Bill Cullen hosting a modern show

[Neumms]

To branch off from another topic, imagine, if you will, recent game shows with Cullen (miraculously alive, I mean) at the helm? Which would fit, which wouldn't? Regis always joked they called Cullen first for WWTBAM?--how do you suppose it would go? Imagine him on Deal or No Deal, presumably on a stool next to the phone. The pace is already slow, and I think it would improve the program immensely to cut down the pacing back and forth.

[Jimmy Owen]

I think Bill could have made those mid-level GSN shows, like "That's the Question" and "Camouflage" a little more palatable.  I know I would have watched them past the first week if Bill were at the helm.

[WarioBarker]

Basically, you don't fast-forward when Bill hosts a show.

To branch off from another topic, imagine, if you will, recent game shows with Cullen (miraculously alive, I mean) at the helm? Which would fit,

Taking into account Bill's limp (unless science is able to help him not have it), I could see him helm Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Caesars Challenge, and Street Smarts. If Bill wanted to host abroad, the British Deal or No Deal would definitely work.

Debt, Jumble, Shuffle, Boggle, and Trivial Pursuit were set up in such a way that you'd have to change very little to accommodate Bill. WinTuition would work with a changed host introduction, and the latter-era Shop 'Til You Drop could also work (although all the fun had been sucked out of that show when Roberto took over).

And trust me when I say I would've watched Crosswords and Temptation every freakin' day if Bill had been host.

which wouldn't?

The ones that come to mind are Family Feud, The Price Is Right (1972), Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?, Don't Forget The Lyrics!, and Million-Dollar Password. Shows like Supermarket Sweep and Pat Finn's Shop 'Til You Drop, given the need for the host to be mobile, just weren't meant to work with Bill.

Regis always joked they called Cullen first for WWTBAM?--how do you suppose it would go?

Depends on the version. For the ABC run, Bill could've filled all those dead-air instances (aka "contestants taking half an hour on a single question") very well. As for moving back and forth for Fastest Finger, the camera would show the contestant walking out while Bill moved back to the Fastest Finger position.

The syndicated version likely would've had Bill remain seated throughout the show.

/part of me hopes Bill was time-frozen before his death
//the rest of me knows that didn't happen

[Adam Nedeff]

[quote name=\'Dan88\' post=\'240062\' date=\'Apr 27 2010, 01:25 AM\'][quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'240049\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 09:39 PM\']...imagine, if you will, recent game shows with Cullen (miraculously alive, I mean) at the helm? Which would fit[?][/quote]
Taking into account Bill's limp (unless science is able to help him not have it), among the shows I could see him helm are Jeopardy!, Wheel Of Fortune, Caesars Challenge, and Street Smarts. If Bill wanted to host abroad, the British Deal Or No Deal would definitely work.
[/quote]
What era of Bill are we talking in this hypothetical situation? If it's 80s Bill, I don't see him doing "Jeopardy!" at all. If it's 1974 Bill, yes. (He buzzsaws through "Three on a Match" in the episodes that are out there.)

[tpirfan28]

Going to go slightly off the board with Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader.  Pace is slow enough that Bill's comedic side can come out.

/Million-Dollar Password?
//Million-Dollar Pyramid?

[The Ol' Guy]

Good point about the time era. I was thinking the same thing. For whatever reason Bill was so frustratingly slow on JOKER (maybe Dan Enright figured slower pace-less game per show-more money saved), I have a hard time putting him about anywhere. Actually, take the 70's prime Bill, I could even see him doing classic or the Winkler Hollywood Squares. I can just hear him chuckling over some of the questions. Heck, put him back in the current Chain Reaction.

Thinking back on the mess that was MG's Crosswords, I'm wondering if Treadway's hosting may not have deserved such a bad rap. That show had so many questions that had to fit in a half-hour there really wasn't time or room for being more personal and interactive. Perhaps a smaller puzzle with fewer questions would have given Treadway some room to be more than a clue spitter. Maybe, maybe not.

[jmangin]

[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' post=\'240068\' date=\'Apr 27 2010, 03:03 AM\']If it's 80s Bill, I don't see him doing "Jeopardy!" at all.[/quote]
Bill: Question coming. Here it comes after the player selects a category and a value. Each player is trying to earn enough money to come back tomorrow. Get ready for the question. Players with their hands on the buzzers. Here comes the question. Kathy, pick a category and a value. You're trying to find the Daily Double.

