Celebrity Name Game - General Discussion

[BobH]

Thanks, that was a pretty neat clip. Nice to see them have fun with it. I look forward to seeing what they do if a case like that ever comes up on this show.

 

And while I know it's almost impossible in practice, in theory a team could get $3000 from just the first two rounds by getting all ten right in each round. I wonder what the rules are on that? They wouldn't just skip the third round, would they?

[Actionmage]

I have wondered about that that too. Glad I'm not alone at the table! *g*  I just wish they had two teams that could push the limits to see what would happen.

[Wouldofshouldof]

I can't stop noticing, almost to the point of obsession, how short the contestants tend to be.  I know CF is tall, but where are they getting all these tiny competitors?

[Rinaldo]

I just caught up with an older episode on my DVR. The one with the Will-and-Grace-type team where the guy, after being warned not to curse after being bleeped in the first round, proceeded to pantomime giving a blow job in the second round (fuzzed over by the censors) -- to convey "Deep Throat." Luckily, that team didn't make the final round. The nice (but seemingly slow) older couple didn't look promising to win it all, and the husband repeatedly goofed up and left his wife with 5 to get in her 30 seconds. And suddenly she was brilliant and got them all! (Including a fine falsetto rendition of "Tiptoe through the Tulips" for Tiny Tim!) Life is full of surprises.

[Actionmage]

That was an amazing game! I saw it and was not expecting the final round at all!

 

I like that while there aren't winning teams every other game, the wins are earned and are not just seeming left to luck.

 

Is it me, or are the older teams more likely to win? They have a deeper bench of knowledge to draw on, so I would think that is why that may be closer to the truth.

 

By the way? Vivica A. Fox is someone you want on your team. Tonight, on my channel's late airing, someone was mischaracterized as a boxer. When Ms. Fox found out who it was, she was flabbergasted and very WTF?! in her look. 

[Rinaldo]

Is it me, or are the older teams more likely to win? They have a deeper bench of knowledge to draw on

Honestly, I think it can go either way, depending on the luck of the particular names. That last sentence of your is certainly true (stoopid kids not knowing who any of the movie stars before their time were, or that Martha Washington was George's wife), but on the other hand there are current celebrities where older folks (like me) often have barely seen the name before, let alone knowing who they are.

[Kaoteek]

By the way? Vivica A. Fox is someone you want on your team. Tonight, on my channel's late airing, someone was mischaracterized as a boxer. When Ms. Fox found out who it was, she was flabbergasted and very WTF?! in her look. 

 

Oh, man, I'm still laughing from that one. "Nelson Mandela" the famous boxer... Vivica was so pissed at that lawyer girl... ^^

Edited November 23, 2014 by Kaoteek

[Actionmage]

Honestly, I think it can go either way, depending on the luck of the particular names. That last sentence of your is certainly true (stoopid kids not knowing who any of the movie stars before their time were, or that Martha Washington was George's wife), but on the other hand there are current celebrities where older folks (like me) often have barely seen the name before, let alone knowing who they are.

 

Oh, ITA, Rinaldo; that there are folks I'd be so lost on!  I try to keep ghertigirl's words in mind, too, while this first season/series is airing-- folks weren't certain what was expected until they were chosen.  Still, there was that team of older ladies where the gray-haired one was getting multiple 'Wow!"s out of Craig for her ability to roll through relatively recent folks! And her general awesomeness.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Actionmage

[BobH]

I like to think I'd do good on the game, but I have to confess, between this and Hollywood Game Night I've probably heard the clue "Judge on The Voice" a dozen times, and I could not, gun-to-my-head, name a judge on The Voice. About half the sports ones would stump me as well.

[Wouldofshouldof]

While watching I know/have heard of about 99% of the names, but I think if I were up there having to give clues, I'd blank out a lot.  Also, I really credit the clue giver when they are quick enough to break down the name, rather than trying to describe the person or their work.  

 

Like another poster said, I tend to FF through Craig's bits.  He gives the rules the same exact, wordy way every time, and spends much too long introducing the segment where he gives the clues.  But I do love the way he says "pair-son."

[Xenith22]

Is this the first time that someone has ever gone thru all 10 clues in the first round?  I was definitely not aware that once you passed on a clue you were not allowed to come back to it if you cycled thru all 10?  Since that is the case it seems really stupid that you are even allowed to pass on clue #10.

