Merv Griffin's Crosswords

[Guest cfif]

Is it just me, or was this show a letdown?

 

The pace was outrageously fast (It was hard to keep up with the pace), the host [Ty Treadway] seems stiff and scripted, and the contestants' "banter" was stupid and the contestants themselves were boring.

 

Hopefully this show will get better as time goes on, but to me it looks like it won't make it past this season.

[Blargh 2]

Hence why we need to give shows a chance.

 

For Christ's sake, it's the first freaking episode! Give it at least a chance to get better!

[CircleSeven 1944]

I'd seen the episode myself on Monday. This reminds me when they revised Pyramid with Donny Osmond. I mean, talk about 3 to almost 4 minutes of commercials each break. I agree with cfif on this one.

 

What I don't like in the end game is that they give away $2,000 and a vacation. This also reminds me of PAX TV's Shop til' You Drop when their end game prize was only Vacations. They could've just give away at least $5,000.

 

I'm really happy they brought back the music that hasn't been heard since Wheel of Fortune left Television City when they use it to give away cars on the show. They re-orchestrated one of Merv's compositions called "Buzzword".

 

I'm not going to pour salt and say this show won't last, but it does need a whole lot tweaking as this season goes on.

[tvpirate05 1]

Both this and "Temptation" have potential, but need some work to make it to a second season. They aren't the worst shows ever, but they both have a few flaws which could be ironed out.

[AdamTheJ 87]

cfif, are you nuts? When I first saw Crosswords, I thought it was going to be the next best game show. But, NO. I see the ratings and it's doing BAD!!! I have a question for the stations that are putting this show against Oprah and Judge Judy. Do you really think you're going to beat the competition, or are you doing this because you have absolutely no hope for the show. cfif, you are insane. >

[Mario500 3]

During the first airing of “Crosswords” in Mobile, NBC affiliate WPMI ran a ticker stating that on September 17, the show will move into the 11:30 AM timeslot on independent station WJTC, which is co-owned with WPMI. The first week of shows aired at 12:30 PM following WPMI’s noon newscast. “Paid programming” returns to the 12:30 PM timeslot on WPMI, followed by “The Martha Stewart Show” and “Days of Our Lives”.

 

I guess WPMI is no match for “The Bold and the Beautiful” (WKRG), “Judge Hatchet” (WALA), “All My Children” (WEAR), and “Judge Mathis” (WBPG) at 12:30 PM. The station now has 1½ hours worth of “paid programming” per weekday. WKRG currently has the least "paid programming" per weekday in this area, with one hour's worth from approximately 12:35 AM to 1:35 AM, followed by "CBS News Up to the Minute".

 

“Crosswords” reminds me of “Jeopardy” when it comes to the pace of the game, the knowledge the contestants have, and the chance for the home viewer to quickly guess before the player on the show. It may not have the energy of a long running show many folks know and love, but “Crosswords” should have a good run of shows and a good place in game show history.

[williamsvoice 0]

I'll chime in on the two new syndie game shows.

 

I think Crosswords is a fairly solid game, truth be told. The spoilers really add to the game! Ty Treadway actually reminds me of a younger Pat Finn, and that's not a compliment. Finn hosted the ill-fated revision of "The Joker's Wild" in 1990 and was very robotic in nature. Treadway is just as robotic, if not more so. Luckily, he doesn't bring down the gameplay value, and I'm sure he'll get better in time. This show has potential, in my view.

 

As a huge fan of Sale of the Century, I had high hopes for Temptation, but am left with the feeling that things are missing. The speed rounds are okay and Wipeout 2.0 (aka Knock Off) is a nice addition. The final speed round should be at least 45 seconds long, as opposed to 30 seconds, and Super Knock Off is flawed. I was also hoping the show would add a cash jackpot or at least the chance to win all the prizes on stage for only $XXX. Rossi Morreale isn't bad, but he isn't good either. And, if you're going to go with a female announcer on a game show, Rolonda Watts is not the way to go. I would have rather heard the immensely more talented Randy Thomas. (If Mr./Ms. Nieves is reading, I don't have a problem with female game show announcers.) I see Temptation as a 1 and done season's worth of low rent bargains.

