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Author Topic: 40 years ago today, we first took a trip up the "Pyramid".  (Read 3166 times)

golden-road

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40 years ago today, we first took a trip up the "Pyramid".
« on: March 26, 2013, 05:53:36 PM »

And after forty years, five hosts, three networks, syndication, and many many Emmys, Pyramid remains to this day, a true television dynasty. Happy 40th Pyramid.



Jay Temple

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40 years ago today, we first took a trip up the "Pyramid".
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2013, 12:03:00 AM »

Seconded. I refer to Jeopardy and Pyramid as the twin pillars of game shows, the best quiz show and the best non-quizzer ever created.


Protecting idiots from themselves just leads to more idiots.

Tony Peters

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40 years ago today, we first took a trip up the "Pyramid".
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2013, 08:20:59 PM »

How could I, as someone whose chosen avatar depicts Dick and the Pyramid, NOT offer my own (belated) birthday greetings to The Greatest Game Show Of All Time (Non-Quiz Division)?


 


BTW, I got to watch most of the run of the GSN revival, stopping after Day 2 of Melissa Peterman vs. Samantha Harris (Dish offered GSN as a free preview channel for 2 months from mid-August to mid-October 2012).  Though it could have been a little better than it was, it was a rather decent version, and the fact that it failed has drained me of any hope for the format\'s future viability as a television offering.  Then again, it may just be that the game show genre in general (certainly as we knew and loved it) is a dying breed, and Jeopardy! ( the other twin pillar spoken of in an earlier post in this thread) is, at least to me, the last of said breed, since none of the other current offerings do it for me anymore.  Oh well, there\'s always the memories...


Sometimes I find myself missing the days when cats ruled the internet...

JMFabiano

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40 years ago today, we first took a trip up the "Pyramid".
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2013, 09:44:50 PM »
How could I, as someone whose chosen avatar depicts Dick and the Pyramid, NOT offer my own (belated) birthday greetings to The Greatest Game Show Of All Time (Non-Quiz Division)?

 


BTW, I got to watch most of the run of the GSN revival, stopping after Day 2 of Melissa Peterman vs. Samantha Harris (Dish offered GSN as a free preview channel for 2 months from mid-August to mid-October 2012).  Though it could have been a little better than it was, it was a rather decent version, and the fact that it failed has drained me of any hope for the format\'s future viability as a television offering.  Then again, it may just be that the game show genre in general (certainly as we knew and loved it) is a dying breed, and Jeopardy! ( the other twin pillar spoken of in an earlier post in this thread) is, at least to me, the last of said breed, since none of the other current offerings do it for me anymore.  Oh well, there\'s always the memories...


 


Yes, it was a shame that the GSN version didn\'t catch on, not just because they Got It for the most part, but because we need a bit of re-education in game shows that make you think.  Like you say, J! is the only one left, really.  The game show genre lives, but in the form of more party games (not that there\'s anything wrong with party games...)

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BillCullen1

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40 years ago today, we first took a trip up the "Pyramid".
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2013, 11:17:56 AM »

I say \"never say die.\" I have a feeling we\'ll see Pyramid again someday, somehow. When Rob Reiner got the first $10K win in the WC, he said \"this game\'s too easy.\" Ah, little did he know . . .



Argo

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40 years ago today, we first took a trip up the "Pyramid".
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2013, 06:31:47 AM »
For the most part the big reason why we remember so many shows from our childhood and they seemed \"better\" then and lasted longer was that you were pretty much forced to watch it. Even for me unless a show is good enough to get picked on the big 3 networks, i basically dont see it. If pyramid was put on with lmad and tpir and CBS could have a morning game show block then maybe abc and NBC would try something similar but probably not going to happen.  I wish gsn would scrap the originals idea and just run with classic shows. The non game show fans aren\'t going the watch the channel anyway and the people watching it want more classic shows. That and the revivals only last maybe a season or two for the most part.


If you want your show to be seen its still the job of the big 3. There maybe hundreds of channels to choose from but people still go back to abc CBS and NBC.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2013, 06:44:21 AM by Argo »

mystery7

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40 years ago today, we first took a trip up the "Pyramid".
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2013, 06:00:31 PM »


If you want your show to be seen its still the job of the big 3. There maybe hundreds of channels to choose from but people still go back to abc CBS and NBC.

 


I think there are more than a few people in cable who\'d beg to differ. I mean, Mad Men? Breaking Bad? Those shows are  being seen by a lot of people. Granted, maybe their sheer numbers aren\'t what they might be if the shows were on network and not cable, but they\'re definitely being seen and talked about. And even shows from the big 4 (can\'t leave Fox out) are showing up on Hulu and Netflix, playing on equal footing with cable shows.


 


On \"pretty much forced to watch it:\" what, your Mom went all Joan Crawford and tied you to the couch when Card Sharks came on?


 


Or maybe you\'re saying, correctly, that the options just weren\'t there like they are now. In most areas, you had your big 3 and maybe a UHF independent or two. Maybe you had a good enough antenna to pull signals from another city to expand your options. Limited number of channels = limited choice. Now that there are so many-hundred other channels on cable and satellite, and Roku, Apple TV and Xbox with all the channels they offer, viewing options have multiplied exponentially and the audience has fragmented accordingly. There\'s just not enough of an audience for a good-ol\' daytime game show block anymore. Don\'t get me wrong, there is an audience for it, but it\'s so small (and probably so old-skewing) that it a big-four network can\'t financially justify sustaining it.


 


On GSN only running classics: don\'t see it happening. Even TV Land, cable\'s home of retro TV, realized there\'s only so much money to earn from running shows like Gunsmoke and The Jeffersons 425 times a year, so they started running new original shows like Hot In Cleveland. Result: highest ratings ever. And they still run older shows - albeit not as old as before. Maybe GSN will get there. America\'s Bible Challenge got decent ratings. Maybe something will come along that will do at least as well. But they need to keep the new stuff coming so they don\'t burn out the old stuff they have, or run out of appropriate old stuff to acquire.



TLEberle

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40 years ago today, we first took a trip up the "Pyramid".
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2013, 06:29:38 PM »
There\'s not a chance in hell that Breaking Bad or Walking Dead would exist in their current form on ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX.
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