Game show news, circa Nov. 1997

[dzinkin]

While cleaning my house, I found two old issues of Broadcasting & Cable... and thought it might be interesting to share some game show-related news from the past.  The first of the two issues is from November 17, 1997, and notes that as of that date:

 - Pearson All American is planning updated versions of Family Feud, Password and Match Game.

 - Dolly Parton is in negotiations to host the new Feud.  Pearson All-American's first choice to host?  Sinbad.

 - Gordon Elliott is preparing to host the new Password, and will host Feud if Parton and Pearson All American can't come to an agreement.  A number of syndicators said "he would be a perfect fit for a new version of either game show."

 - Michael Burger says he has been chosen to host the new Match Game: "I am going to host it;  All American has it.  Nothing is official as far as an airdate or pickup date.  All we know is, I am hosting it when it goes."

 - Telepictures is reviving Love Connection and pairing it with a new show, Change of Heart.  Says Scott Carlin, executive vice president of Telepictures: "Late night is still a conquest waiting to happen.  Love Connection has a wide appeal.  It always did well in ethnic households and Hispanic homes.  It is clearly the kind of show that has the custom tailoring for late night."  Change of Heart, meanwhile, will accept only couples who have been dating for less than six months so as not to be blamed for "driving a wedge between couples."  No host has been chosen for Change of Heart.

 - Mel Karmazin, chairman of CBS Radio and Stations Inc., says of the not-yet-launched Hollywood Squares: "That rumor about me being in the center square -- we've talked about it, but Roger King just won't pay me enough money."  He says the show has a good shot at success because "it has a lot of the same benefits as Wheel and Jeopardy!.  People like to play along.  They all know it.  Better than Wheel and Jeopardy, which tend to skew older.  Depending on who you put in the squares, you can control the demographic of the show."

 - Pictionary is "picking up ratings momentum," with a 1.8 rating/6 share nationally for the first week of the November sweeps.

 - Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune will become multiplayer games in their full-blown online launch next year.  Online versions of Jeopardy in specific categories, as well as kids' versions of Jeopardy and Wheel, are also being considered.

Next up: an issue from early '94... with promises of success for The New Price is Right, among other things.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'dzinkin\' date=\'Feb 26 2004, 09:37 PM\'] - Pearson All American is planning updated versions of Family Feud, Password and Match Game.

 - Dolly Parton is in negotiations to host the new Feud.  Pearson All-American's first choice to host?  Sinbad.

 - Gordon Elliott is preparing to host the new Password, and will host Feud if Parton and Pearson All American can't come to an agreement.  A number of syndicators said "he would be a perfect fit for a new version of either game show."
 [/quote]
 Interesting, I think Gordon could've been witty enough to do either Password or Feud, but I wonder if and how Fremantle would've f'ed up Password. :-/

As for Sinbad or Dolly Parton, I don't see either doing Feud or any other game show. Then again, I couldn't picture Louie Anderson five years ago, so it's all moot. :-)

[Jimmy Owen]

See, Dolly might have worked on "Feud;" the inspiration on FF was the down-home, country Hatfield-McCoy-style rivalry.  So who hosted it at the beginning?  Some British guy.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Feb 26 2004, 10:21 PM\'] See, Dolly might have worked on "Feud;" the inspiration on FF was the down-home, country Hatfield-McCoy-style rivalry.  So who hosted it at the beginning?  Some British guy. [/quote]
 I think BIll Anderson would have been stellar as a Feud host. WOnder if Goodson considered him for the revival that Ray Combs got.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Feb 26 2004, 10:21 PM\']See, Dolly might have worked on "Feud;" the inspiration on FF was the down-home, country Hatfield-McCoy-style rivalry.[/quote]
That's a good point, but would they have kept the whole country-fried atmosphere for Dolly Parton's sake, or would they still have used the techno theme and high-tech set? Honestly, the more I think about it, you have a really good point...they could've done a few special weeks from Dollywood or Opryland (like in 1993).

So who hosted it at the beginning?  Some British guy.

That would be Bruce Forsythe...he liked hosting Feud so much he decided to do his own version for the same network in 1986. ;-)

[HYHYBT]

I believe Opryland was closed by 1998. Certainly it didn't last much after that.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Feb 26 2004, 09:49 PM\'] Interesting, I think Gordon could've been witty enough to do either Password or Feud, but I wonder if and how Fremantle would've f'ed up Password. :-/

 [/quote]
Annoucer: "The password is Antidisestablishtenarism"
[2 seconds pass)
(buzzer sounds)
Host: I'm sorry, the game is over!  But we do have a collection of Tasty Tuesday recipies for you...

[GS Warehouse]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Mar 2 2004, 12:58 AM\'] Annoucer: "The password is Antidisestablishtenarism"
[2 seconds pass)
(buzzer sounds)
Host: I'm sorry, the game is over!  But we do have a collection of Tasty Tuesday recipies for you... [/quote]
 I'm still standing by my earlier vision that if Fremantle attempts Password in this day and age, half the passwords will be forbidden parts of the human anatomy that would have censored just a few years ago.

Of course, in my mind, this will be the game show of the future:

Welcome to the show.  We'll be back to start the game after this message.
[3-minute commercial break]
Welcome back.  We'll find out a little more about our players after this.
[4-minute commercial break]
Here's how we play our game: just answers as many questions as you can before the end of the show.  We'll have our first question right after the break.
[more commercials]
I'm sorry, but we're out of time.  No winner today.  See you next time!
[4-minute commercial break, followed by fee plugs]

See, all income and no prize budget.  Even on half of Ask Rita's ratings it'll be the most profitable show on TV!