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Post by peaceandlovescooters on Jul 30, 2024 14:02:55 GMT -5
Another controversial episode: 885, Game 1 (Bridgette vs Doug). This one seemed to start out well. The trouble came only after Alex gave Bridgette a chance to solve the puzzle at the wrong time, thinking it was the end of Game 1 when there were still several spaces left. Here is a link to this controversial episode in question: www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyHUeoVg0ioThe issue occurs at 8:25.
I do not think Bridgette will be brought back. While she did eventually lose the game, Alex's error did not result in any immediate disadvantage for Bridgette.
When Alex gave Bridgette a chance to solve the puzzle (solution was "Elbow Grease"), she got as far as saying "Elbow Gr-" before she was shouted down by the Producers. (For the record, Doug had already offered the "Elbow" part of the solution on his prior turn, so hearing that from Bridgette did not confer any unfair advantage to Doug.) He then made another selection, making a match for the trip to Barbados, but could not solve the puzzle on that turn, despite having heard part of the solution from Bridgette.
At that moment, IMHO, any unfair disadvantage for Bridgette was mitigated. If Doug had won the game on that turn, Bridgette would have likely been brought back.
Yes, upon another watch of the episode yet again, I noticed that too. In fact, Bridgette had only gotten as far as "Elbow..." before she was shouted down. Thank God the producers were on the alert. Doug also didn't get the solution until after the final two pieces were automatically opened - it was his turn anyway, which makes the difference. So yes, you are correct, any unfair disadvantage for Bridgette had been resolved successfully by the producers, and Bridgette may not be brought back. |
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Post by peaceandlovescooters on Jul 31, 2024 8:26:16 GMT -5
And now, a little post about one thing we Classic Concentration fans love about the show: the Winner's Circle and Returning Champions.  The Winner's Circle, the bonus round, was arguably the toughest part of the game. Possibly the most difficult part was situations where many cars had names that began with the same letter, and this was a key factor in throwing contestants off. Not to mention the fact that there were 15 squares of 7 matches and one lone car meant to act as a decoy. This proved to be the undoing of several returning champions, particularly those who wanted to win a specific car (the car won is always the last car matched). John, in episode 947, actually confessed to Alex that he intended to win the Wrangler - possibly the most coveted of the cars - so he deliberately made matches in such a way that he would end up winning the Wrangler. In the end, he got his second strike in the next episode - and coincidentally, his opponent happened to win the Wrangler, and at base time and in only 33 seconds at that. Then there was the issue of patterns. Some of the most common patterns used by many champions included the following: - 1-2, 4-5, 7-8 ... --> the most commonly used pattern so far, it was already in use very early in the run, and continued to be very common during the Two Strikes 2.0 format. TVTropes notes that this was common because the champions wanted to focus on making any potential matches in the left two columns first. - 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 ... --> this also was a very common pattern, especially in the Two Strikes 2.0 format. IMO at least, it was the most efficient as it covered the most surface area on the board. The first car winner in the Two Strikes 2.0 format, Ed Ewing, won his car using this pattern. Many champions who won a car in a short time also used this pattern, including Stan Jointer , Jim Hamilton , and Karen Heine. - 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 ... --> this pattern picks off the leftmost and rightmost columns. Rarely used early in the run, but got more common in 1989 and 1990, and was about as common and effective as the other patterns above by the time of the Two Strikes 2.0 format. Was especially common in male contestants. - 1-4, 7-10, 13-14 ... --> this one goes in a snake-like shape up and down the board. This was perhaps the pattern least likely to work, and was therefore not as used as much as the others above. Many who used this pattern and found it to not work, later changed to a different pattern; a good example of this was Terri (episodes 1034-1037), who used it in at least episode 1036, but switched back to the traditional "1-2, 4-5..." pattern by the following episode (and won a Subaru Justy with it). There have been exceptional cases where the "1-4, 7-10..." pattern did work, such as for Dave in episode 807, and for Angela in episode 880. The Two Strikes 2.0 format was, in my opinion, the fairest of the formats of CC, especially as far as bonus rounds were concerned. Every winning contestant built up their own bonus round time, and this was fair so that if their opponent happened to win the next game, their previous bonus round time would not "carry over". As such, episodes with car wins became less common, and it was now seen