Your Game Show "Hunger" Over The Decades...

[TimK2003]

Life changes over the years: things you did all the time in your 20s may or may not be the same things you do or hobbies and interests have changed.

Let's go back 25 years to 1996.  Game Show Network was just a baby, many of us were trading hours of VCR tape full of old game shows as streaming audio and video on the internet was still a few years off.  New game shows were few and far between at the time (compared to now) and were not too popular then either. 

Now back to 2021.  Network game shows have increased -- especially in primetime, there are more ways to watch new and old episodes of game shows both on the internet and on TV. 

The question I put to the Forum:  Has your interest in game shows increased, decreased, or remained the same in the last few decades, and why?

Personally, I couldn't tell you when the last time I did a tape trade.  I still have not converted my 200+ VCR tapes of game shows to a more modern format (DVD, Digital,...).  I probably have stayed the same as far as watching old episodes on TV -- mostly via Buzzr, Pluto and Amazon Prime.  (Watching anything on GSN or Game Show Central is very rare). It's also nice that I married someone who loves game shows as much as me.

As far as new episodes of network or syndicated offerings, with the exception of the ABC Fun & Games, nothing else is really appointment TV anymore.  I don't even try to record nor save any of the new shows for my collecting purposes anymore.  Most of the new network "non-reboot" game shows or shows on cable/satellite channels don't even show up on my interest radar anymore as the way they are done nowadays is not the way they were done "back in the day" -- spoiler clips before the commercial breaks, homogenized contestants, hosts that shouldn't be,...

So yes, my interests in game shows have "matured" over the years.  I appreciate the old-school shows more as well as most of the reboots, but like new music on the radio, most of the newer shows I can't get into, with the exception of a show here and there.

How about the rest of you?

[BrandonFG]

It comes and goes. I'm definitely not as rabid as I was in my teen years, and I cringe at how passionate or annoying I was in the ATGS-era.

I enjoy Buzzr and watch the ABC revivals from time to time. If a true obscurity pops up, I'm there. Not an avid viewer due to production preferences, but I can enjoy the shows as a casual fan with occasional criticism.

But that's me with television in general. I just don't watch as much as I used to.

[TLEberle]

It comes and goes. I'm definitely not as rabid as I was in my teen years, and I cringe at how passionate or annoying I was in the ATGS-era.

I'm kinda the same. My passions are very narrow but they run deep. I have fewer shows that I care about (no Pyramid or Millionaire on daily doesn't help) but I still love the classic stuff.

But that's me with television in general. I just don't watch as much as I used to.

I was hellbent for leather into Game Show Network in the late 90s and early 00s. Now that they have squeezed back what is on and the advent of youtube or Amazon Prime nothing is really a necessity any more.

[SuperMatch93]

I'm still interested at a similar level, but not in the same way I was when I was younger. I don't spend my free time reading the EOTVGS cover to cover anymore, nor do I watch two hours of shows on GSN every morning, but I'll still watch an episode or two of whatever catches my fancy on YouTube every so often.

/1,000 posts! And it only took fifteen years!

[Blanquepage]

Mine comes in waves. Right now I'm super interested in going back and digitizing all of my 20+ year old tapes, in a couple weeks the enthusiasm will probably fade and my interest will shift back to either video games or another hobby. Recording off BUZZR has remained a constant part of my weekdays, though, regardless of what hobby I'm focused on at the time.

[Chief-O]

It's definitely more of a casual hobby for me these days. TPIR used to be a daily ritual; nowadays I don't watch it at all. I have GSN, but I don't watch it. Heck, I rarely watch Buzzr (but since they got through LMAD '85 and moved Narz "Concentration" to mornings, I haven't gotten to it......that said, I should be watching/have watched "Classic Concentration" much more!). However, J! is a daily blood sport for me, and the majority of the ABC reboots are appointment viewing. I kind of liked "Game of Talents", but I thought the "Name That Tune" reboot was just OK.

I do occasionally go down rabbit holes on YouTube, though.

[beatlefreak84]

I would agree that it's definitely been in an ebb-and-flow pattern over the years, especially as work and family responsibilities have increased.

In the 1990s, pretty much any game show on TV was something I would watch.  The USA block in the afternoons was a ritual for me whenever I was off from school, and, when we got GSN in 1997...man; I just couldn't stop watching it.  I can even remember making a journal entry in fifth grade that I was disappointed we didn't have a four-day weekend because I wanted to know who won the tournament on a $100,000 Pyramid rerun!

In the 2000s, I kept up with GSN, both classics and first-run shows, but I don't remember going out of my way to watch newer shows.  With one exception:  I was hooked on Deal or No Deal when it started on NBC, but got shaken out of it with all of the gimmicks.  I *really* wanted to like Temptation, and kept giving it chances, but eventually became so disappointed with what could have been.

In the 2010s, I got my first full-time job, and, while I get a lot of my game show fix via YouTube and Buzzr now (which are great since I typically watch game shows late at night), I don't spend anywhere as much time watching game shows as I did before.  Most of the time, the game shows are background noise, not something I specifically make a point to watch.  But, I can say that I have loved the ABC reboots, and I still watch Wheel on a regular basis.  I will check out the newer shows, but, again, I don't really make them appointment TV like I used to.

That said, one thing is as true today as it was when I was younger:  If I happen to be home and awake at 10:00 AM (Central) on a weekday morning, Price is Right will be on the TV.

Anthony

[BrandonFG]

I would agree that it's definitely been in an ebb-and-flow pattern over the years, especially as work and family responsibilities have increased.

In the 1990s, pretty much any game show on TV was something I would watch.  The USA block in the afternoons was a ritual for me whenever I was off from school, and, when we got GSN in 1997...man; I just couldn't stop watching it.

Agreed. I think a lot of that came from the fewer options in the mid-90s, so any game show was worth watching. I couldn’t imagine having the two dozen options we have now at 13.

[TLEberle]

Over a Labor Day weekend that I was spending at my mom's I called my Dad to ask him to record the championship day of Tic Tac Dough's big winners tournament because the houseboat had just the antenna channels.

[The Ol' Guy]

Spending most of the time enjoying the offerings on the Bill Cullen Archive site - even though I never could warm up to Child's Play - a ripoff of Everybody's Talking with overly cute kids who ramble on. Watched The Chase for the first time this past Sunday. Not too bad. Most of today's newer shows have been one and done. I'm less patient with shows that drag and/or have pretty much an even split of commercial and game time. Part of the "hunger" in younger days came from wanting to be a part of the action, and there was some encouragement from a few people along the way. That hunger led to putting a lot of family and friends on the bottom of life's priority list. Still like game shows, just no longer eat, sleep and breathe them. There are better things than being famous. 

[mystery7]

even though I never could warm up to Child's Play - a ripoff of Everybody's Talking with overly cute kids who ramble on.

Not just everybody's Talking, but Hollywood's Talking, too - all three to me were basically the Pyramid front game played in slo-mo with your partner's clues pre-recorded on film. Not a fan of any of them.

But I digress.

The love has waxed and waned over the years, just as it has for a lot of you. I feel it waxing again with what ABC's been doing over the past few summers and the availability of Buzzr as a sort of replacement for GSN. However, I don't watch as much. I was HUGE on Jeopardy! in high school and a little after...not so much at all now. Priorities, I guess. Plus, new shows just don't grab me like the older ones did. Nice to see game shows come back, but there's a little something different in the recipes that makes them not quite taste the same and keeps me from asking for seconds.