Okay, okay..here's the prehistoric guy's list. I told Matt it came with 3 caveats: 1, it was from memory. 2, some will only have been workable in their own era. 3, I chose based on historical impact to the medium and society, not my favorites. Many of my favorites did not make the list. I'll add a 4th...around 30, the impact disappears, so I picked some on taste, others on uniqueness.
1-.What's My Line? (first and most popular of the long-runners)
2- The Price Is Right (what can you say?)
3-The $64,000 Question (it created a national sensation - and copycats)
4-You Bet Your Life (best comedy game ever, and there's Groucho)
5- Concentration (part of the change in TV games..you had to WATCH)
6- Password (great game and free celebrity psychoanalsis)
7- Family Feud ( how in tune are we with fellow Americans)
8- I've Got A Secret (often beat Line in ratings - variety subjects, great panel, Moore)
9- Truth or Consequences (where anything can happen- for laughs or tears)
10- Jeopardy! (highbrow quiz where bragging rights mean as much as the money)
11-Wheel Of Fortune (rags to riches story because the King Brothers had faith in it)
12-The $ Pyramid (most exciting and emotional bonus game ever)
13- Beat The Clock (another early classic where we watched contestants move. Good for tv, right?)
14- Hollywood Squares (home of the best one-liners in gamedom
15- Video Village (the show that led the way from tv quizzes to games)
16- You Don't Say! (highly rated game of clever ad-libbing and creativity)
17- Down You Go (was on all four networks, clever, was hangman with a panel)
18- Let's Make A Deal (man in a penguin suit, what would you do for a Klondike bar?)
19 - The Joker's Wild (good game and the successful return of an outcast)
20 - Treasure Hunt (Murray, talky but straight. Edwards, more drama than game, both great)
21- Newlywed Game (Bedroom pillow talk arrives on national tv)
22- Stop The Music (maybe the first big interactive tv game? Parks' enthusiasm was priceless)
23- Tic Tac Dough (another big-money draw with building jackpots)
24- Name That Tune (best Musical game of the 50s)
25- The Match Game (from simple to suggestive, still the game of like minds)
26- To Tell The Truth (where the questions changed from "yes and no" to interrogation. Tests knowledge.)
27- Double Dare (helped build Nickelodeon to the heights it's in now)
28 - Dotto (a major hit..and a major disappointment)
29- Dating Game (America's meat market of the air)
30- Queen For a Day (Misery loves audiences. Your husband has brain cancer? Here's a blender!)
31- GE College Bowl (good to know the best and brightest are still out there)
32- Strike It Rich (a magnet for desperate people that clogged the New York welfare system)
33- Press Your Luck (bright, live video game-type action with the risks of Vegas)
34- Who Wants to Be a Millionare (the show that revived-and almost killed-the net game revival)
35- Sports Challenge (fun watching real sports heroes put their knowledge on the line)
36- Stump The Stars/Pantomine Quiz (the local-to-network emmy winner with celebs really competing.)
37- Masquerade Party (celebrity costume ball with clever clues)
38- Card Sharks (no great landmark, but a fun game)
39- Twenty-One (it proved some games are better when scripted...)
40- The Gong Show (the anti-Amateur Hour. We had to see who'd they'd let in next!)
41- Cross Wits (solid, durable game)
42- Tattletales (getting personal with celebs)
43- Will It Float? (it's a gag game, but an interesting playalong game)
44- Supermarket Sweep (groceries replace cash jackpots as shopping becomes a spectator sport)
45- Jackpot (riddle questions and the same 15 players all week. Something different.)
46 - Split Second (Jep at noon, SS at 12:30 - the college student's favorite lunchtime break)
47- Blockbusters (great game, but it's here more for it's huge foreign success)
48- Remote Control (MTV attitude toned slightly for the masses)
49- The Name's The Same (no groundbreaker, but enjoyable)
50- Agriculture USA (neat way to encourage kids to understand the true value of agriculture)
Looking at it now, there are several I'd swap around, but this is how I sent it. Comments (intelligent) welcome.
