The $100,000 Pyramid - General Discussion

[ams1001]

6 hours ago, suebee12 said:

As for clues...when the category was things that are great, my first thought was Mohamed Ali! Would they have allowed a, b, c, d, e, f...... for alphabet?

If she had said "the wall of China" instead of big China wall she might have had better luck.

I was yelling "the LETTERS!!!" at my TV. 

[suebee12]

I met my son for lunch today and we played a couple of  the clues. His thought on "things that are great"...Catherine, Alexander, Nicholas, etc. BTW, he teaches Russian history! 😁

He did get it when I used Ali and Wall of China.

[sd dude]

BTW, did Michael ever explain what the mystery 7 was in the second half hour when the final thing was "wrench" and the clue giver said "you use this to open a can"?  I believe this is the same person who didn't know what a kitchen appliance is (why didn't she say "wrench" as part of her list?)  I don't really remember what the other things were in that mystery 7 but I had no idea what the common thread was and I don't recall the host identifying the category as he usually does.

[jhlipton]

15 hours ago, iMonrey said:

That one lady didn't even seem to understand what "appliances" were.

I thought the celeb needing to say "appliance" specifically (as oppose to "things in the kitchen", which she did say, and which the contestant thought would match) was totally inappropriate for the first question, which is usually a "gimme".  "Appliance" is a relatively unused word in everyday talk, and belongs at the upper levels of the game.

Also, "alphabet" is nearly as bad for the second spot, if she couldn't use "a, b, c,", etc.  I do wonder if she could have said "alpha, beta, gamma" or "Alpha Bravo Charlie.." (for non-English alphabets).

[MarkHB]

13 hours ago, ams1001 said:

If she had said "the wall of China" instead of big China wall she might have had better luck.

Usually prepositional phrases get buzzed as too descriptive, though.

[suebee12]

13 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Would they have allowed a, b, c, d, e, f...... for alphabet?

I'll ask again. Would this be acceptable? It certainly isn't descriptive but saying the letters in order sure would make me say alphabet!

4 hours ago, jhlipton said:

I thought the celeb needing to say "appliance" specifically

Other times they have accepted something like kitchen items for a clue like this...and we have complained so maybe they had a "Match Game" judge that night since they accept different things! 😈

[Whimsy]

3 hours ago, suebee12 said:

I'll ask again. Would this be acceptable? It certainly isn't descriptive but saying the letters in order sure would make me say alphabet!

Other times they have accepted something like kitchen items for a clue like this...and we have complained so maybe they had a "Match Game" judge that night since they accept different things! 😈

For some reason I thought that they had used this clue before and the contestant did say "a, b, c, d..." 

[iMonrey]

sd dude I've wondered the same thing about the Winner's Circle. It does appear that the contestant is now required to Give rather than Receive because I have seen every episode of this reboot and not once has the celebrity been the Giver. 

In the original version it seemed as though the contestant was strongly advised to Receive, because the rules were more stringent in the Winner's Circle (only lists, no hands, no qualifying descriptions) and the celebrities were thought to be more practiced at it. 

I've wondered if maybe the Legal Team feels it's safer if the contestant is the Giver because they're less likely to sue the show if they miss out on big money because the celebrity screws up while being the Giver.

A more recent change (to this reboot) is that the contestant is the first to give clues in the preliminary round this season. In previous seasons, as in the original show, the first round begins with the celebrity giving clues. I don't know why that change was made either.

[Jadzia]

For the “Great” question, the clue I thought of was “Donald Trump’s America” but I’m snarky like that. 

[sd dude]

You're not the only one, Jadzia, although for me the snark was expressed as, "America, again."  Although, your version is definitely better if one actually would want that clue to be helpful to the receiver.

[Orillia]

For Great , I thought of Balls of Fire or Santini

[FormerMod-a1]

14 hours ago, jhlipton said:

I thought the celeb needing to say "appliance" specifically (as oppose to "things in the kitchen", which she did say, and which the contestant thought would match) was totally inappropriate for the first question, which is usually a "gimme".  "Appliance" is a relatively unused word in everyday talk, and belongs at the upper levels of the game.

I disagree.  All you need to do is list appliances - stove, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, toaster, toaster oven, mixer, blender, etc.  

[peeayebee]

On 8/19/2019 at 3:47 PM, sd dude said:

Oh and how about: "I'm made up of 26 letters that are used to make up all the words in the English language."  