 

I was rather surprised that the contestant was not buzzed when they said "play" while describing Instant Replay.  How is that not considered part of the word?  It ended up being a moot point as the partner did not get the word, but if they had their opponent should have protested to the judges.

 

How dumb was that woman to just let the celebrities name every team in the NBA wasting sooo much time.  I found myself screamng at the TV for her to either say the big apple or better yet mention the Garden...or anything NY related so they would stop guessing Boston. Ugh.

 

Cat Deely was an brutal clue one of the hardest I can recall seeing.  She seems much more obscure than most of the clues normally are as the host of the only mildly popular (but somehow still on the air) So You Think You Can Dance...and that is about it as far as something that she might be known for, and even if the contestant knew that the odds of the celebs knowing that was slim to none.  Major props to the guy for coming up with the clues he did to break it down but time was just not on his side.

 

On a different note...just catching up on episodes recorded last week. I have to say I definitely had to shake my head in shame at how anyone could possibly have graduated from high school without knowing who freaking Richard Nixon was...*sigh*

Edited November 25, 2014 by Xenith22

[fivestone]

Man, Sherri Shepard trying to remember Scooby Doo was painful. She's one of those players on the game whose brain can pull out just enough to make you think she's going to get the answer, so you don't want to pass quickly like you would if it was a complete blank stare, which only winds up wasting time. I think she did the same with "Hansel and Gretel" in the final round that episode.

 

Agreed! She was so busy trying to be loud and funny she couldn't come up with anything. Totally useless. No shade, but maybe she's just not all that bright.

[BobH]

Always weird when the stumper on the last round turns out to be one that seems so easy, after they already got a few that seemed much harder. Not sure what else you could say for "solitaire" except that it's a card game you play by yourself.

[LadyNebula]

Agreed! She was so busy trying to be loud and funny she couldn't come up with anything. Totally useless. No shade, but maybe she's just not all that bright.

She's not. A few years back on The View, there was an exchange between her and Whoopi, regarding Christopher Columbus or something. I don't remember all of it, but I'll cut right to the meaty part:

Whoopi: You thought the Earth was flat?

Sherri: I never really thought about it.

Now, let's discuss Skippy. I was wondering why he looked familiar to me, and then I realized he was on a show called Virgin Diaries. His mom would try to help get him dates, and she wore a tee shirt that said "Wing Mom." Oh, Skippy, it's good to see your awkward self again!

[Xenith22]

Always weird when the stumper on the last round turns out to be one that seems so easy, after they already got a few that seemed much harder. Not sure what else you could say for "solitaire" except that it's a card game you play by yourself.

She should have mentioned that it is comes on computers (I think one of the celebs even said that at the end when Craig revealed the answer).  She also could have said it was the name of a song by Neil Sedaka, it was also a Carpenters song and I believe that Clay Aiken had a pretty famous cover of it during American Idol.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Xenith22

[Scout Finch]

Not knowing freakin' Richard Nixon absolutely floored me. Watergate would have more than a sufficient clue for anyone else.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Scout Finch

[paigow]

Clue giver not knowing the difference between Lisa (the answer) & Jessica (who he described) Simpson is egregious.

[Xenith22]

Just caught up on the last four episodes.

 

Jabberjaw was freaking brutal for a final round picture clue.  The instant I saw that and the guy unsurprisingly did not know him I knew they were sunk. (no pun intended). WIth that aaid...how can you not at least tell that is a cartoon shark?  The dorsal fin and sharp teeth should have been a dead giveaway that it was not a whale...*sigh*

That is the second mildly obscure Hannah Barbara picture to appear as a picture clue (Grape Ape was the other).  So with that in mind any future contestants would be advised to watch an episodes of the Scooby's Laugh-a-Lympics on youtube to memorize the names of other such characters that may appear as picture clues.

 

David Arquette actually seemed not completely terrible this time. Courtney Cox seemed like she did not guzzle an entire bottle of antidepressants before taping the episode this time...but was still frighteningly terrible until the final round where she was surprisingly useful (had to have peeked at the answers during the commercial break).

 

I have a hard time believing you would be able to say Michael to get someone to say Mike.  Because they are the same name?  So how is Michael Myers not technically the same thing as Mike Myers.  Sure he does not usually go by Michael but it is still his birth name and he has on rare occasion been called that (Rosie O'Donnell especially liked to occassionally refer to people as their full names)?  So IMHO she should have been awarded that point.

