Author Topic: Long-running game shows (Read 14302 times)

The Ol' Guy · « **Reply #15 on:** December 17, 2003, 12:53:40 AM »

I'll join you with most of those. To add a fresh one, one game that puzzled me as to it's longevity (nearly three years) was Three On A Match. Bill was the only thing making the game watchable. Maybe his personality was just right for that mid-afternoon lull spot. Could any other host have carried that game that long? Not that the Cullen magic can save anything - Pass The Buck and Blankety-Blanks come to mind. I'll bet his being tapped to host them were the only thing that sold them to the nets.

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #16 on:** December 17, 2003, 08:57:34 AM »

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Someone also noted Wheel. I also wonder what would've happened had that one been cancelled in the early-80s as planned...would we have ever gotten a nighttime version. Would it have come back with Chuck and Susan, or would Merv have gone for a new team?

NOTE: I'm saying this assuming that Wheel would have been cancelled in 80 or 81, before Chuck's contract renewal came up.

What I can't understand about that is that, if you look at the ratings in the EOTVGS, it states that "Wheel's" ratings at that time were pretty good. If that was the case, why would they want to cancel it?

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #17 on:** December 17, 2003, 09:01:49 AM »

One show that comes to mind is "Password Plus" - not that I don't like it, because I do - but it's just that Allen Ludden even said several times on the show to "tell your friends to watch". The ratings for "PP" reportedly weren't that great, especially in the last year or so, but it stayed on for three years.

I think the networks were more likely to keep a Goodson-Todman show on if it wasn't performing well than they were shows from other companies. If "PP" hadn't been produced by GT, it probably would have been cancelled sooner.

aaron sica · « **Reply #18 on:** December 17, 2003, 11:55:40 AM »

I think the revival of "Chain Reaction" that aired on USA was incredibly bland and boring and can't believe it ran for 4 or 5 years....

I liked the original game when it aired on NBC (celebrities paired with contestants is exciting to me), not to mention the awesome bonus round that as we all know was later spun-off into "Go!"..

The USA version took out the celebrities AND the exciting bonus round (replacing it with something even more boring) and to me, made one of the most boring game shows I ever watched and I can't believe it lasted as long as it did.

calliaume · « **Reply #19 on:** December 17, 2003, 12:37:48 PM »

[quote name=\'The Ol' Guy\' date=\'Dec 17 2003, 12:53 AM\'] I'll join you with most of those. To add a fresh one, one game that puzzled me as to it's longevity (nearly three years) was Three On A Match. Bill was the only thing making the game watchable. Maybe his personality was just right for that mid-afternoon lull spot. Could any other host have carried that game that long? Not that the Cullen magic can save anything - Pass The Buck and Blankety-Blanks come to mind. I'll bet his being tapped to host them were the only thing that sold them to the nets. [/quote]
I'll go along with this one. Since NBC had programmed at least three other shows at 1:30 in the 2+ years after Let's Make a Deal left the network, I can only assume NBC said, "Hey, the ratings are reasonable and it's cheap to produce; let it ride." One of the dullest shows around, and not useful for host-contestant interaction or suspense. ("True. Wait, false!")

Super Password ran an awful long time relative to its success; again, I think NBC gave up trying to be competitive at 12 noon.

Gambit, The Who, What, or Where Game, and the ABC Dating Game may have run a year or so past their expiration dates. And even the last year of the CBS/syndie Match Game was starting to look a little tired. (I could tell it was losing steam in New York when it meandered from WCBS to WOR -- Channel 9 was the last stop before the graveyard at that point.)

tyshaun1 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 17, 2003, 12:41:55 PM »

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Dec 17 2003, 11:55 AM\'] I think the revival of "Chain Reaction" that aired on USA was incredibly bland and boring and can't believe it ran for 4 or 5 years....

I liked the original game when it aired on NBC (celebrities paired with contestants is exciting to me), not to mention the awesome bonus round that as we all know was later spun-off into "Go!"..

