on the 'E!' special, the the '99 'Feud' set was meant to convey this. All I saw was how 'we are cheaper and inferior' the original.
Uh-huh.
IMO, the 1999 Feud set was incorporating technology that wasn't available 20 years earlier, plus I couldn't see the Hatfield/McCoy-type set working well nowadays unless there was some pizzazz incorporated, even if it means tons of glass block like in 1994.
After seeing 100 Mexicanos Dijeron for the first time, I told Jason Hernandez that 100MD's set would be perfect for our Feud--current technology, incorporating some facets of previous versions of Feud, but the set as a whole isn't a monstrosity in shades of yellow, brown, and blue. (The best pix I could find of the 100 Mexicanos Dijeron set are here (http://\"http://www.kokai.com.mx/Foto_Nuevo2.htm\").)
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[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Sep 10 2005, 06:44 PM\'](The best pix I could find of the 100 Mexicanos Dijeron set are here (http://\"http://www.kokai.com.mx/Foto_Nuevo2.htm\").)
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The second picture is, in my opinion, one of the best set pictures I've seen.
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I agree about the second picture, but I'd say that any color scheme is better than no color scheme at all.
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[quote name=\'Monarx\' date=\'Sep 10 2005, 05:09 PM\']The second picture is, in my opinion, one of the best set pictures I've seen.
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I have some questions for someone who has seen this thing (we don't get Telefutura in Seattle):
1) Do they use the same gameboard software we do? I see no reason why they wouldn't, but there's no game-in-progress picture to confirm it.
2) Do the lights surrounding the board just flash in a single pattern, or are they used as "who buzzed in" / "who won the bank/game" indicators, as they were on the Dawson and Combs versions?
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I have seen it. Boardwise, it looks like "Fortunes", in that it uses that program's version of the Ferranti-Packer instead of the board we see.
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[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Sep 10 2005, 08:23 PM\']I have seen it. Boardwise, it looks like "Fortunes", in that it uses that program's version of the Ferranti-Packer instead of the board we see.
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So what was that spiffy video screen used in the linked pictures? It might have used a Ferranti-Packer on the old set, but that doesn't look like the very first pictures I saw of the show, that looks like an updated set.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Sep 10 2005, 10:57 PM\'][quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Sep 10 2005, 08:23 PM\']I have seen it. Boardwise, it looks like "Fortunes", in that it uses that program's version of the Ferranti-Packer instead of the board we see.
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So what was that spiffy video screen used in the linked pictures? It might have used a Ferranti-Packer on the old set, but that doesn't look like the very first pictures I saw of the show, that looks like an updated set.
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The linked page above indicates that the board is made up of LEDs, so I'm guessing there was an assumption made about a matrix of green dots on black.
By the way, those images show the previous set. About the only things that didn't appear to have been redone from scratch when the change was made are the set piece with the game board, which had the outer border replaced and the areas around the board repainted, and the face-off podium. The main colors are a light purple mixed with red on one side and blue on the other. It's a great set, but, unfortunately, wouldn't work in the States with the way sets have been done since Millionaire came out, not to mention that I can no more easily picture Richard Karn hosting on the 100MD set than Marco Antonio Regil hosting on the Jimmy Cuomo set.
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The red and orange lights along the rim of the board flash randomly during the course of the game.
The lights inside of those only flash when a family wins a round. Those lights flash in the same pattern as our Dawson/Combs sets, but the pattern is so quick that it could cause seizures worse than the ones on Japanese cartoons (Watch the Simpsons episode where they go to Japan if you don't know what I'm talking about). Also, each family's podium and stairs are illuminated, so they flash on and off when a family wins a round.
There are chase lights on the stairs up to the main stage (you'll only get a good look at them if you watch the opening or closing.)
By the way, the outline of their gameboard looks just like it was copied from the first Feud computer game. Has anybody else noticed this?
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Do you ever find yourself liking a game show's revamped set, then later wishing they hadn't changed it at all?
In 1978 when the "Match Game" set was redone, I really liked the blue. Now, when I watch GSN reruns of the show, I must say I like the original 1973-78 set better.
I think in "Match Game's" case, the changes were done to "freshen things up a bit". Although the ratings had dropped by then, they were still decent in mid-78. I guess they figured once in a while a show can use a slightly different look.
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[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Sep 11 2005, 06:15 PM\']Do you ever find yourself liking a game show's revamped set, then later wishing they hadn't changed it at all?[/quote]
I liked the new Wheel puzzleboard from 1997, but now I think it defeats the purpose of Vanna, even if it is a technology upgrade.
