“Family Feud” Adds Bullseye Round for Season Eleven
New Family Feud information seems to be coming in every day, so let’s have a roundup of all the news that’s happening with it. First off, the one item that’s not a catch is the car. Any team that wins the full five games will win a brand new car. That’s pretty exciting? The main exciting part comes from the increased money. It’s been reported that Fast Money will award up to $30,000 for any team that wins the bonus. How do you get to the $30,000, though? For the syndicated show’s eleventh season, hosted by John O’Hurley, Feud will be bringing back the Bullseye round.
In Bullseye, two family members, from opposing teams, face off against each other trying to come up with the number one answer to a question. First to buzz in and get the number one answer wins money for the team’s bank. Each of the five members gets a shot at playing a Bullseye question. Whichever team wins plays Fast Money for the total in their bank, which equals up to $30,000. Pretty exciting, isn’t it?
This is a genius move for one big reason: they can advertise a larger grand prize while probably giving away less. I can’t see the bank starting at $20,000 and the five other questions totaling $10,000 for a total of $30,000. I see the banks starting at $10,000 or $15,000 and going up to a $30,000 top prize for getting all of them which won’t happen that often. They’ll give away less in the long run, but bring in the excitement of potentially a lot more, not to mention bringing something new into the show.
I’m a big fan of Family Feud and from the beginning of season ten I’ve been saying it’s time to refresh the show. It was time to bring in something new to a show which hasn’t changed in a very very long time. Doing all of this is a huge breath of fresh air and I for one can’t wait to see it. The only thing I wonder is how they are going to squeeze the game in. They were sort of rushing with the four rounds/300 point goal format.
We’ll be on set later this month and giving you the scoop on everything. Family Feud begins taping on June 7th. Don’t miss it!
I am thrilled about the Bullseye game coming back. I’ve hoped it would come back for some time now. It’s the earliest version of Feud I remember seeing (Born in ’87), and I just thought that set piece was too cool. Ray gave such an energy to that open, with the big sign flying in from the rafters. It was a great start to the show. I hope they create some big, sexy set piece to fly in.
Maybe this means the end of the pointless eggcrates on the family lecturns. Maybe we’ll actually get a shot of the scores on the big board!
The most logical way is to start the banks at $15,000, and do $1K-$5K questions. Or, perhaps, if they want to save time, three $5K questions.
I personally liked the Bullseye Round, and am HIGHLY intrigued by them bringing it back. It could either be a boost for the show, or a death knell. Those kinds of decisions, however, scare me. I’m concerned they are gonna have to rush through it (and the main game) in order to make it through the whole show in time, which is a mistake, IMHO. The show is a bit rushed as is already.
With the money aspect, as I’ve thought about it a bit the past couple of years, I’m basically with you Alex, in that, depending how they work things, it’ll LIKELY *not assuredly* be cheaper in the long run while potentially adding a new level of game play. The car bit seems tacked on, but I’ve felt, for awhile, that Feud has needed to offer some sort of prize like a car or vacation in some way, though I’m not exactly sure how. It’s an extra ad plug, which could help the show’s bottom line, but the other aspect, of course, would be how you split a car between 5 people, or would you just really go nuts and just offer 5 cars (budget buster even though it won’t happen often). A family vacation seems a more logical route to go, IMHO.
Mathematically, there are only a handful of scenarios to go with here that aren’t overly awkward. You can take the 90′s Bullseye payout and start everyone at 15k, you can start at 20k and do 4 q’s from 1k to 4k, which would be more expensive than things currently, do 4 q’s at 5k a piece starting everyone at 10k, or go oddball, start at 10k, and do 2 at 2500, 1 at 5k, 1 at 10k to get the “buildup effect.” The buildup effect made the original Bullseye more exciting, IMHO, but it’s not mandatory.
I’m still hoping for $10 a point, it’s long overdue economically, it won’t kill the budget, and the math is easy for viewers to follow *for the few actually paying attention to that*. If you wanted the show to follow “mo’ money,” double the Fast Money grand prize for a shut out (rare), with John milking it before revealing that answer of course, and then offer to double it again for having the first player get 200 points by themselves (even rarer). At $20k starting, that’s $80k potential, but if you make the base $25k, advertisers can go scrambling over the new 6-figure $100k DOUBLE JACKPOT OMGWTFBBQ!!!!!!!11111eleven!
All just IMHO…
I did not like the bullseye rounds before. I cannot imagine it being any better.
The Bullseye round was always exciting in its own right, despite the naysayers, and that could be why the Ray Combs-era feature is making its comeback.
Start with $15,000 in the banks and ask three questions, for $2500, $5000, and $7500 if they wanna save time, but $15,000 and 1-2-3-4-5 seems more likely. Remember in Dawson’s ’94 return, there was a three question Bullseye for $1000, $3000, and $5000 (if memory serves correct), and it was only head of famliles that played…
I liked Bulleye ’93 and the Bankroll on Dawson’s return. I actually will hold judgment when I see an episode (because I think the show is rushed, but its not the producers’ fault per se), but for the 11th season [to get this far] big changes are coming, and I’m excited [and happy] for the “Feud”.
