GSN 50 greatest game shows special...

[Craig Karlberg]

The parade of 1-hour showings starts here at #8 with Pyramid:

The $20K episode from 1979 was neat to see though it's ashamed Billy Crystal's 26-second run was shown only as a clip.  This is one of those cases where YouTube will fill that gap.  The color was a bit grainy but since it was a 70's episode, I had no major quibbles over it,

Hmmm. I was hoping to see the episode of the very first $100K winner, but we were saddled with a 1986 tourney episode.  Luckily I caught a clip of the very first tourney win on YouTube as what wouldv'e been a sneak peek.  Oh well.

Up next, #7 & from most accounts, Millionaire will show up here.  After that, the top 6 along with suspicions as to which shows got shafted.  Let the chaos ensue.

[catnap1972]

There's another way GSN could go with this whole thing and only shaft two shows (TPIR which they don't have the rights to and WoF which Sajak seems to have embargoed rerun rights)...give LMAD, J!, FF, and WWTBAM each a double shot, have WoF and TPIR as the designated "clip" mentions next Tuesday and Wednesday, then have the Thursday show segue to the #1 show, MG at 11pm.

[NickintheATL]

[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'128867\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 03:53 AM\']
The $20K episode from 1979 was neat to see though it's ashamed Billy Crystal's 26-second run was shown only as a clip.  This is one of those cases where YouTube will fill that gap.  The color was a bit grainy but since it was a 70's episode, I had no major quibbles over it,
[/quote]

OK, now you're going to harp on the ABC technicians working in the Elsyee Theater (TV-15), huh?  Does everything have to meet your particular standard, even game shows taped in the 1970s with analog technology? You might as well throw your TV set out the window, I enjoyed the show, no matter what shape it was in.

[clemon79]

I want to throw something out there with this whole "they're not gonna run a TPiR" thing that everyone seems to be so cocksure about. I don't know why I keep trying, nobody's listening, but I'm gonna throw it out there anyhow.

Picture yourself an executive for a national cable channel. Not a podunk television station in Poughkeepsie, not Northwest Cable News, a NATIONALLY DISTRIBUTED CABLE CHANNEL. And it happens to be the only one that uses game shows as a significant part of their programming.

So someone calls a meeting, and has this great idea for a summer series, that counts down the 50 greatest game shows of all time, and they'll show full episodes and everything and it'll be spectatcular. Hell, they'll even blow the dust off of the Larsen episodes of PYL. That should get some eyes.

And someone says "Ya know, Freakin' Studs aside, there's no way we could do a series like that and leave The Price Is Right out of the Top 5. And it's gonna call attention to the fact that we don't have the rights to one of the biggest shows of all time if we don't air one. We'll look like fools if we greenlight a series that throws our shortcomings as a network into sharp relief. Do we really want to put ourselves in that position?"

Do you REALLY think, HONESTLY think, that these people in charge of a national cable channel, even one that pulls mostly dashes like GSN, would just wave their hand and say "Aw, it doesn't matter, nobody will notice"? Because that's what all of you are suggesting. And someone just suggested that in ADDITION to that, they're gonna blow off the Number One Friggin' Syndicated Show Of All Time. Let me repeat that: not just among game shows. Among ALL SYNDICATED SHOWS. NUMBER ONE. Come the hell ON.

'Cuz, I mean, goddamn. Maybe I'm giving them more credit than they deserve, this is, after all, the network who has managed to take a great game like Chain Reaction and completely cock it up. But I just refuse to believe that someone in that position, making at least three, probably four time my salary, could make that decision.

[cweaver]

[quote name=\'NicholasM79\' post=\'128887\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 09:59 AM\']
OK, now you're going to harp on the ABC technicians working in the Elsyee Theater (TV-15), huh?  Does everything have to meet your particular standard, even game shows taped in the 1970s with analog technology? You might as well throw your TV set out the window, I enjoyed the show, no matter what shape it was in.
[/quote]

I took it that he was noting the video quality of the tape, and didn't take it that he was attacking the competency of the studio crew from 27 years ago.  Most of us know those two things would have nothing to do with each other.

[cweaver]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'128890\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 10:15 AM\']
'Cuz, I mean, goddamn. Maybe I'm giving them more credit than they deserve, this is, after all, the network who has managed to take a great game like Chain Reaction and completely cock it up. But I just refuse to believe that someone in that position, making at least three, probably four time my salary, could make that decision.
[/quote]

It seems to be some kind of panic mentality.  Bill Dwyer said something about a "double dose" of the shows "at the top of the list" and unless they've added another week or made the last three shows two hours each in length, that's just wrong on its face. (It would mean no show is left behind at all if taken literally and they all have two eps, includ TPiR, WoF and J!) Somehow a number of people twisted this around to mean half the shows on the list will be hosed and I'm just not getting that from that one, poorly-worded sentence.  Yet a lot of other people seem to be swearing on warehouses full of bibles that's how it's going to be.

[NickintheATL]

[quote name=\'cweaver\' post=\'128891\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 11:19 AM\']

I took it that he was noting the video quality of the tape, and didn't take it that he was attacking the competency of the studio crew from 27 years ago.  Most of us know those two things would have nothing to do with each other.
[/quote]

Yes, but still, I think he should just be happy that the repeat was shown in the first place and excuse the quality.

In other words, move along, nothing to see here...

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'NicholasM79\' post=\'128896\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 08:36 AM\']
In other words, move along, nothing to see here...
[/quote]
Which is really what it should say instead of the "You are ignoring all posts..." message on a Karlberg Special.