The USA version took out the celebrities AND the exciting bonus round (replacing it with something even more boring) and to me, made one of the most boring game shows I ever watched and I can't believe it lasted as long as it did. [/quote]
It's interesting, I remember reading an article from Cablevision, I believe, that discussed a similar topic about the longevity of Chain Reaction. They attributed it's success to being taped in Canada, where most of their contestants were French speaking. They felt that since most of the contestants weren't really all that familiar with the English language, they wouldn't know some of the words, whereas the older demographic would feel smarter (and thereby, lead to more interesting play-along) because they would know the answers faster than many of the contestants.

The rest of the craptacular-ness of the show, I can't explain.

Tyshaun

cmjb13 · « **Reply #21 on:** December 17, 2003, 01:32:25 PM »

I'm suprised Whammy! has lasted this long.

Terrible show.

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #22 on:** December 17, 2003, 01:45:06 PM »

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Super Password ran an awful long time relative to its success; again, I think NBC gave up trying to be competitive at 12 noon.

Gambit, The Who, What, or Where Game, and the ABC Dating Game may have run a year or so past their expiration dates. And even the last year of the CBS/syndie Match Game was starting to look a little tired.

Richard Dawson states something similar on the last episode of "Family Feud" - that ABC kept them on the air probably a year longer than they should because the ratings just weren't there at that point.

It must have lost steam in a hurry - an early 1984 TVGuide I have states that the syndicated version was still near or at the top of the syndie ratings. I know "Wheel" took it down quickly, but it's surprising how quickly.

I've never heard reference to "Super Password's" ratings - weren't they very good?

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It's interesting, I remember reading an article from Cablevision, I believe, that discussed a similar topic about the longevity of Chain Reaction. They attributed it's success to being taped in Canada, where most of their contestants were French speaking.

Considering this show was taped in Montreal, that's probably true. Quebec is a French speaking province, but in most of the other provinces English is the dominant language and French is rarely spoken.

uncamark · « **Reply #23 on:** December 17, 2003, 03:03:10 PM »

"Shop 'Til You Drop" *and* "Supermarket Sweep" in its 90s incarnation. I really thought "Rodeo Drive" was the superior show back when it launched with "SS." I've come to give it more begrudging respect in recent years, but still...

And as for "STYD," the sheer tenacity of that show continues to amaze me. You can keep killing that show and it *still* comes back!

On the other hand, I have to admire "Street Smarts" for its ability to keep dodging the bullet year after year, but I wonder how much longer it can pull it off.

cmjb13 · « **Reply #24 on:** December 17, 2003, 03:09:02 PM »

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Dec 17 2003, 03:03 PM\']On the other hand, I have to admire "Street Smarts" for its ability to keep dodging the bullet year after year, but I wonder how much longer it can pull it off.[/quote]
I agree, but the show is fairly cheap to produce.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #25 on:** December 17, 2003, 03:41:34 PM »

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It must have lost steam in a hurry - an early 1984 TVGuide I have states that the syndicated version was still near or at the top of the syndie ratings. I know "Wheel" took it down quickly, but it's surprising how quickly.

I remember reading that in Wheel's first season, it beat Feud 16.0 million to 8.0 million. I find that surprising considering 1) the trouble Merv had selling the show to previous syndicators, and 2) I don't think some markets aired the show in the first months.

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On the other hand, I have to admire "Street Smarts" for its ability to keep dodging the bullet year after year, but I wonder how much longer it can pull it off.

Doesn't this one air in mostly late-night slots, after Conan, Jimmy Kimmel, Kilborn, etc? If so, I think it still gets decent ratings, at least for a late-night show.

TheInquisitiveOne · « **Reply #26 on:** December 17, 2003, 03:57:32 PM »

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I've never heard reference to "Super Password's" ratings - weren't they very good?

