The Chase (2021) - General Discussion

[30 Helens]

Buzzy annoyed the crap out of me on Jeopardy, so I’m glad to say that I found him perfectly enjoyable here. Maybe this is just a better venue for him. Or maybe he’s learned to not try so hard to be entertaining. Either way, I vote he can stay. I liked his generosity of spirit towards the contestants, even though it subverts the Ruthless Chaser persona.

I haven’t formed a real opinion about either of the other two newbies yet. Don’t like, don’t dislike. I agree they won’t be cut in favor of keeping only the 3 white males, but there are other non-white-male options if the show wants to substitute. I still think Amy Schneider (transgender Jeopardy champ) would make a great choice. 

[Prairie Rose]

8 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

Buzzy annoyed the crap out of me on Jeopardy, so I’m glad to say that I found him perfectly enjoyable here. Maybe this is just a better venue for him. Or maybe he’s learned to not try so hard to be entertaining. Either way, I vote he can stay. I liked his generosity of spirit towards the contestants, even though it subverts the Ruthless Chaser persona.

He annoyed me as well when he was a J! contestant, but I did like his turn as guest host last year during the ToC. That's where my dad became a fan. I've tried to get my parents into The Chase as I've been a fan since the GSN version. It's not really their cup of tea, but they watched for Buzzy. Maybe I can get them to watch again next time he's on.

[PBnJay]

Forget Brad, Buzzy is my new tv boyfriend. I loved him as Chaser, plus I find him sharp and classy. I LOL'd when he explained why he knew the definitions of Geek, Nerd and Dork. I'd be happy with him as All Chaser All The Time. Plus he's top of my list to host Jeopardy! full time too. Ken can fill in when Buzzy goes on vaca. 

I did laugh that the one contestant said he had been "Ruttered." 

This really was a good and fun episode. Buzzy rocked it in my book.

[30 Helens]

17 minutes ago, PBnJay said:

Forget Brad, Buzzy is my new tv boyfriend. I loved him as Chaser, plus I find him sharp and classy. I LOL'd when he explained why he knew the definitions of Geek, Nerd and Dork. I'd be happy with him as All Chaser All The Time. Plus he's top of my list to host Jeopardy! full time too. Ken can fill in when Buzzy goes on vaca. 

I did laugh that the one contestant said he had been "Ruttered." 

This really was a good and fun episode. Buzzy rocked it in my book.

You had me until that part about Buzzy hosting J! Instead of Ken. Nah. He’s good, but he’s not that good.

Glad to see you found yourself a new boyfriend, though. 😉

[Prairie Rose]

Another good game, good competition and thankfully better hairstyle and outfit for Sara. I like Victoria... she's smart, sharp and witty without being mean.

Was this the first time we've seen someone get nine answers right in the cash builder round? Ironically, it did the contestant no good.

Good times in the Chaser Lounge. Brandon a SpongeBob SquarePants expert...who knew???

James is the Chaser in next week's new episode.

[ByaNose]

I think this is the 2nd episode I’ve seen. It’s a fun show. That said, I can’t understand a word Sara says when’s asking the questions. Could they at least put them on the screen?

[Welshman in Ca]

9 hours ago, ByaNose said:

I think this is the 2nd episode I’ve seen. It’s a fun show. That said, I can’t understand a word Sara says when’s asking the questions. Could they at least put them on the screen?

There's this thing on your tv remote more cc for closed caption, try using that, I have it on permanently now I'm older just in case I miss something.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Was this the first time we've seen someone get nine answers right in the cash builder round? Ironically, it did the contestant no good.

Nine in the cash builder is pretty impressive. It's probably not a first but it's certainly rare. It was therefore surprising he got caught in the Chase round. How heartbreaking. The other two were decent, but not strong enough to get enough steps in the Final Chase. 

Still can't get a real feel for Victoria's personality. 

[Ailianna]

It's so random what kind if questions anyone will get. You get a bunch of pop culture when that's not your thing, for example, and you can be wiped out even if you'd be awesome at all kinds of other classic trivia.

[PBnJay]

I did not (and still do not) know Victoria's background, but she's becoming my favorite chaser. Well, after Buzzy. Heh. That was such a good game last night, and I agree about the irony of the second fellow getting $90,000 then being sent home. The only bright side was, the last player doesn't need to feel badly about not taking the higher money offer since they went home with nothing anyway. The only light in the darkness for the players!

[ByaNose]

8 hours ago, Welshman in Ca said:

There's this thing on your tv remote more cc for closed caption, try using that, I have it on permanently now I'm older just in case I miss something.

Thanks. I honestly didn’t even think of that.

