You Make the Call!

[Jimmy Owen]

I love living in the past.  With that in mind, here's a hypothetical situation.  You are the PD for a TV station sometime between 1972 and 1979.  Your General Manager has directed you to fill the 7-8pm hour with game shows.  One five-day-a-week strip at 7 and a checkerboard at 7:30.  Pick a season (more than one, if you'd like) and the six shows you would select for your stations and if you would, give the reasons for your choices.

[aaron sica]

I too love living in the past...With that said, I'll pick 1978....

7pm: Tic Tac Dough
7:30 (M) Family Feud
7:30 (Tu) Hollywood Squares
7:30 (We) $25,000 Pyramid
7:30 (Th) Hollywood Squares
7:30 (Fr) Price is Right

I picked HS twice because it was still so very popular then, and also a twice-a-week show...The others I all picked because they, too, were popular at the time..

[That Don Guy]

I'm not sure about some of these dates, as a number of these shows only ran for one or two years in the San Francisco area and I'm going by what's in EoTVGS Third Edition (did the weekly TPIR really run from 1972 to 1979?), but I'll choose 1975 (well, the fall of 1974).
7:00: if "You Bet Your Life" reruns count, I'd go with those; otherwise, the Blyden "What's My Line?".  (This was not usually a problem in San Francisco, as only the three major networks tended to run game shows, and they all ran national news at 7:00.)
7:30:
Monday - Dealer's Choice
Tuesday - TPIR
Wednesday - Name That Tune
Thursday - New Treasure Hunt
Friday - Jeopardy!
(Yes, this does bear a striking resemblance to KPIX's lineup, except NTT was on Friday and Concentration on Wednesday; KRON ran J! on Thursday nights.)

(And for people who know me better, yes, I did leave out the syndicated Celebrity Sweepstakes; I didn't think it was quite as good as the daytime version for some reason.  Hollywood Squares is left out for the same reason.)

If you go forward to 1975, put Concentration on Monday and Match Game PM on Friday; in 1976, take Concentration back off and add The $128,000 Question.

-- Don

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Feb 14 2004, 01:25 PM\'] I love living in the past.  With that in mind, here's a hypothetical situation.  You are the PD for a TV station sometime between 1972 and 1979.  Your General Manager has directed you to fill the 7-8pm hour with game shows.  One five-day-a-week strip at 7 and a checkerboard at 7:30.  Pick a season (more than one, if you'd like) and the six shows you would select for your stations and if you would, give the reasons for your choices. [/quote]
Ooh...this sounds fun!

We'll say 1975-76.

EDIT: 7 pm: Since Cross-Wits didn't start till December, we'll just say TTTT.

Now for 7:30:
M-The Price is Right (Mondays are the worst...shouldn't have to do too much thinking on a Monday night)
Tu-Concentration
W-$25,000 Pyramid
Th-Hollywood Squares
F-Match Game PM (If I had to spend Friday night in the house, I'd like to spend it watching MG)

Now, if it were 1976-77, the checkerboard would stay the same, and 7 pm would be Cross-Wits.

[LetsGoMets2003]

Nostalgia rocks, man...I always wanted to be a PD, this sounds like fun. Let's set the wayback machine for 1974.

Sept. 1974

Week-long Strip (7:00 P.M., M-F)
 
The Price Is Right

Checkerboard Slot (7:30 P.M.)

Name That Tune (Mon)
Concentration (Tue)
Hollywood Squares (Wed)
The $25,000 Pyramid (Thurs)
Let's Make a Deal (Fri)

All the above lasted for multiple years in syndication, with the shortest run going to LMAD until 1977.

As far as how I scheduled them, Monday goes to the dark horse of the bunch, Tune. Two Goodson games would headline Super Tuesday on my station. Squares would drop in midweek as part of my plan, and Cullen would be the lead-out to his old show, Price, on Thursday. The week would wrap up with Price and LMAD combining for back-to-back pricing fun. I chose these shows not only because they became classics, but because they were also popular at the time.

Oh, and in case you're wondering how my schedule would look after the departure of LMAD, wonder no more....

Armchair P.D., Take Two!

Sept. 1977

Week-long Strip (7:00 P.M., M-F)

Match Game PM

Checkerboard Slot (7:30 P.M.)

Family Feud (Mon)
The Gong Show (Tue)
Hollywood Squares (Wed)
The Price Is Right (Thurs)
Family Feud (Fri)

Some of you may be asking, why did he choose Gong instead of the then-new Joker's Wild? The answer is simple. Unlike my 1974 schedule, this one actually has more cohesion. Dawson was still on MG at the time (but not for much longer at that point) so putting the popular Feud in a bookending strategy two of the five days after MG makes sense. Since the panelists on MG and the acts on Gong were both from the looney bin, they make a perfect combo on Tuesday. Squares would remain in the Wed. slot as both are celebrity driven games. Finally, Thursday would become the new night for Price, which has had incredible drawing power since day one anyway.

