Author Topic: TV's 10 Greatest Game Shows (Read 6746 times)

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #15 on:** March 08, 2006, 01:07:48 PM »

[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 01:30 PM\'] I suspect the original was a lot harder than the Trebek version.[/quote]
I'm in the same boat you are -- while I liked watching Fleming when I was a kid, the material was far beyond me. Still, if you look back at the half dozen shows we can still see today, I really don't think you'd find them to be harder than the Trebek version, and certainly not as well written. The dated current-events questions would naturally be obscure today, but that's about it.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #16 on:** March 08, 2006, 02:10:35 PM »

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 01:51 PM\']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?[/quote]
About thirty of which you could consider genuine classics. I'd like to think that most informed people, putting together a true "All-Time Greatest" list and not just a list of personal favorites, would end up with a top ten that came from those thirty shows. He's got two that are just preposterous (Love Connection and Fun House) and one that's very questionable (Press Your Luck), and what they all have in common is their 80s time frame.

I'm usually the first to say that opinions are subjective and these lists shouldn't be taken seriously, but this one specifically is badly researched, badly fact-checked and just plain ignorant.

Don Howard · « **Reply #17 on:** March 08, 2006, 03:47:59 PM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 06:04 AM\']Kind of refreshing to find a top 10 game show list that didn't have the usual WOF.

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If it had, the year 1983 probably would have been referenced as the premiere with no mention whatsoever of the Todd Russell era. It's time to honor Todd!!!!!

Steve McClellan · « **Reply #18 on:** March 08, 2006, 04:12:39 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 10:07 AM\'][quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 01:30 PM\'] I suspect the original was a lot harder than the Trebek version.[/quote]
Still, if you look back at the half dozen shows we can still see today, I really don't think you'd find them to be harder than the Trebek version, and certainly not as well written. The dated current-events questions would naturally be obscure today, but that's about it.[/quote]
The one person who would seem to be in the best position to know, Fleming era uber-champ Burns Cameron, is on record as saying that the show was more difficult circa 1990 than it was when he was on ('65, IIRC).

Robert Hutchinson · « **Reply #19 on:** March 08, 2006, 04:13:32 PM »

[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 12:30 PM\']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?).[/quote]

It's pretty simple, I think. "Hmm, I should add the years each of these shows premiered to my article. (google google) Match Game premiered in '62? Well, if this site says so, I'll go with it."

Laziness, in other words.

Jeremy Nelson · « **Reply #20 on:** March 08, 2006, 06:17:41 PM »

This article is obviously badly written. It is hard trying to choose 15 or 20 shows to fill a list of 10- however, there are quite a few questionable shows on the list. To add insult to injury, good shows on the list are tarnished with poor research. Still, I'm too relaxed today to get worked up over the opinion of some dumbass who probably knows nothing more about game shows than what he wrote.

ChuckNet · « **Reply #21 on:** March 08, 2006, 08:35:33 PM »

Quote

If it had, the year 1983 probably would have been referenced as the premiere with no mention whatsoever of the Todd Russell era. It's time to honor Todd!!!!!

LOL...interestingly enough, a similar gambit occured in Australia, where long before WoF's 1981 debut, there was a show w/the same name in the early 60s hosted by some guy named Reg Grundy...wonder what happened to him... :-D

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #22 on:** March 08, 2006, 11:50:17 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 11:33 AM\']but DOESN'T include either WOF or FF, really doesn't have a lot of business calling itself the "All-Time Greatest".
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If I was looking at the show from merely an opinionated stance, and not a subjective one; I can't say I'd include either the former nor the latter in my list either.

Not that this one wasn't a joke.

MrBuddwing · « **Reply #23 on:** March 09, 2006, 02:39:47 AM »

[quote name=\'Steve McClellan\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 04:12 PM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 10:07 AM\'][quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 01:30 PM\'] I suspect the original was a lot harder than the Trebek version.[/quote]
Still, if you look back at the half dozen shows we can still see today, I really don't think you'd find them to be harder than the Trebek version, and certainly not as well written. The dated current-events questions would naturally be obscure today, but that's about it.[/quote]
The one person who would seem to be in the best position to know, Fleming era uber-champ Burns Cameron, is on record as saying that the show was more difficult circa 1990 than it was when he was on ('65, IIRC).

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Well, now that you bring it up, I would say that Trebek's "Jeopardy!" has ebbed and flowed over the years in terms of difficulty. I remember shows that were extremely difficult - and they weren't even "Tournament of Champions" episodes. Lately, I've noticed that "Final Jeopardy!" has gotten considerably easier than it used to be - at least, I'm getting more answers right.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #24 on:** March 09, 2006, 11:20:47 AM »

[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' date=\'Mar 9 2006, 03:39 AM\']Well, now that you bring it up, I would say that Trebek's "Jeopardy!" has ebbed and flowed over the years in terms of difficulty. I remember shows that were extremely difficult - and they weren't even "Tournament of Champions" episodes. Lately, I've noticed that "Final Jeopardy!" has gotten considerably easier than it used to be - at least, I'm getting more answers right.[/quote]
Behind-the-scenes books and articles would agree wth you. The Trebek shows have definitely gone back and forth between easier and harder over the years. That's not accidental, either, it's something that the writers are exceptionally good at doing when instructed to do so.