23Aug2012
Video: New “The Pyramid” Promo Highlighting Celebrity Players
We’ve got another exclusive for you on BuzzerBlog today. This is a promo that will be airing on GSN for advertising The Pyramid soon but you get to look at it first here. This 30 second spot highlights some of the celebrities playing in the first season of the show. If you analyze the video too heavily, you will probably find some spoilers so if you’re not into that, just watch the video with casual attention and enjoy. You can get a look at other features of the set not readily seen before, like the “filled” Winner’s Circle display with dollar figures and faux trilons. Check it out right here:
Does the anticipation continue to build for you? The Pyramid premieres Monday, September 3rd at 6PM ET on GSN.
Great promo. When will this re-run? I won’t be able to catch the first-run episodes at 6pm EST
Yep, this builds the anticipation another notch.
Admittedly, I don’t watch that much in the way of current network TV shows, so I’m only familiar with maybe one or two of the “stars” shown in the promo. Kinda reminds me of when Joan Rivers did the $25K and $100K Pyramid with Dick Clark. She said she had trouble telling which of the others were contestants and which were her co-stars. Shows that even back then they had to get a lot of B-, C- and D-list celebs to play. Guess it’s kind of the same thing here. Usually that doesn’t affect the gameplay; I think the “lesser stars” get into the gameplay as much as the contestants, so it’s almost as if they have as much stake for the contestants to win.
Ummmm, since when did Joan Rivers appear on Pyramid?
She played The $10,000 Pyramid on ABC in the 70s.
I think she said that about Hollywood Squares, but the point still stands. Star power isn’t something you can expect on game shows anymore.
OK…this just upped the excitement factor for me. The set looks great…especially in action.
As for the stars getting into it, I agree. Many celebrities have said that they really get into the game. I’m sure that many of the celebrities that were in these episodes grew up during the time of the 80′s versions with Dick Clark. So, if they watched them then, or on GSN, they know how to play the game, and are probably as addicted as celebrities were when they played back then.
I’ve often seen celebrities still talking about clues for a certain subject when they came back from a commercial break. The show really does get that addicting. I don’t know if others will agree, but I honestly hope that same addiction starts showing up in this version. To be honest, I didn’t really see that as much with Donny Osmond’s version. So, I hope the same feel (from the classic versions) comes back.
I can’t wait till then!
Amazing what they call celebrities these days.
I must admit, if I were EP, I would scrap having celebrities, and have two teams of contestants, with each team splitting the winnings.
The contestant teams would, of course, be interested in winning, so they would play their heart out. Celebs don’t give a rat’s ass…and we’ve already heard some have bombed. A lousy celebrity dooms the contestant.
NO,NO,NO!!!! Pyramid was always about the celebrities and helping the contestants win the biig money. If they had all civilian players, it would just ruin the charm that the game has brought over the thirty years that it has been on the air.
As for my opinion on the new promo. Love it, can’t wait for it to air.
I agree with you Andrew. Besides, if two civilians play on a team, it could lead to bad things. Case in point…”Chain Reaction” started out (on NBC) as a show with one contestant and two celebs on one team. The most recent version had teams of all civilians. At least, if the play isn’t up to snuff, you have a little banter here-and-there to wash some of it away. With CR on GSN, you didn’t have that at all…and it was sometimes painful to watch.
Besides, many of the celebrity players on “Pyramid” weren’t known for much else. They were game players. So, many the same will hold here.
maybe*
“Amazing what they call celebrities these days.”
Hey it’s no different from the 80s, which had the security guard from the show that followed Dynasty facing off against the tourist from Transylvania 6-5000. Seriously, what the hell made Soupy Sales and Adrienne Barbeau relevant enough in the 80s to warrant repeated invitations? Nearly all of the listed celebs for GSN’s version currently appear on a network primetime show, which is about as good as we can hope for. Rodriguez will appear on Reba’s new sitcom Malibu Country in the fall. Peterman is on the basic cable sitcom Baby Daddy now, as well as Singing Bee. Harris is still on ET and Insider, so she’s still somewhat recognizable. That just leaves Aida Turturro as a bit of an unknown.
” Celebs don’t give a rat’s ass”
This statement makes me question whether you’ve ever seen the show before at any point in time. Look at any clip of a Winners’ Circle win. The celebrities are just as excited as the contestants. Plus, good celebs thrive on the competition as the week goes on and the rivalry, however brief. leads to better gameplay.
