As we have reported before, Family Feud is bringing back the Bullseye round for its record-breaking 11th season. But now, we finally get to see this round in action with O’Hurley. The car, the other new addition this season, gets plenty of camera time, too.
I’ve been reading some of the comments and I’m a bit stunned. Are we that set in our ways that if a round doesn’t use a “ding” sound effect and instead uses a “whoosh” people go apeshit? It’s no offense to the commenters that feel this way, but you’ll be the only ones who notice. Feud goes to millions of people each day. If they make a few people mad by not using a bell sound effect, sobeit. The absolutely only thing that matters is that it plays well and it doesn’t drag the show down. It goes fast, creates excitement for the rest of the game, and gets rid of the illusion that it’s possible to win the game under the former Single/Single/Double/Triple point format, which it isn’t.
We have a ton of Feud exclusives coming up, including an interview with John O’Hurley. But I’d just like to add that while Bullseye is a genius round for this version for so many reasons, the car is the single greatest addition to the show in ages. It actually makes people want to watch returning champions and makes the tension palpable in games four and five, instead of a feeling of, “Eh, whatever,” when a team got that far. Mark my words, this is the best season of Family Feud in decades.
43 Responses
The only problem I see with this round is that there's no bell for a correct answer. I feel that something's missing when the answer is revealed with only a whoosh and no bell.
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Totally agree with you Taylor! I definitely need the bell. I also realized the changes they've made (with the exception of the car addition) is simply a 2009 version of "Family Feud" in 1994. Bullseye Round, no board with the family name anymore…just a graphic with it. It's interesting. Now only if we knew how the normal rounds work, it'll be great. I WISH they just removed the score display in front of the famiies, but it's still exciting! :)
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I find it cool that Family Feud's top prize jumped from $100,000 (5 * 20k) to approximately $175,000 (5 * 30k + car). I just can't get past the fact that if your family does poorly in the Bullseye round, the Fast Money amount you play for could actually be LESS than $20,000. Any scoop the $5-a-point thing becoming more?
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I have to say, I really don't get the excitement people seem to have at bringing back Bullseye. I always considered it one of the great "mistakes" of the late Combs/Dawson II era. That said, they seem to have picked up the pace on the round considerably when compared to that era, which makes a HUGE difference.
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I like the on-screen Bullseye graphics and sounds. The graphics for the family names and the earned amounts are neat too, but I'd still prefer they'd keep it on the backdrop.
And Jason, it's still $5/point. I'd like to see them raise it to $10, but eh.
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I had my doubts when I heard the Bullseye round was coming back, but they've nailed it. As a five-minute opener, it simply didn't work; but in its three-minute incarnation, complete with very appropriate audiovisual elements, they've found an exciting way to kick off the show. I might watch just for this round!
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I think the main game's gonna be single, double, triple, triple with 300 points winning.
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
I wonder what would happen if we somehow started making "ding" to be a bad thing. Would people finally realize "ding" isn't always a good noise for "right"?
So each time someone trips *ding*. Slam your finger in a door *ding*. Have someone kick you in the balls *ding*.
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Bullseye, Shmullseye! I didn't like it then, I don't care for it now. Like it or not, car, or no car, FF has (finally) jumped the shark, just as it had with the "FF Challenge."
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
I didn't like that on the Combs version, but if you notice, the team on the left only got the $2,000 question, and they're playing for $20,000. So, apparently, there's still a minimum of $20,000 for any team.
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
There's not a minimum. For some reason I just think there's really funky math or an edited-out question error where they gave them more money or something. But you'll see teams playing for around $18,000 and $19,000. Likewise you'll be seeing people playing for $25K a bit more often than you'd think. Fantastic addition.
It's still $5 a point but who cares. It really adds nothing to the show to increase it so why bother. It spends more money and only the contestants benefit from it. You'll generate more excitement from a potential $10K prize increase and a car than giving a team $5 more a point.
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
OK…I've never like the Bulleye round, and am disgusted that it's back. Plus, I'm not thrilled with giving away a car either. Did anybody ever wonder which one of the 5 family members the car actually goes to? I mean, it's fine if the Family Feud team is a nuclear family (Father, Mother, kids). But, that's hardly ever the case. Most teams consist of 5 adults who live in separate households. OK…I'll have it on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and you can have it on Tuesday and Thursday. Oh no! What about the weekend? No thanks…I don't think they thought that one through. Unless of course, this combo is the equivalent of moving a good weekly show to Saturday nights…i.e they WANT to kil the show.
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
They could always just sell it, give it a chance, I have my little ideas of how it could improve for me too but nobody cares—I've never made a hit game show have I?
Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Wow…at least the old version had some sort of panache. Granted, the graphics are nice, but the whole round has absolutely no pizazz. It's over within 3 minutes, and adds nothing to the show, IMO. All it does is shorten up and quicken the pace of the real meat of the show even more than it already had been. Plus, no bell for a right answer just doesn't sound right on FF. I do agree that a bell does not have to be used in all cases on every show, but on FF, the bell is iconic. It's the only thing that has not changed from the first Dawson episode to today. I am sad to not see it used on this Bullseye round. Although, I'd rather they had not added it at all.
