Reminder: “National Bingo Night” Deb….zzzzzzzzz

18 May

Posted by Alex Davis as ABC, National Bingo Night

Sorry, I fell asleep after watching the DVD again. If watching people play Bingo is your thing then you’ll get a kick out of the debut of National Bingo Night tonight at 9PM ET on ABC. At least in game one, one contestant has to guess if the next ball is higher or lower than the last one with a right answer making the number on the ball worth points added to the player’s score. If the player gets 500 points, that player wins $50,000 and possibly prizes. However, the audience will play regular Bingo with all numbers open. If an audience member gets a Bingo, the audience member gets the house jackpot of $5,000 and the contestant loses. There will be more games thrown in, but at least for me it was still one of the most boring things I’ve ever had to experience. You may enjoy printing Bingo cards out from ABC’s website here. Good luck and be sure to tell us what you think. We’ll post a full review later tonight.

33 Responses

Greg
1
May 18th, 2007 at 12:37 pm

I found a Touchstone Television Emmy Nomination DVD at a bookstore. It had 2 episodes each of “According to Jim”, “My Wife and Kids”, and “Scrubs”. It’s too bad I’m not going to play along tonight (the DVR will tape it though). I have to go camping.
beverlene alec
2
May 18th, 2007 at 2:58 pm

Im looking for bingo cards to print, for May 18, 2007, fridays 9pm bingo on abc.
HQ
3
May 18th, 2007 at 3:08 pm

What’s next a show about people playing tag?
Cosmic Jester
4
May 18th, 2007 at 3:30 pm

HQ, for goodness sakes don’t give them any ideas.
Dan
5
May 18th, 2007 at 4:02 pm

C’mon, I actually like bingo! This could be fun! Besides, I’ll play darn near anything if I get a free chance at prizes!
Measles!
6
May 18th, 2007 at 5:54 pm

This might possibly eclipse Card Sharks 2001 in terms of absolute crap.
AP
7
May 18th, 2007 at 7:28 pm

HAHAH! Now thats a huge accomplisment if it happens
leslie wentworth
8
May 18th, 2007 at 9:17 pm

would like to win some money playing bingo!
Caleb
9
May 18th, 2007 at 9:37 pm

That’s an hour of my life I will never get back. It has got to be the most anticlimatic event of the year. I hope that big ball hopper was a rental.
JohnGoodman
10
May 18th, 2007 at 9:44 pm

It would be easier to watch if the host didn’t have to YELL EVERY DAMN THING HE SAID!
Neville
11
May 18th, 2007 at 9:56 pm

I promised myself that if I were home and not busy when it came on I would watch it, in case it weren’t absolute crap. Unfortunately, I was wrong - and playing along with two sets of cards doesn’t make it any better.
Scott Meckley
12
May 18th, 2007 at 10:06 pm

well what can I say about this show. I don’t love it and I don’t hate it. what ticks me off about it though is if the contestant gets a bingo and an audience member gets a bingo at the same time then the contestant wins nothing here’s a thought why not have the contestant and the audience member or members have to split $50,000. I don’t think the host did a bad job. I think that the only thing that could possibly keep this show around is the fact that you can play along at home. I smell a cancellation after three episodes what does anyone else think about how fast this show will be cancelled. I will say this though to the person mentioning Card Sharks 01 I think this was better than that was Card Sharks 01 was crap. I’ve got games that would make great gameshows compared to Card Sharks and even better than bingo.
Chad Mosher
13
May 18th, 2007 at 10:21 pm

I enjoyed it. I did mind the concept of the games and I thought it was presented well, overall. My only gripe is that I didn’t win. =D
Chad Mosher
14
May 18th, 2007 at 10:23 pm

Sorry for the double post, but I meant “I didn’t mind…”
Mike
15
May 18th, 2007 at 10:40 pm

It was an innocent enough way to spend a Friday night, even though there were both Indians and Cavs games on other stations tonight. I didn’t win, but I had fun playing along. Eh, I’m out 18 sheets of paper and computer ink. Oh wait, *my employer* is out 18 sheets of paper. Heh.
steve
16
May 18th, 2007 at 10:43 pm

well… i watched it… i’m still not quite sure what to think of it. mini-recap for those who didn’t want to sit through the whole thing:

game 1: the bingo 500 - like described above. contestant predicts higher or lower to try to reach 500 points.
result: audience victory, exact same number as contestant hit 500.

game 2: win the vin - contestant predicts whether the next number is odd or even, correct guesses remove the digits in the ball from an 8-digit vehicle identification number, removing all eight wins the contestant a car.
result: audience victory, despite a quick start knocking all but two 7’s and 0’s left.

game 3: was there a name for this? - contestant predicts whether next ball has red or black decals around the number (”like roulette”, as ed described it), each correct guess moves a mechanical bride doll one step closer to the mechanical groom, seven steps makes the couple kiss, and the contestant wins $50k.
result: contestant victory, with a seven-in-a-row streak, and not a single audience member one away from bingo.

