US “The Cube”, At a Glance
We didn’t plan on it, but we had a small army arrive at The Cube‘s studio yesterday for the pilot shot for CBS and hosted by actor Neil Patrick Harris. First off, we were apparently name-dropped by some audience members at the taping so now that we’re internationally famous as of this moment, I thank you greatly. But here are a few notes from the emails and Facebook and Twitter comments we received. REmember, you can usually find information the quickest on there.
*They’ve got a very good money chain. It starts at $1,000; then $2,000; $10,000; $25,000; $75,000; $200,000; $500,000. It’s enough of a risk to make you want to stop occasionally, but it’s a big leap up for each step so it really makes you play on. This is probably the reason why three of the games ended in $0 winners, which is interesting since the UK edition has not had a single $0 winner yet. (EDIT: Apparently there was one? We’ll look into it, my fault) One contestant won $10,000. If I had to take a wild guess they’ll probably try to shoot maybe one more game somewhere down the line to show off a big winner. It’s good for a pilot.
*The show is the same as the UK version. Nothing changed, which is nice. They did very few reshoots I heard also. Taping lasted around four hours, and I frankly expected it to last a lot longer. I heard a few people were complaining. Let me give you a comparison. It’s taken upwards of 8+ hours to tape episodes of Deal or No Deal and 1 VS 100. It took three hours to tape a half-hour episode of The Newlywed Game. Trust me, two episodes worth of games in four hours is unbelievably great. It’s why I trust CBS more with this show than any other network. This is their kind of style, and it’s why their game shows tend to be better than most others.
*Neil Patrick Harris was said to do great. He was fantastic at ad-libbing, and really got into the game for the contestants (and audience) without trying to influence it at all. It’s said he’s a bit more low key than the UK host Philip Schofield, but I’m fine with that.
So really the ball’s in CBS’s court. If they liked it, we’ll get it. But don’t get overly confident. A few years back they shot six episodes of the Tucker Carlson quiz show Do You Trust Me?, which was GSN’s Friend or Foe? on crack, and they let those sit, so I wouldn’t be getting your applications ready to face The Cube yet. However, it’s a good sign at least. I didn’t hear a bad review from the many audience members.
Thanks to David H., Matt F., Deejay M., and anyone else who helped us out and reported back.
i hope you could share some pics from the taping.. i can't wait to torrent/youtube it, since i live here in the Philippines :)
There was one £0 winner in the UK show losing on the "dropping balls from 50cm into a tube" game which name I can't remember
There was one £0 winner in the UK show losing on the "dropping balls from 50cm into a tube" game which name I can't remember
Oh really? I'm sorry, my mistake. I fixed it.
Oh really? I'm sorry, my mistake. I fixed it.
yellow tie man was a pain in the arse. at least he got me to go on your blog.
i hope you could share some pics from the taping.. i can't wait to torrent/youtube it, since i live here in the Philippines :)
i hope you could share some pics from the taping.. i can't wait to torrent/youtube it, since i live here in the Philippines :)
My comments are on the Bother's Bar comment box.
Personally, I don't think the 4 games would make 2 episodes. Or not 2 strong episodes. They'd be better off taking the three best games from the 4 and making 1 pilot from that.
My comments are on the Bother's Bar comment box.
Personally, I don't think the 4 games would make 2 episodes. Or not 2 strong episodes. They'd be better off taking the three best games from the 4 and making 1 pilot from that.
It's great that they didn't change much, and that, according to Bob, they are changing the difficulty of the game depending on the money level. I remember on the UK show they've had some games the same at different money levels. I love the chain that they have, and since they have three $0 winners it shows that it causes people to take risks. This is looking really great, and I hope they get it on TV soon :D
Here's an interesting read I found on Bother's Bar, in relation to the taping about a particular stacking game:
"For example, the one where they stack long cylinders on top of each other, the number of cylinders you have to stack changes depend on where in the money ladder you are. So even though tasks can come up at different money ladder levels, I’m happy to note that their difficulty is different dependent on the ladder."