 

That is the second time that I saw that Cookie Monster has been on the final board, and the second time that someone has said the word cookie without thinking.  I would not be surprised to see this name appear on the board again for that reason.

 

Sherri also made a fairly noticable improvement since her first appearance.  I think Mel B might now be tied with Courtney Cox for the new lead as worst celeb partner to have?

 

Tom Arnold is either putting on an act in an attempt to be memorable or he is eventually going to have a freaking heart attack filming one of these episodes.  I am hoping it is the former.  I do not recall him being this insanely manic when he did Hollywood Game Night?

 

Rarely have I wanted to reach through a TV and shake someone as much as I did those two women giving the King Arthur clues.  Why on earth were they wasting time breaking it down?  Camelot.  Sword in the Stone.  Married to Queen Gueneviere.  Wields Excalibur.  Leader of Avalon.  Merlin was his advisor. A Connecticut Yankee in blank's Court.  This is not some obscure difficult name that few people have heard of that there is any reason you need to break it down... The second woman did eventually say round table but the craptastic lack of clues before that lead the two celebs to believe they were guessing a title and not an specific person.  Even when they said knight after that the woman STILL did not tell them she wanted a specific person and still obsessed with the word King (which unfortunately unknown to her they had already said and so they knew that was not the correct answer.).

Edited November 29, 2014 by Xenith22

[BobH]

I don't understand what happened with that King Arthur thing. I think the celebrities might have misread a cue from the first contestant and assumed that "King", the obvious answer to "Not a Queen...", wasn't part of the answer. But yes, as noted, it should have been easier with some actual clues like "Camelot".

 

Looks like I missed a few episodes due to Thanksgiving pre-emptions. "Jabberjaw" as a photo clue it totally unfair.

[fivestone]

Not knowing freakin' Richard Nixon absolutely floored me. Watergate would have more than a sufficient clue for anyone else.

 

I had to stop watching the episode. I can't deal with that kind of dumb. It would have been painful to hear her miss any more basic references like Ronald Reagan or Michael Jordan or something. I get that she's young, but c'mon, don't they teach Watergate in American history class?

[Actionmage]

I get that she's young, but c'mon, don't they teach Watergate in American history class?

 

Do they even get into the 1970s? (partial joke)

[Xenith22]

I have been waiting for an episode where the contestant was unable to identify the "celebrity" they were playing with when their name was a clue.  I mean some of these people are certainly not all that famous...take the red headed guy whose best known role is being that guy that Wayne Brady sometimes jokes with on Let's Make a Deal.  Despite seeing quite a few episodes of that show and him being on this show multiple times I could not tell you his name for a million dollars. (How many people here could without cheating?)  However I was not expecting someone to ever blank on Craig Ferguson...so that had me almost rolling on the floor especially when combined with Craig's expressions while it was going on. 

 

Holy crap were Craigs clues abysmal for the third round of yesterdays second episode.  I mean half the time he ignores the category in his clues...but this time his mustache description obsession over actual viable clues got annoying fast.  I mean come on expecting anyone to get Tom Selleck while describing nothing but his mustache?  Awful. There are also quite a few wrestlers with facial hair so that woman was lucky with her guess.

 

============

 

Are you allowed to hum during the final round?  Rather than focusing on the wrestler (although snap into a slim jim may have helped narrow it down) the village people song may have been the way to go.  It seems most contestants are too self concious to break out into song (which seems like an quick and easy way to get many of musical artist clues) so it makes me wonder if humming is allowed?

Edited December 5, 2014 by Xenith22

[fivestone]

Are you allowed to hum during the final round?  Rather than focusing on the wrestler (although snap into a slim jim may have helped narrow it down) the village people song may have been the way to go.  It seems most contestants are too self concious to break out into song (which seems like an quick and easy way to get many of musical artist clues) so it makes me wonder if humming is allowed?

 

I don't think they can because of copyright infringement. The show would probably have to gain rights to the song, and I don't see this show having the budget for that.

[Boilergal]

I have been waiting for an episode where the contestant was unable to identify the "celebrity" they were playing with when their name was a clue.

This happened on the Dave Foley episode - and it was pretty funny.  Dave and the contestant seem pretty embarassed.  "the guy standing right behind me!!!!"

 

Some of the celebrities seem like they are being forced to do the show like it's community service.

