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Studio 46 - Non-TPiR Discussion => Out In Left Field => Topic started by: tpirsuperfan99 on May 25, 2018, 02:22:25 PM
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I just spent the worst 20 minutes of my life. I watched Card Sharks 2001. This show is an embarrassment. There are so many things wrong. First, they got rid of the survey questions, those were a great part of the game before, they just went straight to the cards. Second, the clip chips were one of the stupidest things ever, and they were a waste of time and they almost had nothing to do with the game. Third, each player should have a block of cards, instead it was one block of seven. You had to use a clip chip to change the card if you didn’t like it. Third, Pat Bullard was just a terrible host, he acted like he was a nice guy, but it seemed like he was trying to play the part of a game show host. The money cards were the only thing that were even done right. I have seen Family Feud with Louie and Match Game 98, those were bad, this is an abomination. This may have been the worst piece of s*** I have ever seen. This was nothing like the Perry and Eubanks version, and this show deserves a special place in hell.
Sorry that I may have gotten really angry there, but I would like to know what your thoughts on this show might be.
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It took you seventeen years to realize that? :-D Seriously, the format was so bad, a contestant could actually win even if they didn't do a single thing during that round! I remember seeing one episode where the first player in control got the first six cards called correctly, only to miss the seventh, and have Pat Bullard tell the opponent, "He did all the work, and you ended up getting the money! How cool is that?"
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Until I got GSN in late 2007, this was the only version of Card Sharks I saw, so it took me 6 years to see that Card Sharks actually was a good show and the 2001 version was just a horrible abomination.
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Until I got GSN in late 2007, this was the only version of Card Sharks I saw, so it took me 6 years to see that Card Sharks actually was a good show and the 2001 version was just a horrible abomination.
My thoughts exactly, and I would feel the same where Tic Tac Dough is concerned-- that Wink Martindale was the expert at it, and Jim Caldwell gave it the old college try, but that the 1990 Wayne version was the same way as CS 2001.
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If you didn't realize Bullard's co-host was named Tammy by the end of each episode, given he only said her name approximately 5,000 times per show even when unnecessary to do so, something would have been wrong.
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The 2001 version is better known in the game show world as CASINO (Card Sharks In Name Only) or Card Guppies.
Ranks right up there with Temptation and Tic Tac Dough '90 as one of the worst game show revivals.
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No, the Money Cards in that 2001 abomination wasn't done right either. The contestant had to play with the money THEY JUST WON, meaning there was a good chance they could go home with diddlysquat! Just super cheap and horrible. One of the few game shows ever made that actually makes me angry thinking about it.
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And they didn't have any returning champions either. I watched a few episodes on YouTube and I didn't like it.
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What I liked: The set was very cool, I liked how the cards dropped down after a round ended. The music was catchy too. And Pat Bullard did the absolute best he could; he's a good host who keeps getting handed bad shows.
What I didn't like: The format was lousy from start to finish, practically undoing all the positives. As mentioned by others, one can win a game by standing there. They also changed the Money Cards rule later on, so a Push was a loss again. (I know at least one person Busted, but I don't recall if any consolation prize was mentioned.) The Clip Chips were a dumb idea as well.
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My opinion: Yeah, they thought it was a good idea and perhaps it played well in test runs.
Maybe if they played a video clip, stopped it for its actual resolution and then asked how many, out of 100 who saw the clip, voted for the actual outcome ... and then added a bonus if the contestant (when given a multiple choice) went with the correct outcome?
But at least keep the survey questions a la the original. That seemed to work best for me.
I might have also gone with this "sudden death tiebreaker play-or-pass" rule: Like late in the CBS run, both contestants are shown their base card and the contestant can opt to pass and force his opponent to change their base card (if it is a good card).
Otherwise, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Brian
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What's interesting is that the pilot (http://web.archive.org/web/20010822060856/http://www.krinklecommunications.com/main/CS2001.html) for this show, shot in 2000, planned to incorporate blackjack into the first round, in addition to the high-and-low aspects of the traditional format in rounds two and three. That would have made for a better variety in gameplay. However, it seems the pre-taped dilemmas were the question material for the first two rounds, but the third round hints at traditional survey questions.
Based on my reading of the review, they kept some of the classic format intact, but the second round has the potential to have contestant win by doing nothing because the other player made a mistake on the last card. Also, like the series, the Money Cards remains busted. The contestant's main game winnings are divided amongst the three levels, which means the contestant can bankrupt themselves at the end of the game after working so hard to get there.
There was some potential with this pilot, but I wonder what made them take the second round and make it the meat of the game, along with the broken Money Cards.
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I wonder what made them take the second round and make it the meat of the game, along with the broken Money Cards.
I'm not sure any explanation is needed besides "it was a Pearson show." Pardon my language, but they had a p*ss-poor reputation for their attempted Goodson revivals in the late 90s-early 00s (Match Game 98, Louie Anderson's Family Feud, O'Hurley's To Tell The Truth, Card Guppies).
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They also did that abortive Beat the Clock on PAX.
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My thoughts exactly, and I would feel the same where Tic Tac Dough is concerned-- that Wink Martindale was the expert at it, and Jim Caldwell gave it the old college try, but that the 1990 Wayne version was the same way as CS 2001.
Eh, to be fair, they at least kept the TTD format mostly intact instead of hacking it to pieces like CS2001. If they had found a better host and fixed the flawed bonus round, it wouldn't have been a bad show.
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Eh, to be fair, they at least kept the TTD format mostly intact instead of hacking it to pieces like CS2001. If they had found a better host and fixed the flawed bonus round, it wouldn't have been a bad show.
I know they kept the game generally intact-- that's not the problem (although they erased the pot on ties while increasing the box values).
