WWTBAM Bored

Two thumbs up for this one. Very nice combination of strategy and trivia knowledge. Without giving away anything, let me say that I would have cleaned house on the 2nd game, done well in the 3rd, but was trivially challenged in the 1st.

IMO, this one's a keeper. As long as Lloyd Braun doesn't start casting celebrities.

I think it moved way too slow. It took me a while to figure out the strategy, but I wasn't paying close attention at first.

I LOVED IT!!! Great show, lots of strategy involved-and some challenging trivia, too. I'll be tuned in all week I give this one an A+.

We're watching it now. So, is the new poster ABC_Sue here, the Sue from the show? (sorry, I may have misspelled her name)

gsabc wrote:Two thumbs up for this one. Very nice combination of strategy and trivia knowledge. Without giving away anything, let me say that I would have cleaned house on the 2nd game, done well in the 3rd, but was trivially challenged in the 1st.

IMO, this one's a keeper. As long as Lloyd Braun doesn't start casting celebrities.

I'm with the other plant. It has promise, but I think they only asked 3 questions (maybe it was 4) in the last half hour. That's just ridiculous. It's no wonder they don't use all of the contestants in this week...and I'd be royally P.O.ed if it was me still sitting in the "gallery" waiting for my chance, as they wasted all that time.

FTR, I also would have still had about 5 chips after the first game, 10 after the second, and 9 after the third. On the plus side, they obviously are looking for personality in their contestant choices, but they don't discount the geeky or unphotogenic, so I *might* have had a shot at this, had I auditioned.

I didn't realize tonight's episode would be 90 minutes. Checking ahead, tomorrow's episode is also 90 minutes, followed by one hour episodes on Wed, Thur, and Fri. Not sure about Sunday's final.

So at the apparent rate of 30 minutes per duel (which moves pretty slowly, the way they stretch everything out), there will be 6 hours of broadcasts before the final, and that means only 12 duels, unless a few people flame out after only one or two questions. That implies that only about 13 people get to play, and the other 11 will never get a chance. If Grand Slam had done it that way, there's a good chance that Ken and Ogi never would have had a chance to play.

Other than that, I liked it a lot. I think the format tends to assure that the stronger player will win the duel most of the time (if they actually get to play). A gap in one's knowledge is not necessarily fatal. Two top-notch players could produce some riveting battles. Tonight's players were okay, but I think most members of this board could beat them handily.

Spoiler

I thought the question about the number of military branches might have been slightly controversial. Whether or not the Coast Guard is truly a branch of the military is somewhat open to interpretation.

TheConfessor wrote:

Spoiler

I thought the question about the number of military branches might have been slightly controversial. Whether or not the Coast Guard is truly a branch of the military is somewhat open to interpretation.

Spoiler

I have always thought it was. On Veterans Day at the games they play all five service hymns.

I wanted to join the Coast Guard, as I think of them as doing more useful peacetime work than the others, but that doesn't mean they don't also protect us during war.

Good game. I agree it moves too slowly, but that seems to be the standard for all primetime game shows. But the questions are good, and I like the strategy element.

It is no primetime Millionaire, but nothing ever will be.

TheConfessor wrote:I didn't realize tonight's episode would be 90 minutes. Checking ahead, tomorrow's episode is also 90 minutes, followed by one hour episodes on Wed, Thur, and Fri. Not sure about Sunday's final.

So at the apparent rate of 30 minutes per duel (which moves pretty slowly, the way they stretch everything out), there will be 6 hours of broadcasts before the final, and that means only 12 duels, unless a few people flame out after only one or two questions. That implies that only about 13 people get to play, and the other 11 will never get a chance. If Grand Slam had done it that way, there's a good chance that Ken and Ogi never would have had a chance to play.

Other than that, I liked it a lot. I think the format tends to assure that the stronger player will win the duel most of the time (if they actually get to play). A gap in one's knowledge is not necessarily fatal. Two top-notch players could produce some riveting battles. Tonight's players were okay, but I think most members of this board could beat them handily.

Spoiler

I thought the question about the number of military branches might have been slightly controversial. Whether or not the Coast Guard is truly a branch of the military is somewhat open to interpretation.

Regarding Ed's spoiler:

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The taping was stopped to check this question after the fact. It was reverified using the military's own websites.

Regarding Ed's extrapolation:

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The pace picks up over the week. Most of the players get a chance to play.

Ritterskoop wrote:

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I have always thought it was. On Veterans Day at the games they play all five service hymns.

I wanted to join the Coast Guard, as I think of them as doing more useful peacetime work than the others, but that doesn't mean they don't also protect us during war.

Spoiler

When you wanted to join the Coast Guard, they weren't part of the Department of Homeland Security.

What Veterans Day Games are you talking about? I've never heard of such a thing.

I didn't say the question was right or wrong, just that it had the potential to be controversial. Federal Law states that the Coast Guard can revert to the Department of Defense during wartime, but that's not their current status.

I'll grant you it's a bit slow. I wasn't too impressed with the editing or the banter. It was mainly the game play and the questions.

Spoiler

Yes, the goal is to be the last one standing, but in case of ties, the most money wins out. I would think there should be more chip conservation during the duels, in order to keep more. Or maybe there was just too much uncertainty for them with those particular questions. hard to say.

The online Duel game is pretty slick. I've answered about 100 questions, and two of them were repeats, so there's a pretty large number of questions, but not an unlimited supply. I didn't create an account and log in, so maybe if you do that, they might keep track and prevent repeat questions.
http://abc.go.com/primetime/duel/game/index?pn=index

TheConfessor wrote:

Spoiler

When you wanted to join the Coast Guard, they weren't part of the Department of Homeland Security.

