Well, the set looks awesome with the jigsaw puzzle theme, and the music from Mindreaders is welcome. I liked those check mark overlays in the Capture the Category round.
However, the whole game seems disjointed. Too many puzzle types and gameplay elements clash and vie for attention. The Double Puzzles seemed confusing at first, and takes careful study to figure out what the heck is going on. Revealing the letters could've been faster if they did it like Now You See It, with Pat saying "Letter" every second.
Some of the puzzles in Capture the Category were creative and would later spawn other game shows (like Bumper Stumpers and Catch Phrase). But I think this would've been better if the format focused on a few types of puzzles rather than a variety of mini games. Also, if this show had sold, I wonder if they would've had to come up with a rotation of categories to make the game seem fresh.
Thirty seconds seems very unforgiving in the first part of Photo Finish. It's already harsh that a contestant can't return to a previous photo, so give them a chance to win as much as they can before the second part. Maybe 45 seconds for part one?
I wonder if each episode would've been self-contained or they would've straddled, had this pilot sold.
Pat I think was a bit too humorous here, trying to crack a joke at every opportunity. However, at least his humor was appropriate for each segment and didn't grind the game to a halt.
With some tweaking, this could've worked.
