I'll start with Temptation, because that's a little less painful than Crosswords. My enthusiasm gained during last week's preview episodes dipped slightly. Some observations:

*Rossi still seems to be pounding the coffee pre-taping because he is just too high strung for my tastes in these episodes.

*The prizes (instant bargains and end game) are too feminine. If this is going to be a unisex show, how about toning down the number of pink "Juicy Couture" gym bags and purses?

*There's a bizarre gap between the "Temptation Dollars" price of the car and the next best prize, like $350 or so. That leads me to believe champions playing for the car will have to win a dead game prior to qualifying for the car, basically just to boost their totals. (In the double run episode, this difference was only $200).

*No one is going to buy a curling iron sold on a game show, even if it does have free shipping.

*I realize this isn't supposed to be Jeopardy!, but in the "Meat or Cheese" speed round, who would think "hard salami" is a cheese?

*Knock Off is still fun and probably the best part of the show.

*Did anyone else find themselves noticing that the announcer for Temptation is Rolonda Watts, host of her own talk show in the '90s?

*The double run was as odd as I thought it would be. Rossi went from clean-shaven to stubbly and instant cash went from $1000 to $3500 in the span of 30 minutes.

*Instant Cash has been played for every time in all 4 episodes that have aired. Given the low stakes, that surprises me.

All in all, it's still worth watching. It's far from perfect, but it's fun to play along with.

In my next post, sigh, Merv Griffin's Crosswords.

 

posted by Brad @ 9:51 PM   7 comment(s)