TV's 10 Greatest Game Shows

[Adam Nedeff]

MSN.com has posted a chronilogical list of the "ten greatest game shows of all-time." As usual with these lists, it's mostly up for debate, but the last entry on the list is just...baffling. Not that it's a bad show but...I wouldn't have put it there.

You can tell you need to click here because it's underlined.

[sshuffield70]

I only wish they would have gotten some of the dates straight on their entries.

Example:

TPIR ('56) even though the entry concentrates on '72.
TTD ('78)...what happened to '56?
MG ('62)...though again, it talks about '73.

[BrandonFG]

Not too bad of a list, but it is very baffling that FH gets mentioned and Double Dare didn't (except for the fact that FH's stunts supposedly outgrossed DD).

Then again, I think the Love Connection entry is pretty interesting too.

[Tim L]

I agree mostly about the dates..But they got Price wrong and 1956 began the Cullen version. Either mention Cullen in your writeup or start in 1972 when Barker began hosting

[Craig Karlberg]

I too think some of the dates are inacurate in relation to the write-ups.  I don't think FH should be in the #10 hole.  Here's my list of possible substitutes for #10:

The Newlywed Gane(1966)
Hollywood Squares(1966?) even though Tic Tac Dough was on there, HS used the celebrety angle on tic-tac-toe to its utmost goodness without sacrificing taste.
The Joker's Wild(1972) part of the trifecta of CBS shows that began that year.

Otherwise, the list looks good to me outside of FH.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' date=\'Mar 7 2006, 08:22 PM\']the last entry on the list is just...baffling. Not that it's a bad show but...I wouldn't have put it there.
[/quote]
Not as baffling as Love Connection, which isn't a game show.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to pop some popcorn.

[pownster]

Where was "Sale of the Century" in the list?  I would have thought it should have been given a mention. Mind you - I'm happy Jeopardy! was up there.

[Jimmy Owen]

Kind of refreshing to find a top 10 game show list that didn't have the usual WOF or FF.

[Ian Wallis]

I only wish they would have gotten some of the dates straight on their entries.

Example:

TPIR ('56) even though the entry concentrates on '72.
TTD ('78)...what happened to '56?
MG ('62)...though again, it talks about '73.

Not to mention "Millionaire", which was 1999 instead of '98.  Hmmm....I guess I just did mention it!

I agree that "Love Connection" is NOT a game show...and it's a tad frustrating to keep seeing it on game show lists.

[wheelloon]

You all can guess which show I immediately thought should be there that isn't...

My other thing is, instead of putting Love Connection and Fun House (ugh...) on there, why not Pyramid (non-Osmond of course) and Password???

[JamesVipond]

I was bothered by the omission of Concentration from MSN's list.

[DrBear]

Hey, it's just an opinion. (Although how you leave off a show that ran 20-plus years - you can guess which one, it's bigger than a bread box - I don't know). It did seem the writer is sticking mostly to fairly current shows, but added the earlier dates to give his list a little more depth.

(Oh, and I might have considered Family Feud in there as well.)

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 07:04 AM\']Kind of refreshing to find a top 10 game show list that didn't have the usual WOF or FF.[/quote]
On the other hand, a list that includes Love Connection, Fun House and Press Your Luck, but DOESN'T include either WOF or FF, really doesn't have a lot of business calling itself the "All-Time Greatest".

If anything, that list just makes me feel old.  I have no doubt that the writer really is a "pop culture junkie", but he's not a historian.  I also have little doubt that he's not much more than thirty years old, and like the rest of us, he has a fondness for the shows that were on as he was growing up.  Wouldn't totally surprise me that he's never heard of something like What's My Line?.

[MrBuddwing]

I don't understand conflating the original version of "The Match Game" (1962) with the later versions, or listing "Jeopardy!" as 1984 instead of the date of the original version (1964?).

Describing TMG by saying "the wide-grinning host would read the setup of a potentially bawdy statement, and the contestant would attempt to complete it with a blank-filling piece of wit that matched the answers of the celebrity panel" clearly refers to the later incarnation of the show. The original, as far as I can recall, was just a straightforward matching game with tame questions and answers.

And one of the reasons I regret that so little of the original "Jeopardy!" exists is that I would like to know how difficult it would be for me now - when I was watching Art Fleming, I was just a kid and couldn't begin to get most of the answers and questions. I suspect the original was a lot harder than the Trebek version.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 09:33 AM\']On the other hand, a list that includes Love Connection, Fun House and Press Your Luck, but DOESN'T include either WOF or FF, really doesn't have a lot of business calling itself the "All-Time Greatest".[/quote] I think the list was created by someone who was given the task of writing a piece on game shows, and took the easy way out. After all, what they want is publicity. And what are we doing? Discussing his list. Whether he's right, wrong or indifferent, we're doing exactly what he wants us to do.

If anything, that list just makes me feel old.  I have no doubt that the writer really is a "pop culture junkie", but he's not a historian.

[snapback]112220[/snapback]

I'm sure you're right, but I'm sure each and every one of us would have a different top ten. I like straight quiz shows, and can't stand the panel games, so you wouldn't see "What's My Line?" or "I've Got a Secret" anywhere near my personal top ten. And for that matter, could any list covering such a wide topic as game shows be confined to a "top ten"? The genre is going on what, six hundred or more different shows?