Kathy: I'll take Animal Noises for $200, Bill.

Bill:  Ok here it comes, everybody get ready. Hands on your buzzers. This D animal makes a noise that sounds like "quack"

Kathy: What is a duck?

Bill: That's right, Kathy! You know, I once stepped on a duck and he sent me his doctor's bill...but that's a story for another time. Pick again, Kathy.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'jmangin\' post=\'240073\' date=\'Apr 27 2010, 09:15 AM\']Bill: Question coming. Here it comes after the player selects a category and a value. Each player is trying to earn enough money to come back tomorrow. Get ready for the question. Players with their hands on the buzzers. Here comes the question. Kathy, pick a category and a value. You're trying to find the Daily Double.

Kathy: I'll take Animal Noises for $200, Bill.

Bill:  Ok here it comes, everybody get ready. Hands on your buzzers. This D animal makes a noise that sounds like "quack"

Kathy: What is a duck?

Bill: That's right, Kathy! You know, I once stepped on a duck and he sent me his doctor's bill...but that's a story for another time. Pick again, Kathy.[/quote]
Brilliantly done!  I'm amused.

[WarioBarker]

Seconded. Reading that, my mind showed me Bill on Jeopardy! -- and it worked. Slowed down the game, sure, but the early Trebek shows were like that as well (on the Premiere, for instance, where two entire categories aren't touched due to the required rule explanations).

As for the best set, I'm leaning heavily toward Trebek Season 1 -- Bill's limp would've easily been masked by the giant neon letters as he made his entrance, and from the left side of the "J" it's just a few steps to the podium.

Trebek Pilot #1 also works, given that the podium was very close to the entrance point. That said, I've never seen Bill ascend/descend stairs, so I don't know for certain.

[irwinsjournal.com]

How about Bill "crossing the pond" and hosting Countdown?

[Jimmy Owen]

Since J! was originally conceived as a comedy game, Bill might have fit in well.  Art sorta made it conform to his style.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'irwinsjournal.com\' post=\'240085\' date=\'Apr 27 2010, 03:49 PM\']How about Bill "crossing the pond" and hosting Countdown?[/quote]
I think this is win.  

As long as we're fantasizing, though, let's not lose hijm to the UK, let's just have him host an American version.  Even, if we must, one with celebrities.

[WarioBarker]

And a bonus round. And a $25,000 bonus for a nine-letter word. And no Numbers Games or Conundrums.

I'm sorry, Matt, but they'd have to mount a better pilot if they wanted Bill -- Countdown shouldn't be dumbed-down for American audiences, because a dumbed-down Countdown just isn't Countdown.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Dan88\' post=\'240091\' date=\'Apr 28 2010, 12:07 AM\']And a bonus round. And a $25,000 bonus for a nine-letter word. And no Numbers Games or Conundrums.

I'm sorry, Matt, but they'd have to mount a better pilot if they wanted Bill -- Countdown should not be dumbed-down for American audiences, because a dumbed-down Countdown just isn't Countdown.[/quote]
I always thought an Americanized Countdown belongs on PBS. No big budget, keep the Numbers Game and Conundrum, and still offer the leather-bound dictionary as the grand prize*.

If there should be a reward for winning a regular game (do the Brits do that?), I'd offer something small, like a gift card to Brookstone ($500 or $1,000), or even Barnes and Noble (I could lose my mind in either store), and maybe $100 card for the runner-up. Small, yet satisfying (that's not what she said)...

*According to Amazon, a $6,000 value!

[Jay Temple]

[quote name=\'Dan88\' post=\'240062\' date=\'Apr 27 2010, 01:25 AM\'][quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'240049\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 09:39 PM\']which [shows] wouldn't [work]?[/quote]
Among others...Family Feud, (snip) and Million-Dollar Password.[/quote]
Why do you say those two?
1. If you're talking about the visit-each-team-member aspect of Feud, they could have staged it the same way they did Hot Potato. And while he wouldn't have been as funny as Dawson, he was funny enough on the shows he did that he still could have made the show his own.
2. He hosted $25KP for five seasons, although they had to stage that differently as well. Why couldn't he have done MDP? To me, the best reason not to have him host would be the desire to keep him available as a celeb player.

I second the exclusion of modern-day J! and TPIR. I think he'd be fine on Wheel. I'd love to hear his comments on the puzzles.