“Cool a new game show!” but it’s not a game show

[BrandonFG]

Matt’s post on the “For Love or Money” thread gave me an idea. Have you ever seen a show in TV Guide, and got your hopes up only to find out it wasn’t anything close to a game show?

About 30 years ago, I remember seeing a listing for a CNBC show called “Money Wheel”. I was super excited because I figured it was something like “Wheel of Fortune”. Finally got to tune in and it was about finance or the stock market. Boring when you’re only 9 or 10.

Around that same time, WGN had a show called “Bullseye” and I immediately got my hopes up thinking it was the Jim Lange show. Nope. Chicago Bulls highlights.

Anyone else got any stories?

[aaron sica]

Yep!

Early 1994. TV Guide listing:

9:30 (VH1) Body Language-Game

Considering I hadn't seen the show in nearly a decade, I was very excited to possibly see it again. Nope. Music videos that have to do with bodies. Big disappointment.

Another one was a listing for a show called "The Name of the Game".

[aaron sica]

Additionally...Not a game show, but as a really small child about 4 or 5 I remember either seeing TV Guide listings or just a promo for "Afternoon Playhouse". I was convinced I was going to be watching other kids playing in a playhouse. That sounded fun! Despite my mother trying to tell me that's not what it was. I didn't believe her and was, of course, disappointed.

[colonial]

In the mid-80s, I saw a listing for a show called "Photoplay" that aired late night in the market I was in. It sounded like a game show -- something to do with identifying pictures, I presumed, so I set the VCR to record an episode and watch it that weekend.

Very disappointed to find out this was an Entertainment Tonight-like series that profiled Hollywood stars. Believe it aired for less than a year.


JD

[DoItRockapella]

In the early 2000s, my teenage self visited London and bought a UK TV listings magazine. The magazine stated that "Jeopardy" was on BBC1 at whatever time.

"Cool! A new UK version of Jeopardy!"

Nope. It was THIS Jeopardy (a British kids sci-fi show):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeopardy_(BBC_TV_series)

I felt very dumb. In hindsight, I should have known better - even at the time, I was far enough into Internet game show fandom that if there actually was a new UK version of the quiz show Jeopardy, I probably would have known about it.

[BrandonFG]

Yep!

Early 1994. TV Guide listing:

9:30 (VH1) Body Language-Game

This is slowly coming back to me and I wanna say I had the same reaction. Unfortunately we had one of those wonky cable systems where two networks shared a channel. In the morning was VH1; at night it was Comedy Central. And naturally, TCI never had either one going when they had a show I really wanted to watch.

[gamed121683]

I can think of two times this happened to me...

1. When I was a kid, I saw a listing for a show on USA in TV Guide that read "It's Your Move". That's it, no mention of the genre or anything. However, I took a guess and thought it was a game show off of the title. With my knowledge of short-lived TV shows being infinitesimal at that time, imagine my disappointment when I watched and saw that it was a sitcom. I wasn't upset for long when I learned, "Wow, I never knew David Hogan & Steve Rhodes did a show together". I stuck it out for the cast and it ended up liking it; it was a fun show. Coincidentally, the episode I saw was the one where the two of them go on a game show!

2. In the late '90s, I was surprised to see this listing on my local Fox affiliate at 3:00AM:

THREE'S A CROWD--Game

Intrigued, I set my VCR to see if they got the rerun rights to the game show or if it was a typo. I checked the tape the next day and sure enough, it was the latter (It was the short-lived Three's Company spinoff with John Ritter).

[Adam Nedeff]

I remember, as a kid in the '90s, going through the cable guide one day and seeing E! was about to air High Rollers. I hit the info button on the remote, and even the cable guide was fooled, because the info was something like "Contestants answer trivia questions and roll dice to win cash and prizes."

Nope. Documentary about how casinos accommodate wealthy visitors.

[Jimmy Owen]

ABC documentary "The Mating Game" of the 60s,  the newsified Candid Camera knockoff "What Would You Do?"

[Kevin Prather]

"Countdown with Keith Olbermann" comes to mind.

[clemon79]

Have you ever seen a show in TV Guide, and got your hopes up only to find out it wasn’t anything close to a game show?

The Rich List.

[Otm Shank]

The Rich List.

Thread. Won.

[Ian Wallis]

I'm sure there are a few others but one that pops to mind is Money Game, which was on CITY-TV in Toronto in the mid-70s.  It turned out to be a recap of the markets aimed for businesses.

[BrandonFG]

Have you ever seen a show in TV Guide, and got your hopes up only to find out it wasn’t anything close to a game show?

The Rich List.

(sigh) “Points.”

[clemon79]

(sigh) “Points.”

We need a GIF of Taylor hitting the button now.