25 Words or Less - General Discussion

[suebee12]

25 Words or Less is an American television game show based off the board game of the same name. Hosted by Meredith Vieira.

I caught this show because it replaced Do You Want to Be a Millionaire? Not the best of games but usually pretty fun depending on who the guess stars are. I have been amazed how many "stars" have been on that I have no idea who they are unless I have seen them on other game shows! They have had a lot of wrestlers on that I  have not a clue about since I have never watched wrestling! 

It is fun to watch someone get a word that you wouldn't think anyone would and other times when the easiest word is missed! Has anyone else been watching?

[853fisher]

I'm watching and enjoying it.  I appreciate that they make episodes available on YouTube: I often can't watch daytime syndicated games as I don't have TV anymore.  I've gotten through maybe the first ten shows so far and been impressed by the mix of guests, enjoyed the gameplay, and found the quality of contestants and celebrities to be a big improvement on the other current word game I've been watching, "$100K Pyramid."  Meredith is great as always.

The only change I would make is speeding up the bidding process.  Maybe a few moments to look at the words and make faces at one another, then a very short timer between bids or withdrawal.  It's usually not too overdone and has even struck me funny a few times, but in general I'm not interested in the good-spirited "trash talk" and long pauses in these sections.  Tightening this up could yield just a bit more gameplay, I think, even just a few more words.

[incandescent]

I watched an episode today where they changed the bidding format so the two clue-givers write down a bid and the lower bid gets to play the round. I thought it was a big improvement!

[Maverick]

 I just started watching this show due to being stuck at home.   The prizes seem to rival those of a company picnic raffle (a two night vacation to the Hilton San Diego, a toaster oven), but it's a suitable diversion.  It don't get the point of Meredith setting the opening bid.   She's always in the 20s and the final bid is always at least in the teens.   This just seems like wasted time.

[853fisher]

I'm also still enjoying this show!  In usual times, it's great for the train, but these days, I often watch it over the dishes or whatever.

 

The prizes are indeed relatively cheap.  I just got done watching another game show from the 80s with a $25K top prize and losers regularly departing with at least $1K, and with inflation it'd be over twice those figures today.  The excitement of the competition still works for me, though.  I'm a pretty easy sell on these shows, especially word games.

 

Trimming the fat on bids by having Meredith at least start lower sounds like a great idea to me.  I've wondered a few times whether she's really scanning the list and thinking "oh, yeah, 23 words" and I think I've decided that the writers probably assign a value to them.  Maybe they could mirror the three levels of the second round and do the first list easy starting at 16, the second list medium starting at 18, and the third list hard starting at 20.

 

A month or so ago on YouTube (not sure whether what they upload match what's airing on television, since the uploads sometimes seem inconsistently timed) they were showing episodes I think were from their tryout on a few stations before being picked up nationally.  Besides a few small tweaks overall, they had a fourth list in the first round, apparently at the expense of the cutesy "describe yourself in 25 words or less" bit.  I don't truthfully care who the contestants are as much as I like that extra list! 😉  But I get that almost all these shows have a short interview, and I think most people are interested, so never mind.

[Swenson]

Being home makes you run into shows you normally wouldn't see so that's how I came to check this out.  Feels kinda like Super Password melded into Celebrity Name Game.   I like Meredith.

[853fisher]

I'm still enjoying this show and wish it got a bit more attention.  The ratings are not bad: "Family Feud," "Wheel of Fortune," and "Jeopardy!" are the consistent top three among syndicated game shows, but "25 Words" has been consistently fourth recently.  I find it an easy and engaging 20 minutes while I work around the house and don't miss an episode.  I think it's great that they put all the shows on YouTube!

[rcc]

Always been a Meredith fan and I like this show.

[Ham On Wry]

On 4/1/2020 at 9:04 PM, Maverick said:

 I just started watching this show due to being stuck at home.   The prizes seem to rival those of a company picnic raffle (a two night vacation to the Hilton San Diego, a toaster oven), but it's a suitable diversion.  It don't get the point of Meredith setting the opening bid.   She's always in the 20s and the final bid is always at least in the teens.   This just seems like wasted time.