I remember seeing an episode (late '84 or early '85) on GSN in which Bert Convy opened the show with an explanation that the ratings were very good. He said that he talked to one of the producers before the show was taped. That is the only reference I know about SP's ratings.

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And even the last year of the CBS/syndie Match Game was starting to look a little tired.

I think that the show went tired after the Star Wheel was involved and Richard Dawson left. Not to say that Richard was the reason for the success of the show, but when the show went syndicated, Dawson's spot was, more often than not, occupied by either Dick Martin or Bill Daly...those two quickly wore out their welcomes. Also, the humor seemed to be forced and did not seem as captivating as the CBS version. To me, the end of "Match Game PM" should have been the end all for that incarnation.

The Inquisitive One

uncamark · « **Reply #27 on:** December 17, 2003, 04:01:47 PM »

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Dec 17 2003, 03:41 PM\']

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On the other hand, I have to admire "Street Smarts" for its ability to keep dodging the bullet year after year, but I wonder how much longer it can pull it off.

Doesn't this one air in mostly late-night slots, after Conan, Jimmy Kimmel, Kilborn, etc? If so, I think it still gets decent ratings, at least for a late-night show.[/quote]
Pretty much so, in the same way that "Blind Date" and "ElimiDate" continue to hang in there.

On the other hand, this season "Street Smarts" is not doing much better than the cellar-dwelling relationship shows "5th Wheel" or "EX-Treme Dating." I would say that things don't look too good for them, but Nicotero's always muddled through to another season before.

Meanwhile, I can look forward to Jillian Barberie losing both of her syndicated series in one fell swoop (and the only reason "Good Day Live" is still on is because the Ryan Seacrest show will be on the Fox-owned UPN affils in Fox duopoly markets--if it was on Fox affils, "GDL" would be dead in the water by now).

zachhoran · « **Reply #28 on:** December 17, 2003, 07:34:03 PM »

[quote name=\'calliaume\' date=\'Dec 17 2003, 12:37 PM\']

Gambit, The Who, What, or Where Game, and the ABC Dating Game may have run a year or so past their expiration dates. And even the last year of the CBS/syndie Match Game was starting to look a little tired. (I could tell it was losing steam in New York when it meandered from WCBS to WOR -- Channel 9 was the last stop before the graveyard at that point.) [/quote]
Conversely, 70s-80s Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough spent most of their early syndie years on WOR(TTD started on WPIX in NYC IIRC), and eventually moved to WCBS by 1982 before moving back to WOR in 1984. I do agree that MG looked kinda tired in 1981-82, which may have been the worst game show year of most of our childhoods.

Other shows that arguably lasted a bit too long: 1978-86 TTD, 1977-86 TJW, Dawson syndie Feud(1984-85 season with the 400 point rule), 1988-95 syndie Feud(especially the 1994-95 season with a much aged Dawson and the modern set)Davidson Squares.

beatlefreak84 · « **Reply #29 on:** December 17, 2003, 10:45:14 PM »

I would add "Bumper Stumpers" to the list. Granted, it was an excellent show and I really enjoyed it, but HOW did it stay on for three years? That still boggles my mind to this day.

I'm also surprised no one mentioned "Trivial Pursuit." That was on for a good 2-3 years and, IMO, should've only stayed on about 4 months! The first half-hour was BORING, and the second half-hour was watchable, but very bland in gameplay, IMO. I guess it helps when you're on FAM!

To stray from the cable market, I'd say a network show that stayed on longer than it should have would be "Liar's Club" (okay, syndicated). I found the game to be too close to TTTT and the betting system was okay, but why were they all such wimps? Perhaps I'm exaggerating here, but did any of the contestants go for max bets the first few times around?

Oh, and one more cable one: "Figure it Out." I thought it had the makings of a good panel show when it started, but with questions like, "Do you like cheese-flavored crackers?" and Secret Slime Actions like "Having the first name Lori-Beth" rearing their UGLY heads after the first few months, my interest in the show quickly faded; how did it get two seasons?

Anthony