Shaquille O’Neal and Gina Rodriguez present (and both are executive producers of) Lucky 13a game show in which a contestant in the “hot spot” is asked 13 true or false questions, but is not supposed to know all the answers. It seems strange, right? Read on to find out more.
LUCKY 13: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening shot: Scenes from Las Vegas, where the show took place Lucky 13 gets shot.
The essence: O’Neal and Rodriguez call one of the 13 contestants sitting in a circle on the stage to the “hot spot.” There, Shaq asks the 13 true-or-false questions and the contestant has a chance to reason out his or her answer before giving it. He or she then has the opportunity to “refresh” (the term is used because it’s sponsored by Pepsi) one of his or her answers or simply leave them as is.
They must then guess how many of those questions they got right: 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, or all 13. The money they’ll win if the number of correct answers falls within that “lucky range” increases exponentially, from $5,000 to $1 million. The contestant must pick a number within that range. If they get that number right, they’ll receive an additional $25,000.
Rodriguez then begins to reveal which questions the contestant got right and which ones he didn’t, while Shaq stands over them to cheer them on. The questions are sorted and presented in an order that can create the most drama possible. At some point, Shaq may press a big red button and offer the contestant a guaranteed money offer (usually half the price paid for the rank they chose) to walk away. And there’s another twist: if the number of questions the contestant got right is higher than the rank they guessed, they walk away with nothing.
What shows will it remind you of? The game mode of Lucky 13 It’s nothing we’ve seen before, but the setting and music remind us. Who wants to be a millionaire (sigh).
Our opinion: The game mode of Lucky 13 It’s pretty simple, so in order to squeeze two games into a 42-minute runtime (without commercials), the producers have to add some padding. Of course, the padding leads to a slow pace that might drive a viewer crazy if they’re paying attention to the show, but might not bother a viewer watching it while folding laundry or browsing their phone.
Seriously, the part where Shaq and his monotone voice ask the contestants true or false questions seems to go on for ages. Both Shaq and Rodriguez try to fill the scene with funny one-liners or by asking the contestants questions about their thought processes, but it still seems endless. Then, when Rodriguez reveals which of the questions the contestant got right and which ones he didn’t, there’s some tension as we get closer to the chosen range, but the segment still feels too long.
Once again, the hosts take advantage of the funny one-liners. In fact, Rodriguez makes some funny, off-the-cuff comments in response to what the contestants say, which tells us that in a better format, she might be a good host. Shaq is Shaq; he’s charming even though he never speaks in anything other than his signature monotone. But that monotone can be a problem for an entire hour when he’s not talking to Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.
It’s a format that has some intrigue, especially with the idea that if you lower your rank and have too many many If you answer correctly, you lose. But the pace is so slow that the tension generated in those moments is, at best, minor.
Sex and skin: None.
Parting shot: The second contestant’s game ends and Shaq and Rodriguez say goodbye.
Sleeping Star: The two contestants who perform in the first episode are fun to watch, although the comments they make before giving their answers are a little annoying.
Pilot’s most typical phrase: We’re not sure why there are 13 contestants sitting in a circle around the hosts. It’s not like they’re doing a “fastest finger” style contest to get to the “hot spot” like in the original. Millionaire. One person is called to be the next contestant and that’s it. Do the 13 in the circle change from episode to episode? It’s a mystery.
Our calling: Skip it. While O’Neal and Rodriguez are fine hosts and the game has a small amount of intrigue and tension, there’s a lot of filler. Lucky 13 You’ll get bored long before tension sets in.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting, and technology, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV addict. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.comFast Company and elsewhere.