I agree about the bidding process and personally, I could do without all the smack talk and posturing that the celebs get so overly dramatic about. They try quite ridiculously to make it personal. Occasionally it seems as though the celebrities get so emotionally invested in winning the bid that they aren't really assessing themselves on their ability to enlighten their team. It's like macho chest beating. And they're putting the contestants' money where their mouth is. I find it laughable whenever someone folds with 15 or more words. Last night I was watching an old Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour from 1983 or thereabouts and their consolation prize was $300, so that really put 25 Words in perspective!

[rcc]

Not a big fan of the bidding either. Some celebrities are obnoxious, some funny. 

[gsnrocks92]

The 2nd season will have Meredith hosting remotely from her home. The set is so small it would have been hard to work around COVID restrictions so they decided this would be the best option.

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/game-show-host-meredith-vieira-shares-memories-of-regis-philbin

Edited August 7, 2020 by gsnrocks92

[Maverick]

2 hours ago, Ham On Wry said:

Last night I was watching an old Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour from 1983 or thereabouts and their consolation prize was $300, so that really put 25 Words in perspective!

 "One of you is going home with a blender!"  I lol at that every time.   He says it with enthusiasm.   All I can think it, you get a better gift for applying for credit card.

 I'm glad there will be a second season, but I think could have enlarged the set a little bit and put up some dividers.   I'm really tired of Zoom shows but I guess it's better than nothing.

[Jaded]

5 hours ago, Maverick said:

 "One of you is going home with a blender!"  I lol at that every time.   He says it with enthusiasm.   All I can think it, you get a better gift for applying for credit card.

 I'm glad there will be a second season, but I think could have enlarged the set a little bit and put up some dividers.   I'm really tired of Zoom shows but I guess it's better than nothing.

Meredith's husband has multiple sclerosis and other issues that make him at high risk to catch COVID. They live near NY City in NY State so I wouldn't blame her if she said she wouldn't come back to CA to film the show right now.

Edited August 8, 2020 by Jaded

[Maverick]

 The shows airing this week have the fourth preliminary round and it's much better   You can tell they edit out a lot of the bidding and not having the introduce yourself segment is SO much better.   According to TIVO, these originally aired in March toward the end of the season but I guess they're actually pilot/initial episodes.   It's a shame because it's flows so much better.  Another change is there's a different (American) announcer.  He doesn't sound nearly as excited about those blenders and toaster ovens as the Irish guy does.   Other differences include the last two preliminary rounds being worth 500 and getting to pick who gives the clues in the final round as opposed to it being mandatory the contestant has to.

[rcc]

I like the new format due to Covid. I knew it had to change with all the hugging and carrying on that went on when the team won. Good job by Meredith and the other producers for finding a way to continue this show.

[gsnrocks92]

Caught some of the show this morning, it switched from afternoons to mornings on a different station in my market. The format is pretty much the same aside from being on Zoom and having an at home player who wins $1,000 if the studio contestant wins $10,000. People are probably burnt out on Zoom shows by now but it’s good they were able to keep it going, hopefully it will get back to in studio in the future.

[Maverick]

 Please stop directing the celebrities to dance while wearing the headphones.  Cringy.

 Somehow I missed all the contestants are on set and it's just Meredith dialing in.  I am sick of Zoom shows but I'm not sure this fact makes me not count this in the Zoom category. 

[BobH]

I'm kind of surprised by how much I like this show. I hadn't heard about it until a few weeks ago when Jen Kirkman mentioned taping some episodes on her podcast, so I looked it up, recorded a few and thought it was pretty good. Then I found out they had full episodes on Youtube, and the other day I wasn't feeling well spent the whole day in bed and wound up watching over a dozen episodes and have watched three or four a day since.  They're great on Youtube, I can speed up the playback to 150% during slow parts (especially the bidding), I usually completely skip the part where the contestants pick their words for the final round (and sometimes cover the bottom of the screen so I can play along), so in all an episode takes about 13-15 minutes to watch.

I think I prefer the remotely shot second season a bit more than the first. You do lose some energy, but it also seems to help the actors stay focused and not be as obsessed with chewing the scenery.

Have to say, it bugs me a little when so many people give clues like "opposite night" or "not night". It's just a waste of a word in most cases.  If you give a clue of "night", 90% chance they'll say "day" (especially if you say it with a question in your voice, or with a slight head shake), and you'll have an extra word for the harder ones. If they don't say "day" right away, then say "opposite".

The judges are pretty generous on some of the things they let go. If I was running a password game, no way would I allow "nothing on feet" for "barefoot".

