45. Russian Roulette
352 points; 17 votes
2006 ranking: 54
Scott: I would have predicted that if anything, this show would have dropped further down the list now that it's been over ten years since it's aired. I won't deny that it's one of the better GSN originals, although I personally never liked how often the outcome was decided by the time's up signal. Maybe Who's Still Standing? has made our memories of this show even fonder?
Jason: That makes sense. I never thought I'd have to say "Russian Roulette was the best 'fall through the floor' game show." I think another point in its favor was showing the game show audience Mark Walberg's talents outside of Shop 'Til You Drop & USA Network.
44. The $64,000/$128,000 Question
359 points; 14 votes
2006 ranking: 33
Jason: We talked about scandal-era shows already, but this show's repeated inclusion & outranking over Twenty One surprises me personally. I've watched episodes from both American versions, as well as the British one. I get the same effect of watching sports game shows as a non-sports fan: I can't play along with the material. Other shows that did "specialized subjects" for players kept it confined enough to work for me. By the time it became Alex Trebek's show, they took away a lot of the pageantry that made it unique.
Scott: I know I've had my opportunity to talk about not including the rigged shows on my ballot, but I just want to say: Does Lance Armstrong deserve to be on a list of the 50 greatest cyclists of all time?
43. You Bet Your Life
383 points; 18 votes
2006 ranking: 36
Jason: I'm sure these points are for "the one, the only, GROUCHO!!" I expect a heated debate on whether we like the couples betting on each question, or picking cards from George's tray.
Scott: Nail on the head. As a percentage of ballots cast, You Bet Your Life received fewer votes this time around (37.5% versus 48.75%), but it still received enough to stay in the top fifty. For lack of any other observations, I'll note that two of its more game show-y elements did have some residual lasting impact on pop culture in the ensuing years: "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?" and the duck with the secret word.
T41. Deal or No Deal
417 points; 23 votes
2006 ranking: 44
Scott: So much for me wondering what would happen to this show. Apparently it would actually move up two or three places.
Jason: On this board, the network run got a lot of criticism for all the stunts, but I know the game itself still has its fans, especially with the versions in other countries. For the math-minded among us, there's lots to take in on Deal or No Deal. If your game show enjoyment comes from schadenfreude, the American version was a veritable buffet. In talking over the list candidates before the vote, one fan suggested to me that Deal or No Deal takes the hit for all the copied production style & formats that came in its wake, which seems plausible to me. Had they brought back Yahtzee in 2006, each team would have their family on stage to talk about why they chose to freeze fours over fives.
T41. Jackpot
417 points; 23 votes
2006 ranking: 30
Jason: It's a real shame there's not more of the original NBC run to watch. I don't know how you think to assemble 15 people, each holding a wallet that contains a riddle, hoping to match like digits in an accumulating pot so you can go for gobs & gobs of money, but Bob Stewart did.
Scott: The 11-place ranking drop is interesting. I wonder whether this is a show that suffered from video being more readily available. I know that in my case, in 2006, I placed this show on my ballot mostly out of an obligatory sense of, "I remember this show from my youth, and no one ever really says anything disparaging about it, so it was probably pretty good." This year, I watched the show again, and, well... like you said, it certainly was unique.
