Who saw that coming? Faithful reproductions of Pyramid, Match Game and, now, Press Your Luck. To Tell the Truth is a bit of a different vibe than the older versions, but it is quite good, as well. It's interesting to see ABC dipping deeper into the genre with Press and Card Sharks, and these are a real gift to classic game show fans as well as reminders of so much potential mostly squandered by GSN / the Game Show Network.High tech is better?
The new "big board" is a stunning set piece, to be sure, and modern technology eliminates the possibility of anyone "cracking the code" like Michael Larson did on the old show. But that old big board was a marvel, with individual slides for all of the prizes and dollar amounts in each square. The slides in each square switched in unison and had kind of a cool morphing effect that is completely lost in the new computerized big board. Once in a while, some of the individual squares would get out of synch with the others, making the board look even more dynamic. It also had more stylized representations of the prizes compared to the somewhat generic look of the new board's graphics. The old board still rules.
WTF
We get the somewhat obscure and pointless "Across the Board" space but not the iconic and game-rocking "Double Your $$$ + One Spin"? Seriously? Doesn't seem like it would bust the primetime budget. At least "Pick a Corner" is there.
The hostess
Elizabeth Banks is giving it the ol' college try, but she's not a game show host. Peter Tomarken occasionally got a bit too goofy, but he had gravitas and knew how to run that game. "Roll the board!"
No deal
The new end game is a too-long drag that feels influenced by the overblown drama of Deal or no Deal (although I admit that I like the "chosen just for you" prizes). ABC should have stuck to its usual approach of not fixing what ain't broke. The ideal outcome for all this would be to drop the end game and give us a daily morning or afternoon network or syndicated show with returning champions, the way it's meant to be.
