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Author Topic: Has the USA lost its game show edge?  (Read 1553 times)

Kniwt

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Has the USA lost its game show edge?
« on: September 07, 2009, 12:14:08 AM »
Sure, some of the most popular U.S. game show formats have come from elsewhere (Millionaire, Sale), and we've certainly exported our share of hits to the rest of the world (Wheel, TPIR).  But in watching British TV for the past year or so, I'm sensing that we've lost our edge in developing new formats with global appeal -- and, worse yet, it seems like we're not even really trying anymore.

Just in the past few months, we've had the series of short-run shows on ITV -- The Chase, Divided, The Fuse -- and now there's Pointless on the BBC, none of which have any real parallel in the U.S.  Of course, there was also Golden Balls, which I'm still amazed wasn't exported.  And in prime time, The Cube is the darling of the moment, a show that's picture-perfect for a prime-time American audience.  There's also Only Connect, which is innovative and unique -- and also way too smart even for cable.

What's been our biggest new game show export of recent years?  5th Grader?!  And on the daytime side, only GSN is even making an attempt at new formats, but even there, Catch-21 is basically a remake of a 35-year-old title.

Way back in our golden age, new shows came and went in as little as 13 weeks, never to be seen again.  Now, shows get committed for an entire season, and we're stuck with 28 repeats of Crosswords (remember all the hoopla about how this would be the next Wheel?).  We used to have lots of mediocre product from which a few gems emerged; now we just have a little bit of mostly mediocre product that gets shown over and over and over again.

Thirty years from now, when whatever game show network is out there in whatever medium, will we really be looking back with fond nostalgia at reruns of Trivial Pursuit: America Plays?
« Last Edit: September 07, 2009, 12:15:56 AM by Kniwt »

clemon79

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Has the USA lost its game show edge?
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2009, 12:33:45 AM »
[quote name=\'Kniwt\' post=\'225191\' date=\'Sep 6 2009, 09:14 PM\']Of course, there was also Golden Balls, which I'm still amazed wasn't exported.[/quote]
Hey, every so often we get one right.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2009, 12:33:54 AM by clemon79 »
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Brig Bother

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Has the USA lost its game show edge?
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2009, 07:07:45 AM »
I think it helps that certainly much of the UK's commercial gameshow television output is done with a view to making money selling abroad, and as such we're prepared to take a few risks to see what works and what doesn't. Derivative stuff doesn't really sell. And thanks to shows like Weakest Link and Deal or No Deal (which isn't British, obv.), commissioners are happy to try things out in daytime slots because apparently there is a sizable audience for them, which didn't appear to be the case ten years ago.

How does 5th Grader compare to (Big Balls) Wipeout in terms of worldwide success? That's been shown in lots of countries, although I was quite surprised to find it's only lasted a single series in many of them. I don't think 5th Grader deserves the implied derision, stuff everyone should know but have probably forgotten is quite an entertaining thing to base a show around.

Jimmy Owen

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Has the USA lost its game show edge?
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2009, 08:04:20 AM »
The difference is that American shows are (or were) designed to last forever, with no breaks in production.  None of this first series, second series stuff you get in Europe.  In the US the format had to be solid.

As far as Millionaire and $ale, the original concepts came from US formats.  Millionaire is a homage to "The $64(,000) Question" and $ale started back in 1969 with Jack Kelly on NBC.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2009, 08:29:54 AM by Jimmy Owen »
Let's Make a Deal was the first show to air on Buzzr. 6/1/15 8PM.

Brig Bother

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Has the USA lost its game show edge?
« Reply #4 on: September 07, 2009, 08:52:57 AM »
That's a bit of a jump, I could suggest Millionaire is a homage to Double Your Money quite easily.