I have mixed feelings about the Goodwin Games after watching the premiere episode last night. I loved the premise of the show – children return home for their father’s funeral and find out he left them 23 million dollars (well 22 million since Elijah got a million of that) if they can complete a series of elaborate games.

It was a little cheesy off the top – but I like to give shows a few episodes to gel before I give up.

The Goodwin Games, Becki Newton, TJ Miller and Scott Foley

Winning:

• The conch blowing at the beginning – that’s what I should do with my conch. It’s like Lord of the Flies. I wonder if I can get mine to actually make a sound.
• I love the idea of the challenge and how everything is pre-arranged for different outcomes. I have now decided that everyone will solve a series of elaborate challenges at my funeral. Now I just need to come up with millions of dollars for them to win.
• I didn’t realize how elaborate the challenges would be, but maybe it will get all Hunger Games at the end.
• The Trivial Pursuit game with the personalized cards rocked my world! That was adorable! I wonder if they do that because it would make a great anniversary present. Or you could DIY your own Trivial Pursuit questions.

Losing:

• From what I have been reading, FOX created this show last year and then didn’t air it. There are seven episodes in existence. This explains why the actors went on to do other shows.
• Even if you get invested into this show, it probably won’t last beyond the seven initial episodes. If you just think of it as a short miniseries you may enjoy it more.
• I wasn’t a fan of TJ Miller’s character, his only redeeming quality was the daughter. I wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be slow or funny. Apparently, he is a up-and-coming comedian so maybe he will improve as the show progresses.
• Who was the random Elijah character and what did he have to do with the family? They could have lost this part in my opinion.

UPDATE: Possessionista posted her fashion recap on Becki Newton’s great clothes from the premiere here. She also found out that the producers decided that each character would have a “team color” – Becki Newton in yellow, Scott Foley in red and TJ Miller in blue. So take note of that for next week.

On a side note, this made me want to host a Trivial Pursuit game night. check out these cool party ideas from Rachel Ray here

Trivial Pursuit Coasters

I also found a Trivial Pursuit themed cheescake from Taste of Home. Click here for the recipe.

Trivial Pursuit Cheesecake

I think you will see a Trivial Pursuit themed game night in an upcoming blog post. This gave me a lot of ideas.

What did you think about the Goodwin Games premiere? Will you keep watching?

If you missed the pilot you can purchase it on iTunes.

For more information on Summer TV premieres check out my Summer TV Preview Extravaganza post.