Gee, you take a walk and a thread develops about you. I thought my observation was tepid, almost a truism. And the comments after the observation helped to prove my point. I'm sure that GSN execs have the same worry: their core audience won't even give dating or reality games a chance since that audience has already pretty much decided the shows are "Grade-A CRAP." That's why they're kicking off the changes with a double run of blackjack instead of a double run of Fake-a-Date. That's why they've ordered more episodes of blackjack and none of the other non-trad shows.
This is controversial? Looks more like a recognition of reality to me. Of course GSN isn't going for the traditionalists with Fake-a-Date or Spy TV. Those shows are designed to appeal to a new audience that's not interested in traditional, in-studio game shows. I don't know why anybody should get upset over this thuddingly obvious fact.
But luring a new audience is really tricky. You risk turning off the traditionalists, who of course will tend to regard the new stuff as "crapola." So GSN is hedging its bets by not committing too heavily to the further-out non-traditional stuff. Wow, this is a blinding insight, no?
In other top-secret, highly controversial news...the sun sets in the west.
EDIT: By the way, I like the fast-paced slapstick and silliness on Cram, and I'm happy that GSN is bringing the show back, if only in reruns. Nice to see the return of RR to nighttime, too. I also think the third season of Lingo is the best yet, with a much better set and a sidekick to smooth out the judging decisions and transitions between puzzles. Now if we could only get rid of the scoring updates after every puzzle...
Whammy? Todd Newton got too loud for me. I know the producers told him to get loud, but he still rubbed my auditory nerves the wrong way.