As far as I can tell, "Take It All" was not a direct adaptation of a British format, although the "Prisoner's Dilemma" gambit is or has been used by a British game show (and by GSN's old "Friend or Foe?", which was uncomfortable enough with the low stakes cable jackpots, despite the fact that Lisa Kennedy Montgomery tried to keep things relatively light). I would say that the craziness was thinking that Secret Santa could be turned into an hour-long game show.
Mark Jeffries Saints Spotlight Editor spotligh...@gmail.com On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 4:33 PM, Kevin M. <drunkbastar...@gmail.com> wrote: > When I was in college in the mid 1990s, CBS did a "special" series of > prime-time installments of "The Price is Right." The only difference > between the nighttime show and the usual version were slightly bigger > showcases, and Bob Barker wore a tuxedo. No celebrities... no false > sense of tension... just a fun show. For many of my college friends > and I, it was appointment TV. For that matter, so was "Where In The > World Is Carmen Sandiego?"... one of my roommates and I used to > schedule our classes and our work schedule so we could watch Carmen on > our lunchbreaks. > > One of my favorite shows of all time continues to be "The Match Game," > reruns of which I continue to watch regularly. The problem is that > gameshows got too elaborate. Even a simple premise like "WWTBAM?" > contained so many melodramatic lighting and music cues that it was > unwatchable. Two years ago when I started teaching game-design > students the basics of the industry, I began by asking them what the > most profitable game of 2011 was. Some would list the latest Grand > Theft, others WoW or Arkham Asylum, then I'd reveal it was Angry > Birds. Angry Birds was developed for less than $100k and made over > $300 million in its debut year. Other games made that much, but their > development costs were prohibitively more, and their licensing and > marketing budgets through the roof. A simple premise that is fun CAN > work. But network brass really likes the idea of overly glitzed, > overly complex showpieces that make their network a bright shiny > object they can stare at. > > Mandel's latest show, based on a UK series, was doomed from the start > because, to succeed, you have to exhibit the very worst aspects of > humanity. And viewers want to root for people to win on game shows. > The show might as well have been hosted by that mentally defective > jackass who hosts "The Apprentice." > > I would like to see fun game shows rise again; they are certainly > better than reality TV, and most are genuinely family friendly. > > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > > -- > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
