Reasons why I never much cared for "Pyramid"

[wdm1219]

Hello friends,

My last post was regarding the cancellation of Power of Ten, and I was about to talk about Pyramid, but decided to do a separate post.

While Pyramid was a fast paced game, and Clark & Cullen & even Donny Osmond were very good hosts, and the end-game was truly heart pumping, especially with that haunting countdown chime, I never much cared for Pyramid as a game show.

Back in 1973, it traumatized me (truly).  I was only 6 at the time and I remember being home sick from school one morning.  I watched Joker's Wild at 10, and fully expected to see Price at 10:30.  When Pyramid came on instead, I actually felt my heart sink.  I thought "They took Price is Right off ALREADY!!!".  I hadn't yet realized it switched to afternoons.

Another reason Pyramid never did it for me, childhood traumatization dramatization not withstanding, is the fact that it did not lend itself to a very good play along factor.  Most quiz shows & game shows did have this element to them, but Pyramid didn't.  Ironically neither did password yet somehow I liked it (Loved it even more when it was Password Plus and/or Super Password).  And while one could close their eyes to "play along" or cover up part of the screen to do so, it just didn't lend itself too much to being a good play along game.  I admit I did enjoy giving clues in the end game whenever there was a clueless celeb sitting in the chair saying "uh...um....uh...." for 13 seconds.  Another thing I hated was the audience clapping after every subject in the Winner's Circle was guessed, that seemed to take away valuable time and seconds, and that always bugged me about that end game.  Whenever someone at Alphabetics or Super Password got a word right, there was no dopey applause!!! 

I did however love when there would be a few seconds left, and it would be the last box at the top of the pyramid, and hearing Dick Clark saying "Hurry! Hurry!"  That added some elements of intensity to the game. 

Also, while I adored the original $10,000 Pyramid theme, that I'm happy to say I have on CD, I detested the updated $25,000 Pyramid theme used from 1982 - 88 or whenever it went off the air.  The same 4 bars just repeated over and over again....the original had much more drama to it.

Overall, even though I'm not a huge fan of Pyramid on TV, I must admit it is still far and away better than many other game shows created since it's demise, and it is fun to actually PLAY it (I had the home game so many years ago).

[temptation1979ga]

Another reason Pyramid never did it for me, childhood traumatization dramatization not withstanding, is the fact that it did not lend itself to a very good play along factor.  Most quiz shows & game shows did have this element to them, but Pyramid didn't.  Ironically neither did password yet somehow I liked it (Loved it even more when it was Password Plus and/or Super Password).  And while one could close their eyes to "play along" or cover up part of the screen to do so, it just didn't lend itself too much to being a good play along game.

Wow, I have to say I completely and totally disagree with this. Both Pyramid and Password lasted as long as they did because (among other things) they were two of the easiest and most fun games to play along with! Thinking up your own clues and hearing them said as the contestants and celebrities played on stage or screaming "You idiot!  Why didn't you say _______???!!" made the play along factor awesome. Both of these great game shows have to be near the top in play along fun for the home audience.

[padron3141]

Both Pyramid and Password lasted as long as they did because (among other things) they were two of the easiest and most fun games to play along with! Thinking up your own clues and hearing them said as the contestants and celebrities played on stage or screaming "You idiot!  Why didn't you say _______???!!" made the play along factor awesome. Both of these great game shows have to be near the top in play along fun for the home audience.

That is precisely why Bob Stewart, creator of both Password and Pyramid, has always said that one of the key parts for the true success of any game show is for the home audience to play along, and shout at the TV screen of potential answers and clues.  Another reason for these two particular game shows to have had long and successful broadcast runs is because, also under Stewart's reasoning, that they featured pair-up celebrities and contestants playing with or against each other in the same game, without a safety net and trying be alert while under pressure.

[dh027]

   I have to respectfully disagree with wdm.  The Cullen and Clark versions of Pyramid are probably in my top 3 of favorite game shows.  While is was very similar to Password, it was definately its own show.  It had all the key elements of a hit: a great host, an excellent premise, fast-paced game play, a great end-game, and yes a great theme.  The $10,000 Pyramid theme IMO is better, but the $25,000 theme is also great.  It's way better than that pseudo-techno dance crap that passes for a game show theme now. 
   Then again, I might be a little bit biased, since I have more than 200 episodes of the $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramid on tape when it was on the USA network in the early to mid '90's.

[mhrasputin]

When PYRAMID first premiered on CBS in 1973, I saw a few episodes and it was such a slow-paced show that you even wondered how it went beyond the 13 weeks, after CBS ended it a year later, ABC picked it up and I'm convinced the head of programming for the alphabet network at the time, insisted the show could work if it were faster paced, and I'm convinced it was that formula that kept the show on the air for 6 years on ABC, and became an institution of game shows. Unfortunately, for the person who posted this, saying PYRAMID was a dull show, is like saying JEOPARDY! is a dull show, it may not have the enthusiasm of TPIR or the high stakes thriller of CARD SHARKS, but in my book, PYRAMID is a show that stands the test of time with other popular game shows.

[Casey]

Further, I challenge you to come up with a traditional game show with a more exciting bonus round than Pyramid.  It had all the elements - tension, strict rules, a time limit, great play along factor, Dick Clark screaming at you to hurry up on the last box... And unlike shows like Hollywood Squares, the celebrities were really (for the most part) genuinely invested in the game.  They wanted to play well, they wanted the contestants to win, etc.  Many times it would seem the celebrity player was more excited at a bonus round win than the contestants themselves were.  An excellent show...

[howierules86]

While the Donny Osmond version may not be quite as memorable as all of the 70s and 80s versions (John Davidson's version wasn't too memorable either), and had quite a few Winner's Circle categories that you couldn't think of making clues for (e.g., "What Tom Cruise's dentist might say," "Why you make something from scratch."), it still deserves to be mentioned here. That version wasn't as bad as people make it out to be.