Ho. Lee. Crap. Super excited. Just a *bit* weird to see the audience members behind the main desks.

So, to clarify and to fill-in as host for Words Have Meanings, two successful WC trips nets you $75,000?

Good lawd! I can't seem to get the drool from my mouth. If this gets picked up, I'd be more than pleased (and excited).

(And probably the 4th person to sign up to be on the show.)

This looks truly awesome. Add me to the list of people who hopes CBS decides on this.

You got it!

WOW. Now that's what Pyramid should be like! :)

That set looks awesome; it's the classic set, but modernized just enough to not look dated. And look, a score display monitor that doesn't have a crappy looking font!

If CBS gives this the green light, I'm REALLY looking forward to the fall.

Even without the lights it's a world of improvement over the nondenominational Pyramid's set.

Hi Everyone !

To those who attended today's taping, a BIG Thank You for the photos and recap. I'm thrilled that Mr Davies nailed it, both in format and the absolutely perfect set. This IS Pyramid in all it's beauty !!! I had goosebumps when I saw the photos. I was thrilled to see the Trilons. How can you have Pyramid without it ? Ever since the last version failed (miserably in my opinion), My dream, was see Pyramid make a return, as close to the 70's & 80's formats as possible. To see Pyramid return to its roots in New York City, is the Cherry on top of the Sundae !

I'd like to say Thank You to Mr Davies, and everyone at Embassy Row. If CBS does not pick up Pyramid, I will be extremely disappointed. I bet that Bob Stewart and Sande Stewart must be very proud today !

I was sold even before I looked at the pictures. The 25+50 payout is an improvement over any previous version!

Knowing that KenJen did the pilot, I can't help thinking it's a shame Donnymid taped its last show before Ken's reign on J! began. Sony could've gotten some more mileage out of him. (Way back in 1986, I thought it would be cool to see Chuck Forrest do Pyramid.)

I just feel meh about the set. It feels too much like a retro retread. Instead of a clean sheet of paper, they used a stencil and tracing paper. The only thing that strikes me as modern is having the audience in the shot, and it doesn't work as well to me as it does for Family Feud.

I appreciate the neon instead of the so-last-century chase lights, but I hate the colors they chose, and the apparent appearance of trilons on something that's supposedly a modern television production is a bit of a worry. I'm hoping they make some changes when they go into production, but if what Mitch Joseph reported remains, then I'll be more ambivalent on the show than most. I think I'll feel about it the same way I feel about TPIR...'It's good, but I'd like it more if they just stopped with the constant anchoring to the past once and for all and just went modern.'

Yeah, but then we wind up with Vincentmid!

Vinnymid!^TM

My eyes almost popped out when viewing those pics! Boy, they sure know how to make the set look retro without dating itself. The audience in the backdrop will take some getting use to if CBS does go ahead with this. Other than that, Classic Pyramid all the way.

About that series pick-up CBS, I beg of you, do it ASAP! STAT!

Gadzooks! The phrase "potential epic win" comes to mind. I just wish they were taping in L.A., then I would be able to try out with dropping an arm and a leg to fly to NYC.

I AM the Master of the Winner's Circle.

Well, the talk and the pics convinced me. I'm going to try to get in to see this taped today (6/17). I called and they said they woiuld get back to me. They didn't, though they could have called after I left work yesterday. I love the fact that they've gone back to seven answers in 30 seconds.

Which begs the question - if they're able to fit in the 7-in-30 game now, why did Sony resort to that horrendous 6-in-20 format?

And on an unrelated note, were there any bonus cards in play or was it just six vanilla subjects?

I'm sure Bob can't stop talking about it! :)

In fact, if there is a GSC this fall and Bob is in attendance, they may have to extend the event by a few days!!! :)

Better "Vincentmid" than "Timmid," I guess. :) I like the set (I wonder if Davies was a fan of Les Crane, too?) and the gameplay as reported but, couldn't they have found an American to host?

Honestly, I find it to be a great 21st Century update, that seems to be a homage to the familiar Ed Flesh set. It's no different than what Feud did for Combs and O'Hurley.


They tried that in 2002. It failed.

/Okay, the actual show was pretty bad too.
//"THINGS YOU DOWNLOAD" anyone?

Yeah I agree...what we really need is 6 celebrities and a winner's nook, and other good stuff like that! Oh and a set with girders and laptops and strobe lights (LOTS of strobe lights!)--mustn't forget those!

The pics have given me real faith that this remake will work. Great to see that they are returning to the 7/:30 rule.

