Author Topic: Bring Em' Back (Read 12343 times)

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 11, 2007, 01:05:55 PM »

[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'142780\' date=\'Jan 10 2007, 07:27 PM\']
Considering they were, oddly enough, the lowest-rated of the classic games during their time on GSN, can't see that happening anytime soon.
[/quote]
Why is it odd? The shows have aged horribly; the formats were boring and uninspired, and the hosts on both shows (though Barry is better than Wink, IMO) weren't anything special either.

Chelsea Thrasher · « **Reply #16 on:** January 11, 2007, 01:56:53 PM »

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'142877\' date=\'Jan 11 2007, 12:05 PM\']
the hosts on both shows (though Barry is better than Wink, IMO) weren't anything special either.
[/quote]

Though I wouldn't exactly say that the host of Joker's last two seasons wasn't anything special. Bill's two years on Joker are something I've seen precious little of, and something I'd love to get a chance to see more often.

dzinkin · « **Reply #17 on:** January 11, 2007, 01:57:00 PM »

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'142877\' date=\'Jan 11 2007, 01:05 PM\']
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'142780\' date=\'Jan 10 2007, 07:27 PM\']
Considering they were, oddly enough, the lowest-rated of the classic games during their time on GSN, can't see that happening anytime soon.
[/quote]
Why is it odd? The shows have aged horribly; the formats were boring and uninspired, and the hosts on both shows (though Barry is better than Wink, IMO) weren't anything special either.
[/quote]
Leaving aside the fact that there never has been a game show that you've actually liked or found interesting, perhaps Chuck is referring to the fact that TJW and TTD were often cited by GSN's executives as examples of popular shows based on viewer correspondence and reviews by TV critics. I remember reading several news articles and reviews with comments along those lines. As it happened, the people writing publicly and privately about how much they loved those shows weren't reflective of GSN's total viewership, and the positive reaction didn't translate into ratings.

Blanquepage · « **Reply #18 on:** January 11, 2007, 01:58:08 PM »

Quote

The shows have aged horribly; the formats were boring and uninspired, and the hosts on both shows (though Barry is better than Wink, IMO) weren't anything special either.

I'm thoroughly curious now. Is there anybody else ~~in the country~~ on this forum who favors Jack Barry's performance over that of Wink?
I thought Jack was good, but Wink was excellent.

--Jamie

Chelsea Thrasher · « **Reply #19 on:** January 11, 2007, 02:02:28 PM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Fiono Coyne\' post=\'142891\' date=\'Jan 11 2007, 12:58 PM\']
I'm thoroughly curious now. Is there anybody else ~~in the country~~ on this forum who favors Jack Barry's performance over that of Wink?
I thought Jack was good, but Wink was excellent.

--Jamie
[/quote]

I wouldn't say Wink was excellent - no disrespect to Mr. Martindale, but there's a reason the game show host stereotype is pretty much lifted from his hosting of TTD - but he was better than Barry. Jack's hosting always seemed too stiff and as though he were just going through the motions.

TLEberle · « **Reply #20 on:** January 11, 2007, 03:08:13 PM »

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'142877\' date=\'Jan 11 2007, 10:05 AM\']Why is it odd? The shows have aged horribly; [/quote] Match Game is just as old, so is Password. The whole point is to watch episodes of old game shows. But you're too busy piling chips on your shoulder to understand that.

Quote

the formats were boring and uninspired,

I'm not sure what you're expecting when the main set piece is a slot machine or a tic-tac-toe board. I thought the genius of both shows was in their simplicity. Pull lever, pick category, win a few bucks. It's television, for crying out loud. We get to have a bit of fun for a half-hour, enjoy people playing a game, and forget our troubles. I welcomed it. As it happens, those were the least watched shows on the network. When you have a ranked list of things, something has to be lowest rated, that's how things are.

Quote

and the hosts on both shows (though Barry is better than Wink, IMO) weren't anything special either.

I completely disagree. Sure, Wink will always have a job hawking Eazy Cheeze, but he was much better than Jack, in my opinion.

So, Mark, why are you back? Just to shoot down everything that people say? If you don't actually like anything pertaining to game shows, there's really no reason for you to contribute.

JasonA1 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 11, 2007, 03:27:11 PM »

I find it odd since both shows had healthy runs in their day that were pretty much ended for reasons outside of their intended quality (see: host changes). I figure at least one of the two could catch the eyes of people who grew up watching them in the 70s and 80s. Me personally, I can't stand to watch much TTD, and Joker can wear on me over time.

-Jason

clemon79 · « **Reply #22 on:** January 11, 2007, 03:35:58 PM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Fiono Coyne\' post=\'142891\' date=\'Jan 11 2007, 10:58 AM\']
I'm thoroughly curious now. Is there anybody else ~~in the country~~ on this forum who favors Jack Barry's performance over that of Wink?
[/quote]
Yeah, right over here. Just not a huge Wink fan. Barry at least brought a unique style to the table.

