The $100,000 Pyramid

I've been watching reruns of this show for the past couple of weeks, I think mostly from over five years ago, so I hopefully they've learned and it's better now. But, there have been numerous really bad choices for the celebrities. It's painful to watch. I won't mention any names, but some of these guys seem to not have any idea how to play. I get that they want a good mix of types of celebrities, but some people just aren't meant to be on a game show. Why would they have them on? Shouldn't they know how to play the game before being accepted to help contestants win? It's not fair because the contestants give excellent clues, but some of the celebrities JUST DON'T GET IT! I'd be mad! Just saying.

Otherwise, I'm really enjoying this version with Michael Strahan. I've watched this show since I was a kid and always enjoyed it. Dick Clark, Donny Osmond, and Michael Strahan have all been great hosts. I hope they keep getting intelligent celebrities on who know how to play!

I'm older so I remember how fun, smart and challenging this show was back when. Sometimes watching the supposed celebrities on the show makes me ask, have we really become this stupid? There are some really smart and fun celebs but they are few and far between. Most of the reality show or media "celebs" are plain stupid. They are so self involved they can't get the simplest clues. I feel sorry for the contestants. It's painful and irritating to watch them. Also although it makes the winner's circle game much easier I like the relaxed rules fior what is an acceptable answer. Strahan is good and I'd like to continue to watch but please get better and smarter celebs on. I beg of you!

Michael Strayhorn - yes I'm misspelling it because I have zero respect for him - is a horrible host. Remember when this show used to be the second most intelligent show after Jeopardy? This is Pyramid for Dummies... and it starts with the host and goes downhill from there... Sometimes they have smart, competitive celebrities - but just as often they have someone that doesn't have a single brain cell in their head - like "Housewifes" stars (for lack of a better word) and rappers or comedians who are as dumb as a mud fence... And the judges will allow just about anything to make the celebrities seem smarter than they are... the bonus round is usually a joke... They need to fire Strayhorn and totally revamp this show... otherwise its just a dumbed-down waste of time - like giving playdoh to a kid who can solve a Rubik's Cube.

When he was first selected as a co-host with Kelly Ripa, I was pretty disappointed because I thought others would have been much better. Then, I watched him and he was great.

He is absolutely the perfect person as host of this program. He is witty and really gets into the game as well.

I like some of the guests especially Leslie Jones. I love her on SNL but I watched her help someone win $100,000 and she was so overwhelmed and happy that she was a part of it. Most of the celebrities are huggers especially after helping someone win either 50G or 100G. But watching a celebrity recoil away from a hug didn't make it for me. But I understand everyone is different.

I loved seeing Rita Moreno on and she was great.

This show is a nice example of how important it is to pick the right host for your game show to work. Just like Steve Harvey makes the latest incarnation of Celebrity Feud work, Michael Strahan (who looks and sounds like Dr. Jekyll to Mike Tyson's Mr. Hyde) is a very fine fit for the type of show the latest incarnation of The $(xyz) Pyramid is. He's funny when he needs to be, he's quick on his feet, and he makes sure that everyone is having fun despite the huge cash prize that's at stake here.

Every contestant gets his or her celebrity partner, often a comedian, and the more competitive the celeb is, the better the episode turns out. The contestants themselves can also get highly emotional, especially when they lose their money over one dumb word-association question, but then again, there's always the chance of winning the paid 7 days trip to some exotic location as a consolation prize (or an added bonus, if they win both the trip and the money).

The categories that hide the words and phrases the contestants have to guess usually have spectacularly tacky puns or very intentional double entendres for titles (which, ironically, makes this in-theory-family show pretty edgy). As for the words and phrases themselves, they are mostly really simple yet often surprisingly hard to mime or describe. That's one of the things that engages the viewer the most - how will the contestants or the celeb try to explain the word to their game partner, and will the game partner get it? Also, as each game is timed, things really do get pretty tense when there's only 10 seconds left and the celeb guest simply can't figure out what his or her game partner's clues "Attenborough" and "Duchovny" refer to.

At the end of each turn, the contestant and the celeb switch places (the one who was guessing now gets to explain the words and vice versa), at the end of every round, the celebs switch places (each celeb helps one player during the first part of the show, and then goes to assist the other during the second half), and at the end of the game another two teams of celebs and contestants arrive, as each episode actually features two full games.

All in all, it's mostly a tense, fun show with a fitting host that gives you a tiny insight into the ways people associate things both in their minds and under pressure thanks to the show's ticking timer.