CBS, Please put this on the schedule!!

/I might even tryout!
//Oh heck, I will definitely tryout!!

Just because they did it wrong the last time, that doesn't mean that modern can't work with someone that knows what they are doing.


Yes...sarcasm. Brilliant. Let's immediately tie "modern" to something not well liked (the Pyramid pilots, Donnymid), and try to shut down any dissenting viewpoints instead of having an honest, forthright conversation about whether the show would benefit more from a modern set than a retro one. Wheel and J!, IMO, have done a good job of being current by taking advantage of the latest technology and constantly reworking their set so it doesn't seem stale. TPIR hasn't for the most part. Clock Game and Bonus Game still have their original sets, for the most part. Those should be redone entirely. Some of the 80s games (One Away, Pathfinder) look like they could use a second-gen set, as well.

Ed Flesh by way of [1970's CBS-New York set designer] Jim Ryan's original Pyramid design.

If this is the finished product of the set and rules, I am perfectly fine with it. I will have to schedule my first trip to NYC and audition! I sure hope that CBS picks this show up!!

Good point. Flesh's set had a few throwbacks to the New York era (i.e. the triangular brackets on either side of the Winner's Circle). He updated it quite well for the 1980s, just like this new set has done for the 2000s (2010s?).


Where did I say it would never work? You said they should be more modern with the design, and I merely pointed out that Donnymid's efforts to be modern, both in aesthetics and gameplay, didn't work. I would think that it goes without saying that someone who knows what they're doing could pull off a competent revival.

By all means, they could've went completely modern without using steel girders and plasma monitors all over the place. But, I like that a classic game show isn't afraid to use a few classic elements in their execution. Adds a level of...I dunno "warmth" to the cold, sterile envrionment I saw on Donnymid.

The short, snarky nature of your comment made me think it was another "modern=teh suck" comment from the game show community. As someone who prefers more modern things in game shows, it gets tiresome to see it used as a four-letter word.


It just comes across as gimmicky and awkward to me, like the use of the Combs theme on the most recent incarnation of Feud.

Hi Everyone !

Just a quick heads up.....

My Nephew was supposed to attend todays tapings, but recieved a phone call saying today's tapings were canceled and changed to Friday at 3 pm.

I'm curious if they plan to use a different host on Friday, or plan to use Tim Vincent again.

My comment was not intended as either short or snarky. Again, it was just me making the point that modern doesn't always work. In the case of Donnymid, I felt they tried too hard to force the drama with a dark set, taking a cue from Millionaire. On Pyramid, the drama should build itself.

Based on what I have seen, a great update and reference to the $25K/$100K format. I love the few modernized changes, but what is best, is how they kept it similar to the classic set.

I hope that Pyramid is indeed "back". Just think, with a great revivial, Osmond's version won't even be a memory any more.

I agree- People seem to identify with what's familiar- Wheel and J!, although drastically different looking than 20 years ago, still have the same sound effects, logos, and hosts. Wheel has slowly eased viewers into new changes so it's not as much of a shock. Price really hasn't done much changing, and at times does date itself, but it's an exception, because the show has been stuck in this cheesy 1970s time warp for years, and that's partly why some people love it. As far as redoing some of the pricing games, keep dreaming- I can only think of 5 games that have had major overhauls (Pick a Pair, Check Out, Danger Price, Any Number, Money Game).

Love the new Pyramid set, and the fact that the score monitors are still using the vane display font from the 80s scoreboards. With a set that small, I see why they used moving set pieces, and it looks like it works pretty well. I'm quite optimistic.

Ummm...actually I said that. Anyways, I've been one to say that slowly changing things would be the way to go, and to TPIR's credit, I think they are presenting trips better than ever when they take the time to add scenery to the monitors. Much better than those 20-old-static paintings and the 'What am I playing for?' green screens. They should use more dynamic images, though, like they did when the gc's were there. That was the best part.

If this goes to air, I will gladly consume a dish of Culinary Expert Chris Lemon's crow.

\PLEASE pick this up CBS!

Now, there's great news! I think I shall try to get tix. Thanks for the heads-up.

Carrie from About Game Shows says that a different host is planned for the subsequent taping(s).

Well, in pilot ep 1, which was taped at 11:30 (by which I mean pretty close to 1:15), both contestants were said to be "returning"; they had "earned," respectively, $12K and $13K. Which, considering there's only $2150 max on offer in the WC for a contestant who doesn't run the table, is either ambitious or miscalculated. And I'm not sure how you'd end up with two returning players who've both won that much unless you were in a tournament, and Tim didn't indicate that was the case. I know this was a pilot and the contestants were in land-of-play-money, but that seemed like a mis-speak.

