The $100,000 Pyramid - General Discussion

[jhlipton]

On 8/27/2017 at 8:14 PM, DasFlavorPup said:

Lara Spencer was SO close with "christening" instead of "baptism

For "things you stack" - books, pancakes, hay, bricks...

A christening is done for babies, usually in a small fountain; for baptism, say "holy water, white robes, pool, teens, new converts", etc  My wife suggested "underwater", but I think it would have been buzzed.

Thing you stack: poker chips

[iMonrey]

Quote

 I'm not sure why they held it back, when they've aired some truly terrible ones before it this month.

Nobody won the grand prize in either episode, and that's probably a priority for the network, to have at least one $50k or $100K winner during the span of two back-to-back episodes. Which shouldn't be a priority because back in the day when Dick Clark was hosting you could go weeks without anyone winning in the winner's circle. 

The network (or whoever produces this thing) is looking for the wrong things IMO. I just want celebrities and contestants who are good players. I don't care about the sports celebrities and the reality stars, or whether someone walks away with $100k. Just play the damn game like you know what you're doing. It would also help immensely if the judging was more consistent.

Edited August 29, 2017 by iMonrey

[MarkHB]

I just finally watched the last two eps.  My favorite moments were both from the Richard Kind / Rachel Dratch game, first when she gave "She Blinded Me With..." and quickly backtracked when she realized her contestant probably has never heard of Thomas Dolby, and second when the word was "Swamp" and Richard Kind said "... Thing".

[Irlandesa]

Watching the beginning of this episode made me wonder why they buried it against competition such as Sunday Night Football and the Emmys.  Leslie Jones is always a gamer and WIllie Garson might be one of the show's best celeb players.  Plus, both guests were good players as well.

But then they got to the second half and those players didn't hold up as well.

Still, we need more players like Willie and Leslie.

[Jaded]

I watched tonight since I DVR'd The Emmy Awards so I could zip through them later. I was glad I got to see Leslie and Willie on the first half. That's how the game should be played all the time. It did help that the civilian players were quick on the uptake too. I didn't pay as much attention to the second half since it started off rocky and didn't seem to get much better.

[jhlipton]

The only one who stunk was Leslie (the civilian, not Jones).  She stunk so bad.

Chuck was a good player but he got stuck with terrible categories on the final pyramid.

[teebax]

Leslie Jones is a love her or hate her celeb, and I happen to love her, especially when she's on game shows. It's nice to have a celeb who genuinely cares if the civilian wins. She sometimes seems more invested in it than the civilians.

I've been watching $25,000 Pyramid in the mornings on GSN; they're currently showing episodes from 1985. While I agree with others who posted how much better the celebs were at game shows back then, I realized the contestants were better too. There are still some clunkers, but it's not uncommon on the old shows to see rounds finish with a 21-21 or 21-20 score. 

Pyramid, like Jeopardy, is one of those shows I've always wanted to be on, but I'd be afraid in Pyramid's current incarnation I'd get saddled with a celeb who is terrible at the game and end up wanting to strangle them.

[sugarbaker design]

49 minutes ago, teebax said:

Pyramid, like Jeopardy, is one of those shows I've always wanted to be on, but I'd be afraid in Pyramid's current incarnation I'd get saddled with a celeb who is terrible at the game and end up wanting to strangle them.

But on the positive side if you're stuck with an awful celeb, you're not stuck with that particular schmuck for the whole show, in this incarnation civilians switch celebs at the halfway point.

[iMonrey]

Here I thought we were done with this show (for the season at least) but we got 2 more episodes, and they were actually pretty decent! Still, there were some really hard categories, like "things that are arranged." I honestly can't think of a good clue for that besides "flowers" and that just doesn't steer you anywhere specific. Auditorium chairs? I got nothin'. 

Also, in the preliminary round one of the words was "Duh." What's a good clue for "Duh?" 

The lady playing the Mystery 7 actually did not beat the buzzer on the last answer (baton). I was surprised they gave it to her because I rewound that and re-watched it twice and the buzzer definitely sounded before she said "baton." 

[JeezumCrow]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

 

The lady playing the Mystery 7 actually did not beat the buzzer on the last answer (baton). I was surprised they gave it to her because I rewound that and re-watched it twice and the buzzer definitely sounded before she said "baton." 

This - coupled with her blatant description instead of examples of "What a _____ would say" (totally blanking on what the answer was, sorry) - really angried up my blood. ESPECIALLY so soon after the Christening/Baptism fiasco. 

[starri]

"He smokes a lot of weed."

"Snoop Dogg!"