In 1978 when the "Match Game" set was redone, I really liked the blue. Now, when I watch GSN reruns of the show, I must say I like the original 1973-78 set better.
I think for me, it's a reminder of what was to come with Richard's departure.
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In hindsight, it seems that the 70s "SOTC" set change was not just for adjusting to the change of format, but also so they could have a set that they could put in any studio at 30 Rock, not just 8H. It sure looked a lot smaller than the original set--and I even wonder if they moved out the podia for the sale presentation?
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From what you can gather on the 'E!' special, the the '99 'Feud' set was meant to convey this. All I saw was how 'we are cheaper and inferior' the original.
Yes, you are correct!
The same can be said about the abysmal MG '98 as well!
Did anyone catch the quick set changes on MG '98 as well? Notice how in the first half of that run, it had like an abundance of yellow, orange, blue, and some pink in the set. Then in the second half, they have mostly blue, pink, and now gold, along w/ smaller chasing lights.
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TTTT '69-'78. They went from loud psychedelic to blue, b/c maybe people realized that psychedelia was dying from a slow, painful, agonizing death of...Lepraseed (w/ 2 echoes following) Lepraseed, Lepraseed.
It's just a thought.
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[quote name=\'megamanj1986\' date=\'Sep 23 2005, 10:44 AM\']Lepraseed (w/ 2 echoes following) Lepraseed, Lepraseed.
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What. The. HELL.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Sep 23 2005, 01:05 PM\'][quote name=\'megamanj1986\' date=\'Sep 23 2005, 10:44 AM\']Lepraseed (w/ 2 echoes following) Lepraseed, Lepraseed.
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What. The. HELL.
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Leprosy?
Cripes , if you're going to butcher the language just to make a REALLY out there reference, then please, at least spell it correctly.
(And yes, it does warrant a "WOW".)
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I remember when Kevin talked to us at GSC9, he said that CBS ordered them to redo the set of MG 98. He said he hated the idea because changing the set meant changing the opening. I guess they couldn't redo the same opening with the new set. (I have to admit that the original opening was more interesting than seeing the host entrance open a few times.) It's too bad that they didn't take full advantage of changing the set by adding a spot for a 6th celebrity. Another thing Kevin said that was if MG had been renewed, it would've been revamped to something closer to the 70s format with 6 celebs, and they were also aware of the repetitive nature of the questions (They had either a Clinton or male anatomy question every other show!) and they were going to change that as well.
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Kinda makes you wonder that everyone, including the suits at CBS, knew the show sucked, except for Kevin. Where were the suits before the show premiered?
Waiting till a renewal to 'attempt' to make the show better, has got to be one of the worse business tactics i've ever heard of.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Sep 24 2005, 08:14 AM\']Kinda makes you wonder that everyone, including the suits at CBS, knew the show sucked, except for Kevin. Where were the suits before the show premiered?
Waiting till a renewal to 'attempt' to make the show better, has got to be one of the worse business tactics i've ever heard of.
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Dumb question, but was there even a pilot for MG98? (I'm not counting the one with Charlene Tilton) I know Feud, Truth00, and CS01 got one, but never remembered reading one for MG98. If so, and they didn't realize the flaws after pilot, then they had what was coming.
Then again, CS01 got a pilot, they changed stuff, and the show STILL sucked. (shrug)
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Waiting till a renewal to 'attempt' to make the show better, has got to be one of the worse business tactics i've ever heard of.
Mark Goodson was scheduled to pop out of his grave if the show had been renewed for a second season. He would have straightened everything out.
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[quote name=\'whewfan\' date=\'Sep 24 2005, 04:43 AM\']Another thing Kevin said that was if MG had been renewed, it would've been revamped to something closer to the 70s format with 6 celebs, and they were also aware of the repetitive nature of the questions (They had either a Clinton or male anatomy question every other show!) and they were going to change that as well.
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Should have done it "right" the first time, or at least by mid season--the ratings had to be in the tanker by then...
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[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Sep 24 2005, 09:13 PM\'][quote name=\'whewfan\' date=\'Sep 24 2005, 04:43 AM\']Another thing Kevin said that was if MG had been renewed, it would've been revamped to something closer to the 70s format with 6 celebs, and they were also aware of the repetitive nature of the questions (They had either a Clinton or male anatomy question every other show!) and they were going to change that as well.
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Should have done it "right" the first time, or at least by mid season--the ratings had to be in the tanker by then...
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They didn't have a mid-season--the 100 or so episodes ran out by February and they never went back into production to finish out the season. Most stations had dropped it or moved it into the dead slots by that time, anyway.