TALE OF A GAME-SHOW CHEAT.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic A QUESTION for the big money: How often will a show on the Game Show Network prove to be more engaging than something on HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy ? The answer: Not often, so if you want to take advantage Sunday, pick the Game Show Network's ``Big Bucks: The 'Press Your Luck' Scandal'' over HBO's ``Normal.'' ``Big Bucks'' overextends its invitation, but it offers something of an entertaining yarn. This documentary relives a story that harkens back to 1984, but then, ``Normal'' might seem more timely back then, as well. ``Big Bucks'' focuses on Michael Larson Paul Michael Larson (May 10, 1949 – February 16, 1999) was a contestant on the United States television game show Press Your Luck. Larson's claim to fame was his winning $110,237 in cash and prizes, which he was able to do by memorizing the patterns used on the , an unemployed ice-cream truck vendor who spent waaaay too much time watching the CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. game show ``Press Your Luck,'' to the extent that he figured out a pattern on the game's so-called ``Big Board'' and parlayed that into a then-whopping $110,000 win. Peter Tomarken Peter David Tomarken (December 7, 1942 – March 13, 2006) was an American television personality known primarily as host of Press Your Luck. Early life , who was ``Press Your Luck's'' emcee in 1984, proves an amiable host for the documentary, as he explains how Larson (who died in 1999) took CBS for a then-unprecedented amount of money, when $40,000 was considered a huge day's winnings. Larson, sitting at home, figured out the ``Big Board's'' repetitive configurations (alas, the documentary doesn't explain that if CBS had invested a mere $600 in creating a less predictable sequence on the ``Big Board,'' all of this could have been avoided). Larson figured out which tiles on the Big Board never bankrupted anyone; his hand-eye coordination hand-eye coordination Eye-hand coordination Surgery Oculomanual synchronization, required by surgeons, especially for laparoscopic surgery. See Laparoscopic surgery, Paradoxical movement. carried the day. His shifty shift·y adj. shift·i·er, shift·i·est 1. Having, displaying, or suggestive of deceitful character; evasive or untrustworthy. 2. eyes are focused on as he plots out his big win, and one of his competitors amusingly relates that she found him ``creepy'' backstage. CBS' efforts to deny him his money are revealed, and Monday night, on the network's game ``Whammy wham·my n. pl. wham·mies Slang 1. A supernatural spell for subduing an adversary; a hex: put the whammy on someone. 2. ,'' his original contestants compete against his brother. It's depressingly unshocking to discover in Monday's rematch that no contestant knows initially who Ronald Reagan beat in the 1984 election, and Larson's death - after other failed get-rich-quick schemes - is here described as ``the ultimate Whammy.'' For viewers, the ``ultimate Whammy'' is realizing that they've spent two hours watching a story that could've been told in half the time, but it's an intriguing saga nonetheless. BIG BUCKS: THE PRESS YOUR LUCK SCANDAL - Two and one half stars What: Documentary about Michael Larson, a man who beat a game show's system in 1984 for what was then considered ``Big Bucks.'' Where: Game Show Network. When: 9 p.m. Sunday; also Monday, Saturday, March 26 and 28. In a nutshell: A fun story drawn out too long. WHAMMY - Two stars What: The original contestants of the ``Press Your Luck'' scandal unite with Michael Larson's brother and compete for cash and prizes. Where: Game Show Network. When: 5:30 p.m. Monday. In a nutshell: They give money to rubes Rubes is a syndicated newspaper single panel cartoon created by Leigh Rubin in 1984. Leigh Rubin began making and distributing his own greeting cards in 1979 through his company Rubes. like this? Sign us up! |
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