[Maverick]

 I actually think they can bee strict sometimes.   One time the word was Valentine's Day and the player gave the clue "February Holiday" and they were buzzed out because they said part of the word.  

[BobH]

Yeah, every now and then I've noticed an overly strict one (I thought not allowing "crime" as a clue for "CSI" was borderline) but on balance I think they've allowed more that wouldn't have flown on classic Pyramid or Password.

[rcc]

John Salley is not good at this game.

[Jaded]

I don't know what to think of the team changes that seem to be happening in the 3rd season. They seem to be back in the studio though.
 

Quote

The biggest immediate change is to the team composition. Starting this September teams will be two contestant partners and one celebrity. Previously it was one contestant and two celebrities. The show has been casting and interviewing pairs of contestants rather than just individuals.

Source: Buzzer Blog

[Glitches]

On 6/4/2021 at 12:07 PM, rcc said:

John Salley is not good at this game.

I wonder where we can check the game stats as to celebrity contestants? Sometimes I think a celebrity is really good at this game and then I notice that they really aren’t.

[rcc]

11 hours ago, Glitches said:

I wonder where we can check the game stats as to celebrity contestants? Sometimes I think a celebrity is really good at this game and then I notice that they really aren’t.

Melissa Peterman would win I think. 

[BobH]

Not sure about the show changes.  Two person teams with one celebrity, celebrities doing clues in the round where you pick your own board and returning champions.  That last bit might be the most trouble, since this seems like a game where getting some live experience is a big advantage, so an already good team with a few games under their belt might be unstoppable.  Don’t know if they’ve said if there’s a limit on wins, like Jeopardy used to have.

[Maverick]

 I'm not wild about the changes either.  I think I'm most thrown by the one celebrity per team.   

[rcc]

Wonder why only 2 celebrities this year.

[Maverick]

 Cost, mostly likely.   Celebrities get paid, contestants are on for free.  

[Jaded]

In my area The Peoples Court has taken 25 Words or Less's timeslot a rerun or infomercial would come on for the last 30 min of the hour. Some talk show called The Lee & Haley Show took TPC's slot so it got moved hence it moving to this show's old one. I don't see it in the guide as airing on any other channel.

Even though there will be partners and a single celeb on each team the money prize is staying at $10,000. So winners will actually get less because the amount will be split between two people.

Edited September 26, 2021 by Jaded

[Wavy]

The consolation prize is a copy of the board game?  Wow.

[bigmag]

It's not showing in the Phoenix area anymore.  I plopped down in front of the TV at 4pm yesterday for my regular mid-day break of 25 Words or Less and low and behold they were showing stupid Judge Judy.  The online TV listing doesn't list any showings in the PHX area in the future.  DAMN!  Although I wasn't crazy about the changes for the new season I was sick of reruns from the earlier seasons for the 47th time and was looking forward to new.

UPDATE: Just found it in Phx on Channel 10 (Fox) at 1pm. Yay!

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by bigmag

[Jaded]

After disappearing for a week the show has popped up on the local CW channel this past week. I actually get that channel now with Youtube TV. When I had Uverse they never picked up the local CW after CableOne/Sparklight gave up their rights to. Uverse hated picking up subchannels unless absolutely forced to so they didn't care if this area lost access to a network.  Not having a CW channel to watch for 7 or 8 years was frustrating at times. I guess it saved me from getting sucked into even more TV shows to easily. Most of their primetime shows I had wanted to see came and went during that time.

[Jaded]

Never Mind

Edited September 29, 2021 by Jaded

[Maverick]

 Yeah, this show is having budget issues.  The consolation prizes were always laughable ("One of you is going home with a blender!!")  But the home game is now the only consolation prize?  Seriously?   That's borderline insulting.   And the at home player on the losing side gets nothing where they used to get a $100 gift card.   On the winning side, there's no longer a consolation trip or $100 gift card for the at home player if they don't win the final round.   If the show gets any cheaper, the contestants will owe money.

[Maverick]

 Yeah Meredith's trying really hard to sell those board games as something to get excited about.  

 

[rcc]

Do not like the new format. Why Meredith!

[Glitches]

On 9/29/2021 at 2:36 PM, Maverick said:

Yeah, this show is having budget issues. 

Seems like someone is working hard to get this show canceled. Bouncing timeslots – not a good thing for longevity. 

