Ellen, in theory: AMAZING. Imagine your stereotypical messy game show host.... from the old Truth & Consequences (which pied guys 99% of the time) to Marc Summers on Double Dare to Celso on PoR (who makes sure guys get 80% of the pies). Now imagine if that host tipped the scales against young, cute WOMEN.... and you have Ellen.
Ellen, in reality: "Hey, young cute woman! We're gonna mess you up good! And by 'mess you up,' I mean you're gonna wear huge goggles.... Not that it matters since practically all the mess will miss your face and hair. Oh, and we can't use pies, because guaranteed good messy coverage is SO 20th century....."
I mean, I applaud Ellen for her spirit, but the execution in ALL her games (and also Game Of Games) is unbelievably lacking. And I don't think her audience cares at all, so why should she change for our tiny niche? Still, it's frustrating how much of this golden opportunity gets squandered with every one of these stunts. Damn, Richard Bey and his "pie stocks" would've destroyed this girl.
I mostly agree with Rich's take on this, but I do think we have different expectations now. If we were living in 1995 land, this would have been hailed as a fantastic scene for miscellaneous mess lovers (non-pie mess fans). But, it's 2019 and we have ready access to thousands of other clips that are better.
Richard Bey is an interesting reference. I was always pretty disappointed by what his show produced. There were a couple decent scenes, but it was a Jerry Springer-esque production so the quality of guest on the show was pretty poor unless you're into trailer trash types. The games weren't run very well...they were just kinda chaotic and pointless. Maybe it's just me, but I kind of need games that make sense.
Ellen has a ton of wasted potential though, because the guests that she features are typically very pretty younger ladies who are well-maintained, well-dressed, etc.
You'd think we would see more pies in mainstream game show-type shows. I mean, Pie Face is still popular as a game, so it should still be in the national consciousness. But, somehow the classic "pie in the face" gameshow forfeit seems very 90s (unless you live in Latin America, I guess).
cicada said: But, somehow the classic "pie in the face" gameshow forfeit seems very 90s (unless you live in Latin America, I guess).
And so far in 2019, there's exactly ONE Latin American show still doing anything with pies.... So apparently they finally joined the 21st century in terms of abandoning this format.
I agree that Richard Bey was mostly bad because the targets were typically awful (unattractive trailer-park types) and they made sure to put them in the least flattering clothes imaginable (bulky T-shirts and shower caps). But the mess itself was fantastic. So basically I was saying: Sic Richard Bey's props department in 1995 on Ellen's contestants in 2019.
(Another thing that soured me on RB: Almost every single cliptape released by WAMTEC or Hurley during that era had between 15 and 45 minutes of Richard Bey. On every. Single. TAPE.)
Love you, too
