Close calls....narrow escapes.....

[aaron sica]

.......coming to BUZZR!

https://www.vulture.com/2021/08/70s-game-show-whew-to-air-on-retro-network-buzzr.html

[jlgarfield]

Holy guacamole! This is exciting news - and I loved the format, even if it was a little convoluted.

[tvmitch]

BUZZR posted a YouTube video with a sample Gauntlet:



The Vulture article also mentions the show has nearly 250 episodes...a quick Wiki check shows 247 taped episodes...I didn't realize that many had been taped.

Terrific!

[SuperMatch93]

Randy is smiling.

/I hope this will be available on Prime at some point

[MSTieScott]

They did it. Those crazy sons of guns, they did it.

[Blanquepage]

I'm sure a couple of FB friends on the board are already over me pointing this out, but recall that Concentration and Whew were on the BUZZR survey a couple years ago, and brought out of the vault on Winc's channel first before ultimately debuting on BUZZR. I can only hope there's something to that considering there are also some nice studio master uploads of Scrabble and High Rollers too...which were also on the survey.

Anyhow, amazing news!

[tpirfan28]

Is this the first format that has zero ties to Fremantle to air on the network?
A combination guaranteed to say wow, more than anything.

Starts 9/6.

[Chief-O]

Is this the first format that has zero ties to Fremantle to air on the network?

I think "Bzzz!" was first.

Otherwise, hot darn. I'm sure it'll be appointment viewing once it's on the schedule.

[Blanquepage]

Is this the first format that has zero ties to Fremantle to air on the network?

I think "Bzzz!" was first.

Wouldn't that be Wordplay, as brief as it was? They also briefly had 20 episodes of Strike it Rich on their Prime channel, but those disappeared too.

[snowpeck]

Is this the first format that has zero ties to Fremantle to air on the network?

I think "Bzzz!" was first.

Wouldn't that be Wordplay, as brief as it was? They also briefly had 20 episodes of Strike it Rich on their Prime channel, but those disappeared too.

Wordplay had some ties as it was co-produced by Syd Vinnedge's company prior to it eventually becoming part of Fremantle in a series of mergers/acquisitions.

[weaklink75]

Well this is one of those times that hell has frozen dinners.

And it’s also a way for them to get a little more commercial time- IIRC, Whew was in a 25 minute slot and not 30…

[Chief-O]

They also briefly had 20 episodes of Strike it Rich on their Prime channel, but those disappeared too.

Kind of a stretch here, but I do understand that the British format ("Strike It Lucky") was produced by Thames Television, which ultimately got absorbed into Fremantle. It might be possible that Kline and Friends sold the format (and maybe the tapes?) to Thames.

[Casey Buck]

Wow! That's a hell of a rabbit that Buzzr pulled out of their hat, and they've pulled some pretty big ones in recent years with Concentration and MG/HS. Looks like Buzzr must be making enough money to get some outside acquisitions or leases.

Whew without commercials times out to about 18:30 or so. More than plenty enough for a 30 minute time slot with modern day commercial-loads. Hopefully no editing needed, other than ticket and contestant plugs.

[Sodboy13]

And it’s also a way for them to get a little more commercial time- IIRC, Whew was in a 25 minute slot and not 30…

This was my second thought as well, immediately following "Wait, what? Really?"

It is wild that we're getting something like this (complicated, flawed, yet deeply interesting) back on the air. The Variety article mentions Fremantle striking a deal with Winc. to air the show, since they hold the distribution rights. What are some other Sugarman productions that could potentially make it to Buzzr now that this agreement is in place?

[PYLdude]

Well, there’s really only two others (Wizard of Odds and Celebrity Sweepstakes); I would have to guess the former is wiped and the latter is up in the air based on what I read from the info available.