2002

[The Pyramids]

I was thinking that 2002 was a significant year for game shows. A number of events happened ten years ago now.

For instance 2002 saw the launch of 'Whammy!","Russian Roulette" and "Lingo" on GSN, two of which still air on the network today.

As far as the classics go the network brought back the original "Hollywood Squares" that year. The $10K & $20K Pyramids were shown on 'Pyramid Thursdays' in prime time and a number of celebrity 'Feuds' were shown on 'Family Feud Fridays'.

Freemantle "Family Feud" got a new host that year who for a while was seen as an improvement over Louie Anderson. The companies "To Tell the Truth" left the air that year. By contrast "The Price Is Right" was going strong. That year saw some set changes and the start of rotating models.

"Hollywood Sqaures" got new producers who I say put on a better show. Peter Marshall and a number of game show vets were brought in for Game Show Week that December. Peter and Tom switched jobs on the Thursday show. Also Peter's book came out in 2002 and I got to meet him at a book signing that fall.

Sony brought back 'Pyramid' that year which I have always said was a good revival. Best of all that yeat Dick Clark came back as a contestant for three show in November.

[BrandonFG]

While many point to 1999 as the turning point that made the genre relevant again, I'd say 2002-03 was the peak for the genre. I also agree that the last two seasons of H^2 were the best. Shame it couldn't have gone on for a few more years. Honestly, I think a lot of the shows from that era could've had a few more seasons, even Pyramid and Whammy!

By my count, in late-2002 there were 4 or 5 new shows on GSN, and 8 in syndication. There wasn't much happening in primetime except for maybe LMaD (I believe Millionaire and Weakest Link were canceled by fall '02), but there was enough going on with daytime and cable, not to mention PAX still had Supermarket Sweep, Shop Til You Drop, and Dirty Rotten Cheater. As much as I miss the lineups of the mid-to-late-80s, I'd be cool if there was a revival close to what we had a decade ago. :-)

[brianhenke]

The LMAD primetime revival was in 2003 (it lasted three weeks against American Idol).


  Brian

[aaron sica]

Bumping this thread up a bit...

I've always thought that 1980 was a BIG turning point for game shows, both in the daytime and nighttime sides..

Daytime - we had two popular and long running shows end their runs within weeks of each other - "Hollywood Squares" on NBC, and "$20,000 Pyramid" on ABC, not to mention two other game shows on NBC went down with the ship too.

Nighttime - We effectively saw the end of the "Checkerboard" tactic. Take WPVI-6 in Philly, for example. Monday and Friday's 7:30 offering was "Family Feud", Tuesday's and Thursday's was "Hollywood Squares", and Wednesday rounded out the week with the half-hour "Price is Right". By the fall, Feud and Squares both expanded to 5-day-a-week strips. Feud moved to WCAU-10, and Squares became the M-F offering on 6. "Price" ceased production. There were still once-weekly shows, not necessarily game shows (Dance Fever and Muppet Show come to mind), but these mainly got relegated to Saturdays...MG PM, I believe, was the only once-weekly game show still in production for 1980-1981?

[BrandonFG]

The LMAD primetime revival was in 2003 (it lasted three weeks against American Idol).

I'm aware of that, which is why I said 2002-03 was the peak.

[Strikerz04]

If you don't count "To Tell the Truth" and reruns of CaSino (Card Sharks in Name Only), then I'd take this into consideration. Both were playing well into the summer (albeit in reruns); and the GSN originals made up for the failures of the 2001 season.

[clemon79]

and reruns of CaSino (Card Sharks in Name Only)

It's not gonna catch on. Really.

[PYLdude]

If you don't count "To Tell the Truth" and reruns of CaSino (Card Sharks in Name Only), then I'd take this into consideration. Both were playing well into the summer (albeit in reruns); and the GSN originals made up for the failures of the 2001 season.

On what channels? Both shows disappeared from my market shortly after their cancellation (although I think TTTT did make it a few extra weeks in reruns).

[BrandonFG]

We didn't get summer reruns either. Card Sharks was gone by January 2002 (prolly replaced by an infomercial, seeing as how it aired at 1:35 in the morning), and the local affiliate replaced TTTT with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine reruns.

[Ian Wallis]

I've always thought that 1980 was a BIG turning point for game shows, both in the daytime and nighttime sides..

Daytime - we had two popular and long running shows end their runs within weeks of each other - "Hollywood Squares" on NBC, and "$20,000 Pyramid" on ABC, not to mention two other game shows on NBC went down with the ship too.

Nighttime - We effectively saw the end of the "Checkerboard" tactic. Take WPVI-6 in Philly, for example. Monday and Friday's 7:30 offering was "Family Feud", Tuesday's and Thursday's was "Hollywood Squares", and Wednesday rounded out the week with the half-hour "Price is Right". By the fall, Feud and Squares both expanded to 5-day-a-week strips. Feud moved to WCAU-10, and Squares became the M-F offering on 6. "Price" ceased production. There were still once-weekly shows, not necessarily game shows (Dance Fever and Muppet Show come to mind), but these mainly got relegated to Saturdays...MG PM, I believe, was the only once-weekly game show still in production for 1980-1981?

I agree with everything in this post.  After the wild mid-late '70s, the years 1980-82 were almost depressing for game show fans in comparison to what came just before.  Several popular shows were cancelled.  In addition to what Aaron stated, Dating Game and Newlywed Game also ceased production, and there weren't many new games coming on, what with the end of the "checkerboard".  

One of the major shows in fall 1980 was Buddy Hackett's redo of You Bet Your Life, which really wasn't anything great.  In my area, were got stuck with Family Feud five nights a week on about four different stations that were available in the area - not much variety there!  Bullseye was seen at noon, so I couldn't see it because of school.

The networks were either expanding soap operas or filling daytime slots with reruns of primetime sitcoms or talk shows (remember Regis Philbin's short-lived NBC show?), which meant even less time for game shows.  Some of the newer ones tried during that time - like Battlestars, for example - came and went quickly.

Luckily things changed in our favor again by January 1983 when NBC cancelled the soap Texas, and brought on three game shows - Hit Man, Just Men and Sale of the Century.  The rest of the decade was pretty good!

[BrandonFG]

Which just once again goes to show, the genre moves in cycles. With the exception of the 2000s, it seems the first few years of a decade are always the leanest, the middle years are pretty solid*, then things trickle off at the end of the decade.

*The 90s are another example

[aaron sica]

The networks were either expanding soap operas or filling daytime slots with reruns of primetime sitcoms or talk shows (remember Regis Philbin's short-lived NBC show?), which meant even less time for game shows.  Some of the newer ones tried during that time - like Battlestars, for example - came and went quickly.

This, too. And in the late '70s, once soaps started expanding to an hour, it was an all-out war to keep viewers glued to a show, so the shows would start at different times in the afternoon - no 3 networks had the same tactic. Check this out from March 1979 (start times only)

ABC: 12:30, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00-4:00
CBS: 12:30, 1:00 (local/Y&R), 1:30, 2:30, 3:30-4:00*
NBC: 12:30, 1:00, 2:00, 2:30-4:00

All soaps, except for CBS's 1pm offering if not Y&R (some stations still carried it at noon) and 3:30 as it was a sitcom rerun (M*A*S*H until September, then One Day at a Time)

CBS jumped on the "12:30, 1, 2, 3" bandwagon when Y&R expanded to an hour in February, 1980. When NBC scaled back "Another World" to make room for "Texas" in August, 1980, they, too, went with that strategy.

CBS dropped out of that programming tactic in June 1981 and never went back to it again but ABC and NBC kept it.