What caused Mark Goodson's success?

[gamed121683]

As most of us here know Mark Goodson is the undisputed king of the game show producers. His resume consists of numerous classics (To Tell The Truth, The Price Is Right, Match Game) to a few misses (The Better Sex, Trivia Trap, Child's Play). I remember reading an interview of him and one of the questions asked was "What is the secret to your success of most of your shows?" to which Goodson responded "If I knew the secret to my success of my shows, I would have made 10 just like it." Which brings up my question, what do you think was the reason Mark Goodson was such a succesful producer and how come no one has yet to duplicate it. This should bring up some great thought provoking pyschological answers.

-Go on group, discuss!

[gtbecbp]

From what I've heard and read, Goodson had a great knack for taking an idea for a game show (from an employee, or other coleauge) and refining it into something special.  He knew what worked most of the time, and television is better for it.

Ben

[Jimmy Owen]

A combination of being there when TV was in its infancy, committment to quality, employing the right people and a strong will to avoid reliving the depression era were major factors in my view.  Why no one will duplicate his success?  Too much emphasis on short-term thinking.

[tvrandywest]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Feb 20 2004, 09:34 PM\']A combination of being there when TV was in its infancy, committment to quality, employing the right people and a strong will to avoid reliving the depression era were major factors in my view.  Why no one will duplicate his success?  Too much emphasis on short-term thinking.[/quote]
From what I know, you nailed most of it, Jimmy. I was never an employee so I don't claim to be any expert. I'm basing my opinions on talking with him a half-dozen times, having done a bunch of runthroughs and pilots for his company, years of asking many of his former employees about Mr. Goodson, briefly dating his niece(!) who grew up on the sets, and working with a bunch of his staff at "Price" as well as now also working with his son on another show.

I'd underline the part about surrounding himself with a inner circle of creative people who understood the genre, adding that he generously rewarded their loyalty (financially moreso than with credit for their contributions). Mr. Goodson believed in keeping the games pure and simple, never straying from the basic, very simple premise (what does this guy do for a living, how much does that cost, etc.). He was a stickler for perfecting each format with endless run-throughs so that the show was prepared for every eventuality during game play. And he earned the networks' respect with a reputation for almost always presenting a well staged production on time and within budget; no last minute grief or surprises when they did business with him.

That reputation was unexpectedly enhanced as some of his competitors were brought down by the big scandal. For whatever reason, Goodson didn't blatantly rig shows for maximum drama (or to cover flawed formats) when most other producers did.

And yes, you nailed it again, Jimmy. Those who were close with Mark Goodson often talk about his personality and many idiosyncrasies. Psychologically he was a very complex man driven by a number of personal issues relating to being poor during his childhood and his concerns about respect and social stature. His story would make for an interesting book; too bad I only read prize descriptions    ;-)


Randy
tvrandywest.com

[Craig Karlberg]

I agree Randy.  In fact, most of his shows worked because they were just that; pure & simple.  Therefore, here are my 5 rules for making a sucessful game shows IMO.

1.  Keep it simple.  Don't overcomplicate things or stray far off the format.

2.  Always consider a play-along factor.  Most viewers will have a tendency to try to "outguess" the players on that show.

3.  Create an atmosphere that is positive & can rub off on everyone in the studio.  Case in point:  TPIR, now in its 32nd season does so well in creating just the right atmosphere that no one will walk away feeling guilty about a game show.

4.  Keep it finnancially sound.  Most sucessful game shows tend to stay within their budgets with consistency.

5.  Make sure it's executed properly.  Even if mistakes occur, there are oppurtunities to rectify the situation untill it's done right.

[Terry K]

One other point with Goodson is that he successfully was able to modernize his shows without ruining the baisc premise.

For example, on the first NBC P+ ep, Ludden was going over the game play and said something to the effect of "this is the password you all know and love with an exciting new twist"  

One could tell that Ludden *was* comfortable in the format, which was typical for Goodson's hosts.  I can't think of a single series that Goodson did where the host wasn't comfortable with the format, other than Password All Stars that had that mega confusing format, which I don't think Goodson really thought up.  I seriously think that format was dreamed up by ABC.    

Goodson was successful because simply put, he knew what he was doing.  He knew times were changing and the tastes of the american public were too.  When they revived FF with Combs, it wasn't that much different than ABC Feud, but just a couple new rules and fixed a couple things that could be tweaked.

TPIR was a radical departure from the Cullen years, but it really wasn't.  Goodson told CBS he would only revive TPIR if he could change it a bit.  Luckily for him, the changes made it a long-term success.  (I agree fully with the poster who said that MG was in things for the long haul)

Another key to MG's success was that he was a very honest man.  After the scandals, he knew by keeping the prizes low and the production value high (He never did a show on the cheap as a general rule of thumb)  

The only thing MG ever really did wrong was MGHSH, which he tried to do his way with no success.  It *could* have worked except for a couple things

1.  Failing to give the celebs material to work with in advance.  I understand his no cheating policy, but at least telling them the line of questioning isn't cheating in my book.  As a result, the timing of the show was way off, and the fact that Rayburn wasn't comfy in the lower left square wasn't good.

2.  Jon Bauman.  I'm not convinced that was MG's first choice to host the show.  I have this feeling NBC may have been the driving force behind that choice.

[Kevin Prather]

To me, Mark Goodson's knack for creating a good game show is like Richard Carpenter's knack for creating a good song. It can't be dictated, but you know a great end result when you see/hear it.