okay, my take… one thing i really liked about tonight was the way they had audience members who were one away stand up. it really added to the pressure of the game, knowing your odds of losing were getting greater.
now for what i didn’t like…
1. the fairly obvious edit points… granted, when DOND made its debut, it was no better.
2. the entire show seemed loud… yes, the host shouted everything, but if the audience wasn’t told to cheer incessantly, that might not be a problem. and then to try to pump that pressure-building music over top of it all… oy. my ears hurt.
3. the mechanical bride and groom… please tell me that’s not going to be a regular game on here, right? bingo 500 isn’t a bad idea. win the vin is also creative. but please, did we run out of ideas after only two themes?
4. kmart owns this show. granted, it might be a step better than the disney cruise-owned episode of america’s funniest home videos that immediately preceded this.
5. they did push the home-audience participation… but a bit too far. thank you, but it only took three balls before i didn’t need to be told anymore that i could “mark that number off your card right now!” psh, like i asked your permission.
6. oh, did i mention that you could win a date with fabio if the right ball came up?

yes, i watched the show, and yes, i played along. (with my own bingo cards, though.) playing along had a bit of appeal to it, but… i guess the verdict is, i really don’t think i’ll want to watch this again if i had the choice. i won’t lie, i was anticipating a really hokey show… i was mildly impressed, but parts of this made me want to change the channel to something, anything else. and that’s my take on the news from lake wobegon.
Patrick
17
May 18th, 2007 at 11:11 pm

Worst. Show. Ever.

That was a colossal waste of time. The weakness of the game-play is surpassed only by the weakness of the host, who apparently thinks that “Briton with Raised Voice” is something America has been waiting for.

Four episodes, tops.
Lucas B.
18
May 19th, 2007 at 12:28 am

Based on one episode I don’t “love” the show, but I like it. Here’s why:

1. It’s fast-paced, and full of action. They don’t draw out the suspense moments for too long, like many other shows do. (…like that one which starts with an I and ends with a Y… no names mentioned)

2. The viewers get to play along, and partake in the contestants game. (Not just by texting a number in a “side game”.) This encourages you to follow each game mechanism (each number).

3. I can see some parallels with TPiR. Each of the contestants’ games are somewhat different from the next, instead of persistently using the same rules. The prizes, too, aren’t always just sums of money. And go figure, there’s no money tree.

Steve: I agree, especially with #2 and #5. Hopefully, the reason why they did #5 was because the public is new or unaware to the interactivity aspect, and they’ll tone it down soon.

Note: These games aren’t completely the luck of the draw. For example I’ll take “Win the Vin”. If (so far) you’ve pulled out 12 even balls but only 5 odd balls, the next number is slightly more likely to be an odd one.
Kevin C.
19
May 19th, 2007 at 1:24 am

A few comments:

1) This DID surpass Card Sharks 2001 as far as absolute crap.

2) $50,000 (or even the car in “Win the Vin”) is not spectacular for a primetime network show.

3) This show stole parts of previous game shows. The whole show rips off 1 vs 100, “Bingo 500″ rips off Card Sharks, “Win the Vin” steals the idea of High Rollers, and “Red or Black” (which was the last game) stole the wedding theme part from the infamous USA network show entitled Love Me, Love Me Not.

4) NBN couldn’t be any worse if they had Patrick “Youuuu Winnnnnn” Wayne to host this crap.

5) Finally, some words regarding the NBN Comissioner: “Vote for Pedro”
Derrick
20
May 19th, 2007 at 4:22 am

This episode sure was something. I printed out lots and lots of bingo cards and was so close on a few. I will be watching next week but I won’t be playing though. I also thought the mini-games were interesting although they could get some new ones.

Oh and the mini-games remind me of some of them they had on the NBC game show called “Time Machine” in 1985 that lasted four or five months.
Scott
21
May 19th, 2007 at 8:01 am

I never thought I would see an ABC game show worse than Show Me The Money, but this was it. Two episodes, tops…the host was awful and the entire game was too loud. With a good host and less over-hype, it might have a chance. But this was absolutely dreadful. We made it only through the first “game’
Zach
22
May 19th, 2007 at 9:57 am

I think Mark Goodson ( if still alive ) and Merrill Heatter could sue this show for ripping off elements of their most famous games. I knew before this show started it was not going to be original and I was right. Responding to Kevin’s argument the first game played was just like Card Sharks and the second game was a skimmed down version of the big numbers from High Rollers. I could only watch the first game then I had to switch to Smackdown which I always watch on Friday’s anyway and only tuned back in occasionally. Ozzy Osborne was a musical guest star on Smackdown. Then I got to thinking, how would Ozzy do as host of NBN? Couldn’t be any worse than the show already is right?
Marc Power
23
May 19th, 2007 at 10:58 am

Mark Goodson, meririll heatter, Bill Cullen and any other game sho names you could think off are flipping in their graves. This show is the worst I’ve seen in a long time.