[Kromm]

Variety: ‘Celebrity Name Game’ Renewed for Second Season

[BobH]

Anyone know if they recorded any after the original batch, or if it's going to be all repeats until that second season in the fall? I missed the first few weeks when it began, so I've still been watching to see if one I missed shows up, but I think now I've seen them all.

[BobH]

Pretty impressive final round with Aisha Tyler and Kevin Nealon today. If "King Tut" hadn't been so surprisingly hard I think the first contestant had a shot of finishing up the game solo.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Not sure who's worse today; the millennial who has no idea who Tom Selleck or Bruce Willis are, or Will Sasso for spending 40 seconds trying to explain "Richard Nixon" to her.

[Kaoteek]

Well, the next day was "Julius Caesar the greek dictator" day, so... yay.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Kaoteek

[The Crazed Spruce]

That was a hell of a final round in the Aisha Tyler/Kevin Nealon episode today. Another second or two, and the first contestant would've won the bonus round on her own. I love seeing that on shows like this. (One of my favourite game show moments was from the episode of Family Feud, when the first contestant in the bonus round won on her own, so Ray Combs made up a bunch of ridiculous questions to screw with the second guy. This episode of CNG reminded me of that.)

Pretty impressive final round with Aisha Tyler and Kevin Nealon today. If "King Tut" hadn't been so surprisingly hard I think the first contestant had a shot of finishing up the game solo.

Maybe Aisha and Kevin are just really good at this game. (Aisha, at least. I get the feeling that Kevin was a little more.... pharmaceutically relaxed than he probably should've been.) (And I know it was a different episode, 'cause "The Oval Office" was the last clue this time.)

[BobH]

Aisha was definitely doing the heavy lifting, but I think Kevin did get "Bazooka" ahead of her. But otherwise, yeah, you could tell why he was cast on WEEDS.

 

I don't know if the producers would want to see a single contestant clear the final board, but if they did they did my first choice for a dream team would be Aisha. Maybe team her up with Yvette Nicole Brown or Ross Mathews.

[junemeatcleaver]

Cat Deeley has been on this show before?  Why ask her back over again when she hardly knows anything about American pop culture?

[Rinaldo]

I don't know if the producers would want to see a single contestant clear the final board

In fact, this has now happened! [​Edited to add: From rereading the thread, I am reminded that it has happened before, though I must have missed that episode.] And it was a team that lost, the first time around. I just caught up with some of the episodes from Second Chance Week, and the "we want to have a threesome with [Joseph Gordon-Levitt]" guys did it. Or one of them did, and with Cat Deeley as one of the guessers too (I'd say she got a fair share of the answers).

 

And afterward, Craig did just what I would want to see done in that situation: turn the numbers back around to make the sequestered guy think that his partner had got none of them. He didn't keep it up long, and a good thing too, as nobody was terribly good at hiding their glee. (The guy never looked really dismayed, just puzzled.)

Edited May 17, 2015 by Rinaldo

[BobH]

Thanks, I'd fallen  behind and managed to watch that one just before it was deleted off my DVR. Great round there, and good that they had some fun with bringing the now-superfluous second contestant up.

 

Just looked at some of Craig's recent tweets, and it looks like it'll be pretty obvious by his suits when they start running the new wave of episodes that are taping now.

[EyewatchTV211]

I remember there was some discussion about how, in the final round, if the celebrities obviously have no clue who someone is the contestant should say part of the name so that item is replaced with a new one. I just saw an episode last night (probably a repeat) where the woman said one of the words by accident. Unfortunately, that ends the entire game right there. They don't replace it with a new word. That sounded like an awesome strategy, but I guess if the celebrities don't know, you have to go with acting out the words that make up the name or you are just SOL.

[Irlandesa]

I remember there was some discussion about how, in the final round, if the celebrities obviously have no clue who someone is the contestant should say part of the name so that item is replaced with a new one. I just saw an episode last night (probably a repeat) where the woman said one of the words by accident. Unfortunately, that ends the entire game right there. They don't replace it with a new word. That sounded like an awesome strategy, but I guess if the celebrities don't know, you have to go with acting out the words that make up the name or you are just SOL.

I think it depends on when it it's said in the final round.  I saw an episode last week where it was messed up in the first part of the final round.  I don't remember the specific clue but I think it was related to Happy Days.  The first clue giver said something like "Sunday, Monday..." and the time expired.  Craig said that because the clue giver had said "day" they had to change the clue for the second clue giver. 

