Dutch Treat?
"That's The Question" bowed this week on GSN, and they seem to clearly be trying to strike gold twice using the "Lingo" formula -- fly to the Netherlands, use an existing format and set, produce 20 eps. relatively cheap and see if it sticks.
At least in this case, however, I don't think they'll be able to replicate their success with Lingo. The format here simply isn't strong enough. The puzzles are fun to play along with for a few minutes, but nothing really radical changes throughout the show. At least in Lingo there are some unexpected twists and turns along the way. Plus Lingo is a unique type of word puzzle that really hasn't been replicated before, whereas I imagine the average viewer of Question? is going to think he's seeing a high school production of Wheel of Fortune.
Actually, the hardcore game show fan in me sees a lot of resemblances here to the forgotten Wink Martindale game Headline Chasers. Heck, it even drums up memories of one of Goen's first games, the forgettable Home Shopping Game.
That's another disappointing thing here, the fact that Bob Goen, who I find really talented and witty, has been paired up with some pretty bad game show vehicles in his life. The only two good formats I think he's been paired with were Wheel (which he hosted admirably for 2 years) and the extremely-underrated Blackout.
There's some other things about the show that irked me a little bit. The contestants on the premiere certainly didn't seem that interested in the show, although the Dutch-shot Lingo episodes all suffered the same fate (and produced some hilarious bloopers as well). The mysterious woman breathlessly whispering "question" every time the buzzer is hit also makes no sense. Most curious of all is Goen's walk off at the end of the show, which dissolves to a silhouette black and white shot. I kinda expected him to launch into a 50's-esque detective spiel about a girl with gams that wouldn't quit. It's a shame he didn't.
But props to GSN for its renewed dedication to game show formats. Not all of them will stick (read: Sc(t)arface), but some will, like Chain Reaction.
Speaking of Chain Reaction, I'm glad they kept the Go bonus round in, but what's up with that weird blindfold on the guesser? It's a game show, not a firing squad.
At least in this case, however, I don't think they'll be able to replicate their success with Lingo. The format here simply isn't strong enough. The puzzles are fun to play along with for a few minutes, but nothing really radical changes throughout the show. At least in Lingo there are some unexpected twists and turns along the way. Plus Lingo is a unique type of word puzzle that really hasn't been replicated before, whereas I imagine the average viewer of Question? is going to think he's seeing a high school production of Wheel of Fortune.
Actually, the hardcore game show fan in me sees a lot of resemblances here to the forgotten Wink Martindale game Headline Chasers. Heck, it even drums up memories of one of Goen's first games, the forgettable Home Shopping Game.
That's another disappointing thing here, the fact that Bob Goen, who I find really talented and witty, has been paired up with some pretty bad game show vehicles in his life. The only two good formats I think he's been paired with were Wheel (which he hosted admirably for 2 years) and the extremely-underrated Blackout.
There's some other things about the show that irked me a little bit. The contestants on the premiere certainly didn't seem that interested in the show, although the Dutch-shot Lingo episodes all suffered the same fate (and produced some hilarious bloopers as well). The mysterious woman breathlessly whispering "question" every time the buzzer is hit also makes no sense. Most curious of all is Goen's walk off at the end of the show, which dissolves to a silhouette black and white shot. I kinda expected him to launch into a 50's-esque detective spiel about a girl with gams that wouldn't quit. It's a shame he didn't.
But props to GSN for its renewed dedication to game show formats. Not all of them will stick (read: Sc(t)arface), but some will, like Chain Reaction.
Speaking of Chain Reaction, I'm glad they kept the Go bonus round in, but what's up with that weird blindfold on the guesser? It's a game show, not a firing squad.
posted by Brad @ 11:27 PM 1 comment(s)