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Author Topic: Game Show 'Death Day'  (Read 7927 times)

Winkfan

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« on: September 26, 2003, 12:49:59 PM »
Many of us game show fans recall June 20, 1980 as 'Game Show Death Day.' That was when NBC threw out three game shows--Chain Reaction, High Rollers, and the ORIGINAL Hollywood Squares--from their daytime lineup. However, there were TWO 'Game Show Death Days' prior to that day in 1980, and both of them also came from NBC.

SEPTEMBER 24, 1965--SLAUGHTER ON ALAMEDA AVENUE
The first so-called 'death day' occured on September 24, 1965; when in one fell swoop, NBC gave eviction notices to FOUR game shows: What's This Song, Call My Bluff, I'll Bet, and even Truth or Consequences.

SEPTEMBER 26, 1969--THE 30 ROCK MASSACRE.
Then four years later, on September 26, 1969, the Peacock Network dropped the curtains down on the ORIGINAL versions of The Match Game and You Don't Say; as well as two Bob Stewart creations: Eye Guess and Personality.

Cordially,
Tammy Warner--the 'Carolyn White of the Big Board!
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Jimmy Owen

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2003, 01:04:49 PM »
I remember being upset at the cancellation of \"Call My Bluff.\" We did get \"Fractured Phrases\" and \"Post Office\" (and two soaps) as replacements.  In '69 it was a radical change.  We got \"Sale of the Century,\" \"Name Droppers,\" \"Bright Promise\" (soap) and \"Letters to Laugh-In.\"  Plus, new hosts on \"Concentration\" and \"You're Putting Me On.\"  Being in grade school prevented me from being too concerned, but my mom must have been confused that Monday.  In 1980, the fact that no new games replaced the old games made that harder to take.
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Don Howard

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2003, 02:53:48 PM »
NBC gave the heave-ho to three in the same day on
JUNE 11, 1993--I HAVE NO CLEVER NICKNAME FOR THIS TROIKA OF CANCELLATIONS

They were all short-lived and they were Scrabble, Scattergories and Family Secrets.
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Jimmy Owen

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2003, 03:06:48 PM »
The \"Burbank Mercy Killings.\" perhaps?
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SRIV94

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2003, 03:13:55 PM »
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Sep 26 2003, 02:06 PM\']The \"Burbank Mercy Killings.\" perhaps?[/quote]
Of course, technically FAMILY SECRETS taped in Florida and SCATTERGORIES taped off the NBC lot--so perhaps the term \"Burbank Mercy Killings\" isn't completely appropriate.  On the other hand, did the programming decision get handed down from Burbank (or was it NY)?  If so, then cancel previous statement.

Doug
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"When you see the crawl at the end of the show you will see a group of talented people who will all be moving over to other shows...the cameramen aren't are on that list, but they're not talented people."  John Davidson, TIME MACHINE (4/26/85)

Ian Wallis

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2003, 04:54:21 PM »
Quote
In 1980, the fact that no new games replaced the old games made that harder to take.


Network game shows were hard to come by from about 1980-82.  In January 1983, NBC debuted three game shows - \"Hit Man\", \"Sale of the Century\" and \"Just Men\", and that really started the genre on its comeback.  By the mid-80s, games were just about as hot as they were a decade earlier.  

Too bad it didn't last a bit longer, because by the early '90s the pendulum swung the other way again.
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zachhoran

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2003, 07:15:17 PM »
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Sep 26 2003, 02:13 PM\']
Of course, technically FAMILY SECRETS taped in Florida and SCATTERGORIES taped off the NBC lot
 [/quote]
 Scattergories taped at Glendale studios I believe, but the Scrabble revival did tape at NBC.
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zachhoran

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2003, 07:16:39 PM »
[quote name=\'Winkfan\' date=\'Sep 26 2003, 11:49 AM\'] Many of us game show fans recall June 20, 1980 as 'Game Show Death Day.' That was when NBC threw out three game shows--Chain Reaction, High Rollers, and the ORIGINAL Hollywood Squares--from their daytime lineup. However, there were TWO 'Game Show Death Days' prior to that day in 1980, and both of them also came from NBC.

SEPTEMBER 24, 1965--SLAUGHTER ON ALAMEDA AVENUE
The first so-called 'death day' occured on September 24, 1965; when in one fell swoop, NBC gave eviction notices to FOUR game shows: What's This Song, Call My Bluff, I'll Bet, and even Truth or Consequences.

SEPTEMBER 26, 1969--THE 30 ROCK MASSACRE.
Then four years later, on September 26, 1969, the Peacock Network dropped the curtains down on the ORIGINAL versions of The Match Game and You Don't Say; as well as two Bob Stewart creations: Eye Guess and Personality.

