Canadian (And Abroad) Game Show Lineups...

[TimK2003]

It has been discussed many times over the years in various threads how strong game shows were in the U.S. -- particularly in the mid 70s when in some markets you could see over 8 hours of game shows in a single day over various channels.

For those North of the Border or overseas:  When did your country have the strongest line-up(s) of game shows and what was the line-up?  

I seem to vaguely remember that on a trip to Canada back in my college years, for example, that "Definition" was (possibly?) paired up with "The Last Word" in a one hour block, in addition to many 80's US network game shows that they carried each day.

I'd be curious to see if Canada & other countries had the same boom and bust years with the genre as the US.

[Jimmy Owen]

I'm in the US, but we had access to CKLW Channel 9 out of Windsor and for them it was the 70s.  They had a dual CBC/CTV affiliation and in 74 we were seeing "Eye Bet," (from CTV) Wood "Beat the Clock," and the CBC "Front Page Challenge" and "This Is the Law."  They also did a local "Reach For the Top" for which the quizmaster changed almost weekly, sometimes the sports guy would host, sometimes the anchorman, sometimes the "utility" guy (you know the guy who would host the movies and do the weather when needed.)

From a TV Guide I have from April of 75, CKCO from Kitchener was showing eight different weekday game show strips and CHCH from Hamilton had four.  Of those 12 shows, only three were American imports.

[Craig Karlberg]

When I was in upstate New York. my first game show memory courtesy of Ottawa's CTV affiliate(Channel 8) back in the early '70s was Eye Bet.  They also had What's The Good Word(later shortened to WGTW?), Definition, Headline Hunters(my personal fave from Canada), It's Your Move & others.  I remember one where couples had 45 seconds to open up 4 doors from an assortment of keys but the name escapes me.  From CFCF 12 in Montreal, there was The Mad Dash(love that GiGANTIC game board) & the only American import I can recall is TPIR.  From CBC 6 in Montreal, there was of course the English Quebec version of Reach For The Top as well as Beyond Reason.

[Ian Wallis]

CTV's schedule always had more game shows that the other networks.  In the mid '70s, they had about 6 or 7 daily games at one time.  

Some have already been mentioned above, but others from that time included Celebrity Dominoes, Pay Cards, He Knows She Knows, Educated Guess and First Impressions (hosted by Alan Thicke).  

Global had a few, including Going Places (hosted by Mike Darrow), Winners Circle, Opposite Opposite Sexes and Quiz Kids.

Syndicated at that time included I Saw That, Five of a Kind, Party Game and Know Your Sports, to name a few.  

There was another surge in the mid-80s, that saw shows like Guess What and Talkabout premiere, while shows like Definition and Mad Dash were still going strong.