Perfect.

I was surprised at how badly Simone did in the Winner Circle since she was a good player otherwise, the wrench clues aside. As others here said, a whisk and a bowl are not appliances. Stove, dishwasher, refrigerator, oven... Easy peasy.

On 8/19/2019 at 11:33 AM, iMonrey said:

I thought of Frosted Flakes. They're Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!

I thought of that, too. Lots of great (hee) suggestions here. My first thought was "Arizona's canyon," then I realized that was Grand, not Great. Doh.

On 8/19/2019 at 9:01 AM, suebee12 said:

I really thought that Hill Harper was going to be good...first round was super then it was downhill from there. It was fun to see him be "human" after  his role in The Good Doctor!

I agree with seeing him here compared with how his character on The Good Doctor. I enjoyed him (here).

I disagree with James Van Der Week getting a point for his partner when he said "plank." The guy was giving clues for tightrope. He said, "Walk the..." and James said plank. He wasn't giving the answer for the previous item, which was "The Plank." That was weird judging.

I don't know Sara Haines. I don't watch their morning show, but I was wondering if she's had her baby. The morning show is live, but The Pyramid is taped, so I just wondered.

Oh, and Minions are not ugly. So there.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I disagree with James Van Der Week getting a point for his partner when he said "plank." The guy was giving clues for tightrope. He said, "Walk the..." and James said plank. He wasn't giving the answer for the previous item, which was "The Plank." That was weird judging

They have always allowed a point for the correct answer even if given later in the round. That was the case dating back to the original Dick Clark show. But it's funny the contestant passed on "plank" because he couldn't think of anything, then used "Walk the blank" for tightrope instead. I immediately thought of pirates making people walk the plank.

Quote

Oh, and Minions are not ugly. So there.

I've never seen the movies either and even I know what Minions are. Sheesh.

[theatremouse]

Definitely some bad clue giving from contestants and celebs in this one. This iteration doesn't really have a lot of repeat return celebs, so the idea of them being well-practiced is kinda out the window. I still don't like that there's no longer a choice in the winner's circle, but it is probably reasonable to assume that the people who apply to be on the show may indeed be better at the game than the celebs.

It really bugs me when they're giving a clue and the person guesses the wrong thing and they just keep repeating what they said instead of using the wrongness. Like he kept saying "small river" and she said creek. That should've helped because now he should start listing all the other wrong answers: creek, brook, and then you're doing process of elimination on what words are left that are basically the same thing. I know they both were just feeling stuck but if the answer they give is wrong and could've been a clue, I feel like saying that word back to them sort of clears it? Like stop guessing that I gave it as a clue ergo it's on the right track.

[jhlipton]

On 8/20/2019 at 5:46 AM, suebee12 said:

Other times they have accepted something like kitchen items for a clue like this...and we have complained so maybe they had a "Match Game" judge that night since they accept different things! 😈

I think it should depend on where in the pyramid they are.  The first couple should be judged pretty loosely, then more and more strictly as they move up.  "Things in a kitchen" works better as a "first subject" than "kitchen appliances" does.  

[peeayebee]

21 hours ago, iMonrey said:

They have always allowed a point for the correct answer even if given later in the round. That was the case dating back to the original Dick Clark show. But it's funny the contestant passed on "plank" because he couldn't think of anything, then used "Walk the blank" for tightrope instead.

I know that it's acceptable when the clue receiver says the correct answer after they've passed, but in this case he wasn't coming up with the answer to the word/phrase that was passed on; he came up with an answer to a different clue. I don't really think that's splitting hairs.

Another example -- The phrase is 'paper towel.'

Giver: This is something you wipe with.
Receiver: A towel.
Giver: More.
Receiver: A hand towel.
Giver: Pass. (next is Newspaper) You put this in the bottom of a bird cage.
Receiver: Paper towel.

He's answering for that clue, not for the previous one, so I don't think it should be accepted. It's not like the correct answer just occurred to him. It's completely accidental, like burping when the answer is burp.

[jhlipton]

6 hours ago, peeayebee said:

It's not like the correct answer just occurred to him. It's completely accidental, like burping when the answer is burp.

I don't think that should matter.  And there's no real way to know for sure that the answer to the previous question wasn't jarred free by the current one.

[peeayebee]

In this case it certainly wasn't jarred loose because the guy gave no clues and passed immediately.