as a goal for every contestant to aim for - and it made many of them play better overall. Then there was the question of cars. As TVTropes so blatantly notes, the most frequently recurring car offered among the eight was the Hyundai Excel, which was allegedly infamous for its "poor build quality and reliability" in the day. According to TVTropes, "Multiple contestants show some visible disappointment upon winning it. They entered the Winner's Circle seeing that they could win a Jeep, a convertible or a Toyota, and instead they win an Excel." This, however, doesn't seem to be the case. There have been only two (2) winners of a Hyundai Excel in the Two Strikes 2.0 format thus far, and I don't think either of them expressed any "visible disappointment" as far as I can see: - Pete (episode 809, Game 2)
- Sharon (episode 870, Game 1) - I had this uploaded, but for some reason YouTube's Content ID bots gave me a copyright strike for this upload  To be fair, every champion who won a car so far seems to have been all smiles (yes, some are more excitable, some are more chilled, but all look happy to me); in the Two Strikes 2.0 format this was understandably so, because it would mean they would not run the risk of getting their second strike (many of them already had a strike as it was) and eliminated. As Bill (from the well-known episode 945) said upon his car win, "I won't have to play against Wanda (his opponent) no more." What we do know, however, is that there was a short period in February of 1991 where the Jeep Wrangler YJ seemed to be the latest craze, and every contestant wanted to win it. Even Alex himself was aware, as he pointed out when Nadine ( episode 949 Game 1) won a Wrangler, he said that she won "the car everyone wanted to win this week". |
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Post by peaceandlovescooters on Aug 2, 2024 15:58:42 GMT -5
To go on about the champions thing. It just occurred to me that the Tournament of Champions catered chiefly to champions who won their cars under the base time of 35 seconds, which was very tough as it was.
But there was also another group of champions that IMO deserve accolades even if they didn't win their cars in less than base time. These champions are those that were able to stick around for many games and finally win a car in the end, usually with a rather high time on the clock (55 seconds or above) after sticking around for that long. This chiefly applied to the Two Strikes 2.0 format (where there was no longer the capped maximum of five bonus round appearances per champion). Trust me - this was just as tough as winning a car in under base time, only a lot more difficult as it involved time. The fact that these champions were able to stick around for that long without getting two X's, and finally end up winning a car, showed their resilience, and that is why I am saying that I think they deserve some form of accolade for their resilience.
Here are a list of such champions that we do know of so far (this list is non-exhaustive) :
Ed Ewing (episodes 801-804) - won an Oldsmobile Ciera on his sixth attempt, 60 seconds, only one X, and total of $33,525 worth of prizes
Stuart "Shotgun Jones" Chapin (episodes 827-830) - won an Eagle Summit on his sixth attempt, 60 seconds, only one X, a total of $38,516 worth of prizes
Carolyn Romberg (episodes 964-967) - won a Daihatsu Charade on her fifth attempt, 55 seconds, no X's (her only loss was not counted as her opponent did not solve the puzzle como scritto), a total of $39,684 worth of prizes
Terri Melton (episodes 1034-1037) - won a Subaru Justy on possibly her sixth attempt, 65 seconds (possibly including 5 Bonus Car Seconds), no X's, a total of $20,882 of prizes
Chris Gardner (episodes 1071-1074) - won a Ford Festiva on possibly his seventh attempt, 70 seconds (possibly including 5 Bonus Car Seconds), not certain if he lost a game or his total winning amount
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Post by peaceandlovescooters on Aug 5, 2024 8:36:34 GMT -5
Very quick update for those of you who follow my YouTube channels for the latest Classic Concentration episodes. Just last night, YouTube removed one of my channels that posts chiefly CC episodes (the channel is called "666 Network") for allegedly "supporting violent or dangerous organizations" - and all I had done was post a short video on that channel which showed me at a peaceful protest in support of Palestine organized by non-profit group Stand Up To Racism. And with the channel's removal by YouTube, all my CC videos were also removed  UPDATE: YouTube isn't allowing me to start any new accounts with them again because of my pro-Palestinian views. (Apparently they have been terminating accounts of lots of other users who are pro-Palestinian as well!) So I am going to have to look for alternative sites to upload the Classic Concentration episodes. I'll keep everyone posted. Really sorry for the inconvenience this has caused to all fellow Classic Concentration fans. #WeStandWithPalestine #PalestineWillBeFree |
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Post by vahan on Aug 5, 2024 17:01:45 GMT -5
I don't think political discussions are allowed here. You gotta tone it down, so you don't get kicked out.