The Good:
Encouraging home viewers to play along.
Having poeple one away standing up.

The Bad: (inhales)
The host is annoying, He seems to be hsoting like he’s a big star but I’ve never heard of him.
$50,000 is cheap for network primetime.
The games are nothing original The bride/grrom one was just tacky and looked like something my graphic arts class of 4 could build in 2 weeks with some help from area mechanics.
Game 1 was too hard. As was Game 2 Albeit its not too hard to get too 500 points. But when you’re playing against 200 people just trying to get 5 numbers (4 with the free space) the odds are really against you. For Game 2 when she got down to the 7s and 0s. She had only about a 40% chance of pulling a number that could help her. Plus the 50/50 odds of getting it right.

Ideas for improvements:
Different Host, Someone w’re all more famillar with.
There needs to be an option to stop in each game for instance game 1 could have offered $50 per point to quit. In that case, I think that gentlemen would have immediately left with the $23,350 before the final pull. Game 2 could offer $3,000 per number removed. Game 3 could offer the same $3,000 for each step.
Prizes should be the contestants to keep win or lose.
jackpot should be higher I’d even settle for $100,000 + $10,000 every time that game is not won.
I have an interesting idea as well for an additional audience game, A audience member is picked at random before each pull and if they can guess which number/prize is coming next they win a Jackpot that starts at $10,000 and decreases by $100 each pull. Albeit a ripoff of Aussie and dutch deal but not something America is famillar with.

I’m gonna predict 2 eps. before it’s cancelled, I’d like to see it join You’re In the Picture and The Rich List in the 1 ep. club, But I think ABC spent too much on this to do that.
Marc Power
24
May 19th, 2007 at 10:59 am

Almost forgot to say in my post, Mr. Sandman got me too I was out just before the end of the third game.
Greg
25
May 19th, 2007 at 11:45 am

I’ll take “Shows that Should Be on Daytime TV Because They’re Cheaper than Cancon” for $2000, Howie.

Is Merrill Heather dead?
Greg
26
May 19th, 2007 at 11:48 am

BTW, Mark Goodson died 15 years ago. Has anyone looked at CLG Video Network yet? Just click on my name.
Brandon
27
May 19th, 2007 at 12:16 pm

Man, I must be the only one who thought it was halfway decent lol. Well, I expected it to be absolute crap, and it did at least surpass my expectations…make out of that what you want. :-) Seriously, I found it to be “okay” and just that. Not horrible, but not award-winning television either.

As overpaying as they were, at least the 1999-2000 game shows were engaging, just with astronomical budgets. And for the most part, “21″ and “Greed” had decent, if not good, ratings. “21″ ranked in the Top 20 and “Greed” won its timeslot on a few occasions.

Amazing how badly game shows have been dumbed down in the last seven years. At least syndication is offering good stuff to balance the genre out; “Millionaire” and “Jeopardy” are still highly enjoyable, “Wheel” and “Feud” are still pretty good, and “Crosswords” and “Tempation” look promising. Yes, I’m having hope for “Temptation”…
Greg
28
May 19th, 2007 at 12:19 pm

Yes, we’re all looking forward to the New Sale of the Century. I hope this new guy is just as good as Jim Perry.
Measles!
29
May 19th, 2007 at 5:32 pm

Gee, didn’t I call that one?

I told all of you this would surpass Card Sharks 2k1 in terms of crap. Maybe next time more people will listen to me… *shakes head in disgust*
Greg
30
May 19th, 2007 at 5:59 pm

ABC tried doing to Bingo what Reg Grundy did to Scrabble. The Curse of Millionaire struck and now NBN bombed. Maybe their new name should be National Bomb Night. Heh heh heh. ABC should do what they do best, stick with the Disney anthology series. It just wasn’t meant to be.
Chris
31
May 19th, 2007 at 8:49 pm

Ill agree the actual watching of the show sucked, but doing the paper printed cards with the family (yes I got a family together to play this, they actually enjoyed this..)
Adam
32
May 20th, 2007 at 8:55 pm

I only got to see the last two minutes of this show. Not sure why ABC would put this show on Friday night. I’m always out that night.
Robin
33
June 18th, 2007 at 12:44 am

My complaint is the cost of printing out the bingo cards. If I was having to pay full price for my printers ink I would not be playing. Luckily I always look for it at the bargain stores when expired and on clearence. Is ABC in cohoots with the printer companies. As for the game all bingo is boring we only would like to win like everyone else watching. However, they could have gotten a better announcer and done away with the creepy dude in the audience. Also, get rid of the screaming act like idiot fools that are contestants. Just call out the numbers forget all the other garbage. I have had over 50 cards that were one number away from bingo how are they rigging this one?