[NickintheATL]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'128902\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 11:50 AM\']
[quote name=\'NicholasM79\' post=\'128896\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 08:36 AM\']
In other words, move along, nothing to see here...
[/quote]
Which is really what it should say instead of the "You are ignoring all posts..." message on a Karlberg Special.
[/quote]

Point well taken.

Back on topic: to demonstrate how much that $100k episode has been beaten into the ground, I've seen it at least two times on GSN and even remember seeing it on USA. Now that is messed up.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'NicholasM79\' post=\'128903\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 08:57 AM\']
Back on topic: to demonstrate how much that $100k episode has been beaten into the ground, I've seen it at least two times on GSN and even remember seeing it on USA. Now that is messed up.
[/quote]
I am going to suggest that it is IMPOSSIBLE to beat into the ground any episode of Pyramid featuring Heather Davis.

/I'd hit that so hard the $300 box would flip on its own
//Lon can even watch if he wants

[davemackey]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'128906\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 12:16 PM\']
[quote name=\'NicholasM79\' post=\'128903\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 08:57 AM\']
Back on topic: to demonstrate how much that $100k episode has been beaten into the ground, I've seen it at least two times on GSN and even remember seeing it on USA. Now that is messed up.
[/quote]
I am going to suggest that it is IMPOSSIBLE to beat into the ground any episode of Pyramid featuring Heather Davis.
[/quote]
When I found out it was a championship show I was fearing it would be the kajillionth rerun of the one with Lauri Hendler and Stuart Pankin. Thank goodness it was another one, but still... there's tons of Pyramid that GSN just doesn't want to license... the old CBS daytime shows, for example...

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'128890\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 11:15 AM\']
Do you REALLY think, HONESTLY think, that these people in charge of a national cable channel, even one that pulls mostly dashes like GSN, would just wave their hand and say "Aw, it doesn't matter, nobody will notice"? Because that's what all of you are suggesting. And someone just suggested that in ADDITION to that, they're gonna blow off the Number One Friggin' Syndicated Show Of All Time. Let me repeat that: not just among game shows. Among ALL SYNDICATED SHOWS. NUMBER ONE. Come the hell ON.

'Cuz, I mean, goddamn. Maybe I'm giving them more credit than they deserve, this is, after all, the network who has managed to take a great game like Chain Reaction and completely cock it up. But I just refuse to believe that someone in that position, making at least three, probably four time my salary, could make that decision.
[/quote]

I'm not entirely disagreeing with you on this - I think they absolutely SHOULD run an episode of TPiR, considering it is going to rank up there so high. However, I don't believe as strongly as you do that they are going to. While I definitely think they SHOULD, this is GSN we're talking about. If I come across as anti-GSN in this post, I'm very sorry, as that's not how I mean to come across. However, I've seen over the years, all of the bonehead moves that they've made - only having a handful of episodes of certain shows, the amount of times daily that a certain show is run, just to name a few. That said, if they get down to where TPiR is, and they show a bunch of stills and a quick history lesson on it, but no show, I'm TOTALLY not going to be surprised. This is GSN we're talking about - it would just be the latest in a long line of moves they have which have made no sense.

I am very happy to have GSN. While it's not perfect, it's better than no place at all to watch game shows (you should have seen the frequency at which I wrote USA Network as a child and asked them to run "Match Game"..). I just question a lot of decisions they have made over the years, and would not be surprised if the extent of TPiR on the countdown came down to a quick history lesson and some still shots.

Everyone, of course, is entitled to their opinion (and it sure as hell wouldn't be exciting around here if the opinions were all the same), so I wait anxiously to see how this resolves out. If they show an episode, great! If they don't, great! No one is going to look like a fool if they were wrong on this.

P.S. Part of me hopes  they DON'T show an episode, just to see what minus minus Richard will say, as he seems quite fixated on thinking all hell will break loose if an episode is not shown.

[chad1m]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'128906\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 12:16 PM\']
/I'd hit that so hard the $300 box would flip on its own
[/quote]

That's the best quote I've heard/read all week. If I could shake your hand right now, I wo--- Well, I probably wouldn't after reading that, but I'd get around to it.

But, right now, I'm just not trying to make any decisions or future judgments about the list. I'm just going to wait and see how things go. Hopefully GSN is going to throw us a curveball and not give a black-and-white still of any shows from here on out, and if they do, a pox on them.

And, by the way, I must have missed it somewhere down the line, but what exactly did Sajak say about Wheel and GSN?

[cweaver]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' post=\'128909\' date=\'Aug 24 2006, 11:27 AM\']
if they get down to where TPiR is, and they show a bunch of stills and a quick history lesson on it, but no show, I'm TOTALLY not going to be surprised. This is GSN we're talking about - it would just be the latest in a long line of moves they have which have made no sense.
[/quote]

For the record, the last "all-stills-no-episode" entry was #17, Name That Tune.  This appears to be the longest "no stills" streak we've seen so far.  Might that be a good sign?

Everyone, of course, is entitled to their opinion (and it sure as hell wouldn't be exciting around here if the opinions were all the same), so I wait anxiously to see how this resolves out. If they show an episode, great! If they don't, great! No one is going to look like a fool if they were wrong on this.

P.S. Part of me hopes  they DON'T show an episode, just to see what minus minus Richard will say, as he seems quite fixated on thinking all hell will break loose if an episode is not shown.

I have to agree, there's so much uncertainty right now no one's going to look like an idiot for trying to guess what happens next...except for the "don't suffer fools gladly" types.

[Don Howard]

This I wonder:
What are the odds that members of the staff and management of GSN: The Network For Games are reading this thread and laughing their rumps off?
Audience, vote now.