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 12:14 am
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would guess the minimum bank is $15,000
+ $1,000 = $16,000
+ $2,000 = $18,000
+ $3,000 = $21,000
+ $4,000 = $25,000
+ $5,000 = $30,000
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 12:26 am
Maybe it's because this is obviously not a finished edit, but the sound effects are awful. It's not that a "ding" is required. It's the "whoosh" that is too harsh and not fun. The dramatic music is bad. Again, there is no fun to it and if Family Feud isn't fun then the show doesn't work. And I don't know how you could think the car is a big deal. To me, it looks ridiculous. It doesn't fit on the set and makes the audience look very small. It's as if someone told the producers if you give away a car people will watch your show. What they've done here makes very little sense. Despite all of that, it's Family Feud and a great show and it even Fremantle can't screw it up. But it looks like they are trying.
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 2:58 am
I'm impressed! The Bullseye Round does go fast and isn't time consuming. When I read about the "whoosh thud" effect it didn't sound promicing. But after seeing footage of Bullseye, the effect actually works. I'm glad they used the video screen on the big board, that just shows a good use of new technology. I think I like the Bullseye Round better on O'Hurley's Feud.
Though, I still think the show made some messed up moves by removing the projection screens that show the family names and keeping those old eggcrates instead of using the score readouts big board to show the main game scores.
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 3:39 am
TTTT, i like the Bankroll look (from 1994 syndie version.) They should probably carry the name. Also, $30,000×5+CAR= Price is Right ripoff-type. My way of the game is have $20,000 as a start and this:
+$2,000=$22,000
+$4,000=$26,000
+$6,000=$32,000
+$8,000=$40,000
+$10,000=$50,000
Have the bells and whoosh in the round. But, most of all, have like the 1994 theme with the remixed 2003 (NOT the party theme) as the theme and also have at least some glances at the board score screen in the game. Other than that, this Bullseye round gets 3.5/5.0
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 6:06 am
$50K for Fast Money? Please! Let's give this $30K max a chance! Besides, if we see sub-$20K playings for at least 5 shows, then I'll get back to you on that proposal my friend.
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 9:35 am
Well, I do praise the show for bringing back the Bullseye Round and adding the Chrysler for which ever family reigns for five days, but it is still missing something; the 1994 theme that was mentioned earlier, and something that a vast number of fans like myself were trying to point out.
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 5:11 pm
You forgot to mention the "Clangs", a series of "Dings", and 2003 theme for this round.
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Alex –
Don't get me wrong, I think the new round is awesome! However, since a bell was used for every correct answer in Feud history before this, you can understand why I was expecting it. Its absence kind of threw me for a bit.
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 5:17 pm
At least they added correctly in this video!
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
No I mean its great that Bullseye is back. But, maybe after this upcoming season, they raise the stakes. OK?
And, this may seem off-topic, but how about a $1,000,000 primetime Feud?
Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I love the new look of the bullseye round. I love the sound, I think a bell would absolutly not work with that graphic package they are using for the bullseye round. Maybe if the bullseye turned with a right answer, I'd buy a ding or a clang. But, I think a ding or a clang would be a bad choice.
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 12:42 am
With all the debate and commotion over the choice sound effects for the BULLSEYE round, I'm gonna end this frivolous, much-ado-about-nothing, who-really-gives-a-shit-anyway "discussion" once and for all. I wanna hear the sound of a triangle! YOU HEARD ME, PEOPLE! A F****** TRIANGLE!!! (lol)
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 1:54 pm
To Ryan: I just saw your posting. Why would you buy a "ding" or a "clang," anyway? I can think of more novel ways to piss away your money! Didn't your parents teach you the value of a dollar? And, did it ever occur to you that mabye if you were to ask really, really nicely, they might GIVE you (as Barker used to say) either, either or the other, outright?
I just want you and all who read this to know, I'm just goofing on you, and being very silly, but in a very good-natured way, here.
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 2:14 pm
(continued from previous post) If I have a problem, it may very well be that I was lucky to have grown up at a point in time where all the legendary game show producers were at, or reaching their collective prime. "Classics in the making" were the norm; "clinkers & stinkers" the exception. Nobody knew these shows, as a group, would become so engrained in our popular culture. Sure, they all knew that any given show would either be successful, (some way more than others, of course) or not, but nobody is capable of predicting how GOOD something/anything really is, until it happens, and sometimes, not until after the fact.
In short, I guess I was just plain spoiled, and there very, very little of the new stuff seems to "measure up," IMO.
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 2:15 pm
It looks like the minimum is still $20K, as evidenced by the left-side family (should have only had $17K). I understand not wanting to look like you're cutting the top prize but this is incredibly cheesy. They earned $17K, they should play for that amount and not the arbitrary amount the producers decide. It just seems to me to resemble Wheel of Fortune's act of "Well, you had some bad luck, here's $1,000 for you."
