The Fun Factory

[narzo]

I have a fairly vivid memory of most game shows from 1976 but "The Fun Factory" has always been a bit of a blur.  When I saw Jamie has posted it I was quick to view this forgotten gem.  I'm now convinced my mind has been attempting to suppress all memories of this show for the past 35 years.

What the hell was that?

Someone who has more memories of this thing, help me here.  Is this episode a good representation of the series?  Was that is good as it got???

I did read that the show had a bonus round involving numbers, was this added later or just another example of "game show urban legend"?

Pardon me, I'm going to watch "TeleQuest" now to get rid of the bad taste "The Fun Factory" has left in my mouth.

[Matt Ottinger]

Someone who has more memories of this thing, help me here.  Is this episode a good representation of the series?  Was that is good as it got???

Pretty much, yeah.  The mid-seventies was a pretty fertile period for anything-goes ideas in daytime TV, and this was one of the oddest.  I didn't find it as horrendous as you apparently have, but a neither-fish-nor-fowl variety/game hybrid is pretty tricky to pull off, and this smaller outfit had neither the competency nor the budget to do so.

[tvwxman]

FF is one of my earliest GS memories. Years later, when watching the two eps left in existence, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why.

That said, this does remind me of how much I loved Bobby Van. Too me, he was great on just about everything he did.

[clemon79]

That said, this does remind me of how much I loved Bobby Van. Too me, he was great on just about everything he did.

Really? I can't stand the guy. Now, my opinion might be clouded by how much he annoyed my mom when we would see him on TV growing up, but he just always reeked of misogynistic sleazy New York lounge singer to me.

[JayDLewis]

...he was great on just about everything he did.

Agrees...
http://www.series-80.net/acteurs/elaine-joyce/acteur_elaine-joyce_13_1141998505.jpg

[Jimmy Owen]

I'm a Van fan, myself.  He and Elaine seemed to be the perfect couple.  It's also fun to see him in those MGM musicals of the '50s when they pop up on TCM.

[Blanquepage]

Years later, when watching the two eps left in existence,

Per David Schwartz, the entire run of this show exists in the Sony vault.
The only word that I've used to describe this show is "cute," and that's really the only one I can come up with. In all reality, it was pretty cheesy. I don't find it horrendous either, mostly because I'm a Van fan.
I can tell you for sure that given I have to screen each converted episode at least twice, once as it transfers to DVD, and then again when it's encoded to ensure quality, there are far worse shows to have to watch twice in a row. :-D

Off the wall question time: The lady in the mini-skits...is that Velda from Troop Beverly Hills?

--Jamie

[Matt Ottinger]

Off the wall question time: The lady in the mini-skits...is that Velda from Troop Beverly Hills?

Well, yeah, but that's one of the weirder IDs of her.  Betty Thomas was well-known as a dramatic actress on Hill Street Blues and for the last decade or so has been a successful director of comedy films (Dr. Dolittle, The Brady Bunch Movie).

[Vahan_Nisanian]

She also seems to be humiliated about her career as a game show celebrity. Notice how GSN always skipped over her GS appearances as a panelist? Was she THAT bad of a player?

[irismason42]

She also seems to be humiliated about her career as a game show celebrity. Notice how GSN always skipped over her GS appearances? Was she THAT bad of a player?

Actually, GSN showed her week of appearances on "Win, Lose or Draw", but not too sure if GSN also showed her "Tattletales" appearances as well but I think they did. As y'all know, they didn't air any of her "Body Language" episodes.

[J.R.]

She also seems to be humiliated about her career as a game show celebrity. Notice how GSN always skipped over her GS appearances as a panelist? Was she THAT bad of a player?

Or maybe it's because she requested her shows not air? Why would GSN do something that petty?

Good lord, do you even *think* before you post?

[clemon79]

Notice how GSN always skipped over her GS appearances as a panelist?

Nope, can't say that I have. Fresh air, life, et. al.

[Vahan_Nisanian]

She also seems to be humiliated about her career as a game show celebrity. Notice how GSN always skipped over her GS appearances as a panelist? Was she THAT bad of a player?

Or maybe it's because she requested her shows not air? Why would GSN do something that petty?

Good lord, do you even *think* before you post?

THAT was my point. She may have so terrible as a player, that she requested to have her episodes skipped. And I see Clemon is claiming that I don't have a life outside of these forums. If there's everything I've learned from my experience on these boards, it's that you should never assume someone doesn't have a life outside of the Internet.

[Dbacksfan12]

She also seems to be humiliated about her career as a game show celebrity. Notice how GSN always skipped over her GS appearances as a panelist? Was she THAT bad of a player?

Or maybe it's because she requested her shows not air? Why would GSN do something that petty?

Good lord, do you even *think* before you post?

THAT was my point. She may have so terrible as a player, that she requested to have her episodes skipped.

Well, pal, Words have Meanings.  No where did you suggest that she made the request.  You insinuated that GSN skipped her appearances because GSN thought she sucked.

[PYLdude]

She also seems to be humiliated about her career as a game show celebrity. Notice how GSN always skipped over her GS appearances as a panelist? Was she THAT bad of a player?

Or maybe it's because she requested her shows not air? Why would GSN do something that petty?

Good lord, do you even *think* before you post?

THAT was my point. She may have so terrible as a player, that she requested to have her episodes skipped. And I see Clemon is claiming that I don't have a life outside of these forums. If there's everything I've learned from my experience on these boards, it's that you should never assume someone doesn't have a life outside of the Internet.

Another thing you should've learned is defending yourself is not always a good idea when you say something you shouldn't have and are criticized for it. Hell, I'm a prime example of that. It only makes you look worse.

And if that really was your point, don't you think you'd have been better off making that clearer in your original post? I mean, how are we as a populace supposed to read what you said? (Reiterating the point Senor Odor made when he finished before me.)