[Driad]

10 hours ago, Welshman in Ca said:

There's this thing on your tv remote more cc for closed caption

I haven't tried closed captioning for this show, but for some shows it lags several words behind the speaker, so it's confusing unless you mute the sound. Worth a try, though.

[30 Helens]

On 6/8/2022 at 2:21 PM, PBnJay said:

I did not (and still do not) know Victoria's background, but she's becoming my favorite chaser. Well, after Buzzy. Heh. 

You’re so fickle. 😆

[Prairie Rose]

I've watched this show with captions and it works just fine. Definitely worth trying out.

According to my DVR, Brandon will be the Chaser in the 6/21 episode. 

[iMonrey]

Wow, I've never seen James miss so many questions in the preliminary Chase rounds. The cynic in me wonders if he was deliberately missing questions so the contestants would think he was having an off day and would go for the higher offer. All three of them could have and would have won. I guess it doesn't matter anyway because they lost the Final Chase. They all did pretty well in the cash builder rounds, especially the first woman, but they were a little slow answering in the Final Chase.  

[MsMalin]

I was shocked at how badly James did but he sure pulled it together in the final round. I wish more people would go for the big money.

[PBnJay]

I typically root for the Chaser, but this episode I was all about the players winning. I really very much liked Leslie, the first contestant, and loved her burn to James when she said she was on Jeopardy when five-time winners like her had to leave after he boasted he had won more J games that she had. I liked everything about her, including her smart snark.

Anu I was impressed with too, and liked him very much. After watching two full nights of this year's Bee, any person who has won the Bee has my life-long respect. He was a great player.

I was frustrated the three players took so long to answer their questions. I was thinking as the Lounge Lizards were, 22-23 answers should have been their total. Then James, after tanking on most of those multi-choice questions, was on fire during the final chase. I'm sort of with @iMonrey in wondering what was up with that.

I did laugh long and hard when Brandon in the lounge gave the ASL sign for "sorry" when James missed the ASL question. I don't know ASL but I do know the sign for "thank you," James. And now for "sorry!"

[Prairie Rose]

4 hours ago, MsMalin said:

I was shocked at how badly James did but he sure pulled it together in the final round. I wish more people would go for the big money.

Same here! I love the rare times a contestant goes for the high offer and the Chasers in the lounge erupt in cheers. Why not go for the high offer? Most likely, the Chaser will beat you in the final round - but if not, you have all that extra dough!!!!!

[LennieBriscoe]

I never, ever root for the Chaser. This show is so frickin' cheap to anyone who loses. 

Same reason I hate AGT. 

Edited June 15, 2022 by LennieBriscoe

[SoMuchTV]

2 minutes ago, LennieBriscoe said:

I never, ever root for the Chaser. This show is so frickin' cheap to anyone who loses. 

Same reason I hate AGT. 

I don’t know about AGT, but yeah, this show doesn’t quite sit right. I enjoy the trivia challenge aspect, but it doesn’t seem right somehow that people “earn” and “bank” money for impressive performances but still go home with nothing. And the chaser gets nothing but bragging rights, not even a donation to a charity or whatever. Cynically I’d say that the network is getting a popular show with very little payout.  At least send them home with some ricearoni!

[Prairie Rose]

22 minutes ago, LennieBriscoe said:

This show is so frickin' cheap to anyone who loses. 

My mother has said this is the main reason she doesn't really care for the show.

14 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

At least send them home with some ricearoni!

Ya know????? 😉😁

[Madding crowd]

I think this show has too many random and quirky questions, especially in the multiple choice rounds. When I watch Jeopardy, it makes sense to me that the contestants know the answers even if I don’t because they are mostly general knowledge. On the Chase it’s a mix of pop culture, some general knowledge and a lot of random stuff like “what was the name of so and so’s pet rock?”. I made that one up but it’s not far off.

[SoMuchTV]

I do enjoy when a contestant says “I have a masters in abc so I know the answer is xyx” but sadly that doesn’t usually pay off for them in the long run. 

[mertensia]

They do need a consolation prize.

[dgpolo]

10 hours ago, mertensia said:

They do need a consolation prize.

I saw somewhere, Reddit maybe? That said the producers of this show, unlike, say, Jeopardy, pay for the flights/hotels and some food compensation for the contestants. They believed this was worth at least $1000 which is the 'consolation' prize on Jeopardy.

[PBnJay]

Lots of game shows walk losers out with no consolation prize, not even one box of Rice-a-Roni. Weakest Link, Press Your Luck, Price is Right, The Bachelor!!!! among others. I don't see a problem with all-or-nothing on The Chase.

Players who are really, really good DO take home a nice bit of money. Players not so good: "Buy your own box of rice, Loser. You are on national teevee, I am not."

That's worth something.

So says the cold-hearted PBnJ.

