Author Topic: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4  (Read 60112 times)

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Offline GameShowKid

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The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« on: June 09, 2019, 10:02:27 PM »
Welcome to Season 4 (and the 3-D Pyramid logo now center stage). I noticed an apparent rule change right away: the contestant starts the maingame giving the clues and the teams at the end seemingly have no choice as to who gives (the contestant does) in the third round of subjects.

Other observations: Did I hear Leslie Jones curse? Did that get by the censors? And I know it most likely won't happen, but I wish the show would go in a more intellectual direction, as it used to be when Dick Clark was the host. And what shall we say about Robert?? I think Mr. Clark would have told him to "calm down" at the least. I, as host, would have.

Wow, what a pace Rosie O'Donnell was on during her second trip to the bonus round. I thought she and her partner would break Billy Crystal's very old 26 second record.

As for particular Winner's Circle subjects: I immediately thought of "a candle" and "Madame Tussaud's figures" for "Things Made of Wax". I had to pause for a bit when I saw "Types of Eggs"; I might have passed that one. The contestant gave some good clues though. Any excellent ones out there?

Was "Parts of a Sink" too difficult for a first subject? It's relative. And tough loss for not being general enough on "Members of a Rock Band". 


How  about your thoughts? :)
« Last Edit: June 09, 2019, 10:07:35 PM by GameShowKid »

Offline goldroadfanatic

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2019, 10:07:02 PM »
Hi everyone,  I'd like to let you all know that I had a great time playing tonight.  I was contestant Paul in the first half of the show! 

This was my first experience as a game show contestant, and it was amazing!  All those years watching reruns of the Dick Clark era and this version paid off; I finally got on the show and played the game for real!

I hope you had as much fun watching this as I had playing it!

"Cherish the past, accept the present, and anticipate the future.  They are listening to feedback wherever feasible, but they can't repeat the past."

Offline GameShowKid

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2019, 10:08:36 PM »
Hi everyone,  I'd like to let you all know that I had a great time playing tonight.  I was contestant Paul in the first half of the show! 

This was my first experience as a game show contestant, and it was amazing!  All those years watching reruns of the Dick Clark era and this version paid off; I finally got on the show and played the game for real!

I hope you had as much fun watching this as I had playing it!

Congratulations to you!! When was your episode taped? Tell us about the experience? :)

Offline PGS25

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #3 on: June 09, 2019, 10:30:05 PM »
"Towel": 'You use me to dry off after a shower or swimming".
Wax: Candles, Madame Tussaud's statues.
Bra Sizes: 24C, 26DDD.
Science: Chemistry, Biology, Anatomy, Zoology.
Eggs: Hard Boiled, Scrambled, Easter.
Football Field: End Zone, 50 yard line, Goal Posts.
Fingers: You snap them, You eat with them.
Robe: Judge, Choir singers, Day spa clients.

$90,500 won tonight. A mild start.
No $100,000 wins tonight, but there is plenty of time to get them.

Paul, What happened in the 2nd and 3rd go-rounds with Leslie? You did so well in the 1st go-round.

Offline goldroadfanatic

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2019, 10:36:00 PM »
In the first half, second round, I knew Pluto wasn't considered a planet anymore (it's a dwarf planet), so I said "Uranus."  Leslie then accidentally said "it starts with a P," and we got the cuckoo.  Also, I don't use my ice bucket when I stay in a hotel room, so bucket wasn't coming to me until just after the buzzer sounded.

This was the first session of the last day of taping, April 16, 2019.  Personally, I can't wait to see how the other people I met that day did on the show.  I hope they won big!
« Last Edit: June 09, 2019, 10:38:50 PM by goldroadfanatic »
"Cherish the past, accept the present, and anticipate the future.  They are listening to feedback wherever feasible, but they can't repeat the past."

Offline JayC

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2019, 11:06:21 PM »
Was "Parts of a Sink" too difficult for a first subject? It's relative.
It was a bit tougher than the typical first category. I would've said faucet, hot and cold knobs, and drain.