 

So if the first clue giver suspects that the celebs have no idea, it might be worth it to screw up so they have to change the name.  It won't work for the second clue giver.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Yeah, if it happens in the first round, they can change the answer for the second player. They don't have that option in the second round.

[WickedTuna]

Like another poster said, I tend to FF through Craig's bits. He gives the rules the same exact, wordy way every time, and spends much too long introducing the segment where he gives the clues. But I do love the way he says "pair-son."

I enjoy the show but can't stand Craig. I can barely understand him because he sounds like he's got a mouthful of marbles. Plus I just don't think he's funny.

It's a little funny how frustrated people can get. Sometimes it's warranted but not always. I can't remember the specifics now but the clue giver was getting really mad the other person wasn't guessing right. They were giving clues like "he's an actor, he's tall, etc". I don't know how in the hell they expected the person to get it.

[helpmerhonda]

Every time Craig says, "Here's the situation," in my head I think, "My parents went away on a week's vacation."

 

Every time.

[Arjay]

I laughed and laughed at the Rock/Stone category when for the 4 word wrestler, the woman buzzed in and said with perfect confidence "Dwayne The Rock Johnson" when the answer was Stone Cold Steve Austin.

[Jaded]

They posted this today and said new episodes start Sept. 21st.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_0qohmfQAs

[BobH]

Wow, they've put up a lot of season two clips and out takes. Some good stuff there. And they put up the best final round performance talked about earlier:

 

Edited September 9, 2015 by BobH

[Rinaldo]

Thanks for sharing that, BobH. That's just the greatest final round. That episode will never leave my DVR.

[Kaoteek]

They posted this today and said new episodes start Sept. 21st.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_0qohmfQAs

 

Sooo glad to see they seem to be loosening up a bit. Craig always felt a bit constrained by all the rule-explaining & the format during s1, so bringing out dancers, costumes and such should help amp up the fun & improv factor. Also, Colin Mochrie !

[BobH]

Caught a few of the Season Two episodes. Couple of minor changes, it looks like the first round is now always just "things that start with letter ___". Was it just too hard to think up categories? And in the "Craig gives the clues round", they now show the number of letters in the answer and start revealing letters hangman style. It wasn't clear from the ones I saw if that's just for the TV audience or if the contestants see the clues as well.

Not sure if I like the changes, but I'll have to wait to see it with better celebrities than Billy Bush and Kit Hoover.

Edited September 26, 2015 by BobH

[Kaoteek]

I think the hangman style letters are just for the audience at home, cos I've seen one completed on screen, and yet contestants still didn't have the answer.

 

I'm with you on the changes ; it's clearly a work in progress, so I'll wait until everyone and everything has settled in with those new categories & rules before passing judgement...

[BobH]

Yeah, seen a few more and the players definitely don't see the hangman clues. Kind of an odd game element to add just for home viewers.

Is it just me or is the studio audience reaction way too high in the mix in the new episodes? I think the show would be much better with the crowd noise cut in half.

[Rinaldo]

Rerun alert!

 

In my area, at least, they're getting close to episode 166 from season 1, the "second chance week" episode I mentioned above -- the best episode ever, as far as I'm concerned. This one doesn't seem to be coming up in the next week, but watch out for it.

 

SPOILER ALERT (but c'mon, it's a rerun): This is the one where in the final round, the first of the two guys ran all 10 names himself successfully, and they then briefly pranked his teammate by making it look as if he'd missed them all.

 

There's also a great moment at their start of the second round, when they're working with Ross Mathews, and their category turns out to be "celebrities who have appeared on Broadway"... and these three gay men just looked at each other and started to laugh, and Craig had to stress that it was all coincidental. They did great in the round, too. (Do I need to affirm my own gay-activist credentials? But sometimes you just have to smile.) 

[WickedTuna]

Looks like they need to change the name of the show. I guess they ran out of celebrity names? I don't like the new format. After the first episode I've watched for a few minutes to see how the celebrity would do but that's about it. For some reason I thought Shannon Dougherty would fail but she did pretty well.

[BobH]

Caught a few more season 2 episodes. One other change that I don't like are the "identify the tweeter" and photoshop photo clues in the Craig round. They completely derail the momentum of the round, without bring much entertainment to the table.

 

I do like that they seem to have completely given up on photo clues in the final round, which I often thought were completely unfair (especially a few of the cartoon characters they had).