[mattie0808]

Still, there were some really hard categories, like "things that are arranged." I honestly can't think of a good clue for that besides "flowers" and that just doesn't steer you anywhere specific.

The only thing I could think of was "some marriages." (Maybe, "some royal marriages" or "some traditional marriages"?)

[jhlipton]

33 minutes ago, mattie0808 said:

 

The only thing I could think of was "some marriages." (Maybe, "some royal marriages" or "some traditional marriages"?)

I was thinking of how you could put "matchmaker" in there -- "marriages done by matchmaker", maybe, but that might get buzzed.

[Irlandesa]

32 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

I was thinking of how you could put "matchmaker" in there -- "marriages done by matchmaker", maybe, but that might get buzzed.

Or I wonder if they could say "marriages between strangers." Or Fiddler on the Roof marriages.

[starri]

"The police be beating people with it!"

I don't know if I should have laughed at that, but combined with Leslie's energetic pantomime it was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

Can she be a guest on every game show?

[chitowngirl]

22 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

23 hours ago, jhlipton said:

I was thinking of how you could put "matchmaker" in there -- "marriages done by matchmaker", maybe, but that might get buzzed.

Or I wonder if they could say "marriages between strangers." Or Fiddler on the Roof marriages.

You couldn't say "marriages done by matchmaker" or "marriages between strangers" because those have prepositional phrases. Fiddler on the Roof marriages would be fine, as would "royal marriages".

[peeayebee]

Maybe 'matchmaker marriages.' But, yeah, that was a tough one. For 'duh,' I guess I would say, "It's something you say when you suddenly understand something obvious," then I'd make a doofus face and point to my head like the contestant did.

It bugs me that with 'man boobs' she got buzzed for saying "woman." That's stupid. I mean, you could say, "Some guys have these," as you pantomime it, but still, saying "woman" shouldn't be buzzed.

Willie Garson was so so good. I love when he was doing the oil category with his partner, you could see he was constantly keeping oil in mind in order to get the answers.

Leslie Jones was excellent, too.

I thought Billy Gardell was good most of the time, but he annoyed me when giving clues because he came off as patronizing or condescending when the person got something right.

 

On 9/19/2017 at 2:11 PM, curlyblackeggs said:

This - coupled with her blatant description instead of examples of "What a _____ would say" (totally blanking on what the answer was, sorry) - really angried up my blood.

What bugged me was that a couple of times after Michael described the category, she coached her partner on what they should be looking for.

[jhlipton]

On 9/21/2017 at 0:14 PM, peeayebee said:

For 'duh,' I guess I would say, "It's something you say when you suddenly understand something obvious," then I'd make a doofus face and point to my head like the contestant did.

What bugged me was that a couple of times after Michael described the category, she coached her partner on what they should be looking for.

For "duh", Maybe "Like what Homer Simpson says".  I'm not sure they'd get "duh" from "D'oh!" though.

I liked the fact that they discussed what to look for, and think it's a good strategy.

Edited September 22, 2017 by jhlipton

[theatremouse]

I just caught up on a bunch of these on my DVR and now can't remember who it was, and didn't notice it otherwise mentioned, but there was a category about not plural words ending in S and the word was "panties" and they gave the person the point for saying "pantyhose" and I stood up in my living room and shouted "oh hell no!" That is a bullshit gimme point. It doesn't even fit the category. If it had been "panty" and they said the longer word I can kind of see giving it because they still said the thing, but no S in an S category should not fly.

Ugh this show's rules right now seem so inconsistent.

[opus]

Lewis and Clark?

[Irlandesa]

1 minute ago, opus said:

Lewis and Clark?

THE most famous brothers, don't you know?  In the "bro" sense.  In fact, I'm sure they called each other bruh.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Lewis and Clark?

My mind immediately went to "The Menendezes" so I don't know what that says about me.

I thought the judges were exceedingly liberal to give a pass on "things in football" when the subject was actually "football positions." It drives me nuts how inconsistent the judging is. 

[jhlipton]

In case anyone was wondering, the Mill's that Kal was referring to was the Filipino militia Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Brandon was soooo slow.  I hated that he got a  chance at the Winner's zcircle.

[Jaded]

I didn't realize there was a new episode on this past Sunday. I thought they might have saved the Leslie and Willie episode for last since it was so good and would have been a good way to cap off the season.

[TheOtherOne]

Ouch. This one was painful. I thought the first episode was too slow...then Brandon came along to show me how much worse it would be.

Taye's quirk of not looking at the partner giving him clues was weird. The guy was mimicking holding a baby, and Taye didn't get it immediately because he wasn't looking at him. LOOK AT HIM! It's not the final round where he can't use his hands. You were using yours! Argh!