Football field was a toughie too having to avoid saying "field." I accidently said field goal posts when thinking of clues.
Strange they took Anthony saying give you the finger for Things You Do With Your Fingers.
What an amazing literal last millisecond win in the second half Mystery 7!

Congrats goldroadfanatic! What were Leslie and Rosie like in person?

Offline goldroadfanatic

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2019, 11:09:46 PM »
Rosie and Leslie were very nice and personable to me and Jaclyn, my fellow contestant.  It was great to meet them and work with them in the game.  Also, growing up, I watched Rosie's work on Nickelodeon and her talk show, and I was in the audience for Alec Baldwin's premiere episode of Match Game, when she was on the panel, so it was truly awesome to win in the Winner's Circle with her.
"Cherish the past, accept the present, and anticipate the future.  They are listening to feedback wherever feasible, but they can't repeat the past."

Offline Richie

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2019, 01:32:58 AM »
Things in a FOOTBALL FIELD was a trap waiting to be sprung by the wrong cluegiver.

Offline goldroadfanatic

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #8 on: June 11, 2019, 09:40:41 PM »
Welcome to Season 4 (and the 3-D Pyramid logo now center stage). I noticed an apparent rule change right away: the contestant starts the maingame giving the clues and the teams at the end seemingly have no choice as to who gives (the contestant does) in the third round of subjects.

In the third round of clue-giving in each main game, Michael did ask us contestants if we wanted to give or receive.  Jaclyn and I both opted to give; I'm surprised they edited this out of the final broadcast.
"Cherish the past, accept the present, and anticipate the future.  They are listening to feedback wherever feasible, but they can't repeat the past."

Offline GameShowKid

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #9 on: June 11, 2019, 11:43:42 PM »
In the third round of clue-giving in each main game, Michael did ask us contestants if we wanted to give or receive.  Jaclyn and I both opted to give; I'm surprised they edited this out of the final broadcast.
Ah. Thanks for the insider information. :-)    What a pace you and Rosie set in the Winner’s Circle!

Offline goldroadfanatic

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #10 on: June 12, 2019, 05:03:28 AM »
Thanks!  I will admit I blanked out a bit on the final subject in the Winner's Circle, "Racket Sports."  I had "Tennis" as my definitive clue, but I didn't follow up with "Badminton" and "Squash" soon after.  I was a bit nervous because I was just one subject away from winning $50,000 and I had ample time to do so.  I let the gravity of the situation sink in. 

Luckily, Rosie picked up on what I was trying to get at when repeating "Tennis," and I leapt out of the chair when I heard the bells.  Also, I felt amazed at winning the Winner's Circle under 30 seconds, which is a heck of an accomplishment.
"Cherish the past, accept the present, and anticipate the future.  They are listening to feedback wherever feasible, but they can't repeat the past."

Offline jhc2010

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #11 on: June 12, 2019, 09:43:21 AM »
Congratulations on your win! That was a great episode! I just finished watching your episode on the ABC app.

What was the contestant selection process like? How long had you been trying to get on Pyramid?

Offline goldroadfanatic

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #12 on: June 12, 2019, 06:42:28 PM »
This was my second attempt to get on the show.  My first attempt was an online application back in the summer of 2016, when they asked for contestants for Season 2, and I never received any callback from it.

I found out about onsite auditions in New York City on Valentine's Day through a post in the Facebook group Game Show News.  This was a surprise to me.  I passed on going to onsite tryouts in New York two years earlier (I was unemployed and any travel was a luxury I could not afford), but I made sure I would go down to try out for this year.  I put in time off from my job and when it was granted, I hopped on the next bus from Boston to New York City. 

I arrived in the city quite late, so I rode the subway and jogged down to ABC's studios.  I was welcomed by the staffers and brought to a waiting area, where other hopeful contestants were staying.  I filled out a paper application that asked for my background information, interesting facts about me, and what I'd do if I won $150,000.  After I turned in my application, I waited my turn to do a videotaped one-on-one interview with one of the casting coordinators.

