30. Win Ben Stein's Money
684 points; 28 votes
2006 ranking: 29
Scott: Win Ben Stein's Money would seem to be an unlikely classic, especially now that it's been 16 years since its heyday (really, does anybody remember this show for any cohost other than Kimmel?). Yet I'm not surprised that it's maintained its position on our list.
Jason: Lest we forget, the show won Emmys in 1999 for Outstanding Game Show & Outstanding Game Show Host for both Ben & Jimmy. Who would have thought a show on Comedy Central starring the teacher from Ferris Bueller & some radio guy from Los Angeles would knock around Jeopardy! in the quiz arena? With time having passed, I forgot how good Ben & Jimmy were at their respective hosting duties. Win Ben Stein's Money was a very solid show that did many details right.
Scott: I wonder how it would have fared if it had been introduced in some other era. Now that the genre is thriving again, it's easy to forget what we had to choose from in the mid- to late 1990s (or maybe it's just best not to think about it). Then along comes a slightly unorthodox game show in which comedy is key, yet the game (played with legitimately difficult trivia!) is always taken seriously. It earned those Emmys.
29. Beat the Clock
709 points; 31 votes
2006 ranking: 24
Jason: No matter what the era or host, I'm always captivated by those quintessentially-Beat the Clock stunts. I liked the unbridled excitement of Bud Collyer and the bonus stunt of the 50s. I liked the Narz/Wood era for its "let's have some fun & win a few bucks"-type atmosphere. And by gum, I like Bonus Shuffle. I don't know why. I like Bonus Shuffle.
Scott: Oh, you're the one! But I kid. When television was in its infancy, and everybody was trying to find ways to make old programming more visual, shows focused on performing physical stunts were a natural choice. But to have a big clock looming over the proceedings, ominously ticking away the seconds? That's how you get people to remember your show.
28. I've Got a Secret
727 points; 30 votes
2006 ranking: 21
Scott: When it came time for me to decide how to rank the panel shows, I had a difficult time, especially with I've Got a Secret. Of the three most popular panel shows, I've Got a Secret is certainly the most fun. But it's also the game show in which the game is the least important. We don't really care whether Henry Morgan can figure out the secret -- we just want to hear about the contestants' interesting stories. Heck, there were episodes where when it came time for the celebrity guest's appearance, they dispensed entirely with trying to guess what the secret was and just jumped right into the comedy bit.
Jason: Perhaps years from now, the Winston-sponsored I've Got a Secret will find its way out again. I remember liking those episodes best. It wasn't long after those shows that the panel got hip to the producers' tricks. At first, I'm sure nobody expected their home furniture to show up on stage, or an elephant to come out of the back, but later, the panel gave me this vibe of "okay, what is it THIS time?" Of all the panel shows, you'd think I've Got a Secret would have made its way back to network TV first (certainly ahead of To Tell the Truth) because of the potential to break format and do demonstrations, putting the game second.
27. The Newlywed Game
730 points; 35 votes
2006 ranking: 26
Jason: For a guy who raised a lot of ire with TV critics, Chuck Barris left a lasting legacy in the history of game shows, even on a list made by fans like us. A lot of his concepts, which seemingly came from refrigerator magnets slapped between the words "THE" and "GAME", really came to life thanks to the talent he used in front of the camera & behind the scenes. Special recognition to Steve Friedman, Mike Metzger and others for curating that Barris style, including the very very odd Newlywed Game questions that helped show off the interesting personalities that were hitting each other with cue cards & pillows. Director John "The Fox" Dorsey was an expert in covering the action. And nobody could grill those couples like Bob Eubanks.
Scott: Objectively, Tattletales was probably the better game, but The Newlywed Game made for a better show. And in this case, I mean "show" in the sense of "spectacle." When the people playing your game are celebrities whose careers are built on their public image and whom you want to invite back for future tapings, you have to treat them with some amount of respect. But when you have a pool full of non-famous people who are willing to tell America about their sex lives just so they can be on TV and maybe win a refrigerator, you can run them through the wringer. And that makes for a more popular TV show.
26. The Chase
740 points; 26 votes
Did not exist in 2006
Scott: Of all of the new game shows which have been introduced in the last ten years, it seems like The Chase had the best chance of making it into the fans' top fifty.
Jason: There was absolutely zero question in my mind we'd see it somewhere. We could have called this exercise The Game Show Fans Decide Where The Chase Ranks in the Top 50. The Final Chase is wonderfully simple & incredibly compelling. For that alone, the show earned its spot on my list, and it crept higher & higher as I compared neighboring shows against one another.
Scott: Here are some random thoughts about The Chase: Interesting that it should rank relatively close to Win Ben Stein's Money, the other exemplary show about trying to defeat a recurring trivia genius. I'm sure that like so many other titles on this list, a new version will be along at some point in the future. Mark Labbett is surprisingly tall in person.