I like the new format. Since this show does not have returning champions, I like the fact there's something else to play for if you win the game. It's prime time, so you need to raise the stakes, it seems. The bonus game does that.
As for the Wednesday night, June 12, episode: It was a fun game with a classic duel at the end to determine the champion. The winner went to the bonus round, where the level of drama wasn't as high as the first show. It was fun to watch. I like the show.
One side observation about the contestants, and seemingly every contestant on prime time games. Why are the contestants told to wave their arms, bounce around, dance and/or gyrate? I get that some people are excited. Some people can't contain their enthusiasm. But when every contestant seems to be playing to the camera, it feels so artificial. Again, I'm sure I'm the only person who is bothered by it.
As for the early reviews of PYL, many of which I read via threads on Facebook, as I don't belong to a game show forum: The reviews of Banks as host are mixed. Some people claimed she was great. Some said they didn't like her. Nobody explained why they felt that way.
As for the new bonus game, some folks think it is too long and is too drawn out. Some people want two 30-minute games packaged into an hour of TV. One person suggested that the bonus game could be the basis for the show.
Other comments: The game play in the bonus game is akin to Deal or No Deal. You're trying to cash out at the best time, beating the house. But there's no competition in the bonus game.
Not many people professed a love of the bonus game, but several think it's too much. I'm not sure if they're going to boycott the show because of it, but my suggestion, if you find the bonus game to be an agonizing waste of your time, is to watch the main game and turn off the TV when there's a winner. Your problem is solved, and your life is better for it.
One petty gripe: Drop the claim that PYL is "television's most competitive game." I'm not sure why that was brilliant back in the 1980s, but it's lame, and it's lame today.
I watched the debut of the new Card Sharks, as well, on Wednesday. It's OK.
I have few complaints. I didn't think host Joel McHale was outstanding, but he didn't oversell his comedy routine while hosting, which I assumed he would do. He didn't yell like a high school cheerleader, which I greatly appreciated. My only criticism of his hosting is that he seemed a bit sedated. I don't need him to yell and dance, a la Banks, but I didn't sense he was punctuating the high points of the game all that well.
Ultimately, of all the hosts of ABC's six prime time game shows, he's the best. Easily.
As for the game play, having the contestants play one mega-game for a chance at the "money cards," which I don't think they referred to the bonus game as, is a bit slow and tedious. The format is otherwise familiar: Contestants answer survey questions, mostly, and whomever is correct controls the board and earns the perks that go with that. I expected "naughty" questions, because that's what today's viewers want, allegedly. But the questions avoided sexually suggestive content, and that was nice to see.
The show's game play is clunky. When the "models" have to "change that card," they look awkward concealing the new card until they're ready to turn it over at the game board. It's a minor quibble, but the card flow is awkward.
The bonus game is rather close to the late 1970s/early 1980s version of the "money cards," but with minor changes I won't detail here. For some silly reason the players use giant poker chips to represent their bets. That's unnecessary, and silly.
Since the winner of the main game wins $10,000, he or she starts the bonus game with $10,000 in chips. If I did the math right, you could earn a maximum of $1.28 million in the bonus game. It will be interesting to see if anyone cashes for more more than $500,000 in the bonus game. With good luck and a little risk tolerance, I could see it happening.
It's unclear if the champion goes home with $10,000 even if he or she busts out during the bonus game. One contestant did that during the premiere.
Like other ABC prime time games, the show is ready made for splitting into independent, half-hour episodes.
I don't find the basic format of Card Sharks all that entertaining. Yeah, I can play along with the contestants during the survey questions they answer, and decide how I'd call the next card on their board, but that has never captivated me. I'll certainly watch McHale's Card Sharks again. It's unlikely I'll see an episode of Pyramid this summer. And there's no chance I'll be watching Celebrity Family Feud. The only reason I'd sit through an hour of Match Game, which I haven't enjoyed since its return, is if there's a fringe celebrity that I really want to see. And there are few of those.
Speaking of Match Game, I watched the first half of Wednesday night's episode, and that was enough. The humor is lacking, the questions aren't clever, or funny and the celebrities aren't very entertaining. I can't say that the show lacks star power, I'm no authority on today's crop of celebrities, but I didn't even know a thing about three, and perhaps four, of the six celebrity panelists. Of the two I knew, only one was truly noteworthy, and that was Jason Alexander. And he hasn't exactly been dazzling the masses in the 20 years since Seinfeld went off the air. Yep, his claim to fame has been wrapped up for two decades. But I gotta hand it to him, he doesn't look like he has aged much.
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