29 replies to this topic

[samsnee]

Set for Life is a new game show that gives contestants the chance to be "set for life." Premiering Friday, July 20, 2007 at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central on ABC. Each contestant must engage in two separate battles: one to determine the amount of a monthly check, the next to determine how long he or she will continue to receive that check. The prize could be $50 a month for the next year or so...or it could be more than $10,000 a month for the next 70 years. Of course, the outcome of the game depends not only on the contestant playing, but by the actions of his or her partner, sequestered in a sound-proof chamber and unaware of the game's progression.

[puck71]

The ads for this looked pretty interesting, plus I like Kimmel and think he'll be a good game show host. It seems like it's premiering kind of late for a summer run though - won't pretty much everything else have already premiered by then?

[samsnee]

Maybe that's what they're betting on? That they'll be the only new show out after all the others ones have come and gone.

[WAnglais1]

Jimmy was a good host on "Win Ben Stein's Money." He and Ben had a good rapport. I really like the guy and will check this out.

[samsnee]

I completely forgot he was on Ben Stein's Money. But this isn't cable, so he probably can't be too much of a smartass.

[RoxieVelma]

So I actually broke down and watched this.

You know it's pretty sad that for the first guy, Chris, his 4 year old nephew was smarter than him. I mean every number the little kid picked he gained money. Each number he picked, he lost. I found it hysterical. I knew his brother would probably make him stop before he made it to the 10 Years over $500,000 because he'd feel the over $200,000 was a hell of a lot. Chris needs to make part of the money some of little Corey's since he was the one that let him win anything anyway.

They never really made it far into the woman's game, so I really have no comment on it.

It's not that bad of a show, not that good either. However, it gave me something to watch on Friday nights at 8 PM and sure as hell beat that damn Bingo game they had.

[redbulljunkie]

I'm not sure if I liked it.

The minute the over hyper spiky haired guy came out I was so ready to turn the channel. But there was nothing to turn to so I stuck it out. The little psychic boy was adorable. And I'm not a kid person. It was awesome how spiky got all of his wrong, but the little boy got all of them right. Told him when to quit. Then showed that if he went on he would have picked a red glowy thing. I'm actually really glad the kid was never wrong. I didn't want to see him get crushed to find out that he isn't really psychic. Wait until he's 5 to destroy that dream.

Too bad the little kid and his dad didn't share a psychic link, he could have had twice as much. But the $200,000+ is still a good amount.

So to go back to my first sentence. I liked the show, but I don't think I would have if the little kid hadn't been there. I guess I'll tune in next week and find out.

I wish I could see how they qualify for their monthly amount. Is it randomly assigned, luck based game, quiz based game?

[wdallan]

Wow, this show is really boring. It's such a "Deal or No Deal" rip-off, but it had no life at all. Waiting to see whether a peg is white or red isn't very suspenseful (compared to seeing the amount in the suitcase on "Deal or No Deal"), and having to later watch the friend/relative in the booth at each choice point was sooooo dull. Won't be watching again, that's for sure!

[LNahid2000]

It was a complete knockoff of Deal or no Deal, which is also a horrible show. I won't be watching again.

[whyohwhy]

and having to later watch the friend/relative in the booth at each choice point was sooooo dull.

That part was torturous: "remember when we were kids?...blah blah blah" UGGHH.

I didn't find any of it entertaining except the little kid.

Edited by whyohwhy, Jul 21, 2007 @ 12:39 PM.

[Machiabelly]

Deal or no deal without the skill needed. Man this was awful.

[jcpdiesel21]

I caught a bit of this on Friday and it is quite possibly the stupidest game show that I've ever seen. It obviously rips off Deal or No Deal, but at least that show has some style and flair. This show just involves trying to guess where all of the white lights are... and that's it. Also, Jimmy Kimmel has virtually no charisma.