[SoMuchTV]

4 hours ago, PBnJay said:

Lots of game shows walk losers out with no consolation prize, not even one box of Rice-a-Roni. Weakest Link, Press Your Luck, Price is Right, The Bachelor!!!! among others. I don't see a problem with all-or-nothing on The Chase.

Players who are really, really good DO take home a nice bit of money. Players not so good: "Buy your own box of rice, Loser. You are on national teevee, I am not."

That's worth something.

So says the cold-hearted PBnJ.

I hear you; I know what you mean, but somehow it feels different on this show where the contestants can get so much right, but lose out because the chaser beat them by a fraction of a second.  And I'm not a game show expert, but it seems like on most shows, including the ones you mentioned, somebody wins something.  Even if they don't win the big jackpot.  But that's the game, and people know that coming in, so I'll try to keep my grumbling to myself.

[LennieBriscoe]

17 hours ago, PBnJay said:

Lots of game shows walk losers out with no consolation prize, not even one box of Rice-a-Roni. Weakest Link, Press Your Luck, Price is Right, The Bachelor!!!! among others. I don't see a problem with all-or-nothing on The Chase.

Players who are really, really good DO take home a nice bit of money. Players not so good: "Buy your own box of rice, Loser. You are on national teevee, I am not."

That's worth something.

So says the cold-hearted PBnJ.

True enough, but the stakes are also (usually) much lower for the victor. On the Big Money shows (e g., $1M to the AGT winner, goose egg to Runner-up; often over $40K per contestant on Prime-time The Chase, nothing if they lose the Final Round), the "All or Nothing" result simply doesn't  sit well with  me. 

Digression: LOVE the new emojis!

[PBnJay]

18 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

But that's the game, and people know that coming in, so I'll try to keep my grumbling to myself.

Oh, please feel free to grumble. I enjoy everyone's viewpoint even if it does not match mine, because, as they say, YMMV! This week might have been the first I was rooting for the three players and was bummed they went home with empty pockets, so I felt their pain.

[30 Helens]

I always root for the players, unless they’ve done something to annoy me. Even when they’re playing against my boyfriend.

I can’t help it, I love a good underdog story.

[Ailianna]

The multiple choice banking round questions were a lot of art and pop culture, which were weak areas for James on Jeopardy! I could understand him missing them, but it felt like he was getting frustrated and having trouble shaking it off. But he zeroed back in for the final chase.

Edited June 20, 2022 by Ailianna

[Alice Mudgarden]

Whoever is styling Sara needs to change direction. Sara's pretty, but this season her makeup, clothing, and sometimes hairstyles seem too... something. Severe, maybe?

[Prairie Rose]

11 hours ago, Alice Mudgarden said:

Whoever is styling Sara needs to change direction. Sara's pretty, but this season her makeup, clothing, and sometimes hairstyles seem too... something. Severe, maybe?

I know I've said this before, I can't figure out why Sara's hair/makeup/wardrobe choices don't flatter her on BOTH of her ABC gigs. Are the stylists on The View consulting the stylists on The Chase?

[seacliffsal]

3 hours ago, Prairie Rose said:

I know I've said this before, I can't figure out why Sara's hair/makeup/wardrobe choices don't flatter her on BOTH of her ABC gigs. Are the stylists on The View consulting the stylists on The Chase?

I agree.  I think she is beautiful but often looks too something due to both her styling and the lighting of the show.  I have noticed that the red lights they use seem to change the appearance of her skin tone.  I also like how she interacts with the contestants (she not only listens to their answers to her questions, but brings up what they said at later points [i.e. hobbies, travel, family]).  She seems fun but her styling could be much better IMO.

[SoMuchTV]

Well, I guess we now know what happens when no contestant beats the chaser! Well done. 

[catrice2]

Great game! 

[ByaNose]

When it was at the 1/2 hour & all 3 were eliminated I was like, “Now what?” LOL!!! Now, I know. Nice ending. That said, I have no idea who the chaser guy is. I know the other 3 are from Jeopardy. 

[PBnJay]

Agree this was a great episode. I was excited the players picked the high numbers, then depressed when Brandon beat all three. I was rooting for the players for one of my few times. So it was exciting when the best player was sent back for a "lightning round" and then won $60,000 for the team. 

I like Brandon very much, he seems more balanced in knowledge than, say, James. I liked his big offers, liked that the players took the big offers, then liked that the players ended up winning $ in the end. Yes, great episode. Glad Brendon has been added to the Chasers.

Poor Victoria had to sit in her car this time.

[MsMalin]

What happened to Brandon in the first album round,lol? He choked on some very easy answers.  I was happy that some money was won especially since 2 of them went for the big money.

