At Last!

Well, after much hype, the new season is here. Family Feud, Deal Or No Deal, and Millionaire all had their premieres today.

Deal Or No Deal: It may be taped on the east coast, but it looks exactly the same to me. I could use this as a springboard to discuss my general opinion on this show, but now is not the time for that.

Millionaire - Bumped in my area for the Jerry Lewis telethon; I'll have my review tomorrow.

Family Feud - OK, so here's how it goes now. Each family starts with $15,000 in their bank. In the Bullseye round, one member of each family comes to the podium, and the first one to buzz in with the number one answer adds to their bank. The first question is worth $1,000, the second $2,000, and so on for five questions, meaning if one family got all five, their bank would be $30,000. The main game then has only four rounds - Single, Double, Triple, Sudden Death. The first team to reach 300 points plays Fast Money for the amount in their bank. Any team that wins five games in a row wins a new car (which is prominently displayed on the set).

So...is it any good? Well, as I've said, this was a stroke of genius on Fremantle's part, allowing them to advertise a higher jackpot while giving away even less then they already were (and in a world where $100,000 is considered a relatively low game show win, Family Feud is nothing short of a relic). Yet...I don't know, the pace feels a lot faster to me, and this is a show that's supposed to be focused as much on the host joking with the families as the game. Making matters even worse, each family is now introduced via an awful, awful introduction video that looks like it was taped in the studio parking lot. I won't go as far as to say the show is bad or totally ruined - it isn't. It's still a good game show. With this low a payout, the show will probably continue several more years, and that's a good thing.

See you tomorrow,

Aaron