[Oliverolang 41]

I'm sorry about posting so late. I actually do enjoy Merv Griffin's Crosswords, but not without its faults. The title should have been called Merv Griffin's Cheapwords, considering the paltry budget and the "Crossword Getaway" consisting of vacations located not that far from LA. Ty Treadway does a respectable job, but as Jim said he is rather robotic. Instead of "I, Robot" we might as well call him "Ty Robot!" But despite that, it's a fun show and miles better than Temptation.

[lazynetjunkie 34]

Really, Merv Griffin's Crosswords is made in the way Merv Griffin would have wanted it. Maybe that's why his name is actually in the title. haha.

 

If Merv had all his games shows his way, Jeopardy! would still be using an old pull-card board with dollar values in the less than $100 range and Wheel of Fortune would still have shopping with prizes that look like they came out of a thrift store.

 

It took alot of pushing to get Merv to agree to using TV monitors for a board on Jeopardy! Merv's really a man of cheap production values and cheap gifts.

 

 

I think TV stations would be better off with a revival of Scrabble and/or syndicating Lingo (both with Chuck Woolery as host).

[WXmanTim 88]

I've been watching Crosswords somewhat in the mornings getting ready for classes (it comes on at 8am on the MY Network digital subchannel of our CBS affiliate, WCBI.

 

It's...ok. The music is an old (and I do mean old) shopping cue from back in the day on Wheel Of Fortune, the crappy dollar amounts are laughable in today's day and age of "Millionaire" and $30,000 wins on "Jeopardy!". The worst part for me, though, is the "spoilers." Why are they there? There really is no need for them, it slows the game down and ruins it for the other two contestants. I can't say how many times, so far, that I've seen a "spoiler" win by virtue of answering the last question before time is called. The contestant worked up this big pot of cash and then lose at the last second. Finally, the "bonus round" portion is near impossible to win. 1:30 is all the contestant gets to hear the clue, think about the answer, call it out and spell the remaining six or eight clues.

 

Triple or quadruple the dollar amounts and have a "knock-out" round find the two contestants and the three spoilers and this might be a decent game show.

 

As for Temptation. Ugh. I finally got to watch and episode and a half (I couldn't finish watching the second ep, it was that bad). The central casting twink needs to go back to the modelling agency from whence he was ordered. The man has no gravitas and no presence. Everything he says is said in this breathlessly, to add excitement I'm sure but which comes across as annoying and contrived.

 

The youtube videos I've seen of the Australian version are good, but this one is just ridiculous. I'd rather watch a Jim Perry hosted repeat (and put up with the bad 80s fashions) any day over this piece of tripe.

[NYNW 0]

I made a choice to get some kind of "educational/brain stimulation" in while watching TV, and since Jeporady is on during King of Queens here, Crosswords fits the bill for me.

I do find the game a bit challenging only because of the pace, I just can't seem to keep up with crossword solvers. I often find my self saying the clue about 1 second after the player announces it.

The only issue I have with the game, is that sometimes I found the clues EXTREMELY vague, not to the degree found in current crosswords. Otherwise, this game will catch on, it just needs to get a name for itself, and get a few celeb's on.

[AdamTheJ 87]

cfif, are you nuts? When I first saw Crosswords, I thought it was going to be the next best game show. But, NO. I see the ratings and it's doing BAD!!! I have a question for the stations that are putting this show against Oprah and Judge Judy. Do you really think you're going to beat the competition, or are you doing this because you have absolutely no hope for the show. cfif, you are insane. >

 

Jesus Christ....are you like employed by the creators of this piece of shit?

 

No, I'm not insane, I just think the show is too fast and is shit. It would be much better if they did it a little slower and didn't have commercials every 5 seconds.

 

You know something, cfif, I took that very personally. I thought the show was great. Sure, some of the questions are a little hard, and they could use better prizes, but the gameplay is fun. Cfif, you really should be ashamed of yourself for taking this the wrong. I honestly thought this show was good.