101 Ways to try to reinvent a game show

[The Ol' Guy]

And I assume, Mr. Lemon, you'd be in charge of consolidating the efforts necessary to achieve such an exit? :-)

[clemon79]

And I assume, Mr. Lemon, you'd be in charge of consolidating the efforts necessary to achieve such an exit? :-)

I suppose that would fall under my jurisdiction, wouldn't it?

[The Ol' Guy]

I just watched an episode of 101 Ways on demand and my mind went back to this thread. Being among those who bemoaned the initial theme of this thread - that game show producers have little to no interest in a classic in-studio format - I guess I have to say I see their point. First, the most logical place a traditional-style format would find a possible home would be network daytime. That's pretty much out of the question for now. 5-a-week syndication hasn't been a breakthrough location for new formats, and most of the ones reigning now were birthed in net daytime. Cable nets? Nothing's setting the world on fire there. So it looks like net primetime is about the last place left - and they're not going to look at formats that are 5 nights a week. Off the wall would have to be part of the draw, since it appears that being outrageous in one way or another is what keeps eyeballs coming back to prime time. I liked 101 Ways a bit better than I thought I might - but I'd rather watch it as an occasional one-shot vs. weekly. It's really a traditional game show at heart (ala Russian Roulette), but the overblown drama and action bores me quickly.

[chris319]

Off the wall would have to be part of the draw, since it appears that being outrageous in one way or another is what keeps eyeballs coming back to prime time.

Are you joking? Look at all of the gimmick-based prime-time games in recent years that have done things such as pushing prizes off the roof or having showgirls unfurl banners with dollar amounts. What percentage of those shows have lasted as many as 26 weeks? Hint: the percentage is quite low.

[Jimmy Owen]

None of these prime-time shows are built to last.  Six weeks and out and if they're initially successful they go to a second "season."  We've become more like Great Britain in that way.  I liked it better when shows weren't measured in "seasons." There were 260 shows a year with nary a rerun.

[The Ol' Guy]

I'm in agreement with you guys - I'm just saying that if the only type of time slot a game show producer is left with is one that has his product up against a proceedural cop show with two slasher murders per episode and a sitcom where horny 20-somethings are trying to boink each other 24/7, the producer has to find some way to pull those eyeballs away to his show - and 4 panelists wearing blindfolds isn't going to do it. So we increase the action, do something outrageous. Just as the shows he's competiting against are, in their own way, outrageous. The producer's just trying to make a living, the nets are looking for the cheapest way to gather some ratings. So we get crap - and a high failure rate- as a result. Part of it is societial change. Remember when Mark Goodson said What's My Line was at one point, in his opinion,"too feminine" a format to survive in the then-current media world? A new generation raised on XBox violence, instant gratification communication and saturated with Red Bull is going to want to watch something more than just a clever challenge to the intellect.

[SuperMatch93]

A new generation raised on XBox violence, instant gratification communication and saturated with Red Bull is going to want to watch something more than just a clever challenge to the intellect.

Right, and the only reason that Jeopardy, probably the show that offers the most challenge is still so popular, is that TV watchers are still so used to it. If any show wants to make a debut, or even a comeback, they have to be unique, or even "extreme".

[chris319]

A new generation raised on XBox violence, instant gratification communication and saturated with Red Bull is going to want to watch something more than just a clever challenge to the intellect.

That's why game show demos skew older.

[clemon79]

Because it happens to be on, I decided to give an episode of this a shot to see if it really is as foul as everyone is saying it is.

And it's not.

It's WORSE.

This blows more than a hundred Moby Dicks at a Captain Ahab convention. Or something.

[chris319]

This blows more than a hundred Moby Dicks at a Captain Ahab convention. Or something.

It must be really, REALLY bad if it warrants a metaphor like that.

Frankly, based on the promos I've seen, I can't be bothered. Pushing prizes off the roof or contestants into a tank of water or through a trap door or flushing money down a faux toilet -- it's enough to make me want to give up on the genre. I'd rather watch B&W kines of WML? than this merde any day.

[BrandonFG]

This blows more than a hundred Moby Dicks at a Captain Ahab convention. Or something.

It must be really, REALLY bad if it warrants a metaphor like that.
Frankly, based on the promos I've seen, I can't be bothered.

Same here...I saw maybe 3 minutes of the first episode. I don't have short attention span, but it did nothing to hook me. Interestingly enough, I loved Russian Roulette, so you'd think I could enjoy something along these lines. Maybe RR didn't take itself as seriously...maybe the biggest gimmick was falling through the trapdoors...maybe there was still a game that required strategy...who knows?

Pushing prizes off the roof or contestants into a tank of water or through a trap door or flushing money down a faux toilet -- it's enough to make me want to give up on the genre. I'd rather watch B&W kines of WML? than this merde any day.

When I watch shows of the 60s-early-90s on Youtube or sites like Jamie's, I weep on the inside because it doesn't seem like it was that long ago when I watched many of those shows firsthand (or in very recent reruns). As much as I have complained about shows like TTD90, I would watch and enjoy that before so many of the primetime dreck we've been handed in the last 5 years.

[Jimmy Owen]

Not a fan of today's brand of game shows.  The only one that shows promise is "It's Worth What?"

[Steve Gavazzi]

Maybe RR didn't take itself as seriously...maybe the biggest gimmick was falling through the trapdoors...maybe there was still a game that required strategy...

Maybe it allowed you to see more than one question play out if you turned it on with 17 minutes left.

[The Ol' Guy]

Using the search tool, it claims there's been nothing posted about Spike TV's Repo Games. My first thought upon hearing about the show was it was pretty bizarre. Having watched a couple of episodes, it does seem to have some timely elements. Compared to being dumped off a high-speed truck or thrown into a shark tank, the producers of this show seem to have a good balance between outrageousness and classic game. When you think about a person getting their car, motorcycle, truck or whatever repoed, your first impulse (at least mine was) is "The jerks have it coming." But now and then, you see some people who couldn't make their car payments due to layoffs, kids' needs, illness or other unfortunate setback. When you lose a car, you really lose a lot of your personal freedom - and I think that's something a lot of people can relate to. Even if the person is a jerk, I know I feel good when they answer the questions and get their wheels back. But for the grace of God it could be my car taken from me. Maybe the contestants can use that second chance as a stepping stone to straightening out their lives. But as stated, I can see 20-somethings and 50-somethings relating to the game. And that's pretty good.

[tvrandywest]

Last night's rating: 4th place 2.9/ 5

But it's 36th with 4.92 million total viewers,
and tied for 11th place with adults 18-49 with 1.9/ 5

Too soon to call it a hit or a flop.


Randy
tvrandywest.com