When I met the casting coordinator, she asked me to explain some of the highlights on my application.  What caught her eye was that I was a cheerleader in high school, which most could not tell based on my appearance or my current job (working as a proposal writer for a tech company).  Afterwards, my gameplay skills were assessed by having me describe a set of 7 words to her, then me trying to guess 7 words described by her, followed by me describing 7 words.  Then, came the Winner's Circle.  When this happened, I naturally started giving the rules by heart, and she was so impressed, she recorded me giving the rules.  I left the audition saying how I just found about the tryouts and had to hoof it back to Boston, which showed how dedicated I was to trying out for the show.

Two weeks later, there was a Skype interview with a member of the casting team, she did a mock round where I would describe 7 words to her, and she would try to guess them.  She tested my ability to pivot to a new way to giving clues by pretending to not know the answer despite very descriptive clues.  After I played my round, she gave feedback on what I did well, and where I needed to improve (don't inundate the receiver with a lot information, and explain words as simple as possible).  Then, we did a mock Winner's Circle round, in which I gave and she received.  I learned that dumping too many clues on the receiver would not give them a chance to digest the information to give a reasonable guess.  The contestant coordinator noted afterwards where I did well and where I needed to improve on clue giving or knowledge areas. 

After that Skype interview, I was scheduled for two more.  The calls were conducted in the same manner with mock games; the casting coordinators want to see if you've been practicing and improving yourself based on the feedback they gave you, and that you're excited/happy to potentially be a contestant.  My last Skype interview was longer; the head of the casting department asked more detailed questions about my experience, what I'd do with the money, and interesting facts about me.  We did one last main game/Winner's Circle combination and I had to show I mastered the game and was super-excited.  After that last interview, I did not hear anything for a couple of weeks.

In March, I was put through a Skype contestant bootcamp that trained players on how to hone their technique.  Like the auditions, mock games were played, and I was given feedback on giving clues to celebrities, so I could improve my chances of getting 7/7 in 30 seconds.  Also, they wanted to continue seeing excitement/passion about playing the game.  I also played mock Winner's Circles, too, much in the same way described earlier.  After I played my mock games, I would note any feedback and spend my spare time honing my technique in areas I needed to improve on.  I went through The $25,000 Pyramid board game and watched old episodes of the show to practice so I could prepare myself.

Eventually, in mid-March, I got the call that I was booked for the show, and I was elated.  I spent the next several weeks finishing my bootcamp sessions with the casting team while preparing for the show (buying clothes, continuing to hone my technique to the morning of the taping by watching episodes online). 

When the day arrived, I was super excited when I entered the studio, and there were some last-minute mock games to help prepare me for the real thing.  After we, the contestants, were briefed on the eligibility rules and regulations about game shows, we were then slotted by the producers.  There was a coin toss to decide who would sit in the contestant's chair closest to the Winner's Circle, to pick first, and I won it.  Eventually, after getting into wardrobe and some makeup, I was walked to the set, and ready to play the game.
"Cherish the past, accept the present, and anticipate the future.  They are listening to feedback wherever feasible, but they can't repeat the past."

Offline JayC

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #13 on: June 12, 2019, 10:25:35 PM »
Wow, that is a really long process. As much as I would love to be on the show, I don't think I'd have the patience to go through the entire process you describe.

Offline GameShowKid

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Re: The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan - Season 4
« Reply #14 on: June 16, 2019, 10:04:00 PM »
On the June 16th episode: Gage was a great contestant. He gave some excellent clues for "Things With Necks" (including "beer bottles" and "a tall giraffe") in the Winner's Circle. My sister and I enjoyed watching him win $150,000 (the first of the season), but we would have enjoyed it more if the subjects in the $100K circle were more challenging. "That was so easy!" we both said out loud.

Being an old-school guy I liked the clue "rotary" for "Types of Phones", and before she was buzzed for being too descriptive, the contestant gave some fantastic clues for "Things That Kick" (an in utero baby","soccer players", "a donkey"), and "Things That Are Tickled" ("feet", "Elmo" <--- nice!) 

I would have said "smile", "smirk" and "frown" for "Facial Expressions". That subject and "Things with Bubbles" slowed her down. And "Parts of a Hospital"? "The emergency room", "the maternity ward", "the nurses' station".
« Last Edit: June 16, 2019, 10:13:00 PM by GameShowKid »