The pacing of this show has been bad lately. Currently they have two “single” rounds before the first break, only a “double” round in the second segment, and only a “triple” round in the final segment.
If I watch the show, I tune out after the first segment because it’s not worth watching the show for just a few minutes and only one question before going to a commercial break.
I hope the addition of the Bullseye round makes them reconsider the pacing of the show.
It was much better back in the days of Dawson/Combs where the third segment would involve two, three, or sometimes even four questions.
The other problem with today’s Feud is that the entire game rests on the Triple question. If a team loses the Triple question, they have almost no chance of winning. This takes away from the meaningfulness of the first few rounds. If both teams win one of the single questions, the double question is obsolete.
Easy solution: "Bullseye" round, 2 singles, triple.
$15,000 would probably to be the minimum for the Bullseye round.
They’ll probably change the main game to SINGLE-DOUBLE-TRIPLE, which essentially makes it best of 2.
What’s next? “Family Feud Challenge ’10″? Shrinking the families back to four members from five? Bringing Richard Dawson back AGAIN? I knew there was a reason I stopped watching “The Feud” a long, long time ago. But, hey, I was stunned to see M$P back on CBS. Fremental, er uh, FreMANTLE strikes again!!
The scoring system for the main game needs to make sense, and adding Bullseye will leave less time for the main game. Password Plus and Super Password suffered the same problem. The first puzzle was never necessary for anyone to win the game, with a 100/200/300/400 structure, 500 to win (if one team gets both 200 & 300, you never get to the 400 puzzle). Here, they should consider just using the standard points for each round (0 to 100) plus a set bonus for winning the round itself, which would escalate with each round. They can work the math out. Also, they should start with shorter rounds and make the more important later rounds have more answers, which is more challenging and more tension-filled. That would save time overall and make for a better game. Careful editing can take care of games that run too short or too long (you can always pad Fast Money if you need to, that’s easy enough).
In these days of double runs and GSN, why NOT go with a full hour? Then you can have more game, a relaxed pace with the contestants, and plenty of commercials. Everyone wins!
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Bringing back the Bullseye game is a HUGE mistake! In my opinion, it’s what killed the last version in the first place. I think Fremantle, in their own weird way of wisdom is TRYING to kill the show. Remember…the jackpot’s been $20,000 for years…and now the only way to make it that much or more is to get #1 answers? Come on…keep that method with the sudden death tie-breaker (which I thought was a great idea). Don’t kill the show with the Bullseye game. I leave you with this thought. When Dawson came back, some families only played for $2,500. Hmm…$20,000 or a lot less…2 words…NO BRAINER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UGH! Bullseye took away one round of the main game in what proved to be the latter years of the Combs years (when Dawson came back in ’94, FF was only in syndication; producers just gave Bullseye a cosmetic change, named it “Bankroll” and deleted two questions from Bullseye in the process — thus lowering the stakes a smidge).
Proved to be a mistake and spelled the end of the CBS version.
I still say one of two systems need to be implemented here…
\ Borrow something similar to the Australian version of Feud. Start the pot at $5000 when a new Fast Money round starts. Every time the first of two players in Fast Money names a number one answer, add another $5000 to the pot. If the second player can take the cumulative score to at least 200 points, the family wins whatever is in the pot.
\ Remember how the Winner’s Big Money Game was out of place on “$ale of the Century” in its latter years on NBC? A similar payoff system would be nice here. Make the family’s first visit to Fast Money worth $10,000. If the champions successfully defend their championship the first time, Fast Money is worth $15,000 (regardless if the first endgame was successful). Third trip to Fast Money would be for $20,000 — then $25,000 and finally $30,000.
…bottom line, FF should keep any and all methods of increasing the stakes in Fast Money confined to said bonus round. It’s been done in Australia (and, if I’m not mistaken, the UK). Why can’t we do that here?
Bringing back Bullseye is an interesting idea, curious to see how this will work. What concerns me though is the main game being even more rushed then it already is now. You don’t get to know the contestants really at all that much anymore, what they do or anything, cause you have to get right into the game now. There are a couple ideas I was thinking about to rectify this, one being going to an hour as has already been mentioned, which really would make sense in this era. The other possibility, would be to make the game 200 points to win instead of 300. Granted it’s sort of the same idea as single double triple thing that had been done when Bullseye was used in the past, in the sense that you’re going to have 3 questions at least regardless. But it’s something to consider.
On a side note, unrelated to Bullseye, I would like to have some more variety in the music cues you are using. I like the main theme as much as anyone does don’t get me wrong, but it sort of gets a little old to hear the same cuts over and over again throughout the entire show. I’d kinda like to see the old commericial cues from years past brought out again myself, among others.
