The Floor - General Discussion

[iMonrey]

I would have done just as badly on Pop Stars. I haven't followed current popular music since the early 90s. But, I would never have allowed myself to be talked into challenging that category. I might have done less poorly on Disney Characters - I know the usual classic ones but I'm not up to speed on the more current ones. I'd have gotten at least some of them though.

[Taeolas]

Yup, Popstars (and any "recognize this person" category in general) I would avoid like the plague. Especially if I'd be going against a time boost to boot. I'd be like the other guy that night who said "I'll let someone else take on Popstars and just wait until that whale category has a better theme." 

THinking more on Strategires, I think if I was a whale, I'd probably stay up long enough to get a time boost... and I'd be working to better protect my territory. The way to do that would be to nibble away at the 1-square categories around me, preferably in the directions closer to the edge of the floor. 

One-square categories are randomizer targets so they're more likely to be able to challenge me. If I can reach the edge of the floor, then that's an edge that I won't be challenged on, so it's a way to minimize my threat profile. If I have another whale against me, we can become a pod together and go after the smaller fish around us. 

[SoMuchTV]

3 minutes ago, Taeolas said:

Yup, Popstars (and any "recognize this person" category in general) I would avoid like the plague.

But unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for the audience because it introduces more uncertainty) I don’t think you know ahead of time that something will be a recognize-the-photos category. You could know every lyric of every pop star’s song but still be out of luck here. 

[Taeolas]

True but the category was IIRC, "Pop STARS" not "Pop Music". 

 

"Pop Music" I would expect to be more akin to Name that Tune, possibly even an audio category like musical instruments was (that was a fun one. I got most of those ones).

 

"Pop Stars" I'd avoid because I may recognize some of the songs and maybe artists, but I'd have no idea what they look like. So safer to leave them alone. 

[Diana Berry]

On 10/28/2024 at 5:54 PM, mlp said:

It depends on what kinds of things you tend to know.  I got all but two of the constellations immediately and none of the movie stills and sports people.  Wait - I did get West Side Story at the very end of that category.  I know musicals but not movies in general.

I did pretty good on the movie category.  The constellation that ranks up there with one of  my worst ( when playing along) . I got nothing.

Edited November 12 by Diana Berry

[Lovecat]

Oof, state capitols was brutal!  You had to recognize the state from its shape and THEN name the capitol.  Clearly the "expert" had not drilled the former.  Not throwing any shade--I also sucked badly!

[docmatt]

4 hours ago, Lovecat said:

Oof, state capitols was brutal!  You had to recognize the state from its shape and THEN name the capitol.  Clearly the "expert" had not drilled the former.  Not throwing any shade--I also sucked badly!

And for Denver, you had to pay attention to the location of the star since Colorado and Wyoming have the same shape

[iMonrey]

You really need to FF thru the intros of these episodes, because not only do they spoil who's going to get picked this week but it even spoiled that Virginia would ultimately become a comp beast. Although I don't think she'll last 'til the end, she answers too slowly.

5 hours ago, Lovecat said:

Oof, state capitols was brutal!  You had to recognize the state from its shape and THEN name the capitol.  Clearly the "expert" had not drilled the former.  Not throwing any shade--I also sucked badly!

This kind of points out how a lot of the categories are just assigned to random people rather than chosen by the contestants as an area they really have expertise in. He admitted he hadn't studied the states that way, and he wouldn't have had to study at all if this was something he already was an expert at. And if I had been assigned that category I would definitely have memorized the map because that's exactly what I would expect to see up on the screen. Not just the name of the state.

[mlp]

57 minutes ago, docmatt said:

And for Denver, you had to pay attention to the location of the star since Colorado and Wyoming have the same shape

When I was growing up, I had a wooden puzzle of the United States and each state was a separate piece.  I've known the states by shape and the capitals for as long as I can remember and would have aced that category.  The only "hard" ones are Colorado and Wyoming as stated above but, if you guessed wrong, you could quickly say the other.  

I knew about half of the flowers and only a couple of the kids' shows.  The holistic category would have finished me off.

[iMonrey]

17 hours ago, mlp said:

I knew about half of the flowers and only a couple of the kids' shows.  The holistic category would have finished me off.

I knew more of the kid shows than I thought I would. It's been a long time since I was a kid. And it killed me she missed Pufnstuf and Boy Meets World. And Bill Nye the Science Guy!

[mlp]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It's been a long time since I was a kid. And it killed me she missed Pufnstuf and Boy Meets World. And Bill Nye the Science Guy!

Yeah.  HR Pufnstuf was on when my kids were little.  I can still sing the song.  :)  I didn't know Boy Meets World and I thought everyone knew Bill Nye.