[ams1001]

Adam Pally sucks at this.

Edited August 26, 2019 by ams1001

[lb60]

Sherri Shepherd needs to stop hitting on every man that crosses her path. It's disgusting!

Dana (1st game) annoyed me.

Apparently, I'm in a grumpy mood right now.

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, lb60 said:

Sherri Shepherd needs to stop hitting on every man that crosses her path. It's disgusting!

Dana (1st game) annoyed me.

Apparently, I'm in a grumpy mood right now.

Both celebs were pretty good in the first game, but yes, she annoyed me too.

I loved Kevin Nealon's caricature of Michael.

[suebee12]

45 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I loved Kevin Nealon's caricature of Michael.

That was a great caricature! I would love to see some more of his work!

Question? Didn't they say that the person in the clue was German or spoke German? Arnold Schwarzenegger is Austrian! Of course, it didn't matter anyway.

I was expecting someone like Henry Kissinger!

Edited August 26, 2019 by suebee12

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

That was a great caricature! I would love to see some more of his work!

Question? Didn't they say that the person in the clue was German or spoke German? Arnold Schwarzenegger is Austrian! Of course, it didn't matter anyway.

German is the official language of Austria.

Kevin Nealon has an instagram page for his artwork (including the one of Michael Strahan).

https://www.instagram.com/kevinnealonartwork/

[suebee12]

7 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

German is the official language of Austria.

Oops, on my part. I thought there was an Austrian language...well, I guess there sorta' is.

Official languages: German, Hungarian, Austrian German, Slovenian

@ams1001- Thanks for the link of Kevin's work.

Edited August 26, 2019 by suebee12

[ams1001]

13 hours ago, suebee12 said:

Oops, on my part. I thought there was an Austrian language...well, I guess there sorta' is.

Official languages: German, Hungarian, Austrian German, Slovenian

@ams1001- Thanks for the link of Kevin's work.

You're welcome! :)

[iMonrey]

Yikes, Adam Pally was horrible. How hard is it to come up with a clue for "bath?" Jamal was equally bad so pairing them in the first round was a total disaster. Not that the opponent was much better, I'm amazed she managed to win the 50K.

Speaking of which, in the first episode the clue was "people in the office" and the contestant got buzzed for saying "copier person." Aside from the fact that such a position doesn't exist I don't understand why they buzzed her for that. 

And "What a River Says" shouldn't have been that hard. "My name is The Nile." "My name is The Amazon." "My name is the Euphrates." Unless you just don't know the name of any rivers, apparently.

[sd dude]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

And "What a River Says" shouldn't have been that hard. "My name is The Nile." "My name is The Amazon." "My name is the Euphrates." Unless you just don't know the name of any rivers, apparently.

I thought the same immediately = "I am the mighty Mississippi" or something along those lines.  Would that lead to disqualification by any chance, since that would be a list of names of rivers (which is technically not the category) and perhaps not more generically what any or all rivers might say?

Note to self: Saying "rub-" when the category is "Things Made of Rubber" probably not the way to go.  "Band" is not a good clue by itself.  Automobile tire is pretty good.  Add in pencil eraser with the other two and that might have cinched that category.  Super-bouncing ball?  Condoms?  Surgical gloves?  Would the word latex be allowed (Latex condom, latex gloves) or would that be considered using a synonym for rubber?

[iMonrey]

Again, Jamal was not a good player. He seemed to click better with Sherri Shepherd but that first round made we wonder how he even got on this show. I get that you sometimes wind up with lousy celebrities because they're out promoting something or other (although Adam Pally doesn't have anything in the works that I know of), but I expect a somewhat higher bar for the contestants to clear. Otherwise you wind up with disasters like this one.

Quote

Would that lead to disqualification by any chance, since that would be a list of names of rivers (which is technically not the category) and perhaps not more generically what any or all rivers might say?

The rules are pretty lax when it comes to the "What a so-and-so might say" type category. As long as you didn't just list names, and phrased it as "Hello my name is The Nile and I snake through Egypt," etc., I would think you'd be OK. In fact this type of category is the only one where you don't have to just give a list.

Edited August 26, 2019 by iMonrey

[Fable]

The first two celebs and players were decent.  However, the category about Fortnite seemed a bit difficult.  I think it may have thrown me off too.

[DB in CMH]

Sherri really surprised me with how good she was. Pally? Eek. 

