Author Topic: Wink Martindale's Awesome Non-Price Clips and Episodes: The Ongoing Thread  (Read 164707 times)

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Offline goldroadfanatic

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I loved how they tried to return to the breakneck pace of the ABC version by having the answers revealed first, then the contestants raced towards the buzzers, interrupting Rob if they thought they knew the answer. Also, the Countdown Round reverted to 3-4-5 for the number of correct answers needed to win for the first, second, and third place players, respectively, just like that older version of the show.

I will say the weak spot was the bonus round. Those trips look great, and they were pretty valuable for the time, but turning the bonus round into a shell game with a one-in-three chance of winning was not as exciting as trying to start one of five cars in the ABC era, or picking from five screens in the 1986 version. In an interesting way, this bonus round is like the "Memory Buster" questions of the ABC era, but reworked. Still, seeing five cars on stage and champions try to start one them was more exciting, especially if the champion managed to retire undefeated and choose one of the five cars they wanted.

If only the gameplay from this version was in the 1986 version, maybe that could have lasted another season. Also, if this pilot had sold, maybe there would have been another attempt to revive this show in the 1990s or 2000s.

Rob Weller did a fine job moving the game along. He wasn't the quick reader and joker like Tom Kennedy was, but he was much better suited as a host for this game than Monty Hall was in 1986.
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Offline imhomerjay

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Wow. That was bad.

Offline bigblue999

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Wink comes through again!

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Offline COINBOYNYC

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Wow. That was bad.

I didn't think so.

But I was thinking about how long it must take to set up and take down the stunts, and how long it took to tape one show.  The length of time involved must have made it as rough an experience for the audience as the last stunt was for the final two contestants.
Fun fact: Evelyn Wong, the 5th person to be called on the first show (9/4/72), was actually the very first contestant to directly be called to come on down!  The original first four (Sandy Flornor, Paul Levine, Connie Donnel, Myra Carter) were individually told to stand up, and then, as a group, were invited to come on down.

Offline imhomerjay

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Wink comes through again!


It’s remarkable how they went from this assault on the eyes to Classic Concentration in a short span. I don’t mind mixing up the match element, though themed games might help. But yikes, that set and logo were something else. Orson may have been a fun panelist, but not a smooth host here.


Offline pannoni1

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Coincidentally, New Coke was on the market at the time that pilot was taped. Even though there was no huge public backlash, I'd imagine that fiasco may have played a role into its rebranding.

That second puzzle is a classic example of a certain symbol making the solution tricky (I thought it represented water or ice). Still, to have mismatches that includes one that may be found on the Playboy channel as well as an unexpected visitor that contradicts what's in the Bible provide some great laughs.
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Offline Alfonzo

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Wink comes through again!


That set which looked liked moving eyeballs always kinda freaked me out. The logo on top of it looks like a unibrow.

There are some people, like Orson Bean, that make better panelist than game show hosts. Henry Polic II, Pat Harrington and Richard Kline also come to mind. Very few people can pull it off the double duty like Richard Dawson, Vicki Lawrence or Bill Cullen.
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Offline pricefan18

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There are some people, like Orson Bean, that make better panelist than game show hosts. Henry Polic II, Pat Harrington and Richard Kline also come to mind. Very few people can pull it off the double duty like Richard Dawson, Vicki Lawrence or Bill Cullen.

Could add Bert Convy to that list too, even if some weren't always fond of him on Super Password.

Offline Alfonzo

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Could add Bert Convy to that list too, even if some weren't always fond of him on Super Password.

My problem with Bert on Super Password was that his hosting style was not quite suited for that show. He came off as a little too chatty. I wished he had swapped places with Tom Kennedy on Body Language. He would have been a perfect host for Hollywood Squares, though.

Bobby Van was also excellent as a panelist and a host. A tragic shame that his death from a brain tumor cut him off just as he was getting his footing.
"Audience, if you're scared buy a dog!"

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Offline pricefan18

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My problem with Bert on Super Password was that his hosting style was not quite suited for that show. He came off as a little too chatty. I wished he had swapped places with Tom Kennedy on Body Language. He would have been a perfect host for Hollywood Squares, though.

That's how I'd classify Orson as a host too funny enough. At least in those pilots. On a celebrity driven game maybe he'd do better ala Bert? But depends.

Offline SeaBreeze341

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Orson would've been a hit for Family Feud, especially given how several people act like their celebrities or a bigger deal than they actually are.


I actually enjoyed Bert on Super Password, probably because I enjoyed his work overall.  However I agree that him and Tom swapping would have been perfect.  Really if you think about it, Mark could have sorta kept things the way they were.  He kind of traded Kennedy for Bert in a way.  Just keep Bert in the 4:00 timeslot with the then new gameshow and have Tom return to his role within the Password franchise as he did so well with Plus.  I don't know if Body Language lasts longer with Convy at the helm; I think it would have as he was quite good IMO for Win Lose or Draw.


I usually give folks like Bean and Convy a pass but it's really about the nature of what gameshow they're working as well as the "supporting cast".  Man, I would have loved to see him run Hollywood Squares!
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Offline Alfonzo

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Ralph Edwards is spinning in his grave as we speak. Seriously, I couldn't get past the intro to this. Consider yourself warned.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2021, 01:26:03 PM by Alfonzo »
"Audience, if you're scared buy a dog!"

Bryan, the Punchboard player who gave up $5,000 for a chance at $10,000 and won

Offline ooboh

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Ralph Edwards is spinning in his grave as we speak. Seriously, I couldn't get past the intro to this. Consider yourself warned.

In general, I’m not a fan of Truth or Consequences, but I could tell this was going to be crap 10 seconds in. With the exception of Greed and 5th Grader, among a few others, FOX churns out the worst game shows.