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #23 on:** January 11, 2007, 04:20:40 PM »

Quote

I'm thoroughly curious now. Is there anybody else in the country on this forum who favors Jack Barry's performance over that of Wink?

Well...Wink finished (IIRC) in my top 5 best hosts of all time, Barry didn't make my top 20. Having said that, I always preferred Joker's Wild over Tic Tac Dough, and find it disappointing that GSN never got past the first 8 months of the re-discovered CBS run.

Maybe the ratings weren't that great 6 or 7 years ago, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to give it another shot. Things do change. If they were to do that, maybe jump ahead to the '74-75 CBS season - by then the show was a well-oiled machine and had the bonus game we were more familiar with.

Robert Hutchinson · « **Reply #24 on:** January 11, 2007, 08:26:21 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'142901\' date=\'Jan 11 2007, 03:35 PM\']Yeah, right over here. Just not a huge Wink fan. Barry at least brought a unique style to the table.[/quote]
An appropriate comment, considering what most tables are made of.

I'm no huge fan of Wink, but he had two big plusses over Barry IMO: he had warmth, and he spoke animatedly but clearly. The only way Jack could build suspense was with pauses, since "You will have won a total of $34,000" always sounded exactly like "Bing Crosby for $50, here's the question".

clemon79 · « **Reply #25 on:** January 11, 2007, 09:43:28 PM »

[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'142946\' date=\'Jan 11 2007, 05:26 PM\']
An appropriate comment, considering what most tables are made of.

I'm no huge fan of Wink, but he had two big plusses over Barry IMO: he had warmth, and he spoke animatedly but clearly. The only way Jack could build suspense was with pauses, since "You will have won a total of $34,000" always sounded exactly like "Bing Crosby for $50, here's the question".
[/quote]
Not disagreeing in the least. Just didn't bother me. Wink seemed like...well, like a stereotypical game-show host.

Sonic Whammy · « **Reply #26 on:** January 13, 2007, 11:56:20 AM »

Whoo... lot of random love/hate here on this one.

First, I'll admit surprise to Joker and Tic being as badly-rated as they were. But I agree in giving them another shot somewhere. I mean, I think we can all agree that if they're gonna give Child's Play another shot...

Same goes for Wheel. Even if I didn't watch, I've been curious why it hasn't been around in a while, either. Same reason, perhaps? That one would really surprise me.

Meanwhile, Wink and Jack? I'll side with Wink as the better one, but I'll say that the only reason Jack sounds like he's "going through the motions", as some of you said, is because really, that's just how he sounds. He never commanded power or excitement in his voice the way a lot of others did. But he's still just as great, I'm not taking that away from him.

calliaume · « **Reply #27 on:** January 13, 2007, 10:14:46 PM »

Maybe one of the reasons Match Game continues to be the highest-rated GSN rerun is its "anything can happen" atmosphere. Both Joker and TTD had a "the same goddamn thing's gonna happen over and over again" quality. Obviously that was more popular in the early '80s than now -- but also, remember there weren't a lot of five-a-week syndie options at the time that could be run in the daytime or early prime.

Tony · « **Reply #28 on:** January 14, 2007, 09:01:15 PM »

Here's a thought (for what it's worth):

When Joker and Tic Tac were in first run (and in their ratings prime), for most of the time until 1984 there was no Jeopardy! on the air to challenge the two B&E quiz shows with tougher material and a faster-paced game. Once Jeopardy! took off (again) in 1985 or so, Joker and Tic Tac looked far inferior by comparison.

Sonic Whammy · « **Reply #29 on:** January 15, 2007, 01:47:38 AM »

[quote name=\'Tony\' post=\'143294\' date=\'Jan 14 2007, 09:01 PM\']
Here's a thought (for what it's worth):

When Joker and Tic Tac were in first run (and in their ratings prime), for most of the time until 1984 there was no Jeopardy! on the air to challenge the two B&E quiz shows with tougher material and a faster-paced game. Once Jeopardy! took off (again) in 1985 or so, Joker and Tic Tac looked far inferior by comparison.
[/quote]
Didn't think of it that way, that's for sure. Very good point.

Then again, also at the same time, TTD and Joker also showed the signs of waning at the same time that Jeopardy started up again.

In Tic's case, the need to have three red categories on the board dragged out many single games, and killed tons of tie possibilities. I was fine with a limit of two, but seeing the early years with Thom and others playing two or three ties before a winner was crowned, that's just good TV.

In Joker's case, you had the obvious problem... and we love Bill, yes, but at that time, he was understandably too slow for a game that was meant to be so much faster. Probably one of the few times in my life where I'd say that going with Bill was the wrong call. But we liked him enough to go two more years, so hey, share some quarters and let me have a pull.

Author Topic: Bring Em' Back (Read 12343 times)

dzinkin

Tony