[Rickster]

On 11/14/2024 at 6:05 PM, mlp said:

When I was growing up, I had a wooden puzzle of the United States and each state was a separate piece.  I've known the states by shape and the capitals for as long as I can remember and would have aced that category.  The only "hard" ones are Colorado and Wyoming as stated above but, if you guessed wrong, you could quickly say the other.  

I knew about half of the flowers and only a couple of the kids' shows.  The holistic category would have finished me off.

I think North Dakota and South Dakota would be pretty difficult too. I’d give someone about half a dozen states that could be confusing, but he couldn’t even identify New York.

I would have done pretty well on state flags too, until they got to those nearly identical blue ones with a seal in the middle.

Edited November 16 by Rickster

[mlp]

2 hours ago, Rickster said:

I think North Dakota and South Dakota would be pretty difficult too.

They could with a quick glance but SD has a little notch where it borders Minnesota and the southeast corner is "bumpy" where it borders Nebraska.  ND is more even.  Those things jump out if you're a kid putting a puzzle together.  I was just happy to see a category I knew because most of the sports and TV and popular culture stuff totally defeats me.

[tinkerbell]

I might be alone in this, but Virginia bugged me. She grabbed the spotlight with a lengthy explanation for which topic to choose, then the "little old lady" shtick, people with hair like this shouldn't be underestimated,  and the "I DID??" when she won. I'm very close to her age, and I would never refer to myself like that. 

And what does she intend to do with the money? Put on a RECITAL, where people listen to her sing songs about her life. Ugh!

[mlp]

1 hour ago, tinkerbell said:

I might be alone in this, but Virginia bugged me. She grabbed the spotlight with a lengthy explanation for which topic to choose, then the "little old lady" shtick, people with hair like this shouldn't be underestimated,  and the "I DID??" when she won. I'm very close to her age, and I would never refer to myself like that. 

And what does she intend to do with the money? Put on a RECITAL, where people listen to her sing songs about her life. Ugh!

I didn't actually dislike her but I had most of those same thoughts, especially the ugh about the recital.  I am older than Virginia and most of my friends are too.  None of us would try to present as too old to be alert and oriented and competent.  She is cute though.

[HerkyJerky]

3 hours ago, mlp said:

didn't actually dislike her but I had most of those same thoughts, especially the ugh about the recital.  I am older than Virginia and most of my friends are too.  None of us would try to present as too old to be alert and oriented and competent

I was watching the show with my sister, who is 70, and she didn’t appreciate it either. Any chance that she is using the doddering old person act to disarm all the young people on the show and to make them underestimate her?

[iMonrey]

19 hours ago, tinkerbell said:

I might be alone in this, but Virginia bugged me. She grabbed the spotlight with a lengthy explanation for which topic to choose

I laughed when Rob pointed out they needed to get on with it as she stood there dithering and blathering about which category to choose.

[KWalkerInc]

Season 3 is now going to premiere after the Super Bowl (Feb. 9), before going to its regular time slot on Feb. 12.

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2024/11/18/fox-sets-january-premiere-dates-with-spotlight-on-series-debuts-of-going-dutch-and-doc-and-february-kicks-off-with-foxs-super-week-932013/20241118fox01/

[iMonrey]

DIY was laughably simple. I knew Virginia wouldn't last that long. She's good, but she's a little too slow. The brain just doesn't work as fast when you get older. Trust me.

Puppies was tougher than I thought. It's harder to tell the breed when they're puppies. I also thought the puppy Irish Setter was a Cocker Spaniel because that's what it looked like.

Skylines and Female Athletes were both tough. I knew almost none of the latter, and the challenged person lost on their own categories (as did the New York guy). Which speaks to how much of an "expert" these people really are in their categories.

I would have failed Alternative Music, I knew none of them. 

World History wasn't too bad but hard to do fast when you have to read the copy and look at the date.

Animal sounds was fun. I can't believe Austin forgot it was his turn. That would be my fear if I went on this show.

[borealis]

I dozed off for most of the show, but woke up in time for what I'd been waiting for, Alternative Music. For me, anything past 2005 is questionable, 2010 is no bueno, but 2022 is just cruel.

[mlp]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Puppies was tougher than I thought. It's harder to tell the breed when they're puppies.

I was going to say the same thing.  I did fairly well on puppies and very well on DIY and world history but knew none of the female athletes.  

 

4 hours ago, borealis said:

Alternative Music. For me, anything past 2005 is questionable, 2010 is no bueno, but 2022 is just cruel.

I can't even define alternative music.  Everything past about 1970 sounds alternative to actual music to me.  :)  I didn't know a single one.

[Lantern7]

This week's episode will be rerun next Wednesday. However, the next new episode will air on Thanksgiving night.

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Animal sounds was fun. I can't believe Austin forgot it was his turn. That would be my fear if I went on this show.

Having a donkey bray as he stared into space did not make him look any better.