[Jaded]

This is a really frustrating game show to only have on once a week. In the old days when it was a daily weekday show the celebs who were on for a week and usually improved.  I know from watching a lot when it was on GSN that some didn't though. 😄

[peeayebee]

On 8/26/2019 at 8:12 PM, Fable said:

The first two celebs and players were decent.  However, the category about Fortnite seemed a bit difficult.  I think it may have thrown me off too.

I know nothing about Fortnite, but the words here are not exclusive to that game, so it really wasn't that hard.

On 8/26/2019 at 9:38 AM, iMonrey said:

Speaking of which, in the first episode the clue was "people in the office" and the contestant got buzzed for saying "copier person." Aside from the fact that such a position doesn't exist I don't understand why they buzzed her for that. 

I'd have to rewatch, but I think afterwards Michael said she said "coffee maker person." *shrug* 

I think Dana threw off Kevin when she said "45" for people in an office. I believe she was referring to Trump (being in the Oval Office or just presidential office), but it didn't work at all. People in an office: the boss, the workers, a temp, secretaries, the HR rep, the receptionist.

And then she was stuck on people being high. It took a while for her to move onto other things, like a skyscraper and skydivers, or whatever it was. 

I agree with others that Adam Pally was awful. And the contestant, Whats-His-Name, was so frantic. What a contrast this game was to the first game with Rachel Dratch and Kevin Nealon. That was super enjoyable.

I thought one of the Winners Circle categories was strange: Cleaning Terms. The judges gave it to them when Rachel said Cleaning Items, but "terms" is more like "scrubbing, dusting, vacuuming, polishing..." 

Edited August 28, 2019 by peeayebee

[roughing it]

19 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I agree with others that Adam Pally was awful.

I don't know that he was awful, I got the impression that he didn't want to be there and thus didn't really try.  Whoever he is.

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, roughing it said:

I don't know that he was awful, I got the impression that he didn't want to be there and thus didn't really try.  Whoever he is.

I had to google him last time I saw him on something (To Tell the Truth, maybe?) and I had to google him again when I saw him on this...I'd have to google again to tell you what he's famous for. (Clearly he has made an impression...🙄)

[peeayebee]

Although he has a lot of credits, I think he's mostly known for Happy Endings (which was very funny) and The Mindy Project.

[jhlipton]

On 8/25/2019 at 7:09 PM, lb60 said:

Sherri Shepherd needs to stop hitting on every man that crosses her path. It's disgusting!

I've noticed at a LOT of Black women do this on this show and even more-so on To Tell The Truth.  It's disgusting and feeds a nasty stereotype.

On 8/29/2019 at 7:38 AM, peeayebee said:

Although he has a lot of credits, I think he's mostly known for Happy Endings (which was very funny) and The Mindy Project.

That's how he was introduced.

[iMonrey]

A real mixed bag, these last two. Rich Eisen was woefully mismatched with that first contestant. The contestant was just way too hyper and Eisen was way too laid back. For someone claiming to have been "raised on" Pyramid, Eisen seemed especially disinterested in the whole affair. He'd guess one word then just sort of shrug, like "well, I don't know then."

I have never heard of La La Anthony before in my life, but boy, is she dumb. Something  you use to chop down a tree: a machete? Really? And he's naming all these states and she just keeps saying "cities." Never heard the word "ladle" before, has never heard of a dictionary before. Wow. What a dum dum.

For "things you push" I would have said button. That seemed obvious. Also, for things that are rusty I might have said "the Tin Man" but that might have thrown him off.

[suebee12]

Boy, La La was bad! A list of states and she said cities?

Jerry Ferrara was a good player...never heard of him or the show he is on!

And for things with a tail? A kite!!!

I really like Pyramid and wish it was on regularly. It has always been one of my favorite shows!

[Bridget]

3 hours ago, suebee12 said:

Boy, La La was bad! A list of states and she said cities?

Jerry Ferrara was a good player...never heard of him or the show he is on!

And for things with a tail? A kite!!!

I really like Pyramid and wish it was on regularly. It has always been one of my favorite shows!

He’s best known for playing Turtle on HBO’s “Entourage.” He did a lot better than I expected, but following Joel McHale isn’t anything I’d want to do. I love Joel when he’s a guest on Pyramid!