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Post by vahan on Aug 20, 2024 17:04:52 GMT -5
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Post by peaceandlovescooters on Sept 5, 2024 15:09:59 GMT -5
Yep, thanks vahan, they're finally coming back! Episodes 970 through to 997 seem to have been officially announced on BUZZR and I will do all I can to find time to tape them down (I have a new job starting Friday Sept 20th, hopefully the workload will not demand that I stay beyond 5pm as I need to be home to begin the taping at 6pm). Meanwhile I have uploaded all the videos so far to my new YouTube channel, you can access it here: www.youtube.com/@666network-r3r/videos |
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Post by peaceandlovescooters on Sept 6, 2024 6:38:56 GMT -5
Some of the episodes I'm hoping to see in the coming Classic Concentration batch (starting next Thursday Sept 12th) and those to come: - Dominick vs Rachelle (unknown episode number) - a clip of this episode was uploaded on @jordanar18's YouTube channel (see it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjiIBTf6dRE ). It was labeled "embarrassing round", and rightly so, as both players are confused by the final match. @jordanar18 wrongly dated this episode as "1990" when in actual fact it was in 1991. - Grady (episodes 970-972) - will he be the one winning a car in episode 972 Game 1, or will his opponent defeat him? - Nelson vs Larry (episodes 972-973 at least) - will Larry get his revenge in episode 973 Game 1? And will either of them win a car? - Dina vs Kevin (episode 990) - with Dina and Kevin returning with an X each, Game 1 of this episode will be decisive for both of them. Will Dina win the game, and hopefully a car also and take her total beyond the $30,000 mark? Or will Kevin defeat her? - Terri Melton (episodes 1034-1037) - how she lasted so many games without a single X, and finally won the car she wanted (the clock had 65 seconds and she won it in 52), is just amazing. Her record would later be beaten by Chris Gardner (see below). - David Kelsey (episodes 1037-1039) - Terri's successor as champion. I did not manage to watch all his episodes as I was having examinations at the time (I was only 10 then); but according to testimony personally given me by David himself, he was there for at least three episodes, played two car games, but did not win a car. It is possible he got his second X in Episode 1039 Game 1. Still, a good player nonetheless, with a quick solve in Episode 1038 Game 1. - Mark (episodes 1048-1049) - a young brunet who won a Plymouth Sundance in episode 1049 Game 2, on his third attempt (45 seconds) and with no time left on the clock. I remember he used the "1-3, 4-6, 7-9..." pattern to kick off all his car games (in mid-1991 this pattern was common among many male contestants); and on the third and final bonus game he played, with only three squares left and the clock just about to hit zero, he shouted "9-12... 1-12!" and got the Sundance. His win was notable as it was the first in over a week, the previous one being on episode 1042 Game 1 (by another Mark). - Sharon (episodes 1052-1054 at least) - this lady handed reigning champion Chuck his second X in 1053, and then went on to take on challenger David Hicks, defeating him in Game 2 of the same episode. Up till that time she did not win a car, and I didn't manage to catch episode 1054 so I am not sure if she won a car there or if David (or any subsequent challenger) handed her her second X. She was a good player nevertheless. - Randi vs Joe (unknown episode number; possibly July 1991) - two veterans take each other out in a seemingly drawn Game 1. I only saw part of the first game for this episode; I remember the lady contestant's full name was given as "Randi Sorensen" according to how Alex introduced her. - Eunice (unknown episode number; possibly July 1991) - a blond, bespectacled middle-aged female contestant and later champion, she lasted at least five or six attempts, finally winning her car with 60 seconds on the clock (possibly with five bonus seconds working for her), and her mother came up on stage. This car win was notable, as it was one of a few car wins in that period that for some reason omitted the "Chasing Rainbow Cars" graphic. - Chris Gardner (episodes 1071-1075) - an impersonator of Sammy Davis Jr and Englebert Humperdinck, he also lasted many games and (probably) did not get a single X, and finally won a car (with 70 seconds on his clock, he won a Ford Festiva in 62). |
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Post by vahan on Sept 12, 2024 12:40:52 GMT -5
The episodes from April 24-June 12, 1991 are uncharted territory. It was somewhere around there where they started showing the current amount of the Cash Pot on the player's board.
