DOES THIS LOOK LIKE "GUB" OR "GUN"? A few days ago Linda Holmes tweeted that the pilot for "Take the Money and Run," a reality competition debuting on ABC tonight, was "silly and intriguing" but she was "instantly sucked in." Shall we give it a try?
I'll give it a shot on Linda's rec, but Tuesday at 9 already has the show that's had the biggest leap in quality this summer in White Collar, which has reintroduced the moral ambiguity inherent in the premise and is making it work, while still allowing Matt Bomer to be ridiculously charming.
The central problem with the show seems to me that the contestants are at a HUGE disadvantage unless they ditch the car quickly (which they may be barred from doing for production reasons). I would have ditched the car, taken mass transit somewhere in downtown SF and ditched the briefcase somewhere indoors there (for instance, hide it under/behind an ice machine at one of the hotels). Then take mass transit over to another neck of the woods.
Bigger central problem is the whole artificiality: why should the contestants talk at all? Why not lie the whole time? And there's no incentive for one of them to turn on the other or cooperate in any way because there are no consequences, no Prisoner's Dilemma possibility. Only (SPOILER!) exhaustion leads towards the truth.
I suspect that had the guy not rolled so easily, some sort of "$25K for you, nothing for your friend" offer would have come into play.
The other problem is the play-along factor. Maybe it works better if we don't know where it's hidden and weave their hiding time in through flashbacks as the cops unravel what had happened.
I found it all rather silly. You have all those tall buildings and they bury it in a park? They talk and talk and talk - I have to assume they aren't allowed to stay silent for the 48 hours. And then, really, you can't hang in there for 48 hours for $100K??
I think it could be a cool show, but this version just wasn't it. I really wonder what all the stipulations are.
I'll give it a shot on Linda's rec, but Tuesday at 9 already has the show that's had the biggest leap in quality this summer in White Collar, which has reintroduced the moral ambiguity inherent in the premise and is making it work, while still allowing Matt Bomer to be ridiculously charming.
ReplyDeleteWatched the first half live before going back to tivo. Erm, not so sure yet.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading that AVClub review, the show seems to remind me of 30 Rock's "Gold Case."
ReplyDeleteThe central problem with the show seems to me that the contestants are at a HUGE disadvantage unless they ditch the car quickly (which they may be barred from doing for production reasons). I would have ditched the car, taken mass transit somewhere in downtown SF and ditched the briefcase somewhere indoors there (for instance, hide it under/behind an ice machine at one of the hotels). Then take mass transit over to another neck of the woods.
ReplyDeleteBigger central problem is the whole artificiality: why should the contestants talk at all? Why not lie the whole time? And there's no incentive for one of them to turn on the other or cooperate in any way because there are no consequences, no Prisoner's Dilemma possibility. Only (SPOILER!) exhaustion leads towards the truth.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that had the guy not rolled so easily, some sort of "$25K for you, nothing for your friend" offer would have come into play.
ReplyDeleteThe other problem is the play-along factor. Maybe it works better if we don't know where it's hidden and weave their hiding time in through flashbacks as the cops unravel what had happened.
Yea, I didn't understand why they talked at all. Also, why do the cops get two helpers?
ReplyDeleteI found it all rather silly. You have all those tall buildings and they bury it in a park? They talk and talk and talk - I have to assume they aren't allowed to stay silent for the 48 hours. And then, really, you can't hang in there for 48 hours for $100K??
ReplyDeleteI think it could be a cool show, but this version just wasn't it. I really wonder what all the stipulations are.
Is Kowalski a midget?
ReplyDelete