The Chase (Game Show) / YMMV

Awesome Music: The Final Chase music, possibly the most intense music ever featured on a game show. The final 30 seconds can induce a panic like no other. Actually, the entire soundtrack (composed by Paul Farrer of The Weakest Link fame) counts. The Chaser walk-on in particular stands out as a bombastic, yet frightening fanfare that tells you the Chaser is no joke - they are of the game-show contestant kin, and the very best at that.
- Unfortunately, the US version on Game Show Network doesn't have the same music, and what choices they did make is arguably not as good. They don't even have "hurry up" music that plays when either the player or the Chaser locks in while the other has yet to. Note that the lack of this music had audiences not know that a time limit was even a thing unless Brooke mentioned it, which usually meant it was actually going to happen, probably to that contestant. The ABC version keeps the music cue in.
Carried by the Host: This show wouldn't be anywhere near as good without the Chasers, nor Bradley Walsh in the UK version. This is likely in part why the American version stuck with Mark Labbett as the only Chaser^note, or why the Australian one brought Anne and Mark from the UK version to help host that one as well. Of course when the American show moved to ABC, their choice of Chasers would be three of Jeopardy's greatest and most well known players (but even then, they brought The Beast back for Season 2).
Designated Villain: Some feel that the contestants who take lower or even minus offers can be unfairly demonized by the viewers due to the sheer difficulty of the gameshow where the questions can range between reasonably challenging to ludicrous and abstract regardless of whichever offer they take (this is particularly prevalent on Twitter, as some Chasers have pointed out). The fact that the show itself is the one that decides to place a minus offer on the board, which is not guaranteed to appear for every contestant, doesn't help. This has gotten less stigma over time, especially when either the player(s) or even the chaser suggests the low/minus offer just because of how valuable that one extra head start can be.
Most Wonderful Sound: During the Final Chase, the combination of the sound that plays when the Chaser gets a question wrong and the host shouting "Stop the clock, that is wrong!". And of course the buzzer at the end of the Chaser's run signalling the victory for the team.
Padding: Mixes with Suspicious Video-Game Generosity when a contestant has an unusually long interview with Bradley during the broadcast. Chances are they're either going to have the perfect game or be caught in three questions in the head to head with the Chaser.
- In the GSN Version, the show would occasionally make dramatic cuts followed by an extended wait during the personal chase when the player is either about to bank the money or if they are about to be caught. The same thing happens in the final chase when the team attempts to push back. While fine in the personal chase, this breaks the flow of the final chase a lot when we want to get right back into the action.
- The ABC Version has the Chaser's Lounge, a good idea on paper, bad on execution. Because they are not actively interacting with anyone in studio, all it amounts to is speculation and awkward clips where the editor cuts them into either dead silence or when someone is actively talking.
Replacement Scrappy: In the US, Sara Haines for Brooke Burns.
- Sara is decidedly not a fast reader. In the Cash Builder, she doesn’t usually get through more than eight questions in 60 seconds. (Granted, at $25K a pop, they probably don’t want any chance of you getting on a run similar to James Holzhauer and be playing your Individual Chase for $300K... in the normal game. That said, since it’s a Speed Round, you expect the questions to come faster.) Brooke usually got through at least a round dozen, and sometimes more. Sara does not get appreciably faster in the Final Chase.^noteThe same criticism could be leveled at Brooke's current show, Master Minds, but in that case, waiting for the full question is being enforced, and the questions are significantly longer.
  - During one of the final episodes of Season 1, Sara started reading questions especially fast, giving evidence to the theory that her reading slow is indeed due to Executive Meddling, so as to not get too much money in the Cash Builder. Fortunately, an interview with producer Vin Rubino about the second season seems to indicate that the question reading for the Cash Builder will be much faster paced in Season 2.
- The lack of discussion among the team as to what offer the contestant should take meant that even more padding takes place during the Individual Chases. This usually means Sara will make additional side comments on the question. While fine if it happens organically, say, if the contestant is explaining why they chose a particular answer (or, as often happens with Bradley Walsh in the UK, says something to crack the host up), Sara seems to be forcing it in. In addition, her inflections and spiels sound phoned in. As a comparison, listen to how Brooke and Sara say the phrase "The Final Chase is On".^note
Retroactive Recognition: James Holzhauer got a crack at The Beast on the American version before going on his Jeopardy! run. Now full-circle as he’s signed on as a Chaser for the ABC version, alongside Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. To top if off, The Beast would join the Chasers' ranks alongside Holzhauer in the second season.
Rooting for the Empire: Some viewers get quite endeared to the Chasers, and actively want them to beat the teams. This is especially true of the ABC version; since three of the Chasers are former Jeopardy! champs, many Jeopardy! fans root for them over the contestants.
- Contestants taking minus offers, or just being Smug Snakes, can also cause this reaction amongst viewers.
Series Mascot: Mark “The Beast” Labett, due to being in all major versions, and the only Chaser in the GSN series.
Spiritual Successor: The ABC version is being framed as one to Jeopardy!, with the first set of Chasers being the show’s three greatest champions, inspired by their camaraderie in the G.O.A.T Tournement of 2020. This is summarized poignantly with its opening dedication to Alex Trebek.
Tear Jerker: Sara Haines dedicating the ABC series to Alex Trebek.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: The ABC version seems to be this according to the online reactions of fans:
- The $25,000 value of a correct answer in the cashbuilder round takes away a lot of the tension surrounding the choice of the money offers on the board: Why would any contestant choose the higher offer if the cashbuilder is generous enough? At that point not only does the chaser have to at least triple the high offer to tempt them up, they also have to give a much more abysmal low offer in order to keep the contestant away from it. The second season addresses this by lowering the value of each correct answer to $10,000.
- The music is again this, much like in the GSN version. This version makes it far worse because some of the Paul Farrer music is kept (like for example the contestant win cue in the Individual Chase, but bafflingly enough not the Chaser win cue which was replaced with newly scored music) while other cues are mostly newly scored. And they simply do not fit. The best example is with the Final Chase where it just sounds quiet and subdued similar to how the cashbuilder sounds, which is designed to be calm as it's the round with the lowest stakes. The GSN version at least ramped up the music as it came closer to the time limit. The second season changes the Final Chase music to a much more intense one.
- The graphics design is pretty bad, especially in the Final Chase where the graph of the Chaser is going against the contestants' number of correct answers instead of the answer fields simply lighting up like in the British and GSN versions, which makes the Final Chase much harder to follow. Rather ironically, the graphic now looks like the chaser is pushing back against the contestants rather than CHASING them.
- The Chaser's Lounge is considered a pretty bad case of Padding that was put in place of the contestant consultations, which take place during the (egregiously numerous) commercial breaks. It's also baffling because the network still has to pay the two inactive chasers for the fact that they put them on screen reacting.
- Also, Sara Haines. Dear God, Sara Haines. There’s a reason she’s listed as a Replacement Scrappy above. One wonders if the purpose of the Chaser's Lounge is to reduce Sara's time on screen.
- The summer 2021 run of episodes appears to be addressing some of the criticism; a preview has shown the return of Mark Labbett, the cashbuilder going down to $10,000 per-question, and Haines being noticeably faster in reading questions.

YMMV / The Chase (Game Show)

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