I couldn't tell if the WC was played for $25K in game 1 and $50K in game 2 regardless of who wins, or if (as would make more sense to me) the $50K only comes into play if you get into the WC both times.

Tim's Mis-Speak Line of the Day, though, was something like this: in the sixth category of a front game, he said to the team about to play, "All right, you need four to tie and three to win." Everybody did a neck-snap double-take, the audience (led by Ms. Rhea) had a good laugh, and Tim corrected himself.

Aside from that sort of thing, he might not have been as smooth as he'd be several months into a run, but he was a fine MC.

During the second set of shows, that final episode featured a first-time trip to the Winners Circle the second round. That contestant was playing for $25K, so it sounds like it is dependent on if it is the contestant's first or second trip in the circle and the $50K comes in to play if you make it in the WC both times.

Well, a couple of possible reasons. I believe there is more commercial time built into a syndicated show than a network one, so the Donnymid program may simply have been a little bit shorter. Still, probably the biggest reason was the most misguided -- change for change's sake. That producer had shown for years his desire to put his own stamp on the very structure of the game, and even after theoretically learning his lessons from those ill-conceived pilots, it could simply be that he felt he had to tweak something.

To my mind, the 6-in-20 thing was the biggest flaw of Donnymid. It has nothing to do with nostalgia and everythign to do with pacing. Put them on that same steel-girder set, or have them play it in somebody's garage. The game works in thirty-second chunks.

You DO realize what a completely egotistical statement this is in this company, right?

Well, the writing/judging notwithstanding. The point of the game became to give quick clues, not necessarily informative clues. Was Ed Begley ever on Donnymid? I can't imagine him starting everything off with "And this is a thing..." in that quick environment.

Fixed that for you.

I've always thought that the daily celebrity format somewhat hurt the 6-in-20. With a different pair every day, you're cramming a week's worth of conversation and show plugs into 22 minutes. I'm thinking had there not been so many plugs, the show could've allowed the extra two minutes of max game time shaved off with the 6-in-20 format. Then again, I can't imagine Dick Clark taking a whole two minutes in the '80s, to ask Abby Dalton or Richard Kline to remind us what time Falcon Crest and Three's Company come on? ;-)

The show could've saved a lot of hassle by just allowing a pair to compete the entire week. It wouldn't have hurt that much in reruns; it surely didn't hurt Hollywood Squares, which aired concurrently.

Yes...he's one of the celebs buzzed in the Winner's Circle Illegal Clues clip. ;-)

Here's an interesting development for Friday's taping (Wednesday was cancelled)

http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/tfr/1224513782.html

The host for Friday's pilot : Dean Cain - TV's Superman.

Well, there's certainly precedent...

Turns out David Korins Design put the set together for this, and the Newlywed Game and Dating Game projects (click 'about us,' scroll down until you see "Film & TV").

Prove it or shut up. Last I checked, this was the Game Show Forum, not the Lemon Shouts Down Those That Disagree With Him Forum. I understand that you'll never change. The two weeks in the Isobooth obviously didn't take, but if you're going to say something so patently inflammatory to hijack yet another thread, at least back it up.

Seeing those pics really got me excited about the show. Multiply that by 20 when I read they're going back to the classic format. Is it too soon to try out to be a contestant? I've totally got my fingers crossed for this one, dean or terry doesn't matter. Pyramid is on its way back!

Right now, yes. These were just pilots, so right now, CBS hasn't made any definite plans. I'm keeping fingers crossed so I can make that drive to New York. :-)

Regarding the "trilons": Could it be possible that they are actually monitors made to simulate the physical trilon movement? Like the Family Feud "survey board" shown in the Game Show Marathon. Something about the "lighting" on them doesn't look authentic. Not complaining, just musing.

I know the creator was working on a Pyramid sim before GSM requested his services.

This isn't the "CarShark Cries Abused Victim Every Time Someone Disagrees With Him Forum" either.

Yeah, if you timed any episode of Donnymid without the commercials, it comes to about 19-20 minutes in program length. I agree it was the commercial factor that Sony decided to have the 6-in-20 format, being it was a syndicated show.

However, in the UK version, and with Osmond as host, it went back to the 7-in-30 format. You're right, Matt, the front game worked better in that way you said because the teams could have a little breathing room while playing as the clock ticks away.