The Wall

I actually like the game and the fact that they seem to gear it towards contestants who are the unsung heroes of the world. I'm not a huge fan of the immense amounts of drama that are added. It's almost more like a reality show at points. When the game ends and the two contestants have to stand there with tears in their eyes and profess their love for each other for 5 minutes before saying what needs to be said, I cringe a little. That whole portion of the show could be rewritten and be more concise so that it still gives has the same "wow" factor with less pain for the at home audience.

At the time I wrote this, there were 6 other reviews and I read them all. My favorite was by "atlasmb". I must admit, the concept for this game is intriguing -- you get money in your "game bank", you answer crappy trivia questions to hope to get more in your bank, but if you miss the answer, you have an equal chance of losing money in your bank. Then at the end of the round you have to perform an act where you can only lose money. Each time the odds of gaining or losing money are 50/50. So it's basically a demented PLINKO ripoff. The Price is Right might have a lawsuit (snicker).

Now here's the part that bugs me -- there are several phases of the game where drama is intentionally built. I'm not talking extemporaneous drama (like people just saying what's on their minds), NO, I mean scripted drama, like on your basic crappy reality show. It's all too-well rehearsed, and no amount of editing can hide that. I gave this show a 5/10 because I don't even know if this show is "real". And we'll never know...everyone involved has (no doubt) signed legal documents that if they come forward they get their pants sued off.

So welcome to the new world of reality game shows, where actors replace contestants, and life just gets more disappointing. Nice try producers, just make more Hell's Kitchens...at least Gordon makes me laugh.

Absolutely awful show on Game Show Network it is the worst I've seen in a long time pathetic and stupid. It has this pathetic melodrama about people's past lives or heroics or disabilities that one has grown through. Okay but let's get real this is the game show I don't know why we need all this extraaneous other things attached to it that's soppy and sad and supposedly enlightening I don't need that in a game show at all there's no fun. Once again it seems that the game show is trying to keep Pace with reality TV shows where there's family dramas or housewife dramas etc etc they're trying to put too many things that they think will Encompass all peoples' interests.

Holy moly, this is painful. Kind of reminds me of that weird game show hosted by Ryan Seacrest a couple of years ago where people were kept underground in NYC...and then they were brought up to compete, then taken back down...they actually lived in this bunker... Oh, Lord, that was weird.

This compares. When somebody watches a good trivia show, they truly do not care about the contestant...except to feel superior to them when they get stuff wrong. This is a show that involves a couple, and then they separate the couple, and the couple professes their undying love for each other, and every question involves one or both telling a very boring, long story about why they are answering this way....interspersed is "I love you!" "I love you, too!" and speeches about their kids, and their hardships...

and this is AN HOUR. With one set of contestants. And then there are green and red balls, and then a rip-off of Plinko, and then some weird twist at the end when one half of the pair has to either accept a contract or tear it up..

I am not making any of this up. I wish I was.

"The Wall" is a game show where a married couple competes against The Wall for money. And The Wall is very impressive: 4 stories tall, a massive video display, complete with built-in cameras. The host, Chris Hardwick, says the show is designed to provide "good opportunities for good people". We might wonder how they defines "good people".

In the first four episodes, the contestants include s school teacher, two marines, a parole officer, a police officer and couple that gives free donuts to police and fire personnel. Obviously, giving service--especially in the government sector--is what makes one good. As far as I know, this is the first game show with a political/philosophical agenda.

The game-play involves dropping balls down the wall, like a giant pachinko machine, and seeing if they land in slots designated as large money amounts or smaller money amounts. You can count the number of slots and their values to determine the odds of getting big bucks or not. But some balls subtract money, making it even more a game of chance. Yes, there are (embarrassingly easy) multiple-choice trivia questions involved at some point, but they only serve to distract one from the randomness of the outcome.

The ideal contestant is someone who (besides working for the government) is not too smart, likes gambling (e.g. dice, the lottery, or slot machines), likes to be the center of attention, is overly dramatic, voices every thought, and is superstitious. Expect to see every game show cliché. Expect contestants to give inane reasons for choosing certain numbers. Expect them to talk to the balls, perhaps even kiss them. And you can definitely expect them to provide lengthy, sometimes irrelevant justifications for their trivia answers.

The first couple is from Akron. So is LeBron James, producer of the show. A coincidence? Or just a totally random outcome, like The Wall?

If you like games of skill, try "Jeopardy". If you like games of chance that last an hour, "The Wall" may be for you.