[Firecat]

We turned it off after 10 minutes. Completely unwatchable. And yeah, a big part of the problem, other than the stupidness of the game, was that Jimmy Kimmel was like a black hole sucking all the fun out of the room.

Edited by Firecat, Jul 23, 2007 @ 8:41 AM.

[MITerp]

At the risk of sounding utterly and completely heartless, I found the boy quite annoying.

I did get a chortle out of the uncle's reaction when he saw his brother bailed out at the 200-some thou, instead of the 500-plus the uncle had stopped at. Forced grin and all, he looked like he wanted to strangle the guy as soon as they got off-camera.

As for the show itself...eh, typical summer game-show fare, i.e. mindless. I mean, at least SMtM involved a bit of actual skill (trivia).

[Rube Goldberg]

What bothers me about this show is how, unless you and your partner totally crap out, you are getting a chunk of free money for doing just about nothing. Even if you leave with the lowest amount that's a pretty substantial prize. Not life-changing, but you can pay a few bills, get a new TV, go on a nice trip, all for doing less work than a Card Sharks contestant.

What is even more offensive is how that free money will be given away to jacakasses like Spikey McKungfu.

[ExMathMajor]

What, exactly, was the point of this show? Yawn.

I wasn't aware that Deal or No Deal required ANY skill, actually.

[WAnglais1]

I watched about 30 seconds of it. Waste of Jimmy's time.

[SanLynn]

I caught this show tonight and even though I'm not a Jimmy Kimmel fan I don't blame him for this suckitude.

That show is lame lame lame. Ouch

[lnmop]

(Waiting for the loud, disturbing sounds of major sucking to stop...)

How lame was Miss Plus Size America? I almost died when she tells Jimmy that she wants to carry the message that it doesn't matter what size a person is and he responds by telling people to go have a snack. The money wasn't Plus Sized enough? She's lucky her friend didn't go along with her stupid idea of not stopping until she got to 20 years.

And the Luck-of-the-Irish guy? I'll bet he's glad he didn't ask his mother to be his guardian angel. I hope his dad DID stop him after one month. Like Jimmy said, it would be the saddest and yet the funniest thing he'd ever seen!

Who thought there could be a show dumber than DOND? And why am I watching it?

[SofaKing Watt]

I guess I'm a little different, I detest DOND with every fiber of my being. I hate bald-ass whats-his-name. I hate the stupid suitcases and the silly chicks who hold them. I hate the stupid fake calls from the banker which insult my intelligence. Hate. I watched it once and then watched it again to see if there was something about it I was missing - and there wasn't.

I actually don't hate this. I like the suspense of wondering what the sound-proof booth friend-or-family-member will do. I just wish it moved faster. I would like them to speed up pulling out the lights and eliminate the dumb family members in the audience. Or at least don't have them in the front spouting their two cents. That's annoying on any show. I would also like them to skip the tape at the end showing every single thing that soundproof-booth person said during the game. Just show whether or not sp-b person hit the buzzer and then show where. I hate draggy game shows. This has potential. It is just as random as DonD but doesn't insult my intelligence quite as much.

[lnmop]

I just wish it moved faster.

SofaKing Watt, that hits the nail right on the head. The only positive about the loooooong, drawn out aspect of the show is that it allows me to take care of chores such as laundry, doing the dishes, paying bills, etc. while watching, without the threat of missing anything.

Edited by lnmop, Jul 28, 2007 @ 2:12 PM.

[puck71]

Did anyone else notice the outfit change by the Irish guy and his dad right before they started the game? They did the introductions and such in one outfit, then they cut back to when they were about to start the actual game and they were wearing totally different clothes. I know they edit this stuff together from different filming dates and stuff, but usually they have the people wear the same clothes, or at least something similar. The Irish guy went from a normal blue shirt to that flashy lime green thing - it was hard to miss (although I did miss it, my friend had to point it out).

