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| A weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves |
There's something I started to appreciate more since I work as a bartender, game shows. Because one thing is showing off your knowledge to family members, which in my case in tops three people, and one thing is showing it off to many more, older and supposedly with more knowledge people who looks at you and think, "wow, not only she's good looking, she also knows stuff". Without any further bragging, here are my three picks but this week's Thursday Movie Picks. By the way, they all are Italians, or the Italian version, because I kinda watch game shows only when I'm forced.
Caduta libera - the Italian version of Who's Still Standing?
The champion attempts to defeat 10 competitors in a series of trivia showdowns to win I'm not exactly sure how much, by challenging each stranger, one by one, in a head-to-head trivia battle. Of course, the champion too can be defeated as he/she has three lives and when he/she runs out and gives the wrong answer is replaced by the competitor.
A customer of mine can't stand a host of another game so this is the show we watch at the bar and it's pretty good to be honest. Actually, I really like it and got used to it so much that it really annoyed me when I couldn't watch it at home and even more when they replaced it with another, disgusting game.
Chi vuol essere milionario? - the Italian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Contestants, one at a time, tackle a series of multiple-choice questions to win large cash prizes. They are given the question before attempting an answer, and have no time limit to answer questions; and the amount offered increases as they tackle questions that become increasingly difficult.
It's not easy at all to win money with this game but it's fun to watch and you can learn a lot of things from it.
L'ereditÃ
Each episode features seven contestants, one being a returning champion, who compete to win a jackpot over the course of seven rounds made of seven different games.
It has changed quite a lot over the years, but in terms of hosts — one I couldn't really stand and barely watch the show because of him — and games, but it's a show I still watch at dinner with my family. Pretty much the only TV I watch these days.
How do you think you'd do under pressure? Do you think you'd win a lot?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I'd do better than most of those suckers but I'm too much of an introvert to go on TV.
DeleteI know Who Wants To Be A Millionaire but have not seen the Italian version and I have not seen the other 2. I will agree that the host needs to be likeable
ReplyDeleteYeah, an unlikeable host can ruin even the best show.
DeleteI've watched the US version of Who Wants To Be A Millionare! The others sound interesting too. It's fun to see the different game shows that can be found around the world.
ReplyDeleteI love watching local game shows when I travel to other countries. If I ever get to Italy some day, I'll try to find one of these on TV.
ReplyDeleteThat is such an unusual thing to do!
DeleteLike Birgit I've only seen the American version of Millionaire which I have to be honest I'm not that big a fan of. I like that you have to have some degree of knowledge to do well but the setup is off-putting and I hate the lifeline! Either you know the answer or you don't!
ReplyDeleteThe other two sound like ones I'd at least give a try.
I agree about the host being likable. A smug host can ruin a show. Case in point when Alex Trebek was younger he was a decent host on several shows and he use to be okay on Jeopardy but as the years have passed he's become condescending and rather jerky to the point that I stopped watching even though I like the concept of the show. Now that you mention it my three main picks all had hosts that I really enjoyed and added to the game.
The $25,000 Pyramid (1973-1988)-Starting in ’73 as the $10,000 Pyramid the game is played in two parts-two teams consisting of one contestant and one celebrity play three rounds of seven words which must be guessed by a description. Whichever team gets the highest score moves over to the Winner’s Circle where six subjects (in a pyramid shape) must be guessed using only a list in one minute. If all are guessed the contestant wins the title amount. Requiring both focus and a keen mind Dick Clark hosted the series in this iteration with a sure hand keeping the game moving. The latest tricked out version isn’t nearly as good with Michael Strahan doing a terrible hosting job but the game is strong enough to withstand even his feebleness and the weak, braying celebs and contestants that seem to populate it now. Betty White was a regular guest celebrity!
Password (1961-1989)-Again two teams consisting of one celebrity and one contestant try to guess a series of words which then are clues to a word puzzle. The first to solve three puzzles moves to Super Password where they attempt to guess ten words in alphabetical order for a big money prize. Betty White (she was married to original host Allen Ludden) was a regular guest celebrity!
Match Game (1962-1982)-Two contestants give answers to a series of fill in the blank questions and try to match the six celebrity panel to win big cash. Hosted by Gene Rayburn this goofy, freewheeling show (a week’s worth of shows were filmed in one day and the celebrities were known to imbibe heavily during the lunch break) was famous for its suggestive questions and madcap antics. Betty White was a regular guest celebrity!
Bonus oddity:
Celebrity Bowling (1971-1978)-Exactly what the title says. Two teams of celebs bowl to win prizes for selected home viewers! Bizarre show somehow managed to last an incredible seven years!! As far as I know Betty White was never a guest celeb!
Wow! There are a lot of game shows with celebrities in the US.
DeleteI've seen a few versions of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Two from Asia, the UK one and the American one. But I find the show just annoying. As you said there is no time limit to answer the question and so there is a lot of chatting between the host and contestant as the contestant ponders over the answer. This isn't a math test, I do not need to see how you work out the answer...just give the answer...you either know it or don't. As a result in one hour they get through very few questions.
ReplyDeleteI like the game but I hate that part so much. Months ago there was a guy answering the 1 million question and they chatted for more than an hour before giving the answer and saying whether it was right or not.
DeleteGood picks, there are so many game shows that have like a hundred versions out there I guess :D
ReplyDeleteThat's so true! There's one I grew up believing was Italian only to find out it was actually Spanish lol
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