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charles_2
Reviews
Fernwood 2 Night (1977)
Strange and delightful
"Fernwood 2 Night" was a strange and delightful summer series from the mind of Norman "All In The Family" Lear. I never got addicted to its associated series, "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" but I really enjoyed watching this talk show spoof. Taped at the fictitious WZAZ-TV studios (Channel 6, Fernwood, Ohio), every night was a parade of peculiar - and often talentless - guests. Occasionally the Mirthmakers would go on strike, leaving poor Happy Kine, the woe-be-gone-faced bandleader, to play the show's signature theme, solo, on a clarinet. I could have it mixed up with "America 2 Night" (the series that followed the next summer), but "Fernwood 2 Night" also had special features such as "Rocket 2 Stardom" (that showcased new "talent"), and "Bury The Hatchet" (which allowed those with grudges to settle them on the air).
This show was a predecessor to the later wildly popular "Larry Sanders Show" on HBO and Comedy Central's "Primetime Glick", two other send-ups of the talk show circuit. In many respects, though, "Fernwood 2 Night" was a classic. I certainly hope the entire series is made available on DVD sometime.
Whammy! The All New Press Your Luck (2002)
Not As Good As The Original
I remember, with some surprise, hearing of the revival of CBS' game show classic being renamed "Whammy: The All-New Press Your Luck". It seemed to me from the show's retitling that the emphasis had moved from the game itself to the animation of the whammies.
My suspicions have been confirmed. The new version of the show, now airing on Game Show Network, isn't as good as the original. While the animations of the whammies themselves have gotten more impressive, the show itself has not.
To begin, the new show's first round doesn't have the rhythm of the original show. Contestants take turns spinning at the prize board, one spin at a time (now an oval of large-screen TV monitors), deciding on each turn whether to continue spinning to build up their bank, or freezing with their current amounts. The first round on the new show has no momentum; there's no chance for a contestant to get "on a roll", and lets the energy out of the show for me.
The second round, the question round, now has five questions, but is the same as it was on the previous version of the show. I just wish that they would bring this round back to a first and second half of the show, as before.
The final round should be recognized by everyone who's seen the show; this is the classic PYL game. Contestants have the opportunity to use their spins on the prize board or pass them to other contestants. But even this round loses its momentum, too, because midway through this round the producers decided to add a commercial break -- dumb, dumb, dumb.
There's also a feature called "Double Whammy", which I had thought would mean a contestant would get 2 whammies, but in actuality is a sight gag for the unfortunate contestant - players are doused with confetti, silly string, or pizza dough. The original PYL didn't need such theatrics to be entertaining.
PYL 1.0 had a much more of a Vegas-like feel to it; the new version of the show feels disappointedly low-energy. Todd Newton of "Hollywood Showdown" is a lightweight as far as hosts are concerned (his voice occasionally squeaks when he gets excited); Peter Tomarken was far better - funnier and cleverer. I even liked the original theme music better. "Whammy" is proof positive that sometimes change is bad.
Family Feud (1999)
Cliche: Good, But The Original Was Better
I thought it was interesting when I heard that "Family Feud" was coming back to TV. I was even more surprised when I heard that Louie Anderson was hosting it. Anderson's not even close to Mr. Smooth himself, Richard Dawson, but I've chuckled over some of the things Anderson has said.
My biggest complaint about him is he's not really cut out to be a game show host. One of the most important things a game show host does is to set up situations for the viewer, to build the tension for an outcome. Example: if a family got four of five answers in the original version of the show, Dawson might say something like, "If your answer's there it's a clean sweep and you take a big lead in the game; if not it's your third strike and the Owens have a chance to steal." Louie doesn't do that and it annoys me.
A host also explains the rules, even if briefly, at the beginning. The rules of "Family Feud" HAVE changed. On the original show, a family won if they racked up 300 points, which could take three to five rounds to do. On the new version of the show, it's the family that has the most points after four rounds (pity that fifth player on each team that wants to play the "face-off" but can't!). It took me weeks of viewing the show to figure out the rule change. Louie could have explained this early on.
The host makes any game show. Although Louie is a funny guy, there are other folks out there I would have chosen. But I still like the "Feud"!