Ugh. What an
absolute mess. I am up at 5:16 AM because I was tired
of tossing and turning for two hours in bed thinking
about this and had to write everything
out.
Simply put, I
didn't set up the final games of the show correctly
and destroyed all the drama. I gave no incentive
to be #1, just incentive to be in the Top 2 and it
created absolute apathy to win, and the least
competitive games we've ever played. All the intrigue
and competitiveness of the first shoot was gone and
even in the final game -- the race for the Top 2
continued. I was baffled, never saw it coming,
and it ruined the show. As a producer/director I
should've called the entire shoot immediately and went
back to the drawing board on the way the brackets were
set-up, but because I was also a player -
I didn't want to look like I was being impartial.
However what we were left with was the equivalent of a
team down by a touchdown in the Superbowl, and kicking
a field goal to end the game - 'cause hey, we're both
winners! The stadium would riot, and the sport would
soon cease to exist.
It's part of the
growing pains of mixing a sport that in the
professional leagues I've read about is just scored
like Nascar (a long season of points) with a reality
show where you need to have eliminations. I thought I
had it figured out: The last 3 games before the
championship had the top 2 people moving on, with the
bottom 2 going to a losers bracket. Then in the last
game the bottom 2 going home - top 2 going to the
championship. It killed the competitive spirit of the
game. And it was that mentality that also screwed up
the championship. A player was happy with #2 'cause
there was a "can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality,
while the #3 player could barely participate because
#2 was beating up on #4 instead of going after #1 for
the win. In order for Four Square to be competitive,
you have to have each player trying to be #1, not top
2. When that happens? It's entertaining as hell 'cause
it becomes play after play of 3 against 1. A huge game
of "king of the hill".
Of course bringing
up a redo of the final rounds less than 24 hours after
the shoot is kinda predictable. Guess what, the people
that lost are all for it!!! (sigh) I want to give
specifics, but I'm certain a redo of the end will
produce the same results - and I don't want to give
away the ending. People have talked of reshoots
involving just the one player to make it LOOK like he
was trying to take out #1, etc. I'm not scriptin' this
shit. No way. The brackets were flawed, that's it. If
you give the appropriate incentive to win - the
personalities take over. I didn't, and it failed. If
the final four is determined by actually WINNING the
entire previous game, not a top 2 thing? Guess what -
it will work. Four games with the remaining players
and the #1 winner advancing to the championship solves
every single issue and will be completely cut-throat.
And for the finale? You end it with a one-on-one game
- hopefully pitting an alliance together. So you have
a game of 4 with the winner advancing - and a game of
3 with the winner advancing. It will be a thousand
times more intense - and a BLAST to watch. Hopefully
everyone will want this, and if not? I guess the drama
of trying to create a reality show - and
totally fucking it up is actually pretty interesting.
The footage I have is certainly dramatic if you look
at it from my perspective where I realize someone
found a loophole in the brackets and undercut the
competition. I've certainly never seen a reality show
end like this - LMAO. It would create some
excitement for a 2nd season done CORRECTLY.
But I obviously
don't want that. We have something really special
here, and we're just a few games from making it
exciting AND real. That's what will sell this. The
whole basis for "FOUR" was that there is no
"acting" or "scripting" needed. The game,
with 4 people gunning for #1, is more exciting than
any of us remembered. Get colorful personalities, good
stories - and the game will do the rest. The
"elimination" angle of the show however, I just
fucked up. I can fix it, but I need everyone on board.
Time will tell.
After everything
was over - we all just kinda had fun. We had two
tag-teams in a big 6 person game with everyone trying
to win - and it was just a blast. I have to post this
for one reason - us being into it? Isn't for the show.
There were no points here, we knew this wasn't part of
the show - we just all really love the game and want
to win. It's very fun to watch...
...as will the end
of this series if we set it up right.
For now, all eyes
are on a moment one month from today. So much left to
do...