Edited September 9, 2019 by Bridget

[ams1001]

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I have never heard of La La Anthony before in my life, but boy, is she dumb. Something  you use to chop down a tree: a machete? Really? And he's naming all these states and she just keeps saying "cities." Never heard the word "ladle" before, has never heard of a dictionary before. Wow. What a dum dum.

For "things you push" I would have said button. That seemed obvious. Also, for things that are rusty I might have said "the Tin Man" but that might have thrown him off.

I hadn't heard of her either. Please can I never hear of her again?

A button is good. I thought of a stroller. I kept telling her to say "old metal" at least but she was stuck on car and wasn't listening to me.

If you're going to give a list of animals to try to get to tail you gotta at least specify it's at the rear end.

[suebee12]

39 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I have never heard of La La Anthony before in my life

Well, I  have heard of her because she plays Brian Austin Green's wife on the new show BH 90210. Not excited with her on that show either!

Edited September 9, 2019 by suebee12
I need to learn to spell!!

[peeayebee]

Joel McHale was good. Rich Eisen was frustrating. Seems like I saw him on some other game show. Was he on Hollywood Game Night? *shrug* Anyway, he was way too laid back.

I liked both contestants, but I always like both to get a chance at the Winner's Circle, or at least for one to get all the Mystery Seven and the other to get to the Winner's Circle. Jay had a rough start, but he turned out to be a good player.

La La Anthony. Ok. I think when she first gave clues she was frustrated and a little short with the contestant. There were times when she seemed pretty good, but that impression flew right out the window at the end. Wow. That's embarrassing.

[Racj82]

Not surprising that anyone watching this show doesn't watch Power but that is THE shoe for black people. I can go around a group of black people, bring up Power and we will be talking about it like it's The Sopranos. To it kind of is. Excellent show. High Drama.

Jerry plays the lawyer of the main character on the show and he does a real good job. Lala is the best friend of the female lead but she has slowly been sucked into drama as time goes on. Most people don't really like her on the show though. She used to be a mtv VJ, married a famous basketball player and now acts. Not a bad life.

[dmeets]

La La got way too easy a pass from Strahan on thinking Texas, etc. were cities. Also, she was giving a lot of attitude to the contestants that couldn't decipher her shitty clues. How is he supposed to know you're pointing at a mole when you don't have a mole? And she seemed legit ticked that he couldn't get it.

Joel was mostly good, but he really blew the lucky 7 round with the one word names. Cinderella was the only Disney princess from Walt's era not to have a sleeping curse. That seemed to throw them both off the rest of the round.

Edited September 10, 2019 by dmeets

[ams1001]

8 hours ago, dmeets said:

La La got way too easy a pass from Strahan on thinking Texas, etc. were cities. 

Well, there is a city called Texas City (on Galveston Bay) but...

Drives me nuts when they latch onto the first thing that comes to mind (and I think the contestant said New York first, and most people would probably think City before State, so I see how she came up with city first), and then keep saying it when the next several clues are clearly leading to something different.

[theatremouse]

On 9/10/2019 at 7:59 AM, dmeets said:

Joel was mostly good, but he really blew the lucky 7 round with the one word names. Cinderella was the only Disney princess from Walt's era not to have a sleeping curse. That seemed to throw them both off the rest of the round.

I think the problem was more that the first few were all Disney princesses, and since it was the mystery 7, the guy thought he'd figured out the category and kept guessing those instead of focusing on what the clues might bring to mind in general. I mean, also Joel didn't give great clues once they got behind. But I think those clues should've been in a different order for this category.

But also seriously red+white=pink.

And I wanted her to say "brown metal" on the rusty things.

[opus]

Dang. Anna Camp was...wait for it...pitch perfect.

[iMonrey]

Mostly good celebs this week. "Things with a  head" was a tough one. I think they were bleeping her saying "cock" which was an odd choice for her. Maybe she actually thought that was the clinical word for it. I would have said "your shoulders" and "a mug of beer" but admittedly, it took me awhile to come up with those.

"Things you pack" was tough too. I don't even think I could have come up with sardine can. But it might have helped if he had said "your bags" instead of "vacation luggage." Because the phrase "pack your bags" is pretty common.

[suebee12]

8 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

"Things you pack" was tough too.

My thought for this was an empty suitcase and a bloody nose....wonder if that would have worked? It was fun watching two good contests last night. The one woman had a bit of a "nasty" mouth and at first I wondered what was going on until I realized she was being "blipped"!