Whammy!--what did ya'll think?

[ALF Rocks!!]

I enjoyed it, the Double Whammies were great! but, for some reason, there was something missing. I can't put my finger on it, but something about it didn't make it as great as the original. What did ya'll think?

[DandR]

Except for the first round of spins (which makes no sense to me), it was OK. I also agree that something is missing.

[dawsongirl]

The first round is weird, but the rest of the game is pretty good. The board's a little strange too. The whammy's are pretty cool though. Amazing what you can do with computers.

It wasn't as exciting as some of the PYL episodes though. Not enough suspense, not enough agony.

[TV Guy]

Cool set (with the exception of the board), Nickelodeon-like double whammies, overexcited contestants, cheap prizes (a humidor?!!!), cheezy host.

[Mcfly]

Pretty disappointing. It's tough to have to compete with fans' memories of an earlier show, and they were unsuccessful here. Far too many whammies on the board at a single time, the cursor sound effect is almost inaudible, yes, the prizes were dopey, the dramatic, fever-pitched rythym in the big board round is now interrupted by a commercial, and that middle contestant was unbearable. I know at game show tryouts they're looking for "energy, spunk, and enthusiasm", but apparently they've added idiotic to the list. The host is ok (I enjoy Newton on Hollywood Showdown) but the whammies weren't as amusing, especially the double whammies. C'mon, mini-basketballs or a spritz of water aimed at a contestant?? Lame. And I was thinking it was a chance to update the pop culture of the whammies to today (like maybe a "Titanic" whammy on ships bow exclaiming "I'm the king of your money!") but instead they go all the way back to 1972 and a "Godfather" reference. Most of all, the board is organized weird where you can't really use your peripheral vision to track the squares.

[Madness]

I really didn't like it too much...I mean, if there's nothing on, I'll watch it but that's it! Double Whammys were the only things I liked. They should just use that for every Whammy you get instead of the regular Whammy.

[ALF Rocks!!]

I enjoyed how they had the audience in the shadows like in the original PYL. I finally figured out what was missing from the show:
1)Whammy's stage looked too crowded and small. If you remember in PYL, the set was designed so that you could never see the end of the room.
2)The Whammy segments are too long. In PYL, they were quick, to the point, and had those hilarious high pitched voices. In Whammy, they walk SOOO SLOOOWWLLY and talk in low voices, and the segments aren't even funny.
3)In PYL, the board looked pretty big from afar, but as revealed in later episodes, it was MUCH bigger than it looked. Maybe Whammy's board is the same, but it just looks too small and crowded to me.
Now, dont get me wrong, I like the show. But, I feel they couldve done a little better.

[dawsongirl]

Originally posted by ALF Rocks!!
1)Whammy's stage looked too crowded and small. If you remember in PYL, the set was designed so that you could never see the end of the room.


A lot of new game shows have sets that are too small (Family Feud for instance). I wonder why.

[ALF Rocks!!]

Well, a lot of new game shows, like Whammy and Family Feud for instance, are made by Fremantle Media (formerly known as Pearson Televison). Maybe they just didnt have enough funds for a huge set, I dont know.

[DandR]

Maybe the sets are small so they can be dismantled in a hurry when the show gets cancelled. One thing that is missing from the new PYL is "older" contestants. While it could be that older folks aren't interested in trying out, it's my guess that want to target the 18-35 age group so they stick with homogenous contestants.

[ClassicComedyFan2]

IMO, it wasn't good at all. The theme song was changed, the new board looks horrible, the whammies are boring, the set looks drab compared to the original (and doesn't rotate!), the host isn't nearly as good and the audience isn't as reactive. Plus, where are the goodbye poems? I'll stick with the original!

[Seth]

Well, I gave it a week.....

PYL has been Pierce & Dismantled (IE: It's been revived by Pearson/Fremantle)...

The Board sound effect, now that you can hear it, is not bad....Kinda hypnotic.

The board is just too danged small.. All there is to it. The bad thing is..They've actaully increased font size from the early eps taped (I've seen pics).

Round 1 is cool...Imagine what Mike Larsen could do though...Keep hitting $1500...HEHE!

Round 2, the question round, classic PYL....

Round 3...

Everything's the same, and I like it..well, there's 1 major diff. that bugs the heck out of me...TOO MANY WHAMMIES! It's not that the double whammies are the prob, it's that there's too many.

Host: Newton is no tomarken, but, he's good.

Overall Grade: B...best GSN original AND Fremantle revival yet...

[dawsongirl]

Originally posted by King31
Overall Grade: B...best GSN original AND Fremantle revival yet...

I agree. B is a good grade. :)

[MLB]

It wasn't as good as it could have been. Press Your Luck is my favorite game show and fourth favorite show period (and in my opinion one of the most underrated game shows ever) but "Whammy" didn't knock my socks off.

First, I don't like the double whammies. The normal whammies aren't even as good as the ones on PYL, but the double whammies are even worse. They're not funny, and watching someone get plastic fruit dumped on their head gets old quickly.

And why are there so many prizes? On PYL there are maybe three on the board at a time, here it seems like almost all the squares are prizes. And strange prizes, at that.

Todd Newton is all right, but he doesn't come close to Peter Tomarken. I heard that they actually considered Tomarken for the host, but that they ultimately decided against him. (He was probably "too old.")

It's an average show at best.