Author Topic: game shows that should have lasted longer (Read 8731 times)

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #30 on:** November 20, 2006, 09:12:54 AM »

Quote

Anybody know when & why Celebrity Sweepstakes killed off the toteboard element which kept track of the correct answers from all the celebrities as the game progressed? It was kind of cool for the home viewer & the audience to see who was smarter than who.

Don't know the exact reason, but the show's ownership did change hands a couple of times, and they had several different producers over the show's run. Those changes occurred during early summer 1976 (oddly enough, the first week was one of the few that Carol Wayne wasn't on the panel). Since the show was cancelled that October, it's probably safe to assume that the ratings were declining by then, so maybe they thought the change might spike them up a bit.

All I know is I was disappointed with that format change.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #31 on:** November 20, 2006, 09:46:13 AM »

Wasn't it odd that the Celeb. Sweeps. theme changed back to the original at the end? Both themes were good, did Andrews like one theme and Sugarman the other???

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #32 on:** November 20, 2006, 10:00:01 AM »

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'138287\' date=\'Nov 19 2006, 08:21 PM\']Anybody know when & why Celebrity Sweepstakes killed off the toteboard element which kept track of the correct answers from all the celebrities as the game progressed? It was kind of cool for the home viewer & the audience to see who was smarter than who.[/quote]
The change seemed to be designed to speed the game up. By not spending time waiting for the celebrities to write down their answers, they could get through several more questions. Of course, without written answers proving who got it right, they had to do away with the toteboard.

alfonzos · « **Reply #33 on:** November 20, 2006, 01:51:21 PM »

I would like to have seen Whew! run longer. Change the scoring so that the player with the most cash runs The Gauntlet. Change the format so that the players take an equal number of turns as Charger and Blocker and have The Gauntlet at the end of the show.

Shenanigans should not have gone into hiatus. Stopping the game to force the kids to play Where's Willie and Operation was also a mistake.

cweaver · « **Reply #34 on:** November 20, 2006, 02:06:01 PM »

[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'138338\' date=\'Nov 20 2006, 02:51 PM\']
Shenanigans should not have gone into hiatus. Stopping the game to force the kids to play Where's Willie and Operation was also a mistake.
[/quote]

Unfortunately that mistake was the whole point of the show itself: to push Milton Bradley games (the show's sponsor) as part of one big infomercial. It was basically Video Village Jr. otherwise. Perhaps the bigger mistake was complete sponsor control, something most people wouldn't have expected only seven years after the quiz show scandals.

rebelwrest · « **Reply #35 on:** November 20, 2006, 02:42:17 PM »

Something strange happened on the forum last night. What do these three posts have in common?

#1

#2

#3

clemon79 · « **Reply #36 on:** November 20, 2006, 03:11:56 PM »

[quote name=\'rebelwrest\' post=\'138343\' date=\'Nov 20 2006, 11:42 AM\']
Something strange happened on the forum last night. What do these three posts have in common?
[/quote]
They all artificially inflated your ego?

rialtus · « **Reply #37 on:** November 20, 2006, 04:28:58 PM »

[quote name=\'rebelwrest\' post=\'138343\' date=\'Nov 20 2006, 02:42 PM\']What do these three posts have in common?
#1
#2
#3[/quote]What are three posts that have never been seen in my kitchen?

clemon79 · « **Reply #38 on:** November 20, 2006, 05:32:49 PM »

[quote name=\'rialtus\' post=\'138362\' date=\'Nov 20 2006, 01:28 PM\']
What are three posts that have never been seen in my kitchen?
[/quote]
No more calls, please, we have a winnar!

BrandonFG · « **Reply #39 on:** November 20, 2006, 07:55:45 PM »

[quote name=\'rebelwrest\' post=\'138343\' date=\'Nov 20 2006, 02:42 PM\']
Something strange happened on the forum last night. What do these three posts have in common?

#1

#2

#3
[/quote]
Okay, I promoted the same YouTube clip in two separate posts. And? Just in case someone overlooked it in the short-lived games thread, I decided to post it at the Internet finds thread as well.

Of course, it's all moot because it was revealed five months ago in the latter thread.

Robert Hutchinson · « **Reply #40 on:** November 20, 2006, 09:10:44 PM »

[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'138338\' date=\'Nov 20 2006, 01:51 PM\']
I would like to have seen Whew! run longer. Change the scoring so that the player with the most cash runs The Gauntlet. Change the format so that the players take an equal number of turns as Charger and Blocker and have The Gauntlet at the end of the show.[/quote]
. . . what? The entire excitement of the main game is the race against the clock. "Okay, your time is up. Now let's go to the scoreboard!"

dmota104 · « **Reply #41 on:** November 21, 2006, 09:52:40 AM »

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'138206\' date=\'Nov 18 2006, 03:46 PM\']
Big Showdown
Money Maze
Russian Roulette
Hollywood Showdown
History I.Q.
Match Game (1990)
[/quote]

Definitely agree with The Big ShowDown. The first time I saw this was visiting fellow internet game show fans in Cleveland in 2002. After getting over seeing Jim fall down the steps, I was fascinated by the concept that no player could go over the pre-determined goal ("payoff point") -- meaning another player could've theoretically caught up.

Love to see this make a comeback -- though without a staircase for the host's safety.

TimK2003 · « **Reply #42 on:** November 21, 2006, 01:53:44 PM »

Big Showdown and Whew! are near the top of my list, as is Balderdash (probably would have had a longer life if not for Pax going downhill fast), and Scrabble.

I've always liked the concept for Hot Streak, but it was going against TPIR so it pretty much was a few feet from the network guillotine from day one.

mbclev · « **Reply #43 on:** November 25, 2006, 03:17:35 AM »

I think that Win, Lose or Draw could have gone longer had the producers not messed around with the scoring system and method of play late in both versions' runs. Here's how two of the scoring systems went:

Original: Each charade was worth $200, but if the drawing player handed off to a partner after 30 seconds, the value dropped to $100.

Late in the runs:
First 25 seconds: Silence (except for background music) while artist drew
Next 5 seconds: Team could guess for $200
Remaining 30 seconds: Team could guess for $100
Steals were worth $50

The complicated nature of the last scoring system, I feel, led to declining ratings. (This system was introduced late in the network run and in the final syndicated season.)

Argo · « **Reply #44 on:** November 25, 2006, 08:37:53 AM »

My vote goes to Now You See It, with Jack Narz. I have only seen the show from the episodes on pageoclips, but it looked like a neat game. Kinda on the blah blah side at times, but overall good show. I've seen worse shows last longer

I heard this show got reworked after a few months. I dont know what the changes were, but did they add to the early drop of NYSI, or was it up against Wheel?

Mark

Author Topic: game shows that should have lasted longer (Read 8731 times)

cweaver