Two random pilot pics...

[dzinkin]

From the January 18, 1999 edition of Broadcasting & Cable, which I found while cleaning out my closet this past weekend...

The Joker's Wild pilot (1990 version)

Who Knew? - 1998? pilot with John O'Hurley

I know I posted about the TJW pilot back when I first got the magazine; sorry it took so long to post the pic. :-)  I'm still curious as to why TJW is listed as a Pearson property -- and "evergreen" no less!

[Allstar87]

Great pictures. I like the logo on top of the slot machine in the TJW pic. Nice and colorful.

But what's "Who Knew"? I've never heard of that pilot before...

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Allstar87\' post=\'116002\' date=\'Apr 12 2006, 09:08 PM\']

But what's "Who Knew"? I've never heard of that pilot before...
[/quote]

As reported on ATGS at the time, it had contestants tried to pick out the etymology of a word or origin of a phrase from three or four choices given by celebrity players. This more or less played out like Balderdash on PAX in 2004, and Oh My Word from the 60s, and Take my Word for It and Wordplay in the 80s. Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner and Stone-Stanley did the pilot in the late 90s in association with Paramount.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' post=\'116004\' date=\'Apr 12 2006, 09:11 PM\'][quote name=\'Allstar87\' post=\'116002\' date=\'Apr 12 2006, 09:08 PM\']But what's "Who Knew"? I've never heard of that pilot before...[/quote]
As reported on ATGS at the time, it had contestants tried to pick out the etymology of a word or origin of a phrase from three or four choices given by celebrity players. This more or less played out like Balderdash on PAX in 2004, and Oh My Word from the 60s, and Take my Word for It and Wordplay in the 80s. Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner and Stone-Stanley did the pilot in the late 90s in association with Paramount.[/quote]
Just about the most overused idea that was never a success.  A couple years ago, I attended a GSN pilot hosted by Greg Proops that was based on the same general idea.  He was great, but aside from the play-at-home factor, it's just a dull thing to do on TV.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'116020\' date=\'Apr 12 2006, 07:46 PM\']
Just about the most overused idea that was never a success.  A couple years ago, I attended a GSN pilot hosted by Greg Proops that was based on the same general idea.  He was great, but aside from the play-at-home factor, it's just a dull thing to do on TV.
[/quote]
One has to think that the reason they keep going to this well is that even by game-show standards, it's insanely cheap. Researching material? Buy a $40 dictionary. Done.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'116029\' date=\'Apr 12 2006, 10:41 PM\']
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'116020\' date=\'Apr 12 2006, 07:46 PM\']
Just about the most overused idea that was never a success.  A couple years ago, I attended a GSN pilot hosted by Greg Proops that was based on the same general idea.  He was great, but aside from the play-at-home factor, it's just a dull thing to do on TV.
[/quote]
One has to think that the reason they keep going to this well is that even by game-show standards, it's insanely cheap. Researching material? Buy a $40 dictionary. Done.
[/quote]

Well, they did a little bit more than that on "Balderdash," but I know what you mean.

And on the earlier shows (including "Call My Bluff," which got left out by Horan--you're slipping!), you also had the participants trying to come up with their own definitions.  At least "WordPlay" and "Balderdash" employed writers to script what the celebs said, so a little more money was spent there.  Emphasis on "little."

[Jimmy Owen]

"Liar's Club" had similar gameplay and lasted three years or so.  I guess people like figuring out the uses of gadgets more than the definitions of words.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'116096\' date=\'Apr 13 2006, 12:59 PM\']
"Liar's Club" had similar gameplay and lasted three years or so.  I guess people like figuring out the uses of gadgets more than the definitions of words.
[/quote]
There's a slightly-more-sensory experience, I think. A viewer can look the item and say "Hmm. Could be this, could be that." With a word there's nothing to think about, nothing to really ponder over. So I can see why LC might have caught on a little bit where the word-origins shows didn't.

[Jimmy Owen]

The visuals did make LC a much more entertaining show.  Living near the border, I was also able to see a couple of similar Canadian shows of the '70s that used the word definition concept, "Bluff" with Mike Darow (and some American celebs occasionally) and "It's Your Choice," which was hosted by a Toronto weathercaster whose name escapes me.  IYC was very dry. They had no studio audience and they didn't even bother to put in an applause track.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'116096\' date=\'Apr 13 2006, 03:59 PM\']"Liar's Club" had similar gameplay and lasted three years or so.  I guess people like figuring out the uses of gadgets more than the definitions of words.[/quote]
You're absolutely right.  I should have thought of that, especially since I liked that show and usually didn't care for the other examples.  I wonder if the gadgets were the only difference or if there was more to it (panel chemistry, perhaps?)

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'116111\' date=\'Apr 13 2006, 02:40 PM\']
I wonder if the gadgets were the only difference or if there was more to it (panel chemistry, perhaps?)
[/quote]
For me, it had a little to do with the kinda-interesting wagering system and the whole "odds" thing. It was a scoring system that kept my attention, and other shows of the type either just paid a simple $100 per answer or something, or did something REALLY stupid like Wordplay and worked in that way-too-confusing-for-the-average-goomba "score all connected boxes" system.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'116111\' date=\'Apr 13 2006, 05:40 PM\']
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'116096\' date=\'Apr 13 2006, 03:59 PM\']"Liar's Club" had similar gameplay and lasted three years or so.  I guess people like figuring out the uses of gadgets more than the definitions of words.[/quote]
You're absolutely right.  I should have thought of that, especially since I liked that show and usually didn't care for the other examples.  I wonder if the gadgets were the only difference or if there was more to it (panel chemistry, perhaps?)
[/quote]
The only show I've seen (of the examples given) was "Balderdash", and I'm wondering, on any of these shows (mainly LC, since that had the most success), did the actual "game" take a backseat to the comedy? There's not much game in figuring out who's BS'ing, and, not every game show has to be all about the game (see MG 7x/PM)...in a case like those types of shows, I'd think that seeing celebrities (esp. up-and-coming comedians like a 70s-Letterman) trying to bluff the meaning of something would make for good entertainment itself.

Just...no...Carrot...Top.

[ITSBRY]

[quote name=\'Allstar87\' post=\'116002\' date=\'Apr 12 2006, 09:08 PM\']
Great pictures. I like the logo on top of the slot machine in the TJW pic. Nice and colorful.

[/quote]

Lots better than the creepy soul-less blinking eyes Joker that was there for the actual series!

Bryan
itsbry@juno.com

[Ian Wallis]

The only show I've seen (of the examples given) was "Balderdash", and I'm wondering, on any of these shows (mainly LC, since that had the most success), did the actual "game" take a backseat to the comedy? There's not much game in figuring out who's BS'ing, and, not every game show has to be all about the game (see MG 7x/PM)...in a case like those types of shows, I'd think that seeing celebrities (esp. up-and-coming comedians like a 70s-Letterman) trying to bluff the meaning of something would make for good entertainment itself.

The celebrities are definately important but the way the game is played matters too.  A Rod Serling episode of Liars Club turned up last year (minus the final segment, unfortunately) in which Dick Gautier and Betty White were two of the celebrities who appeared.  I found that it wasn't as interesting as the late '70s version, partly because there were only two contestants instead of four (or three, later in the run), and each contestant only got one point for guessing right, rather than betting a certain amount of their money and betting with odds.  In this version, it almost seemed like the contestants didn't even matter, wheras in the late '70s version they played a much bigger role.  At least it seemed that way to me...