As we continue our trip down memory lane through the past ten years, it's time for a bit of fun. Admittedly, many of these moments weren't fun for the folks involved at the time, but looking back now it's easy to roll our eyes and wonder what the heck they were thinking.I'm talking about the Biggest Game Show Blunders of the 2000s, a list of twelve big "oops" moments that caught our attention. Some of them tackle general concepts, like the big networks' habit of running a great prime time show into the ground - in these cases, I've pulled a single example that could actually apply to several situations or shows. Many are much more specific, and involve everyone from contestants to celebrity guests to hosts, and even a viewer. Who can forget, for example, Lauren Cleri answering questions about her infidelity on The Moment of Truth, right in front of her husband?
I'll admit that my memory isn't what it used to be, so lots of these picks are from the past three years. I'm sure you can all come up with many others, so please feel free to submit them using the link at the bottom of the article, or you can simply head directly to the form and submit them there. As always, comments here on the blog are wide open too!
Photo of Lauren Cleri, courtesy Fox
Comments
Okay…my priorities are much different.
I don’t really think Kim necessarily belongs that high on the list, if at all. Derek and Loretta, the double $4,200 bidders, need that spot. Just one $4,200 is one of those WHA? moments, but when Derek has observed the mistake happen and does it himself, not even insanity is a valid defense. This incident (and Kim’s) is a prime reason why TPiR needs a video wall to display contestants’ bids to them. It would alert contestants when they mistakenly bid something else (12,000 instead of 1,200; this almost happens a lot!), it would keep valuable taping time from being wasted on “What was the last bid(s)?” inquiries, and it’s already there on the back wall of S33.
Jeff Kirby needs to be higher. Jeopardy! is one of the most-loved game shows, and there will be loyal watchers keeping a record of EVERY SINGLE CONTESTANT who has been on the show. I did this for the primetime Deal. Just type the names into Excel in chronological order, and search for a name before typing it in. When a search for “Jeff Kirby” turned up a result, he’s busted.
If you think Kellie Pickler was bad, try Jennifer “There’s 352 feet in a yard!” from 6/14/07. Why don’t people study is what I want to know.
When people like Ken Basin and Richie Bell put this much money at risk, you can be sure they’re aware of what they’re doing by the very fact that they risked so much money on their move.
There’s no excuse for Drew on December 16. One of the most intelligent comments on Golden-Road sticks out at me: earlier in the show, Drew loudly proclaimed that the audience won someone else a car…and then this? Make up your mind!!
It doesn’t help that loyal friends and true are now treated like Japanese-Americans in World War II, in stark contrast to Bob’s blood-brothers personality. Just because the mainstream is a much bigger group than the cult fans doesn’t mean you have to blow off the cult fans to earn the ardor of the mainstream…how do you think Price lasted 35 years? The stereotype that the “real” TPiR fans don’t want any change is completely false, since hardcore fans loved Season 36. If we loved Season 36 and hated Season 37, it’s probably because something was wrong in Season 37 that wasn’t wrong in Season 36. That should be a simple question to answer…
Question, I didn’t see Lauren Cleri’s Moment of Truth episode. For apparently ruining her marriage did she at least take home a lot of prize money. Admittedly I stopped watching the Moment of Truth after a few episodes because I found it in bad taste.
Jason – No, she messed up. They asked her if she felt she was a good person and she answered “yes.” Apparently the lie detector didn’t agree. She had made it up to the $200,000 level but walked away with zip.
It was $100,000. The offending question was 17, the cheating question was 16, and the married to another man was 15, the latter swapped in for another similar question that was rejected.
(Note: I only made the first post here because it is simpler for viewers to comment on it. I’ve touched on some pretty hot issues, so that will be necessary.)
Sorry, I should have been more clear. She had banked $100,000 but was playing at the 3-question, $200,000 level.
I meant to address your first comment too Andrew, but I was in a hurry earlier. Sorry! Anyway, you’re absolutely entitled to your opinions on the ‘biggest blunders’ and I’m glad you chimed in. There are lots of examples of contestant goofs on TPIR – I chose Kim’s because it went viral after her appearance. There were clips all over the place both online and on television. So it’s likely easier for casual fans to remember.
I agree with you about Ken Basin, but Richie Bell I’m not so sure about. Yes, he knew the risk, but he also needed the money. It was a dumb move, plain and simple, from my perspective! In Basin’s case, he was overconfident.
I don’t think going viral means the contestant was any less or more stupid. What makes a contestant stupid is when they fail at something they’re supposed to know, such as Cassandra “$81,767″ (1/14/09).
It’s impossible for her to think she was playing 4-digit Push Over when Drew specifically says there are five numbers in the price and she was looking at the blue window while pushing. It also makes no sense that she was deaf enough not to listen to the audience boo and Drew repeating “$81,767″ back to her, either of which should be a red flag, or at least to check her guess to make sure she wants it when the audience starts booing.
That is one of the worst moves in TPiR history by itself, but her IQ-less excuse is what puts Cassandra on any Top Blunders list. This could have been avoided by following any one of five procedures that any contestant would take for routine, and Cassandra’s failure to go through any of them means she was a horrendous contestant under any criteria.
More about this video wall idea: immediate feedback will allow the contestants to rectify a mistake quickly, while by the time most TPiR contestants realize they’ve made a mistake, it’s too late. This video wall will be a very worthwhile investment, since it can be used every day, while the special sets only get used a few shows per year. If Drew mishears a bid because of very loud acoustics (not improbable) and the wrong number is put on the display, thus causing the rightful winner to lose, CBS would have to compensate this contestant so much that the video wall would have been a cheaper solution. There’s already cue cards for the First Four to Come On Down since nobody can hear Rich in the opening, so why aren’t we seeing this? As I’ve noted above, it would also save taping time since nobody would have to ask “What did she bid?”, and contestants would be able to plan their bid in advance, thus wasting less time poring over what to bid. It would eliminate -$1 bids entirely except when that would lead to clangers, and many less extreme situations would be avoided now that everyone remembers what all the bids are (that is, nobody bids $695 under $700 because they forgot about or didn’t hear the $700 bid).
Even with a video wall, incidents like this will still occur, but when they happen, it’s Drew’s job to pwn the contestants. Funny moments like this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUD1wut9KTc] need to be more common, like the “as if the Prius was made in 1979″ quip to a $10,000 bid on a Prius Showcase. That was a good step for Drew, but it needs to keep happening. If Drew just says what everyone else is thinking (YOU’RE A *^$@&$^ IDIOT!!), he won’t be copying Bob.
What I’m proposing is a win-win situation for (Dis)mantle, and my proposals are being rejected just because I’m a “loyal fan” (I’ve sent a long essay to WLTI containing mostly content in this post, and it was never published even though I’ve successfully sent DonD rants through). You don’t have to ignore us to make the most money; in fact, listening to what we want will make you more money! It worked for 35 years, didn’t it?
Andrew.
You’re scaring me, man.
Really.
I would have to say the biggest blunder of the decade is all the show runners and network execs that feel just because Howie Mandell is great at DOND, all comedians and has-beens are great game show hosts.