Good to see that a stunt at $2,000 isn't the exact same setup as if it were being played for $200,000. Still, it's good to hear that NPH was awesome, and the overall production of the show went smooth.
Here's an interesting read I found on Bother's Bar, in relation to the taping about a particular stacking game:
"For example, the one where they stack long cylinders on top of each other, the number of cylinders you have to stack changes depend on where in the money ladder you are. So even though tasks can come up at different money ladder levels, I’m happy to note that their difficulty is different dependent on the ladder."
Good to see that a stunt at $2,000 isn't the exact same setup as if it were being played for $200,000. Still, it's good to hear that NPH was awesome, and the overall production of the show went smooth.
Do they start with the same 9 lives as in the UK Game?
Probably- they said they changed nothing.
It's great that they didn't change much, and that, according to Bob, they are changing the difficulty of the game depending on the money level. I remember on the UK show they've had some games the same at different money levels. I love the chain that they have, and since they have three $0 winners it shows that it causes people to take risks. This is looking really great, and I hope they get it on TV soon :D
It's great that they didn't change much, and that, according to Bob, they are changing the difficulty of the game depending on the money level. I remember on the UK show they've had some games the same at different money levels. I love the chain that they have, and since they have three $0 winners it shows that it causes people to take risks. This is looking really great, and I hope they get it on TV soon :D
I just wanna know about "the body"–same person?
I'm pretty sure that all international versions are taping on the British set, so we're going to be shipping our contestants off to England as of now I suppose.
I wonder did they use the british voice? The thing that scares me if cbs does pick this up and air this after Nbc Minute to win it people will think Cbs is copying off Nbc? Would Cbs tape a few shows on the British Set and see how ratings go before starting an American Version?
The Saudi Version tapes next week
I'm pretty sure that all international versions are taping on the British set, so we're going to be shipping our contestants off to England as of now I suppose.
I'm pretty sure that all international versions are taping on the British set, so we're going to be shipping our contestants off to England as of now I suppose.
One contestant was eliminated on the premiere ITV broadcast. It's on YouTube. She was going or ten thousand quid, and couldn't make a ball drop from a certain height to land in a receptacle–even after that receptacle had been enlarged to "simplify" the game.
For some reason, the second broadcast is not uploaded. However, third through seventh broadcasts are there for those who want to see them.
There's also an excellent article, presumably updated regularly, on Wikipedia.
One contestant was eliminated on the premiere ITV broadcast. It's on YouTube. She was going or ten thousand quid, and couldn't make a ball drop from a certain height to land in a receptacle–even after that receptacle had been enlarged to "simplify" the game.
For some reason, the second broadcast is not uploaded. However, third through seventh broadcasts are there for those who want to see them.
There's also an excellent article, presumably updated regularly, on Wikipedia.
Hmm, if you drop a ball from 50 cm for $10K is hard, try doing it from 200 cm for $200K. I'll agree that the difficulty of the game changes depending on the level. It's those big leaps towards the end that puzzles me a bit. The qyestion becomes even if you have enough lives to complete a level, are you willing to take the risk? Going from $75K to $200K is scary enough as it is, but the chain's respectable. Don't mess with a good thing, CBS.
Hmm, if you drop a ball from 50 cm for $10K is hard, try doing it from 200 cm for $200K. I'll agree that the difficulty of the game changes depending on the level. It's those big leaps towards the end that puzzles me a bit. The qyestion becomes even if you have enough lives to complete a level, are you willing to take the risk? Going from $75K to $200K is scary enough as it is, but the chain's respectable. Don't mess with a good thing, CBS.
Neil said that he had been allowed to choose his suit because if the show was picked up, he would wear it every episode. They would then be mixing the contestants into more than one episode so that they didn't "waste" any of them.
Neil said that he had been allowed to choose his suit because if the show was picked up, he would wear it every episode. They would then be mixing the contestants into more than one episode so that they didn't "waste" any of them.
That's what I want to know!
That's what I want to know!