Global decline in the appeal of game shows?

[pownster]

I found this article in the newspaper - which talks about game shows in the Australian context, but do the issues the story raise apply in a global context. I feel many of the points made are well founded. What do others think?

"End Game?" - The Age, Melbourne, 25 May 2008.

[Joe Mello]

Part of it is the cyclical nature of trends in stuff like TV, but there's obviously more than that.  I think this was interesting:

Last year, we were promised wall-to-wall quiz shows. And we got them.... The only problem was, we didn't want to watch them.

I think that's part of the problem.  If all the networks show the same thing, people will burn out quickly to all of them and try and find something else to do.  If there's only a few shows that are decent and unique instead of a glut of fail clones, then maybe there wouldn't be a problem.

[MrBuddwing]

Television operates in cycles, because the audience's taste operates in cycles. How many times have we been told about the demise of the prime-time soap or the half-hour sitcom? "Reality" seems to be the big thing now. It may last, it may not. Or it may go away and come back again.

[Jimmy Owen]

Game shows are as perennial as the grass.  They will always be around in one form or another.  It has ever been thus.  There may be the occassional thinning of the herd but there has been at least one good game show showing every weekday since television began.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'186859\' date=\'May 27 2008, 12:59 AM\']
Game shows are as perennial as the grass.  They will always be around in one form or another.  It has ever been thus.  There may be the occassional thinning of the herd but there has been at least one good game show showing every weekday since television began.
[/quote]
And IMO, despite the fact that some of us harp on the production values, the genre is seeing its best numbers in at least 15-20 years, in terms of numbers of shows airing simultaneously. Right off hand, I can count six primetime that aired at the same time (Deal, Price, Amne$ia, Lyrics, Moment of Truth, 5th Grader), seven in daytime (six syndie+daytime Price), a few on cable, and several more premiering in the next four months, whether in syndication or primetime. I have my gripes about a couple of them, but it's small things here and there that a few pacing and/or productions issues could fix.

The genre is doing fine, at least in the States.

[Ian Wallis]

seven in daytime (six syndie+daytime Price),

Part of the problem I've seen is that a few of those games aren't as easliy accessable as they once were.  When you think back to the '80s, almost everyone had $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime, $100,000 Pyramid, Hollywood Squares, Dating Game, etc. in late afternoon or prime access.  Now, late afternoons are dominted by Oprah or court shows.  Prime Access by Wheel, Jeopardy, Friends and Two and a Half Men reruns.  Many of the new games are either on fringe stations, or in overnight slots where they don't get the exposure.  Sure, that happened then too (Kennedy's Price is Right on at 2 AM in New York for example), but it seems more the rule now - especially since the dominate shows really rule those slots.

[pownster]

A further follow-up article has been published - suggesting that a "dumbing" down of quiz shows may be damaging the genre.

Back to the Future - The Age, Melbourne, 29 May 2008