Cordially,
Tammy Warner--the 'Carolyn White of the Big Board! [/quote]
 How quickly we forget that today is the 17th anniversary of the last CBS airing of PYL as well.
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SRIV94

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2003, 07:49:28 PM »
[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Sep 26 2003, 06:15 PM\'][quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Sep 26 2003, 02:13 PM\']
Of course, technically FAMILY SECRETS taped in Florida and SCATTERGORIES taped off the NBC lot
 [/quote]
Scattergories taped at Glendale studios I believe, but the Scrabble revival did tape at NBC.[/quote]
I never said SCRABBLE93 didn't tape at beautiful downtown Burbank (I know, technically wrong, but I still like the LAUGH-IN reference--besides Woolery once introduced himself on SCATTERGORIES [obviously via videotape] as saying \"from beautiful downtown Burbank at the NBC Commissary, I'm Chuck Woolery.\").  I merely brought up the fact that FAMILY SECRETS and SCATTERGORIES taped away from the NBC Burbank complex.  So having only one of the three cancelled shows taping within NBC's Burbank lot doesn't merit the term \"Burbank Mercy Killings\" (unless the decision to jettison the three shows came from Burbank's HQ [headquarters, not Heatter-Quigley] rather than NY's).

Got it?  :)

Doug
« Last Edit: September 26, 2003, 07:50:23 PM by SRIV94 »
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"When you see the crawl at the end of the show you will see a group of talented people who will all be moving over to other shows...the cameramen aren't are on that list, but they're not talented people."  John Davidson, TIME MACHINE (4/26/85)

SRIV94

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2003, 08:01:28 PM »
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Sep 26 2003, 03:54 PM\']Network game shows were hard to come by from about 1980-82.  In January 1983, NBC debuted three game shows - \"Hit Man\", \"Sale of the Century\" and \"Just Men\", and that really started the genre on its comeback.  By the mid-80s, games were just about as hot as they were a decade earlier. 

Too bad it didn't last a bit longer, because by the early '90s the pendulum swung the other way again.[/quote]
You raise a pretty good point.  Of course, NBC did replace David Letterman's morning gig with two games (LVG and BLOCKBUSTERS) and CBS trotted out some games during that time as well (I believe $25KP and CHILD'S PLAY debuted in late 1982--and TATTLETALES was also revived somewhere around that time as well [a few months earlier]).  But it was nowhere near the fruitfulness that preceeded or followed that era.

The four-week period in the spring of 1982 in which BLOCKBUSTERS, P+ and BATTLESTARS (which I really liked, in spite of the fact that it, for all intents and purposes, replaced CS on NBC's schedule) were all jettisoned primarily for soaps and sitcom reruns (well, one, anyway) probably was as much a \"death day\" as anything else discussed here.

Let me also add--Happy 5764 to those so inclined!  :)

Doug
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"When you see the crawl at the end of the show you will see a group of talented people who will all be moving over to other shows...the cameramen aren't are on that list, but they're not talented people."  John Davidson, TIME MACHINE (4/26/85)

Jimmy Owen

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2003, 08:39:10 PM »
I think you have to grant me poetic licence on the Burbank thing, wherever the shows taped was incidental.  The \"Alameda\" slaughter included one Gotham City show and the \"30 Rock Massacre\" had one show out of Cali.
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SRIV94

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #11 on: September 26, 2003, 10:42:55 PM »
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Sep 26 2003, 07:39 PM\'] I think you have to grant me poetic licence on the Burbank thing, wherever the shows taped was incidental.  The "Alameda" slaughter included one Gotham City show and the "30 Rock Massacre" had one show out of Cali. [/quote]
 Poetic license granted.  Have a nice day.  :)

Doug
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"When you see the crawl at the end of the show you will see a group of talented people who will all be moving over to other shows...the cameramen aren't are on that list, but they're not talented people."  John Davidson, TIME MACHINE (4/26/85)

clemon79

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2003, 02:24:17 AM »
[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Sep 26 2003, 04:16 PM\'] How quickly we forget that today is the 17th anniversary of the last CBS airing of PYL as well. [/quote]
 Ya know, it's not that I forgot it, so much as I never bothered to memorize it in the first place.
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The Ol' Guy

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2003, 11:22:38 AM »
Hi, crew -
refresh my memory - didn't ABC also have a daytime massacre in June or July '75 that included Split Second? I thought as many as four shows left at that time. Remember the other ones? Thanks.
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Don Howard

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Game Show 'Death Day'
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2003, 11:50:45 AM »
Quote
Hi, crew -
refresh my memory - didn't ABC also have a daytime massacre in June or July '75 that included Split Second? I thought as many as four shows left at that time. Remember the other ones? Thanks.

That massacre wasn't so bad because many of the games being taken off the air were replaced by other games--the exception being Ryan's Hope replacing Split Second.
The other shows that went off were Password (replaced by Showoffs), The Big Showdown (replaced by Rhyme and Reason) and The Money Maze, which was replaced by You Don't Say.
Quote
How quickly we forget that today is the 17th anniversary of the last CBS airing of PYL as well.

Which went off with a whimper in a dead 4pm time period, which is how it gets lost in the shuffle.

Quote
Ya know, it's not that I forgot it, so much as I never bothered to memorize it in the first place.

Neither did I, but if Zach sez it's so, I know better than to disbelieve.
« Last Edit: September 27, 2003, 11:53:10 AM by Don Howard »
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