I'm glad at least one person won the final round, but even so, all the celebrities were pretty meh. Bring back Leslie and Willie!

Edited September 26, 2017 by TheOtherOne

[peeayebee]

I thought all four celebrities had good moments and bad ones. There was one category where Jenna Fischer was frustrating me so much, for instance when she didn't immediately say, "You make guacamole with it." Instead she mimed picking it from a tree, said it was green... Ugh. There were too many like this on both sides.

And the last contestant, Brandon, was also frustrating. I don't know how he made it on the show. I mean, I think you need to show some competency at the game. 

[eatingpaste]

I'm catching up on Season Two and was surprised to see Episode 13 (Taye Diggs/Jenna Fischer + Kal Penn/Abby Elliott) beginning with a clip of a win by a contestant playing with Vanessa Williams (clue: Things That Melt), since I hadn't seen an episode of the 100K Pyramid with Vanessa Williams in it.

When I looked to see why I hadn't seen a Vanessa Williams episode, I discovered that ABC originally scheduled Episode 13 to be Vanessa Williams/Gary Cole and Kathy Najimy/Yvette Nicole Brown (http://www.disneyabcpress.com/abc/pressrelease/100000-pyramid-season-finale-213-924/), then changed it to Taye Diggs/Jenna Fischer and Kal Penn/Abby Elliott (http://abc.go.com/shows/the-100000-pyramid/episode-guide) and took the episode with Vanessa Williams off the schedule. I wonder if we'll ever see more of the missing Williams/Cole/Najimy/Brown episode than the clip they (accidentally?) included at the beginning of the Diggs/Fischer/Penn/Elliott episode?

[iMonrey]

New season. Anyone else think it was strange that the first pair of contestants in the first half hour weren't properly introduced? They were not asked where they were from or what they did for a living. The only thing they said were their names. In the next episode, the next pair of contestants were introduced properly like usual. The only thing I can think of is that one of them said something controversial, or did something controversial for a living, so the producers edited out both to make it look like a formatting choice. I dunno. 

I can't believe for "things you pull" nobody thought  of taffy!

[Whimsy]

18 hours ago, iMonrey said:

New season. Anyone else think it was strange that the first pair of contestants in the first half hour weren't properly introduced? They were not asked where they were from or what they did for a living. The only thing they said were their names. In the next episode, the next pair of contestants were introduced properly like usual. The only thing I can think of is that one of them said something controversial, or did something controversial for a living, so the producers edited out both to make it look like a formatting choice. I dunno. 

I can't believe for "things you pull" nobody thought  of taffy!

Or maybe for time. I think the other two,were left in because they were both teachers  

I thought of taffy too!  

[readster]

2 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

Or maybe for time. I think the other two,were left in because they were both teachers  

I thought of taffy too!  

I don't know why no one said: "A string on the back of a toy. " Not to sound sexist, buy she could have said: "A bra strap." 

[Whimsy]

There were so many things she could’ve said. Same with the “brown one” lol. 

[readster]

5 hours ago, Whimsy said:

There were so many things she could’ve said. Same with the “brown one” lol. 

It drives me nuts because I get that you are in the moment, they can see the timer, but you can figure out what a mirror would say easily but can't bring up things you either pull or people name David?

[opus]

5 hours ago, Whimsy said:

There were so many things she could’ve said. Same with the “brown one” lol. 

First thing I thought of there was the one the writers gave Michael. UPS truck

[iMonrey]

Quote

Or maybe for time. I think the other two,were left in because they were both teachers  

I don't know why they would cut the intros for time. The whole show is very carefully timed and there are no bonus rounds for tie-breakers. I think it more likely one or both contestants had some sort of political or otherwise controversial job or said something controversial. 

[sugarbaker design]

I notice on the current incarnation of Match Game, they sometimes ask contestants what they do, but sometimes the host leads in to an allegedly amusing anecdote.

I can watch Leslie Jones on this show all day.  I get a kick out of her seriousness in getting the contestants some cash, it's a welcome respite from stars phoning it in.

[Cyranetta]

Another brown item: chocolate

And pulled items: drapery cords, anchor ropes, light-switch chains

Of course the real players often can reel out lists of words that have me bamboozled.

[jhlipton]

Leslie Jones and Julie Bowen should be permanent guests -- they're funny when not in the game and serious when they are.  Two perfect scores in the first round, with only a second difference.  Pretty cool.

Debra Messing completely collapsed under pressure.

[Whimsy]

On 6/12/2018 at 4:53 PM, Cyranetta said:

Another brown item: chocolate

And pulled items: drapery cords, anchor ropes, light-switch chains

Of course the real players often can reel out lists of words that have me bamboozled.