[she bop]

The "guardian angel" concept just wrecks the whole show for me. It doesn't really matter what happens with the lights, because the real action is hidden from the viewers! Did the guardian angel hit the button or not? No matter how much suspense they try to build I just can't get into it, because the only thing that matters is the few seconds when we finally get to see what the guardian angel decided.

They should show the guardian angel on a split screen or something - how awesome would it be to have a contestant freaking out about getting to 10 years, but everyone watching at home knows that the button was pushed at 3 years? Or the contestant thinks they lost everything but the viewers know they were really saved?

And, "lightsticks"? Really? That's the best name they could come up with?

[lnmop]

They should show the guardian angel on a split screen or something - how awesome would it be to have a contestant freaking out about getting to 10 years, but everyone watching at home knows that the button was pushed at 3 years? Or the contestant thinks they lost everything but the viewers know they were really saved?

she bop, that might be the only way to save this show.

[puck71]

The "guardian angel" concept just wrecks the whole show for me. It doesn't really matter what happens with the lights, because the real action is hidden from the viewers!

I agree, but kind of for a different reason. The "logic" the contestants use sometimes for the guardian angel really get on my nerves. A prime example was the firefighter last night. He was sure his angel had stopped him, so he decided to keep going? That makes absolutely no sense! If you're right and he DID stop you, it won't make any difference how much further you go, and if you're wrong and he DIDN'T stop you, you're screwed unless you get incredibly lucky. I'll still watch it because it's summer and it's a game show, but the format really needs a lot of work.

[RexDude]

I must live under a rock because I had never heard of this show before it aired late last night. I thought it was a strange episode of Jimmy Kimmel live where he was making a big parody to make fun of "Deal or no Deal" type modern game shows. It was just so stupid I couldn't believe it was supposed to be serious! Set for life? Light sticks? Like others have said there is no skill involved and its highly derivitive. This guy on the one I saw rang off nine straight white lights after his first was red. Then he quit and all the ones he "would have picked" next were also white up until the end. I totally thought it was rigged and that there was a scripted punchline coming up. Don't you think it would be easy to rig these lights to change from white to red by remote?

[lnmop]

Don't you think it would be easy to rig these lights to change from white to red by remote?

As has been mentioned in many of the Game Shows threads, the game show industry has been pretty closely monitored to prevent rigging since the Quiz Show scandal relating to Charles Van Doren on "Twenty-one" was made public in the 50s.

But I agree, this show is lame.

Edited by lnmop, Aug 18, 2007 @ 2:25 PM.

[JuliJBG]

I am a huge JK fan, but man this show was even too dumb for him to save it.

The "suspense" factor was just not there, not matter what they tried, and... Could there be *any* less skill involved? I kept getting so mad when the contestants would ask their family in the audience for "help" choosing a number. What? There is no way to know and it is the ONLY thing you have to do. And you are getting help? Gah. Infants could crawl around to the 15 lightsticks and have just as good a chance! Puh-leeze.

Do you think the contestants are told to pull out those light sticks really, really slowly, or is there some suction? Because if I thought I had 5 years salary coming to me for doing NOTHING, I think I might pull those puppies out a little quicker.

[LateToTheFiesta]

Dumb, dumb, dumb. Dumbest game show I've ever seen. And I've seen National Bingo Night. Absolutely zero skill involved. And none of the silliness of DoND to save it, either.

Do you think the contestants are told to pull out those light sticks really, really slowly, or is there some suction?

Suction? Oh, I think there's a lot of "sucktion" on this show. :)

[puck71]

I kept getting so mad when the contestants would ask their family in the audience for "help" choosing a number. What?

That really aggravates me too, and is one of the reasons I gave up DoND pretty quickly. I'm sure on both shows that they basically force them to do that, but it still really bothers me.

Do you think the contestants are told to pull out those light sticks really, really slowly, or is there some suction?

My friend and I were thinking maybe a magnet, but yeah I don't know if they could do it any more slowly!