[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'174223\' date=\'Jan 8 2008, 03:00 PM\'] It did seem that Goodson had more clout with the networks than any other game show producer... [/quote]
Goodson DID have clout. Big clout. But most of it was earned by virtue of delivering more hits than any other producer, and being willing to leverage the success of one show towards getting another on the air at the same network. Goodson also had clout as a result of his relationships with the network programmers, more than one of whom had jobs at Goodson before and/or after their network gigs.
But lest any of that be thought of as unfair in any way, Mike Brockman is among the network programmers who told me that when he bought a show from Goodson, even if only during the development stage, he KNEW the format would be refined, the writing solid, and the set and production first class.
And back to the topic of Blackout, it's hard for me to believe that it was 20+ years ago that I and other wanna-bes were being called by Jay Wolpert's people to sit with Markie Post and other of Jay's friends in his office at Metromedia Square (now the site of a high school!) playing the game in various configurations while Jay tinkered with the format. Damned exciting stuff for a kid!
Randy
tvrandywest.com