The Australian version is about to start.
link
I was knocked out of the mob by a stupid question about playschool.
What was the question?
I watch if it I catch it. Mostly because I’m waiting for Bab Saget to break the “aw shucks” and make some snide filthy comment that sneaks past the censors.
I’m convinced that the game is secondary to a commentary on society, that a game show can ask ridiculously banal, simple questions about basic knowledge, though admittedly with a pop-culture lean, and we’re supposed to squirm over how completely clueless any given 100-person cross-section of America really is. I’ve probably seen a good 50-75 questions now (given that an average episode will contain 15-20 questions and a LOT of filler), and I don’t think I’ve gotten any wrong. If I did, it would have been one or two significantly obscure things that knock out large sections of the mob and/or the “1”.
It’s fun mindless distraction, but a depressing mess if you think about it.
It’s better than Deal or No Deal. (I know, not saying much but still…) And for some reason, it is the least annoyed that I’ve ever been by Bob Saget.
Part of the fun for me is that no matter how easy the question, usually at least one of the mob will get it wrong.
I have watched parts of it a couple of times. It’s on a channel that doesn’t come in very well on my TV or I might watch a little bit more of it. Only a little, though, because the ratio between filler and trivia is slanted way too much towards filler.
Also, the questions just don’t excite me. Too much pop culture–I haven’t a clue, and too many incredibly simple questions. It should not take 5 miuntes to decide which answer is the only one which makes sense on some of these questions.
I wanted to get on the Aussie version when I first heard about it but they only held auditions in Melbourne in December. If they are using 101 people per show they must have accepted virtually anyone because they are not accepting any expressions of interest now.
When I did the *Sale of the Century * audition they cautioned those of us that got through (about 1/3 or 1/4 of maybe 500 people) that, “even if the champ leaves every night we only need 600 contestants a year and we have 20 years worth already. So don’t expect to ever hear from us again.” So far they have been right.
If the Aussie version works like the American version, they use 101+ people per show, but they only use 1 or 2 “contestent”-type folks. The Mob, the 100, whatever you want to call them is made up of “18 people left over from the last round, 12 drag queens, 6 child geniuses, 5 real life forty-year-old virgins, a C list celebrity, 3 Maxim models”, etc. I’m not sure how they collect interest for that group, but I’m not convinced that they pick them from the same pool as the "1"s.
It would be much better if they hurried things along a bit.
A recent commercial for the show did advertise “twice as many questions”, so it seems they’ve learned that they need to speed things up. The last episode I saw did seem quite brisk. And, because the contestant got the last question wrong, the remaining mob members got something like $5000 apiece! Although, we can’t lay it all on her; she “trusted the mob”, and the majority of the mob members gave the incorrect answer.
So far, the funniest mob makeup, in my opinion, has been the Christmas show, where they filled the mob with analogues to the 12 Days of Christmas. Twelve members of a drumline, eleven plumbers, ten male ballet dancers, nine go-go dancers, eight farmers’ wives, seven members of a water polo team, six pregnant women (the funniest one, I felt), five boxers, four bird callers, three french chefs, two dove hunters, and Danny Bonnaduce.
I kinda like it, although I would enjoy seeing it faster paced. It will go down in game show history (and launched a thread here), as the source of one of the dumbest contestant responses ever:
The question was, in essence…how many six-packs in 99 bottles of beer? The contestant was flummoxed, because she didn’t drink beer.
:smack:
On a side note: notice how many primetime game shows have flamed out quickly this season? The Rich List (one episode – which I really enjoyed); Show Me The Money, Identity…all in the dustheap of history.
It could have been a fun show if the questions hadn’t been so annoyingly easy.
Is this thing still on television? I didn’t think television could get any worse than this, then I saw “Show Me the Money!” It’s all bad.
As in any trivia contest with a heavy pop-culture bent…it’s easy when you know the answers. Some are just outside one’s sphere, and a total coin-toss.
I’ve played roulette many times, and seen countless roulette tables. But for the life of me I had no idea whether “1” was red or black. (I could eliminate green, fortunately).
What has the fewest number of cells? The answer was of course an amoeba.
Some 30 of the mob got it wrong and the contestant had to use one of her helps. The pop culture stuff I agree would be easy to not get if you don’t follow certain things, but general knowledge stuff like this? That is more what I was refering to.
Show Me the Money keeps lumbering on, albeit somewhat irregularly. And it’s so freaking stupid.
I get the feeling that a test of no more than five shows or so are made, and promoted as a bit of a feature, with the option to become a series. With anything less than stellar numbers, that option does not get picked up.
Which is a real shame for “The Rich List,” because I liked the one episode that aired, too.
Who were the other 22 people?
Well, one was Santa Claus, and one I’m sure was the current mob champion. The rest, just plain folks. Maybe they were carryovers from the previous contestant.
I think they are carryovers- all of the Mob members who weren’t eliminated stay on until they get a question wrong. (And Santa, milk does not explode.)
Coming in February, more stunt mobs: “Honey, I shrunk the Mob” (all kids). “The Most Hated Mob in America” (IRS employees, DMV workers, etc.) and an all-Celebrity Mob.
Incidently, on previous viewings, I had failed to recognize Bob Saget, but tonight he was very recognizable. (I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the first few minutes, so if he introduces himself or is introduced, I didn’t see or hear it).