I thought paper bag, too.  Since, they're literally called brown paper bags lol.  But, it's easy to do from the couch lol. 

[incandescent]

I thought it was so funny that when listing Davids, the contestant's brain glided over Beckham and Bowie and instead went to that one season of American Idol.

For things you pull, I would've said "a fast one," a hamstring, a fire alarm.

[readster]

15 minutes ago, incandescent said:

I thought it was so funny that when listing Davids, the contestant's brain glided over Beckham and Bowie and instead went to that one season of American Idol.

For things you pull, I would've said "a fast one," a hamstring, a fire alarm.

Could have also said: "a muscle, a lid, a rope."

[iMonrey]

Why on earth did ABC show the exact same rerun last night that they showed last Thursday? What's wrong with them? Did the rerun get such huge ratings last Thursday they decided to give it an encore? Or are they simply not paying any attention to which episode they pull?

[DasFlavorPup]

Well, Anthony Anderson is just as obnoxious and tiresome as he was in the very first episode.

Memo to Anthony Anderson this week and Mario Cantone last week - we aren't here to watch you mug for the cameras.

Edited June 18, 2018 by DasFlavorPup

[BW Manilowe]

On 7/10/2017 at 9:54 PM, peeayebee said:

But the guy (or was it gal?) who said that also said, "Boys and girls..." where I think s/he was going for "boys and girls can be cheerleaders." But, yeah, the judges were too lenient.

I couldn't stand the football players, esp Cam Newton. I thought it was a good technique to look away when receiving the clues in the Winners Circle, since physical movements are verboten. Also, I can often think of an answer when I look away.

Apolo Ono was so good. I think I've seen him on another game show a while back, but I can't remember what.

I don't like the gimmicky "dueling celebrities" either. Another thing I've been disliking lately is when the celebrity introduced his/her partner and says the person is amazing or talented or whatever. Stop that. You don't know. Just say the person's name. Keep it simple, stupid. (I know the show makes them do this.)

He may have been on other shows as a player; like, he was on Dancing with the Stars , & I think won his season. But he hosted the Game Show Network's revival of Minute to Win It, 2013-2014, the reboot of the NBC game show Guy Fieri hosted, where contestants do challenges with household items within a minute.

[BW Manilowe]

On 9/19/2017 at 9:13 PM, starri said:

"He smokes a lot of weed."

"Snoop Dogg!"

Either him or Willie Nelson.

[Blissfool]

3 hours ago, DasFlavorPup said:

Well, Anthony Anderson is just as obnoxious and tiresome as he was in the very first episode.

Memo to Anthony Anderson this week and Mario Cantone last week - we aren't here to watch you mug for the cameras.

Anthony Anderson is obnoxious everywhere. I cannot stand him. I thought he was rude to Jenifer Lewis. 

[jhlipton]

On 6/17/2018 at 9:28 PM, Blissfool said:

Anthony Anderson is obnoxious everywhere. I cannot stand him. I thought he was rude to Jenifer Lewis. 

I am no fan of Mr Anderson, But Lewis gave as good as she got, and Anderson played a good game.  He didn;t mug when he needed to pay attention.

[DasFlavorPup]

Ugh - when I watched this show as a kid back in the 80s, a team eking out a win with 14 points was a rarity, not the norm.   And the Mystery 7 was usually won, not rarely.  This was the first time this season it was won, I believe.

Edited June 25, 2018 by DasFlavorPup

[iMonrey]

Yeah, these two episodes were really sad, and not just because the celebrities were kind of weak. The contestants were real dummies too. Lance Armstrong for famous astronauts? {headsmack} I'm amazed anyone managed to work their way to the top of the winner's circle. 

The difference seems to be that back in the classic Dick Clark era, the contestants really knew how to play the game. The just doesn't seem to be the case now. I honestly don't know where they get these people. 

[Fable]

I enjoyed this episode.  Snoop Dogg and QuestLove weren’t horrid, and Richard Shiff and Nicholas Gonzales got off to a rough start but found their rhythm and were good sports. 

I was a little stunned that the one guy didn’t guess Beyonce and didn’t know any Prince songs, but it was clearly not something he was familiar with. It doesn’t make him ignorant.  I would be stumped too if someone started asking me to name models of cars.  I also give the Lance Armstrong girl a pass.  I groaned when she said it, but I’m sure it’s harder than it looks to be in that seat. 

[opus]

24 minutes ago, Fable said:

I also give the Lance Armstrong girl a pass.  I groaned when she said it, but I’m sure it’s harder than it looks to be in that seat. 

Agree. I chalk it up to nerves and panic. After the round she seemed to quickly realize her mistake.