I almost stopped watching the Feud with the Bullseye addition last time b/c it took time away from the main game. With syndication’s current time-strapped format, this makes me feel that we’ll lose what we like about the show.
Take the comments of Jay and Doug Morris as well as Adam’s music cue side note and you have my sentiments almost exactly (still bugged by the tiebreaker).
I like the Bullseye. Here's how I would do it.
If base was $10,000 and 5 questions, how about $2-6k or $4k, $6k, $8k for 3.
If base was $15,000 and 5 questions, how about $1-5k, or $3k, $5k, and $7k. for 3.
I would like to see the family get the score they win with in the main game as cash, and then multiply it for each day the family won. Here's an example:
Like, if the family won for the first time with 450, they would get $450.
If the family won their second day with 347, they would get 347 x 2 for $698.
Third day with 312, they would get 312 x 3 for $936.
Fourth day with 340, they would get 340 x 4 for $1360.
Fifth day with 490, they would get 490 x 5, for $2450.
Keep the $5 a point in Fast Money.
And stop looping the theme cuts over and over again. It does get old.
Damion. you're overcomplicating the scoring a bit there. Just your basic $1/point per main game win is all I need to know(sure I'm good at math, but what about the average Joe Family Feud?).
I cannot believe Family Feud is bringing back arguably the most infamous element in the shows history. From what happened during the Combs era it is probably not the best idea to bring the Bullseye Round back. It not only killed the Combs era but Dawson's 2nd run as well when it was called the “bankroll round”. This should show you guys at Family Feud just how popular the Bullseye round is. What are you guys going to do next? Reduce the members of the Families to just 4 like on Dawson’s 94-95 Season? Personally, I never really had a problem with the Bullseye round. As a fan of Ray Combs’ Family Feud, I have always wondered how the the Bullseye round would look like on the video board. Though I never thought it would return.
I never liked the Bullseye round on the CBS/Ray Combs version of the show. My problem with it is that it took away from the game play of "classic Feud". In a regular game, there's up to five questions, typically. With the bullseye round there may be as few as four or even three (depending on how many commercials/promos are wedged in).
Raise the top prize to $30,000. It's about time. The last raise was during the Louie Anderson era (2000-2002) when it went up to $20,000 and stayed there. If they want to make it more challenging, raise the goal to 225 points or have harder questions. Or do a progressive jackpot like Lingo – start at $25,000 and increase it $1,000 a day or $5,000 a week each period it isn't won.
I Think they should just title it the "Bankroll Round". It is more fitting if they decide to keep the "Sudden Death" round in play. The use of the "Bullseye" and "Sudden Death" round would feel like both families are playing two "Bullseye" rounds, even though both rounds require only the top (Number 1) answer of each survey.
I forgot to mention the Family Feud '94 theme when I was posting my first comment . The 1988 theme feels a bit outdated for the current set, but the Jazzy 1994 theme sounds cooler and more modern, No Offense Intended.
They should change the scoring format to Single, Double, Double, Triple and Eliminate the Sudden Death round.
And after hearing the 1994 version of "The Feud" for the first time in years, I must say it might work better than the 1988 version. You could even use it with the techno music the producers seem to like. The Techno theme should be used for face-offs and introducing the families (until Burton says "on your marks").
The 1994 theme can be heard here [url]http://tvpmm.com/documents/424.html/url (it's 'main theme v1' in the 1994 section.)
And if they change the point vales to Single, Double, Double, Triple, that would leave more time for Bullseye.
Come to think of it, you're probably right, my friend. The way the format's gonna be next season will make it seemed like it's rushed. But, I guess Single/Double/Triple's OK with me.
The Family Feud '94 Theme sounds a whole lot better for the current set than the '88 theme. Not that I am trying be negative about the Combs Theme, it's just that I feel that the '94 Theme sounds more competitive and a bit more modern with that jazz backdrop.
It looks like we all agree the 88 theme is good, but the 94 theme fits the current set better.
But what I want to know is why every piece of new music has to be some generic techno music by John Lewis Parker?
1st. Question: $2,500
2nd.Question: $2,500
3rd.Question: $3,000
4th.Question: $3,000
5th.Question: $5,000
1-5-2-4-3 set-up (1st Player-1st Question; 5th Player-2nd Question; 2nd Player-3rd Question; 4th Player-4th Question; and 3rd Player-Last Question).
It kinda sounds Eenie Meenie Minie Moe-ish, but to me, it seems like a good set-up for the Bankroll….uh Bullseye Round I mean.
What do you people think of it?
John Lewis Parker orchestrated a Theme that was never supposed to be. Good thing they stopped playing the doggone thing. Thumbs up to Edd Kalehoff.
I liked the "Need an Answer" Buzzer (buzz,buzz,buzz) that they used when Dawson and Anderson were hosting. They should use it again for O'Hurley's set.
The Survey Board could use a little re-working as well, kind of give it a '94 look to it, only not super imposed where only the TV audience can see.