Easy shows that lasted a long time....

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Dec 12 2003, 11:41 AM\']
Tic Tac Dough,  Joker's Wild.

They all have relativelyt easy ideas, it's just the questions that make them tough. I'd say that, and the strategy involved, but that's all on the contestant.
 [/quote]
 The questions on these shows were tough?  Not at all.  In fact, they seemed to be prepared for a 5th grader.

[Jay Temple]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Dec 12 2003, 07:41 AM\'] [quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Dec 12 2003, 08:28 AM\'] I will admit, one of my favorite pastimes is to see someone post an idea about a new game show only to have Chris Lemon shoot it down

So with that, I thought I would try to start another discussion that I can see going places.

What, in your opinion, was the game show with the simplest rules that ran a long time?

And on the flip side...What was one game show that you would attribute its short life to hard-to-understand rules? [/quote]
I consider 3 years to be a nice run, so Press Your Luck.  Also, Wheel of Fortune.  On the opposite side of the coin, I'd have to nominate Whew! (the average Joe probably wouldn't understand). [/quote]
 I would disagree with PYL or Whammy being easy (except for the difficulty of the questions, but that's not what we're discussing).  If you take a passed spin and get "+ 1 Spin," the returned spin goes in the Earned column.  I think that can make it a little on the complex side.

Agree with easy concept:  Jeopardy! and most other straight-quiz games, MG 7x/PM, TTTT, WoF before the special rounds

Complicated:  High Rollers when it had all the side games, Password All-Stars, $otC and any other show with side games, Whew! (a little bit)

There are a number of shows that I wouldn't list as "easy" because some of the judgments can be difficult, e.g.:  Is "college" a match for "school"?  Is there such a thing as a French potato?

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' date=\'Dec 12 2003, 12:19 PM\'] I would disagree with PYL or Whammy being easy (except for the difficulty of the questions, but that's not what we're discussing).  If you take a passed spin and get "+ 1 Spin," the returned spin goes in the Earned column.  I think that can make it a little on the complex side. [/quote]
 That's a good point.  How often has Tomarken said, "Avoid the Whammy, you win the game" only to have that player do avoid a Whammy but not (necessarily) win the game because of picking up an additional spin?  And, for that matter, how often did that player wind up actually losing (either by Whammying on that next spin or passing the spin and having the other contestant surpass his total)?

Doug

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Dec 12 2003, 11:52 AM\'] [quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Dec 12 2003, 11:41 AM\']
Tic Tac Dough,  Joker's Wild.

They all have relativelyt easy ideas, it's just the questions that make them tough. I'd say that, and the strategy involved, but that's all on the contestant.
 [/quote]
The questions on these shows were tough?  Not at all.  In fact, they seemed to be prepared for a 5th grader. [/quote]
Okay...syndie TTD and TJW being exceptions. I don't know how difficult the questions on the 50s TTD were, but I do know the CBS TJW had some deep questions.

[tommycharles]

Skipping to the other side of the pond, Countdown has had a heck of a run, with fairly simple rules (I've NEVER seen an ep. where they've been explained, although I'm sure it happened in the early days).

...and I'd say the $64,000 question had fairly simple rules (no lifelines to worry about, no knowledge required ;-)

EDIT: I know this wasn't rigged in the sense that 21 was, but it was certainly made "easier"

[ilb4ever2000]

The questions on these shows were tough? Not at all. In fact, they seemed to be prepared for a 5th grader.

The questions on syndie TJW and TTD could be pretty easy, but not THAT easy. Show me a 5th grader who can name a few Japanese cities with over a million people...

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' date=\'Dec 12 2003, 01:19 PM\'] I would disagree with PYL or Whammy being easy (except for the difficulty of the questions, but that's not what we're discussing).  If you take a passed spin and get "+ 1 Spin," the returned spin goes in the Earned column.  I think that can make it a little on the complex side. [/quote]
 Then you would be wrong.  Answer these questions, spin, pass your spins, stop or whammy out.  Stategy has nothing to do with the simplicity of the game.

Brandon Brooks

[starcade]

I think the easy show that has lasted a long time is easy...

TPiR.

The harder show which didn't is a different matter altogether...  

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'starcade\' date=\'Dec 12 2003, 06:14 PM\'] I think the easy show that has lasted a long time is easy...

TPiR [/quote]
You see, TPIR isn't really all that easy, which makes me wonder why it has lasted so long, at least in its current iteration.  It ain't just guess the price; it's a lot more.  I mean, it isn't rocket science, but all those mini games, some with complicated rules, like Temptation, Fortune hunter, etc. makes it seemingly unattractive to the viewing public.

Brandon Brooks

[jw2001]

I'd nominate Double Dare (Nick) for the easy list.  Everything was pretty straight forward and it lasted a good 7 years on the network before going into years of endless reruns.

Joe

[Eddie "Chiclets" McGee]

I would have to say for the easy rules: Pyramid, Video Village, and Lingo (does three seasons on cable constitute a long run?)...as well as others that have been mentioned before.

But for complicated, I have always said there was one game show that was great, but didn't last because the rules were too convoluted, and that was Monopoly.  If they could have simplified that, they'd have a winner.  Strong runner-ups include Think Twice, History IQ (especially the bonus round), Winning Lines (Really especially the bonus round!), and Scattergories.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Eddie "Chiclets" McGee\' date=\'Dec 13 2003, 09:26 PM\'] I would have to say for the easy rules: Pyramid, Video Village, and Lingo (does three seasons on cable constitute a long run?)...as well as others that have been mentioned before.
 [/quote]
 Don't know how Video Village worked, but I couldn't say Lingo, and it's not just because I don't consider 65 episodes as a "season."

When I read the rules for the 1987 version, it took me forever to comprehend. Although the current version is a bit different, it's still a bit complicated. Put it like this, it plays simply enough, but it still loses points just because of the setup.

However, would we consider Millionaire as lasting a long time? That's nothing but 15 questions of increasing value (and difficulty), with some lifelines thrown in.

[gameshowguy2000]

I was really expecting Winning Lines to last, due to the Wonderwall's success, but I learned the home-viewer sweepstakes really, really, really put the brakes on the show, as stated at Loogslair.com.

[calliaume]

Easy:  To Tell the Truth, Jeopardy!, the original Password.

Hard:  Blackout (I never understood the rules myself, but I gave up very quickly).

[cmjb13]

[quote name=\'Brandon Brooks\' date=\'Dec 13 2003, 01:11 AM\'][quote name=\'starcade\' date=\'Dec 12 2003, 06:14 PM\'] I think the easy show that has lasted a long time is easy...

TPiR [/quote]
You see, TPIR isn't really all that easy, which makes me wonder why it has lasted so long, at least in its current iteration.  It ain't just guess the price; it's a lot more.  I mean, it isn't rocket science, but all those mini games, some with complicated rules, like Temptation, Fortune hunter, etc. makes it seemingly unattractive to the viewing public.

Brandon Brooks[/quote]
I'll give you Fortune Hunter might be hard, but is Temptation hard?

Here's a very good question...

Do you think TPIR would have lasted this long if they played the same 6 games every show? (with or without rotating them)