Like you said, it was the host and bonus game that were the trouble-- the Martindale/Caldwell bonus was finding money or "Tic" and "Tac" on the board before hitting the Dragon; the Wayne bonus, however, was a seriously fouled-up ripoff of the CBS Martindale summer '78 bonus (the summer '78 bonus was about trying to find a hidden 3-in-a-row of Xs or Os before hitting the dragon; the Wayne version was where you had to choose which one you were going for, and it wasn't always possible to find the one you chose in a 3-in-a-row; in that case, only the Dragonslayer could save you; worse, the Dragon even started rapping [granted, it was the times, but I didn't enjoy hearing it]).
Also, Patrick Wayne yelled on practically everything (as in "Youuuuu blockkkkk!" and "Youuuuu winnnnnnn!" [is that a proper approximation of how he sounded?]).
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I rather enjoyed the O'Hurley To Tell the Truth.
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I can't believe I'm doing this, but...
I'm going to defend card sharks 2001.
Is it a great game? No. Did it have squandered potential? Yes. Bullard deserved better. As did tami Anderson. The set was nice. The theme was nice. The payout potential was pretty good too.
Everything about the format has been stated above though. What they should have done? Two contestants, survey questions, change of cards with clip chips,money cards stays the same.
But here's the defense: remember back then everything- programming, movies, and more had to have an "edge" to get put on the air. Every show that came out for those few years had to have a "millennium or edgy" change. Feud dropped the Whitmans sampler look (and early promo images for andersons version showed it may have gone for an updated look originally) and tried to "speed up" the game with the four rounds rule. Match game and LMAD went crass,but it wasn't needed. Pyramid went technologically sleek and tried to speed up the game. TTTT started off like the original but changed to a springer-lite, rowdy form in season 2. PYL went dark (honestly this is probably the best of the updated shows from that era) and added the double whammys. Back then I don't think a shot by shot, classic remake of card sharks, or other game shows would have even sold. (Note: I wonder what the Gordon Elliot LMAD was going for- the few images out made it look rather....classy).
It didn't seem like the lessons were learned until around 2007 or so, when temptation flopped. LMAD came back later very similar to the original,but less with shopping games and more comedy bits that actually works. Price stuck to its roots post host change and didn't do an American idol style revamp. Pyramid put out several pilots that looked like the good updates to the 80s version, we got a cable version that was decent update to the show (and IMHO should have lasted longer-but I'm gladly didn't) and a current version that is one of the best shows In years; Match game came back slightly dirtier and a Little too polished, but probably the best update since the 70s; Feud went through a period that did more callbacks to its past with ohurley, but kept many classic elements in its syndicated run and celebrity seasons...even the jokers wild is a pretty classic show in its own right!
If card sharks were brought back now, I bet it would be done right.
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To keep this post at a reasonable length, I'll only mention the positive things I have to say about CS 2001:
- "Major Wager" is a better term than "Big Bet" for the final, must-bet-at-least-half-the-bank turn in the Money Cards.
...That's all.
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Bad set, bad theme, bad host, bad format, just plain bad. It actually got an OK time slot in my market, 12 noon if memory serves. I don’t believe it was ever sent to late nights like Match Game 98 was a few years prior.
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Bad set, bad theme, bad host, bad format, just plain bad. It actually got an OK time slot in my market, 12 noon if memory serves. I don’t believe it was ever sent to late nights like Match Game 98 was a few years prior.
You're from Buffalo, right? Card Sharks was shown in our market at 8:30AM on WNYO, Channel 49.
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That’s about as good as a graveyard slot, honestly. A WB affiliate with a weak history...that’s not going to do well regardless of the program.
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You're right about that, imhomerjay. I pretty much knew that when I saw what time it was aired...and my thoughts were confirmed when I saw the finished product!
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No, Metro Detroit.
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You're right about that, imhomerjay. I pretty much knew that when I saw what time it was aired...and my thoughts were confirmed when I saw the finished product!
In Philly, I think the call letters were WGTW for the station that carried it (along with O'Hurley's To Tell the Truth, and previously the Eubanks Newlywed Game that succeeded the Gary Kroeger season & Chuck Woolery's take on the Dating Game). Might has well not aired at all. There was no such thing as a good time slot on that station. I give credit to owners who tried their best, but it was little more than a dumping ground for shows that defined bottom of the barrel.
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We had another station like that in Buffalo called WNGS Channel 67 that was based out of Springville, NY. They picked up Match Game '98 after our local Fox affiliate decided against airing it at its scheduled time of 5:30 in the morning! Instead, WNGS aired an hour block of Match Game at 3PM, followed by 100% at 4...an absolute snoozefest that only aired in seven markets!
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Here in NYC, Card Sharks 2001 aired on WWOR on Channel 9 (UPN at the time, now MyNetwork9) at 11:00 am, pitting CS and Hurley's To Tell the Truth against Price. Major mismatch there. Here's proof:
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WRLH (Richmond, VA) had a decent timeslot also: 12:30 PM, right after Feud, while in Washington DC, WUSA graveyarded it at 2 in the morning. Interestingly, WRC in 1990 also graveyarded another ill-fated revival: Patrick Watne's TTD, airing it also at 2 AM. I never saw this version until I heard about it on Game Show Garbage earlier this decade, and I could see why it didn't last. Even MG '98 was more true to the original!
Speaking of which, GSN at the time had classic Card Sharks at 11:00 Eastern/8 Pacific weekday mornings, as weel as 3:00 and 4:30 eastern during weekday afternoons.
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I enjoyed O'Hurley To Tell the Truth and Anderson Feud i remember a few early episodes he was awkward. The show was a lot fresh and had better question writing then what we have today.
I don't care for the current To Tell The Truth with Anthony Anderson.