Wow, after that long diatribe, I sound like a Program Director! ;-)

Whaddaya think?
Jim

[Jimmy Owen]

The problem with the above sked is that Price and Match weren't available as strips (unless you saved them up to run for a portion of the season)  WZZM in Grand Rapids saved up all of their H'wood Squares to run in the summer as a strip.  Some of the strips available in syndication at the time were Concentration, TTTT, WML, Dealer's Choice, Diamond Head, Newlywed, Dating, 3aC, Liar's Club, It's Your Bet, Truth or Conseq., etc.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Feb 14 2004, 06:11 PM\'] The problem with the above sked is that Price and Match weren't available as strips (unless you saved them up to run for a portion of the season)  WZZM in Grand Rapids saved up all of their H'wood Squares to run in the summer as a strip.  Some of the strips available in syndication at the time were Concentration, TTTT, WML, Dealer's Choice, Diamond Head, Newlywed, Dating, 3aC, Liar's Club, It's Your Bet, Truth or Conseq., etc. [/quote]
Interesting...didn't know Concentration was a strip as well...OK, we'll try this again. :-)

7:00-To Tell The Truth

7:30
M-Price
Tu-Name That Tune
W-$25,000 Pyramid
Th-Hollywood Squares*
F-Match Game PM

*Question: for shows that aired twice a week (Feud, Squares), did stations have the option of airing just one episode a week, or did they have to air both eps?

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Feb 14 2004, 05:19 PM\'] *Question: for shows that aired twice a week (Feud, Squares), did stations have the option of airing just one episode a week, or did they have to air both eps? [/quote]
 I don't know this for a fact, but my guess would be at least in the case of FF that stations had the option--only because Dawson's usual opening spiel by that time was "We get together once or twice a week. . ." (or something like that).  That would lead me to believe that some stations only carried one episode.

Doug

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Feb 14 2004, 08:08 PM\']
I don't know this for a fact, but my guess would be at least in the case of FF that stations had the option--only because Dawson's usual opening spiel by that time was "We get together once or twice a week. . ." (or something like that).  That would lead me to believe that some stations only carried one episode.

Doug [/quote]
 Dawson didn't start saying the "once or twice a week" bit until early 1979, when the show was more widely seen twice a week. He used to say "we get together once a week" on the earliest syndie Feud shows. WPVI in Philly started airing the syndie Feud two nights a week sometime in 1979(probably upon the ending of Cullen Pyramid)

[Craig Karlberg]

Since I saw cartoons from Boomerang!(on digital cable) from 1974, I'll go there so, here's how I would've scheduled things back then.  Of course, I don't have any proof those shows existed back then so take my word as is.

7:00 PM(M-F)  The Price Is Right

7:30 PM Checkerboard:

M- Concetration
Tu- $25,000 Pyramid
W- Hollywood Squares
Th- Newlywed Game
F- Let's Make A Deal

I could've slipped Name That Tune in the Friday slot but I wasn't sure if it was on in 1974 so I stuck LMAD in there.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Feb 15 2004, 06:38 AM\'] Since I saw cartoons from Boomerang!(on digital cable) from 1974, I'll go there so, here's how I would've scheduled things back then.  Of course, I don't have any proof those shows existed back then so take my word as is.

7:00 PM(M-F)  The Price Is Right

7:30 PM Checkerboard:

M- Concetration
Tu- $25,000 Pyramid
W- Hollywood Squares
Th- Newlywed Game
F- Let's Make A Deal

I could've slipped Name That Tune in the Friday slot but I wasn't sure if it was on in 1974 so I stuck LMAD in there. [/quote]
 TPIR was weekly nighttime syndicated in 1974. NTT began in September as a weekly syndie, but Newlyweds didn't bow in syndication until 1977.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Feb 14 2004, 06:19 PM\'][quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Feb 14 2004, 06:11 PM\'] The problem with the above sked is that Price and Match weren't available as strips (unless you saved them up to run for a portion of the season)  WZZM in Grand Rapids saved up all of their H'wood Squares to run in the summer as a strip.  Some of the strips available in syndication at the time were Concentration, TTTT, WML, Dealer's Choice, Diamond Head, Newlywed, Dating, 3aC, Liar's Club, It's Your Bet, Truth or Conseq., etc. [/quote]
Interesting...didn't know Concentration was a strip as well...OK, we'll try this again. :-)[/quote]
But stations might've been able to air "Concentration" once a week, if they wished, since the shows were self-contained.  In Chicago at one time or another, "WML?", "TTTT" and "T or C" ran in access once a  week (WBBM for the former two, WMAQ for "T or C") without any other runs during the week.

And in 1979-80, the only season "NTT" ran twice a week, WMAQ only aired it once a week.

[GSWitch]

I'll take the challenge.

The time; our bicentennial season, 1976-77!   All times CST since it's from Texas!

6:00 -  Concentration

6:30 Rotation

MONDAY:  The $128,000 Question

TUESDAY:  Match Game PM

WEDNESDAY:  $100,000 Name That Tune

THURSDAY:  The Gong Show

FRIDAY:  The New Treasure Hunt

Why Treasure Hunt on Fridays?  To follow Donny & Marie!

[Ian Wallis]

But stations might've been able to air "Concentration" once a week, if they wished, since the shows were self-contained.

A few stations actually aired "Concentration" six times a week - five in a strip during the afternoon, and another at night in the "checkerboard" (but it was probably just a rerun from an earlier daytime show, since they only did five per week).

Also, I was sure "Diamond Head" was only a once-a-week show.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'GSWitch\' date=\'Feb 15 2004, 09:51 PM\'] FRIDAY:  The New Treasure Hunt

Why Treasure Hunt on Fridays?  To follow Donny & Marie! [/quote]
 1)  Don't you have that backwards?

2)  Besides, what does one have to do with the other?

Doug -- and the countdown to 400 continues