What Veterans Day Games are you talking about? I've never heard of such a thing.

I didn't say the question was right or wrong, just that it had the potential to be controversial. Federal Law states that the Coast Guard can revert to the Department of Defense during wartime, but that's not their current status.

Spoiler

Sorry. I meant the Panther games every November where they do a Veterans Day salute at pregame and halftime.

I agree about the timing on the Coast Guard. If the question says currently or presently, it is stickier. I forgot about the reassignment of a military arm into a civilian department. That was weird anyway.

I wish the pace were a little faster -- but, on the whole, I liked Duel. This is one I'd like to try for (if it's renewed.) If I could make it through the demographic roadblocks and the luck of the draw, I think I'd have a good chance to be chosen to play by another contestant, because I'm apparently often easy to underestimate.

okay the ultimate critic and complainer on the bb (me of course!) do honestly rate Duel a 10 +! If I had known there was a strong gambling flavor to the show, I would have wasted my obligatory 1/2 day of audition time on this one.
I likee very much and hope it is on 6 nights a weeks forever on ABC so all of us can have a crack at it!

Nicely constructed game, but slow.

Very much like 1 vs. 100 in that regard.

"Close enough to Disneyland to hear the fireworks"

We can actually see the fireworks from our backyard.

dodgersteve182 wrote:"Close enough to Disneyland to hear the fireworks"

We can actually see the fireworks from our backyard.

We used to be able to see the fireworks, until houses were built that blocked the view.

jsuchard wrote:Nicely constructed game, but slow.

Very much like 1 vs. 100 in that regard.

I'm sure the pacing will pick up as they spend less time explaining the rules in later shows, but the commercial break placement is just awful.
Imagine if a game of J! had Alex saying "We'll see if Ken's Daily Double answer is correct...right after the break."

The Press is a nice feature of the game. It does add a bit of strategy. I have an idea for another element that could truly introduce bluffing to the game, but it may make things too complicated. If the show is renewed, and I'm not picked as a contestant, I might try to sell the idea to TDPTB.

I missed it and I doubt it will still be on my TiVo when I get back. Would someone mind posting a detailed breakdown, or perhaps even, dare I think it, a transcript? --Bob

Bob78164 wrote:I missed it and I doubt it will still be on my TiVo when I get back. Would someone mind posting a detailed breakdown, or perhaps even, dare I think it, a transcript? --Bob

To get an idea, I'd consult the ABC Duel website and watch some of the videos.

Since I attended some of the tapings, I explain some of the specifics of the game not covered at the Duel site down this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=1601

I don't have the link for the Duel website at hand, but it's in the above thread, and it's probably still frontpaged at abc.com.

The pace of the game is extremely slow, so it doesn't appear that all the contestants will have a chance to play, which makes things a real bummer for those that don't (or even worse, for someone who gets picked in the last game and realizes that even if he/she wins, there's no way he/she can make the final four). I also could do without the choreographed pro wrestling maneuverings on the show ("he doesn't look so smart... I can take him").

Other than that, the questions were a good mix. I think that the first contestants were playing way too conservatively, losing track of the idea that accumulating money can be just as key as winning the game, if the ultimate goal is not to win $10 or $20K total, but to get a shot at the million dollar jackpot. I'm pretty sure these contestants could have bet a bit more aggressively on some of these questions and kept more chips until the end.

If you do get two really sharp players going head to head, a game could go on a very long time.

If this does well in the ratings, it could be brought back as a once or twice a week game playing towards an annual or semi-annual championship during sweeps. I would guess that if they did that, they would probably do away with that silly bit about choosing one's next opponent from three selected at random and just bring them out one at a time (to be fair, whoever is champion at the end of the "season" might be brought back the next season with his or her winnings intact if they haven't qualified for the final four, which could be the final eight or even sixteen depending upon how much they want to drag out the finals).

I didn't know it went until 9:30. I stopped watching at 9:00. I do have the whole thing on tape, so I will see it sometime.

It was way too slow for me - the 'wait till after the commercial' thing is old.

I did love the questions and the distractors were well thought out.

I like the 'hurry up' button aspect.

I am not a fan of the random selection of the three. I do like the winner being able to pick who they play next.

thguy65 wrote:

jsuchard wrote:Nicely constructed game, but slow.

Very much like 1 vs. 100 in that regard.

I'm sure the pacing will pick up as they spend less time explaining the rules in later shows, but the commercial break placement is just awful.
Imagine if a game of J! had Alex saying "We'll see if Ken's Daily Double answer is correct...right after the break."

That's an unfortunate copy of what FOX does on "5th Grader" and "Lyrics"

I was quite intrigued by the strategic aspects of the gameplay. I particularly like how the "just to make sure" contestants will quickly find themselves at a disadvantage against those who are more confident of their answers (barring those who are confidently wrong, of course).

If I could force my will on TPTB, I'd make these changes:

1. Replace the choice of contestants out of three random possibilities with another system that ensured all of the contestants a chance to play. This would also cut down on some of the wasted trash talking. I predict right now that the software engineer will never get challenged all week, because he looks too smart. As an aside, did anyone else think he was Penn Jillette in disguise?

2. The host <pause> must endeavor <pause> to eliminate all those dramatic pauses <pause> from his banter. <pause> They're not adding excitement, <pause> they're driving us batty!

3. Contestants should be able to use that "hurry up" button on the host. Reveal the answer in 7 seconds or you lose your job, bub!

4. Never go to a commercial break without revealing the answer! You're just wasting more time recapping everything when you get back from the break.



Best moment of the evening:

Spoiler

Herding cats!