Shocked by the headline? Trust me, I was too, and it may get even more shocking. GSN’s short-lived game show, Whammy!, has apparently been picked up in the Philippines and possibly many more countries. The show begins daily on GMA-7 starting on October 8th and is being hosted by Paolo Bediones and Rufa Mae Quinto. It seems like it will compete directly against their version of Deal or No Deal, but we will try to find out.
This part may be old or horribly made up, but who knows. In the release, it also says that United Kingdom, Taiwan, Australia, Germany, and Turkey bought the rights to air a local version. I know we have quite a few British and Australian readers, so be on the lookout. I’ve never heard of any other country getting this show, so this could possibly be from a few years ago and the contract expired. However, the way it’s worded is leading me to believe that our British friends might be getting their first ever taste of the Whammy.
How many fans of the GSN series of the show do we have here? It’s been running in the daytime recently on the network. The first season was god awful. However, the second season really started to click (with the exception of The Newtron 2000). Nice set, the money went up a bit, you could read the board, and the Big Bank was just cool. The only outstanding thing in any series to me were the Whammies. I just liked the CGI better than the cheesy 2D graphics. Plus I liked Whammy!’s car game.
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I didn’t enjoy the revision of Press Your Luck mainly for how it was executed or run, especially the out-of-placed sound effects. (I get very nit-picky when a game show airs.)
I hoped that one day, a better remake of Press Your Luck would be produced for syndication.
I personally feel that Whammy was derided because it wasn’t a direct CC of PYL. That’s why it’s called an UPDATE people.
Regardless, I myself enjoyed the show, the second season moreso than the first.
If the PYL DVD game becomes popular, as with the Family Feud & DorND games, who knows? Fremantle might be knocking on Todd Newton’s door saying: “Hey Todd! Remember those days hosting Whammy! GSN made a mistake cancelling the show prematurely, and they want you back to do a whole new season.”
It really surprises me that ‘Whammy’ and ‘Press Your Luck’ are enjoying a ‘Renaissance Period’. With PYL turning 25 next year, it wouldn’t surprise me if GSN orders new episodes. They did it with ‘Lingo’, when their reruns broke cable ratings records (in 2005). With the glut of word games airing on GSN, there seems to be a show screaming for an ‘entertaining-yet not-intellectually-stimulating-guilty pleasure’. Whammy fills the bill. If they can create more shows under the ‘Season Two’ formats, a ‘Millionairehead’ (like myself) will be so happy.
I find it funny how GSN is continously playing Whammy! instead of Russian Roulette or even Friend or Foe. Whammy! was a great game, and I defently want to see videos of the show from around the world, especially the UK.
I hope the show comes back with new episode here in the states!
I’ve thought for some time that ITV1 could use PYL in their daytime schedule as a response to DoND. With DoND now a fading force and devoid even of its phone competition, this could be the perfect time to throw in something new to kill it…
…or to replace it.
Germany did have their own version there’s info. here: http://www.xanfan.com/pressyourluck/pylgermany.htm
some changes, though for one the whammy is repalced with a shark simply in design to the card sharks 2k1 shark.
and ukgameshows.com does list Press Your Luck as having aired in the mid 1990s in the uk but info. is limited.
I wish Whammy would come back. and have Todd Newton return as host. Since he didn’t get TPIR. a revival of Whammy would a perfect outlet for Todd. and now DOND is fading away. Whammy would sound good about now.
Aww, no Italian version? :( After Chain Reaction, they could have exported PYL down here.
Maybe next summer… :)
Wow, this certainly came out of the blue, didn’t it?
No news regarding any version of PYL in a long time. This oughta be interesting; the only foreign versions I’m aware of are the Aussie and German versions. Wonder how the Filipino version will be…
I really think PYL should come back in the States, though. CBS did the show justice when it aired as part of the Game Show Marathon, and I think this is the kind of game that isn’t so heavily based on questions (though there are some) and is a lot of fun to watch at the same time. If they were to bring it back, I think they’d have *3* hot shows on their hands (TPIR, Po10, and potentially PYL).
Gosh I wish GSN would have never dropped Whammy… It would be a GSN show that does not involve WORD PUZZLES!!! I like Lingo and Camo and TTQ but that is enough word games.
What was the Newtron 2000?
I think it’s a dig at Newton’s hosting style from Alex.
Wow two hosts? Is one going to host and the other one going to model? or take turns? Thats going to be odd
I do miss Whammy i liked the double whammies
Or one’s going to host and the other’s going to announce it? I don’t know.
I liked the second season of Whammy. I do diagree about Todd’s hosting skills, though (IMO, he’s one of the better modern hosts). Why not bring it (and RR, for that matter) back for a third season like GSN was going to do three years ago? After all, GSN in primetime could use a bit of a makeover. *nods*
Now if GSN would get up off their asses and renew the show already. It’s been a long time coming and since they FINALLY scrapped the reality stuff and came back to reality with game shows, it’s time.
My only beefs with Whammy! was the first round (often two players whammy quick and the third player freezes and its done) and the fact that the board was WAY too prize-heavy. I know they had a budget and prizes are easier to get, but I would have enjoyed it more if they just knocked the top cash space to 2000-2500-3000 and put a lot of 400-500-750 spaces and such. I mean how many games were won by someone with ALL PRIZES?
FWIW, here’s the web site for Whammy! Push Your Luck (yes, it’s “Push,” not “Press”):
http://www.igma.tv/shows/whammy
Some videos are included as well.
Looks like Press Your Luck is aired during the primetime hours on GMA maybe we should get a US Version on GMA Pinoy TV or CBS and no confetti on the end of the show, just keep the slime on Extreme Whammies (Like Double Dare)