Nicely said! But, as for Soupy and Adrienne…Soupy was a well known star in the 60′s and 70′s, and he often promoted books. Adrienne, on the other hand, was in the movie “Back to School” with Rodney Dangerfield. But, both were great players.
Adrienne was also in Escape from New York with Kurt Russell, was the daughter of Maude in Maude, and did other sci-fi and horror movies then. She was a celebrity then. Right idea, definitely wrong celebrity to pick as irrelevant.
The best example, for me, is “Junior Partner Pyramid,” which aired during 1979 (?) when “The $20,000 Pyramid” was on air. It was, obviously, “cute” to watch kids play, but it DEFINITELY was missing a little something with having JUST civilians. I’d rather have an unknown model than all civilians!
I STILL say the fact that most of these people are from broadcast TV shows is some of the best we’re gonna get. Excited to watch!
Like you, Mark, I believe that The Pyramid is a strong enough to be an all-civilian game…strong enough to be watchable without celebrities. The term “celebrity” has been greatly diluted since the days stars like Jack Benny and James Stewart played Password. Part of the appeal of Password was the chance to see big stars be themselves. By the time we got to the 80s, top bananas appearing on game shows were pretty much a thing of the past. Let’s face it…Betty White and Vicki Lawrence aside, the core line-up on Pyramid and Password Plus was made up of c-listers, some of whom were considered famous BECAUSE they were on Pyramid so much. And the reason they were on Pyramid so much? They were good players. And if they weren’t good players, they weren’t asked back.
But, I always felt that the game play would be as good, if not better, with all-civilian teams…especially if the jackpot was in the neighborhood of $1M. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a third-string sitcom actor.
That said, I must say I’m impressed with the celebrities appearing on GSN’s Pyramid. Most are currently on series on the major broadcast networks…not the roster of cable reality show clowns I was fearing. So their stature is a least on par with the 80s Pyramid. And there are a few, like the pair from Community, that I’m actually anxious to see play. And the new crop of celebs seems to really be having fun playing!
But at the end of the day…I’m just glad that my favorite show is coming back!
This looks totally awesome! I was a little bummed out that I never got a call to audition. I really look forward to this being a major hit, and getting a chance to audition for season 2. Who cares who the celebs are, as long as they know how to play! Great set, great host, great show!
I’ve watched every incarnation of Pyramid since it began, and multiple other shows.
I’ve seen celebrities from William Shatner to Patti Deutsch and others just throw it all away.
Sure, there are the Betty Whites, Henry Pollocks of the world…Dick Cavetts…but they’re the exception.
Believe me…if I were a contestant, say on MG, and lost a game because of a stupid Patti Deutsch answer, or was on MD Password with Shatner and lost it all, I’d be raising hell.
We don’t know now, but I’ll bet the low rent celebs we see here will have us here complaining when the show is done.
Was rather glad to see them promoting the heck out of it during Bible Challenge last night. Probably not the right audience to promote to, but still.
Come on, bible, Pyramid? It’s an obvious cross reference. Too bad I wont be able to see it.
Let my GSN go!
Personally, I can like both shows, but I’m probably in the minority.
At times it seems like the celebs cared MORE about winning than the players did. Look how many times a contestant apologized when they couldn’t get a category off the celeb’s clues.
and while I’m at it, kudos to GSN for including the tilde in Oscar Nuñez’ surname
I was a big proponent of using a computer-generated game board on The Pyramid instead of the old-style trilons. But I gotta say…that game board looks mighty flat and dull. The font used for dollar amounts could be larger. And there could be more texture and bordering around the boxes. But maybe my opinion will change once I see a full Winner’s Circle with the effects in motion.
But I love the promos for this show. I know this may sound blasphemous, but after hearing the dramatic music and sound effects in the promos, I’m afraid the 80s theme may be too light and fun! But again, I don’t expect to have that concern past the first episode.
Getting very psyched. The time between now and Labor Day is just going to crawl!
I screened a full episode and the 80s theme is NOT the one they’re using. It’s a remake that is very difficult to hear over the audience, from what I can tell.
Has anyone found out if the contestants will have the option to give or receive in the Winner’s Circle? I hope they haven’t taken that away like they did in “Donnymid”‘s first season. :(
The first episode that airs should have a posted message at the end of the show dedicating it in the memory of Dick Clark.
…and Bob Stewart.