[GenerationX]

There were a couple of weeks there where Sara's stylist didn't completely screw up, but we were back to the "let's do our best to make Sara look bad" routine this week.  Regardless of this, her charming personality always adds to the show.  Her reaction when the contestant said the question referenced something before he and Brandon were born was priceless.

I rarely root for the contestants and I really like Brandon as a Chaser, but even I couldn't help rooting for Shawn in the final chase.

[Prairie Rose]

11 hours ago, ByaNose said:

When it was at the 1/2 hour & all 3 were eliminated I was like, “Now what?” LOL!!! Now, I know. Nice ending. That said, I have no idea who the chaser guy is. I know the other 3 are from Jeopardy. 

Brandon was on Teen Jeopardy in 2008, and has appeared on other trivia shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Yes, he had a horrible final round. I don't know what happened except that he was a bit too quick on the draw on a couple of questions and he never got any momentum going.

Odd that another contestant got nine right in the Cash Builder, only to be eliminated in the first Chase round. I think this is the first time we've seen two contestants take the high offer in the same episode, but it didn't work out.

As a lifelong Ohioan, specific to Cleveland, I was screaming at the TV for them to answer the questions about The Plain Dealer and Shane Bieber correctly. Sigh.

So happy for Shawn, especially. I melted when he got emotional at the end.

[iMonrey]

The cynic in me wants to say Brandon threw that final chase, but you can see him physically pumping himself up before the round begins, like he's stretching and prepping for a marathon or something. It's weird how intense he gets - physically - to put himself in the zone. I do think he genuinely screwed up by answering some of the questions too quickly. Even without a pushback it broke his rhythm. 

Three really good players, all caught in the prelim chase rounds. Weird. I think this kind of proves it doesn't really pay to go for the higher offer, you really need as much of a buffer as possible. Although - again - the cynic in me wants to say they switch to harder questions when the player chooses the high offer.

Edited June 22, 2022 by iMonrey

[Prairie Rose]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The cynic in me wants to say Brandon threw that final chase, but you can see him physically pumping himself up before the round begins, like he's stretching and prepping for a marathon or something. It's weird how intense he gets - physically - to put himself in the zone. I do think he genuinely screwed up by answering some of the questions too quickly. Even without a pushback it broke his rhythm. 

I highly doubt that Brandon threw the game, just by his facial reactions and body language. He was genuinely upset with himself. It made the game more real.

[illdoc]

17 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Well, I guess we now know what happens when no contestant beats the chaser! Well done. 

Happened once during the previous season (I think Ken was the Chaser). That time, I believe the pot was $150K, not $60K. And I think the player won then too.

[catrice2]

Love Brandon and love that not all of the Chasers are from Jeopardy.  I too got emotion when Shawn got emotional.  I totally understand about mom 

[Meedis]

1 hour ago, catrice2 said:

Love Brandon and love that not all of the Chasers are from Jeopardy.  I too got emotion when Shawn got emotional.  I totally understand about mom 

Same here.  Shawn almost had me bawling.   I miss my Mom.

[opus]

Brandon's the big winner just because he was able to pull out the name of the lead singer of Thin Lizzy.

[illdoc]

Here's hoping that Colorado wins tomorrow or Sunday (that would end the playoffs). Otherwise, there will be a Game 7 on Tue Jun 28 (so no Chase). I don't know, however, if they are planning a new episode or if they will put on a rerun instead for that Tue (if no playoff) .

[30 Helens]

On 6/22/2022 at 9:57 AM, iMonrey said:

The cynic in me wants to say Brandon threw that final chase, but you can see him physically pumping himself up before the round begins, like he's stretching and prepping for a marathon or something. It's weird how intense he gets - physically - to put himself in the zone. 

It’s a little strange to watch him focus— fingers positioned just so, in front of his face— but I get it. When I focus on a single spot on the carpet or the wall and block out everything else but the questions, I do much better.

I don’t think Brandon threw it (although I’m quite cynical, too). I just think he jumped the gun on a few of the questions that he knew he should have gotten right, and it got in his head.

I have zero knowledge of Brandon before this show, but I like him… I think?  I wish he’d show a bit more personality, because every time he appears it’s like a blank slate. And I think we need to take up a collection for a fourth Chasers Lounge chair, because it bugs me every time that someone is missing.

This was a very good episode, and I was happy to see the guy pull it off for his team. His emotional response melted my cold, cold heart.

[Ailianna]

I agree no one is throwing anything. Not only would that be illegal, you don't get to this level of competition (the Chasers) unless you're a super competitive person. All of them have demonstrated over and over again how much they like to win. 

But now people are complaining about a different kind of "rigging." Some people think Sarah is manipulating things to help Chasers.