Also they should use the board displays for points and make the eggcrates their bank values to save O'Hurley rehashing the bank values all through the show (trust me, it will happen).
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I don't think the sound is THAT bad. It actually works pretty good.
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 5:53 pm
"Also they should use the board displays for points and make the eggcrates their bank values to save O'Hurley rehashing the bank values all through the show (trust me, it will happen). "
At least Captain Obvious can see using the score displays on the board would be a great idea. (Nice name BTW)
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
O'Hurley made a bit of a misstatement there. "The so-and-so family HAS $24,000." He backtracked later by saying that was the amount they were playing for.
I'd like to see the running totals could be displayed on the big board for each team. And as long as they keep a fast pace with the Bullseye Round, this shouldn't weigh the show down. (I thought the Combs-era bullseyes just dragged too long.) Maybe they can have an even faster pace by having the family members just move up behind their podium, instead of the player in 5th position walking all the way up.
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I don't like the new graphic that is used for the family names. What was wrong with the backdrops? And I think that the eggcrate score displays in front of the families should be replaced by a monitor keeping track of the amount of money in their bank, similar to the Combs version.
But as for the actual Bullseye round itself, NAILED IT! Nice pacing, it moves much quicker than the Combs version. The only trouble is that it may be so fast-paced, home viewers can't keep up with the scores. The whoosh effect is appropriate, and it proves that you don't need a "Ding" every single time you reveal a correct answer.
And as for the $5/$10 per point debate, it really doesn't matter. Only the die-hard game show fanatic will notice. Yes, it's more money for the losing families, but will it attract more viewers in the long run? The words "You can now win $30,000, PLUS a car!" sounds better on a commercal than "If you lose Fast Money, you now win $10 per point!".
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 2:43 am
Well maybe if they had a screen in the background like they did in Celebrity Family Feud to display their family names it would be cool. I LIKE THE BULLSEYE round, but they should have the an expanded scoreboard on the teams podium to display the ever changing team jackpot, or at least kept the score graphic up longer and show it updating like they did with Combs/Dawson Bullseye Round.
That its not using the Feud Ding bell sound, hey i can get used to that. I was hoping they would update the theme music like they did on The Price is Right or at least have new cues. And most of us love the idea that there is a new car awarded to a 5 day champ. So lets see how the game plays out in September. They still have time to change anything if they dont like it. Perhaps the producers will hear what u have to say.
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 3:05 am
Here's my take on it. The Bullseye round did not work out in the early to mid 90s, as much as I liked it myself. But this is a new generation, and I see the round being more successful now.
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 3:54 am
No no no no no no no no no etc.
Every show does not need a million dollar primetime edition. It adds far too much surplus drama to a simple game. Maybe if it was a tournament format, but still, it's family feud. It's a survey game. There's no reason to throw a million dollars at it, other than if you REALLY need to fill a programming slot. That's what sparked all these dumb shows like 5th grader and Don't Forget The Lyrics and Moment of Truth. And. Then. You. Get. The. Over. The. Top. Pauses. To. See. If. The. Answer. Is. Right.
Sorry, this is my biggest game show pet peeve. I'd rather watch a show for 10-50k in syndication, than for a million in primetime. ONLY make a show's top prize a million dollars, if it's earned (1 vs 100, Millionaire, Survivor) not because you can, or because you have to in order to get people to watch.
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 6:41 am
Alex, if you have read all of my comments and you are completely stunned on all of them, I am really sorry for what I said.
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 6:57 am
"Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness!" – John Wayne, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"
We all have opinions. We all have an investment in our favorite shows. We all wonder about what might make them better. We all love to play producer. And having been a producer who changed the format of a show that was 13-years-old, but on a definite downturn when I took over, I know first hand how brutally irate some game show fans can get when you change things on them! It often ain't pretty!
Some wise sage on this site made the observation that we all want our favorite shows to always remain the way they were when we first fell in love with them. We resist any changes that came before or occurred after that point. So if they take the eggcrate displays off of contestant row, or go from trilons to monitors, or use whooshes instead of clangs, it messes with our comfort zone. We can either learn to accept change or we can bitch about it on sites like this (or worse, like G-R.net) to other fans who also hate change…but can affect nothing.
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Personally, I think this Bullseye round goes way too fast. It's difficult without any kind of score display to see how much which family has at any given time, except at the end. And even then, sometimes you have to wonder "did they add right?"
Other than that, I've only got a word to describe the execution of the round…to quote the late Ray Combs, "BULLS-EYE!"
Posted on July 27th, 2009 at 12:47 am
DIdn't like Bullseye before…..and I still don't like it.
Posted on July 28th, 2009 at 3:23 am
also, you take away audience for the car? I guess that's me being picky, but I still don't like bullseye
Posted on July 28th, 2009 at 3:25 am
I don't think neither of us have, BMSprint. But I'm sure your ideas would've worked.
Posted on July 28th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Hey Chad, great editing of the 1994 theme on John O'Hurley's set earlier. You Should try doing some more of that.
Posted on July 29th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
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