[rcc]

Is this a game show or QVC! Now Meredith with a straight face has "deals" for the audience to buy. Unbelievable!

[Wavy]

Noticed they improved the parting gifts a little.

[Fellaway]

They've just started airing this show, from the beginning, I believe, on GSN. One of today's contestants, Brandon, looked so familiar to me, more familiar then three of the "celebrities" but I can't place him, of course. I figure he was on another game show. Anyone else find him familiar, perhaps?

[Jaded]

16 hours ago, Fellaway said:

They've just started airing this show, from the beginning, I believe, on GSN. One of today's contestants, Brandon, looked so familiar to me, more familiar then three of the "celebrities" but I can't place him, of course. I figure he was on another game show. Anyone else find him familiar, perhaps?

I think I found the episode your mentioning. He does look familiar. I couldn't find anything about him online though even trying to use the scant personal details shared on the show. I like to watch Buzzr which shows older Freemantle owned game shows and back before internet times I've been surprised at how many shows had contestants say their last names. It has allowed me to look up some of them that I wondered about to see what happened to them after appearing on whatever show.
 

 

[Fellaway]

Yep, that's the ep. I even rewatched it on Tubi in hopes they'd say his last name, but alas...

I'm leaning towards having seen him on another game show. There was a girl contestant on 25 Words or Less that I remember from Idiotest. Jonathan, from Masterminds, I've seen on Cash Cab and The Chase, as well as Muffy on the latter, and several The Chase contestants were on Jeopardy. Just saw a girl on People Puzzler that was on Idiotest. (Hm, I seem to watch a lot of game shows.) I guess it's not uncommon for some folks to make the rounds.

At this point, I'm wondering if I saw him on Idiotest. It was just funny how he leaped out to me as familiar, while three of the celebrities were completely unknown to me. 

[hiisa]

Meredith stresses me tf out watching this. Constantly muttering hurry!hurry! X words left, hurry! Obviously they need to know how many words left they have but good night, lady. Stop it!

Shut up! 

[rcc]

My favorite celebrity duo is Melissa and Colton. Re-watched reruns the past 2 days.

[Jaded]

3 hours ago, hiisa said:

Meredith stresses me tf out watching this. Constantly muttering hurry!hurry! X words left, hurry! Obviously they need to know how many words left they have but good night, lady. Stop it!

Shut up! 

While watching the old episodes of Supermarket Sweep on Buzzr they have a part where a contestant has to run out into the store to find an item within 30 seconds. If they get it back to the host within 20 seconds they get an additional bonus. I bring it up because while the person is usually running around like a chicken with their head cut off looking for said item viewers hear the host and usually the contestants partner yelling "hurry" multiple times. I realize I'm watching episodes that are decades old at this point but hearing the yelling like that stresses me out too. I always wonder if the person running around the store could hear it all as well as viewers could.

The older episodes of 25 Words or Less are so much better then episodes with the changes they've made the past couple seasons.

[Fellaway]

On 4/20/2022 at 9:09 PM, Fellaway said:

They've just started airing this show, from the beginning, I believe, on GSN. One of today's contestants, Brandon, looked so familiar to me, more familiar then three of the "celebrities" but I can't place him, of course. I figure he was on another game show. Anyone else find him familiar, perhaps?

Answering myself here. I'm pretty sure I first saw Brandon on Idiotest, but I know for sure I saw him on Chain Reaction today, not a show I normally watch. I guess making the game show circuit is as good a side hustle as any other.

[mostlylurking]

I’ve only started watching the show this season as it coincides with my daughters lunch and we watch it together.  I don’t know what it was like before but I really enjoy it now.  We even signed up to be super fans, ha!  I love Melissa and Shanola, although I didn’t know her from anywhere.  I also like Colton.  Rick Fox always says the word and gets so mad at himself, that’s pretty funny.

The prizes are ok.  On the board game cover Meredith is airbrushed to within an inch of her life which is ridiculous.  God forbid a woman age.

[mostlylurking]

Does anyone know when or if the show is coming back?  I read somewhere the season was supposed to start September 12 but I can’t find it anywhere.

[rcc]

I couldn't find it yesterday at it's usual time. So I went to the website today and it has a "where to watch" function and I find in my area a different time and different local station. 

[Glitches]

I am curious as to how/if this show was r its fans keep and publish stats on the celebrity guests’ abilities. I would appreciate if anyone can provide a link.