Great short-lived shows

[carlisle96]

I don't know if this has been brought up before, gang, but what do you nominate as a great show that bombed in the ratings or was yanked after 13 or 26 weeks for other reasons? My nomination is the Bill Cullen "Pass the Buck" with Trebek's "Double Dare" as a runner-up.

[Winkfan]

Three little words: The Big Showdown

Cordially,
Tammy

[Kevin Prather]

I remain shocked to learn that Cullen's Chain Reaction only lasted one season, and was the shortest-lived version of all of them.

As for shows that never came back, Greed comes right to mind.

[jage]

Always wished for more of idiot savants

[Blanquepage]

Break the Bank for certain. A modern choice for me is The Rich List, and was glad to see GSN try to bring it back. Too bad it just didn't catch on here.

[BrandonFG]

Three little words: The Big Showdown

This is the way.

It ran a little longer than 26 weeks, but Talk About is a pretty underrated show IMO.

[Ian Wallis]

Break the Bank for certain. A modern choice for me is The Rich List, and was glad to see GSN try to bring it back. Too bad it just didn't catch on here.

I'll go along with Break the Bank.  It make be a takeoff on Hollywood Squares, but I think it's a cleverly conceived and endlessly interesting show that didn't get a fair shot.

Fred Silverman cancelled it prematurely, despite strong ratings, because he was hell-bent on expanding soap operas.  Both One Life To Live and General Hospital were expanded from 30 to 45 minutes after the departure of Break the Bank.  I remember reading some time ago that it took the ratings a long time to climb back to what they were before the cancellation.

What they should have done was delay the premiere of Hot Seat - that was a waste of a half-hour - and move Break the Bank into that slot.  It probably would have had at least a few more months if that had occurred.

[PYLdude]

I always had a soft spot for That’s The Question. I liked the combination of questions with hangman-style puzzles.

I felt Now You See It deserved a better fate, especially the later version.

[Long live Jeopardy]

1. Chain Reaction (1980 Bill Cullen version)
2. Dream House (1983-84 Bob Eubanks version)
3. Talkabout (Wayne Cox)
4. Trivial Pursuit (1993 Wink Martindale version)
5. My Generation (1998 VH1 game show)

[SamJ93]

I don't know if this has been brought up before, gang, but what do you nominate as a great show that bombed in the ratings or was yanked after 13 or 26 weeks for other reasons? My nomination is the Bill Cullen "Pass the Buck" with Trebek's "Double Dare" as a runner-up.

It's been noted many times before, but PtB's major flaw was that it relied on categories whose answers were subjectively judged. If they had just stuck to objective trivia lists and/or surveys with pre-defined answers a là Hot Potato, it would've been far more enjoyable, though probably not any more long-lived.

As for DD '76, co-sign.

[carlisle96]

I don't know if this has been brought up before, gang, but what do you nominate as a great show that bombed in the ratings or was yanked after 13 or 26 weeks for other reasons? My nomination is the Bill Cullen "Pass the Buck" with Trebek's "Double Dare" as a runner-up.

It's been noted many times before, but PtB's major flaw was that it relied on categories whose answers were subjectively judged. If they had just stuck to objective trivia lists and/or surveys with pre-defined answers a là Hot Potato, it would've been far more enjoyable, though probably not any more long-lived.

As for DD '76, co-sign.

You may be right, but Bob Stewart didn't seem too partial to Q&A type shows. A trivia contest may have dragged things down. This was a "think fast" game ... just keep throwing out answers and you'll hit the right ones, as long as you don't get flustered. The "name something" categories gave the contestants the chance to be a bit creative and it also gave Bill Cullen the chance to do what he does best: be Bill Cullen.

[JasonA1]

Bob Stewart didn't seem too partial to Q&A type shows. A trivia contest may have dragged things down. This was a "think fast" game ... just keep throwing out answers and you'll hit the right ones, as long as you don't get flustered. The "name something" categories gave the contestants the chance to be a bit creative and it also gave Bill Cullen the chance to do what he does best: be Bill Cullen.

This is my co-sign. Naturally, it was better with the more inventive categories, but to fill 13 weeks of shows, you need material of all stripes. There are ways to mitigate the subjectivity -- having more than one judge, and making a meal out of that fact, would soften the blow of a "wrong" answer. But if just one person is the arbiter and decides, "nope, you don't bring beer to a picnic," you're bound to make somebody at home mad.

-Jason

[mmb5]

You're in the Picture

[steveleb]

Musical Chairs, once they added the end game.  Ambitious and entertaining.  Never had a chance as a sporadically scheduled island

[BrandonFG]

Having watched the pilot, I'll add Blackout. Maybe it needed a little more streamlining because Wolpert and maybe not inherit the time slot of a show like Pyramid, but there was a decent show in there somewhere.