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Post by aaaa on Sept 12, 2024 14:01:49 GMT -5
The second half of the 1:30PM EST episode was posted on Youtube a few years ago, as I remember seeing the plug for TTTT91 on the Big Screen TV,
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Post by peaceandlovescooters on Sept 12, 2024 14:28:50 GMT -5
The episodes from April 24-June 12, 1991 are uncharted territory. It was somewhere around there where they started showing the current amount of the Cash Pot on the player's board. Well, we do hope they'll get there soon. I hear the CC episodes have been announced up till 1016 from what's been shared? (correct me if I am wrong) Anyways, I just recorded 970-973 and am about to upload them shortly. I noticed something interesting about Grady's wife - she looked like a former contestant, I just couldn't pinpoint who, and Alex also never mentioned. However as the camera pans out after Grady's car win, we hear Alex asking Grady's wife, "Now what did YOU win?" or something to that effect... I'm not sure if she was a former contestant or not.  EDIT: Upon reviewing some of the earlier episodes I find that Grady's wife is Carolyn from episodes 917-918, who didn't win a car but won a game with $4,687 in prizes. And Nelson won a car, a Daihatsu Rocky. |
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Post by peaceandlovescooters on Sept 12, 2024 14:30:44 GMT -5
The second half of the 1:30PM EST episode was posted on Youtube a few years ago, as I remember seeing the plug for TTTT91 on the Big Screen TV, Yes, that's correct. YouTube has been going cranky as of late, their Content ID bots love to "block worldwide" all the legit stuff we upload, while they "close one eye" and allow those gross knockoff cartoons to get away with getting millions of views overnight. All this obsession over "copyright" has ruined our First Amendment rights beyond belief. |
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Post by vahan on Sept 12, 2024 14:31:03 GMT -5
Yes, and 1084-1085 are somehow being included, both probably having been converted months ago along with 1086-1090, yet only now are being shown.
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Post by peaceandlovescooters on Sept 12, 2024 14:35:28 GMT -5
Yes, and 1084-1085 are somehow being included, both probably having been converted months ago along with 1086-1090, yet only now are being shown. Ah, even better. That means we're getting to Chris Gardner's epic win of a Ford Festiva pretty soon. I hope we come to the episode where Eunice won a car with 60 seconds on the clock - like Grady's car win which aired today, Eunice's car win was one of those which omitted the Chasing Rainbow Cars graphic. It definitely aired some time between July and August 1991. |
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Post by johnnyo on Sept 12, 2024 14:54:33 GMT -5
... I noticed something interesting about Grady's wife - she looked like a former contestant, I just couldn't pinpoint who, and Alex also never mentioned. However as the camera pans out after Grady's car win, we hear Alex asking Grady's wife, "Now what did YOU win?" or something to that effect... I'm not sure if she was a former contestant or not. EDIT: Upon reviewing some of the earlier episodes I find that Grady's wife is Carolyn from episodes 917-918, who didn't win a car but won a game with $4,687 in prizes. Good catch. |
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EDIT: Upon reviewing some of the earlier episodes I find that Grady's wife is Carolyn from episodes 917-918, who didn't win a car but won a game with $4,687 in prizes. 
