Foreign Affairs, Part 2
Gordon PepperI
would like to thank everyone who e-mailed, IMmed or
otherwise gave me
feedback on the schedule. I never realized how much of
an impact that schedule would make - and it was a lot of
fun talking to people about it.
With that, it's time to address people's comments...
1. The countries and time format were based on where I
saw the show and the length that it ran. There are other
shows that ran at different time lengths (thanks to
Patrick Walsh, and others who wrote in to tell me this)
but I fit in these shows to make the schedule.
2. I only wanted to get one genre of show on the
schedule - Yes, Family Fortunes was a great version of
Family Feud - but I already had one of those on the
schedule with 100 Mexicanos Dijeron, and Dijeron
executed the show better. The Mad Dash and El Gran Juego
De La Oca both made the list because they were
variations on the theme, but not the exact same show.
3. Someone asked me this question, which was an
interesting one - would I just get the repeats or would
I create new episodes? I would definitely create new
episodes - and I would allow people from all countries
to participate.
4. Now the part that you have all been waiting for - the
people wondering why I didn't put 'THAT' show on the
list. There were a bunch of good choices that didn't
make the list, and I had many more than seven come in,
but let's look at the Top shows.
1. The Weakest Link - I knew someone was going to
bring this up. I didn't like this Anne Robinson/George
Gray game because in order to win, you'd have to be
perceived as the 'idiot', which really goes against the
game. If you made the Strongest Link exempt from being
voted off, then I would like the game better, but this
wasn't about putting up games modified to your tweaks,
this was about creating the best schedule with the games
that were there.
2. Mastermind - Think Studio 7, but with much
better execution. I liked this game, but there are other
quizzers that I thought were much more fascinating than
just cramming in information with tough trivia that's
not really play-at-home type material.
3. Vida TV - It's in a morning slot and it
features skits and a variety show, like the AM version
of Sabado Gigante. Therein lies the problem - too much
like Sabado Gigante, and there's only one Sabado Gigante.
4. Shafted - This is the British show that has
the bonus round that made Friend or Foe. I hated that
game because you could do everything right and still
lose, as there was no protection from your partner
voting Foe.
5. Dog Eat Dog - I liked the show for what it
was. The only problem is that lack of original stunts
did them in and You can only watch the same stunts for
so long. TPIR has over 80 pricing games. Fear Factor has
a good 100+ stunts. Dog Eat Dog? Only around 30. That's
not going to cut it.
6. The Chair (John McEnroe DID do the show in
England) - Uhhh....no. I never said that all of the
ideas were good ones.
7. Grand Slam - The top people from various game
shows play against each other in s 32 or 64 person
format. If there was any show that I would put in, it
would be this one - and I would probably replace Wheel
of Fortune with it.
Finally - yes, Chico, I didn't forget about Ultra-Quiz
by Rowan and Martin,
but it was such a watered-down version of the show that
I didn't consider it a 'true' version. I want a big-ass
26 episode full version of Ultra Quiz in the
TRUE torturous format - that would be enjoyable to see.
This was a LOT of fun to do - and it was great to get
feedback from you guys. Due to the immense popularity of
this, I'll be creating another schedule between the Fall
and Winter seasons. What schedule should I do? An all
decade (70's, 80's, 90's, etc) schedule? A theme
(Trivia, Love, Gambling, Word Game) schedule? A One
Season Wonder show? You guys have time to think about
what we should do next, but I'll let you know when to
submit them in.
Next week - We'll get some reviews of the beginning of
this season, and we'll see if these shows are any good -
or if we are going to be pining for the foreign
schedule.
We'll forgive Gordon Pepper
for Rowan & Martin, but not for missing out
"Blockbusters". Reach him at gordon@gameshownewsnet.com. |