Epic Win: Press Your Luck
Submitted by katsak
(It should be noted that the clip above is atypically exciting for Press Your Luck.)
I always had a sneaking suspicion that they either picked the most energetic people on Earth to be contestants, or gave them heavy doses of speed before the show. Or maybe they just get really into it.
I feel like I would just curse up and down on Press Your Luck:
C’MON, NO WHAMMIES. NO WHAMMIES. BIG BUCKS, PLEASE. NO WHAMMIES. NO NO NO WHAMMIES. I WANT BIG MONEY. YEAH. LET’S DO IT. NO ****ING WHAMMIES. **** WHAMMIES. WHAMMIES ARE ****ING ********. NO **********ING WHAMMIES IN THIS HOUSE. WOO! **** YEAH!
I believe that “Savage” Steve Holland, of Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer, and Eek! the Cat fame, animated the whammies. Just another little bit of win.
I remember watching Michael Larson’s big paydays on this show, which were the result of his memorizing the patterns of the boards. Good times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Larson_(TV_show_contestant)
You can still find Larson’s episode bouncing around in syndication and some on youtube. It’s ironic in a way that he made as much money as he did, only to die broke. After Larson’s memorization stunt, the show went off the air for a few months while they rebuilt the board and added new random patterns. It went from the sixteen or so that he had to memorize, to several hundred. It was possible still, but not likely.
Actually, I saw a show on Game Show Network where they brought back one of the unfortunate contestants who had to play against Larson. They said that there were actually only five (!) patterns that were on the original show, but once he got done they upped the count to 32. All he had to do was wait until he saw a specific set of light changes and he’d get it. If there were 16 patterns then he’d have to wait forever for the one sequence he knew and they would get mad at him. It was kinda scary seeing him miss his mark on the very last spin, though. He was so tired that he lost concentration.
Whammies! Game shows don’t have enough grinning, jumping demons anymore.
that was THE best part of the show: the whammies!
Epic Win! Ubisoft is developing Press Your Luck for PCs, consoles, and the iPhone! Should be out the end of next month, or so they say.
Ubisoft fails unless they include the Michael Larson board patterns in their versions of Press Your Luck, either as an option or as an unlockable.
Nor do they make game show hosts quite like Peter Tomarken.
I remember reading how he and his wife died while flying a private airplane to pick up patients for transport to distant hospitals. That was an epic fail all around.
That is what happened.
I have to say, though, what an epic legacy WIN.
Gaaaaaaahh!!! This is soooo stressfull!!!!!
I got al nervous by watching it, I can’t think how contestants were! x(
EEEEEEEE! Favorite gameshow from my childhood!
I know! Whammie Rocks!!!! I loved it when he did the moon walk.
NO! I freaking hate this show.
Sunshiner’s comment-EPIC FAIL!
Larson gets the Mega-Epic Win for this one. If you can find the documentary on him that the Game Show Network made, be prepared to have your mind blown. And if you find it, please post it – I’ve been looking.
You can find it on YouTube, look up “Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal” (Warning: quality isn’t the greatest).
I was a lad of 7 when Michael Larson won big on Press Your Luck. It still blows my mind years later! After watching his big run a few times, I can tell if an episode is pre-Larson or post-Larson because I can spot the patterns he used.
Now THAT’S how you play press your luck. Pass it to your opponent
OMG! someone else remembers this show! It was hilarious! Ah, they don’t make game shows like they useta.
The only thing I remember about my grandfather who passed away when I was 6 is that he LOVED this show, and every time there was a whammie he’d go “WHAAAAAMMIIIIIIIIIE” and tickle me… so I had a BIG incentive for no whammies! hahaha
My guild’s name in WoW is “Big Money, No Whammies.”
Horde or Ally?
fail, or epic fail?
don’t poison this board with WoW stuff
Favourite Whammy animations/phrases include:
“I’m bowling for bucks! And it’s a STRIKE!!! Uh-oh…” (as Whammy gets bowled over by a giant ball)
The Michael Jackson Whammy. Whammy spins and moonwalks to a soundalike of Billie Jean.
TNT Whammy: “Hee-hee-hee, this oughta do it! WAAAH! *BOOM!!* Oh no, ohhhhh…”