Recap -- 5/21/10

[Macsen]

Hmm, I wonder where Army is...

[spoon14]

Ugh, super budget mode. Today was watchable, but that's about all I can say. Lucky $even, Punch A Bunch and TTM were set up horribly - I don't care how much in budget mode you are, make them winnable please. Bullseye was a very fun segment though and Drew had some good moments of banter this episode, so it was decently enjoyable.

Timings:
Lucky $even (4.5) - 3:26
Pick A Number (3.5) - 3:16
Bullseye (5) - 6:14
Most Expensive (3.5) - 4:09
Punch A Bunch (5.5) - 4:34
That's Too Much! (5) - 3:22
Total time (27): 25:01

I definitely agree with the consensus that Lucky $even was an incredibly hard set up. It's not just the 9 and 1, but also consecutive threes. On the other hand, I disagree about Punch A Bunch. I thought it was easier than normal. I went 4 for 4 playing along, which is a rarity for me on that game. They were small prizes that regular viewers would have seen (although if they select people who don't watch the show, that counteracts that advantage). That's Too Much was so-so. Making it the second price is tough because it probably feels right to guess a number towards the middle. On the other hand, for anyone who either watches the show or just has a feel for car prices, I think Hyundai are easier than average to make a good ballpark guess. That's probably why she came so close.

On the other hand, I thought Most Expensive was pretty tough. Granted, that was a pretty fancy kitchen set with two ovens side-by-side. But it's hard to pick an appliance over a vehicle.

Bullseye placed the hidden bullseye in a place that upped the odds of a win. First of all, it was under a familiar product (past sauce) that people would be likely to pick. Second, Francesco Rinaldi is cheaper than most other name brands. So a contestant is more likely to overestimate its price and hit the target than underestimate, pick too many, and overshoot the target.

There were a couple of things I liked with modeling/presentation. It was a nice change of pace to see all the models in the jeep. I liked seeing the model reactions in addition to the contestant reaction. And although the First Showcase didn't move around a lot, I thought that turntable presentation of the smaller prizes was a nice way to lend some energy to what could otherwise be too static.

[catdogwheel]

I'm gonna say it once again, viewers watch to watch people win, not watch to watch other people lose miserably.

I understand that the show is over budget. I get that. Now granted I don't know how to make a pricing game lineup, but I feel that with all of the setups from today's show that they should've did these games with their setups throughout the taping week, not one particular episode. I guess this is something the current staff is just never going to get.

Lucky 7- Triple disaster! First we have repeating 3's and then a 9 and a 1! This was unlucky 7 today.

P-a-N- you know I actually have to admit that I loved it when Drew brought up the point that wins are becoming sparse in this game, and many games for that matter! Now if he could just get that through the current staff's thick skulls.

Bullseye- Now I have to admit this is one game I love more than I used to because no matter who's in charge of the setups, it's an easy game to win. Which is probably it seems like they've played it less than in the Dob days.

ME- This was quite a tricky setup too. Usually the rule of thumb in this game is "go with anything that is mobile", like a motorbike. Today was "go with something that stays put"

Punch-a-Bunch- This one I'll give the staffers a little bit of slack. Yes the SPs were hard, BUT they did have a couple that have been on the show a few times before. I think this is one policy the staff is starting to go with again, which is to use recurring items fairly frequently. Even with the GP games it seems like we've started seeing that rule once again.

Ya know, when Caitlin oh-so exuberantly exclaimed that TTM was her favorite game & that she watches everyday, I thought for sure she was going to be the one to finally bust this game's M.O.. Because they were offering such a cheap car, I knew the winning price was going to be in the 2nd slot (had they opted to place it in their next favorite position, 9th, the opening price would have had to have been what? $9000??) before the game even started. But nooooooooo, Caitlin turned out to be just another clueless contestant who needed permission from the audience before making every decision.

I really have to disagree with you on this one. It actually did seem like she knew Kathy's tricks because she pondered over the second price for a longer time than most people do. But even still she stopped at #3 and not too many people do that either.

[FrenchFan]

-91 in Lucky 7, plain evil. I think I would have made it to the last number.

Pick-a-Number was Double-Pricesque today, because 2 was obviously wrong. However, I like when we have to guess one of the first two numbers. At least it deals with PRICES, which is not the case when it's the second-to-last number, just luck. I was fooled by the supplement, though.

Bullseye was very, very, easy. I saw that lotion, I said "pick 2 of it". Pick cosmetics and say two equals guaranteed win. And that hidden bullseye behind the sauce was another way to force a win.

Most expensive : plain evil too. I'd have picked the treadmill, but it was the wrong trap.

Punchy : they really have to remove those lousy $50 amounts. One or two punches, and it becomes hard to watch. Even if the contestant played badly (I got 3/4). Weak punch for a weak amount. I suffered for her.

That's too much : when I saw the 2nd price, I yelled STOOOOOOOP ! but she didn't listen to me. That was easy for a regular watcher.

Decent SC2, lousy private island in SC1.

Difficult setups are not a problem to me (I host "Le Juste Prix" on a French forum and I use hard (sometimes evil) setups very often). But make them fair : hard setups for everyone or easy setups for everyone. Otherwise you have a lousy show.

[whinbaby]

The 7,281st episode (169th for Season 38)

Showcase #1
Luggage - $1,885
Venus - $64
Men's street-inspired swimwear   $39
Sunglasses - $140
- Aviator - $65
- Jackie O - $75
iPads - $998
Trip to the Maldives - $13,842
Waverunner - $9,734

Showcase #2
55" LCD TV - $3,600
Pair of 32" LCD TVs - $1,200
Wall Unit - $1,695
Chair & Ottoman - $1,661
The 139th Chrysler PT Cruiser offered - $19,390

Your Modeling Scorecard for May 21, 2010
Rachel Reynolds
Total:  18/$74,288 (7/$30,152, 11/$44,136)
Cars:  2/$42,781 (1/$19,390, 1/$23,391)
Trips:  1/$13,842 (0/$0, 1/$13,842)

Manuela Arbelaez
Total:  6/$45,944 (3/$7,220, 3/$38,724)
Cars:  1/$23,391 (0/$0, 1/$23,391)
Trips:  1/$4,635 (1/$4,635, 0/$0)

Gwennie Osborne-Smith
Total:  10/$80,204 (6/$11,453, 4/$68,751)
Cars:  2/$41,701 (0/$0, 2/$41,701)
Trips:  0/$0 (0/$0, 0/$0)

And for the season
Rachel Reynolds (148 shows)
Total:  1,458/$7,530,470 (838/$2,725,547, 620/$4,804,923)
Cars:  132/$3,258,154 (42/$867,165, 90/$2,390,989)
Trips:  133/$1,134,184 (59/$498,994, 74/$635,190)

Manuela Arbelaez (102 shows)
Total:  849/$5,159,521 (534/$2,293,191, 315/$2,866,330)
Cars:  91/$2,060,872 (43/$1,002,880, 48/$1,057,992)
Trips:  103/$929,852 (57/$495,162, 46/$434,690)

Gwennie Osborne-Smith (78 shows)
Total:  659/$3,833,897 (390/$1,556,348, 269/$2,277,549)
Cars:  67/$1,490,526 (25/$550,488, 42/$940,038)
Trips:  75/$618,498 (42/$387,796, 33/$230,702)