Great, but forgotten, long-running shows

[Ian Wallis]

I'll add Celebrity Sweepstakes to the list.  It ran for just over three years if you include the syndicated version.  How many people today have even heard of it?  Unfortunately it's never been repeated - and we only know of a small handful of episodes that still exist.

When there was the discussion on here about what NBC was doing with their shows, I thought of how You Don't Say was one of several contemporary examples that made OG Password look like a game for squares.

I thought of You Don't Say.  I'm not sure I'd necessarily call it great - personally I'm more partial to the 1975 version (but maybe just because of the novelty factor).  I remember when this Forum did our Top 50 favorite game shows a couple of times and You Don't Say didn't place very high, despite its long run and high ratings in the '60s.

[Casey]

I'd put Fandango on this list.  I'm not sure how "popular" it was since it was only shown on cable, but it did run for 6 years and I suspect there is a sizable population of people who have never heard of it and probably have never heard of TNN either.

[TimK2003]

I'd put Fandango on this list.  I'm not sure how "popular" it was since it was only shown on cable, but it did run for 6 years and I suspect there is a sizable population of people who have never heard of it and probably have never heard of TNN either.

And if that same crowd were to view an episode today. they'd be saying, "Why are there no (if any) questions about movies???"

[SamJ93]

Reruns definitely play a factor in how well-remembered a show is. I wonder if PYL would today be as obscure as YDS! or Cross-Wits had it not been in near-constant reruns on USA, GSN and now Buzzr for the past 30+ years.

Is College Bowl still well-remembered by the folks on the quiz bowl circuit? I know there was a revival recently, but it seemed very dumbed-down compared to the eps. I saw from the '60s.

[steveleb]

What’s your Stance on Beat the Clock?  No new adult version has been produced in more than a quarter century and the versions that were produced since the original were short lived and/or modestly viewed even in first run. 

[SamJ93]

What’s your Stance on Beat the Clock?  No new adult version has been produced in more than a quarter century and the versions that were produced since the original were short lived and/or modestly viewed even in first run.

While that may be true, I'd say that it laid the foundation for other later, better-remembered stunt-based game shows such as Double Dare and Minute To Win It, so it still lives on in a way, albeit subconsciously.

Similarly, no one who isn't a TV historian or 80+ years old remembers Winner Take All, but it was the first show to feature contestants competing against each other and the first to use a buzz-in format, so it's still in the public consciousness in a sense.

[BrandonFG]

There's actually been two Beat the Clock reboots in the 21st Century. One was hosted by Gary Kroeger and ran on Pax around 2002, and the other ran on a smaller cable network (The Hub or something? Maybe Discovery Family?). They were both pretty short-lived, so Steve may have a point. But Sam also makes good points about other stunt shows still had an audience.

[DoItRockapella]

There's actually been two Beat the Clock reboots in the 21st Century. One was hosted by Gary Kroeger and ran on Pax around 2002, and the other ran on a smaller cable network (The Hub or something? Maybe Discovery Family?). They were both pretty short-lived, so Steve may have a point. But Sam also makes good points about other stunt shows still had an audience.

It was even lower profile then The Hub or Discovery Family - Universal Kids.

I myself agree with Sam about Beat The Clock - it walked so shows like Double Dare can run. It helps, of course, that I have childhood nostalgia for Double Dare, which I don't have for Beat The Clock.

I'd put Fandango on this list.  I'm not sure how "popular" it was since it was only shown on cable, but it did run for 6 years and I suspect there is a sizable population of people who have never heard of it and probably have never heard of TNN either.

If we're talking about cable shows, how about Win Ben Stein's Money? Ran for years, launched Jimmy Kimmel's career...does anybody remember it now?

That said, while I quite like WBSM, I don't think it could be revived, largely because it seems to me to be completely dependent on Ben Stein's persona. I doubt he would come back, and I also doubt the show would work if you swapped Ben out for a Jeopardy superchampion or whatever.

[BrandonFG]

It was even lower profile then The Hub or Discovery Family - Universal Kids.

That's the one...thank you.

That said, while I quite like WBSM, I don't think it could be revived, largely because it seems to me to be completely dependent on Ben Stein's persona. I doubt he would come back, and I also doubt the show would work if you swapped Ben out for a Jeopardy superchampion or whatever.

The British version had Jeremy Beadle, who from what I've seen is the polar opposite of Ben's personality (not difficult to do, I know). I don't think you want an outright "villain" like James Holzhauer, but someone with say, Ken Jennings's dry humor could work IMO. Neil Degrasse Tyson has been in my head as a replacement for a while now.

[thomas_meighan]

"PDQ" ran four years in syndication (and NBC O&Os), but lack of subsequent availability has limited the scope of discussion in later years. Same for "It's Your Bet," another relatively long-running syndicated entry. Think all I've seen is a fall 1969 episode (w/Lyle Waggoner, Imogene Coca and partners) and the prank between Burt Reynolds and Tom Kennedy.

For the first run of "Pay Cards" we have the episode with Celeste Holm, and many people seem to like or remember "Super Pay Cards," but in the interim, there was a 1973-75 series on CTV hosted by Paul Hanover that's much more obscure.

The daytime "Do You Trust Your Wife?"/"Who Do You Trust" had a lengthy run of six years and three months (1957-63) and the name cachet of Johnny Carson for its first five years, but not many episodes seem to be available.

The same could be said of many early shows: "Who Said That?" (1948-55), "Twenty Questions" (1949-55), "Down You Go" (1951-56) et al. The latter is described as something really special in Brooks and Marsh's book on primetime TV. The one surviving episode (which admittedly is from the post-DuMont period) seemed to me OK but not overly noteworthy.

[Ian Wallis]

For the first run of "Pay Cards" we have the episode with Celeste Holm, and many people seem to like or remember "Super Pay Cards," but in the interim, there was a 1973-75 series on CTV hosted by Paul Hanover that's much more obscure.

I remember the 1973-75 version well.  It was repeated in syndication in Canada for a year or two in the late '70s.  Unfortunately we'll probably never see that one again.  A couple of years ago I had a phone conversation with the fellow who runs the Bonus Round website.  In his searching it's been determined that most of CTV's 1970s game shows have been wiped.  Even for Definition, the episodes he has don't start until around 1980.

We can always cross our fingers though!

[Dbacksfan12]

I'd imagine that Shop Till You Drop has faded into obscurity beyond our borders. That had a pretty healthy run including one reboot.

If YouTube comments mean anything, it seems plenty remember.  Wasn't this on GSN somewhat recently?

I remember when this Forum did our Top 50 favorite game shows a couple of times and You Don't Say didn't place very high, despite its long run and high ratings in the '60s.

In fairness, I'm guessing a decent number of people who voted, especially in the 2006 edition had never seen the show.  Uploads of shows on YouTube was scant (if non-existant) at that time and not everybody had a chance to see a show.

My votes go to Scrabble and the last two runs of High Rollers.

[That Don Guy]

I know of a couple that I haven't seen mentioned so far:
JackPot!
The Joker's Wild - even with that Snoop Dogg-hosted version a few years ago, few people are going to know what it was.

A show like Celebrity Sweepstakes probably wouldn't do well today as it depends on celebrities being knowledgeable about general knowledge questions. Okay, you can say the same thing about Hollywood Squares, but at least they don't need to be correct on that show.

Also, for whoever mentioned Beat the Clock, is it that much different from Minute to Win It?

[TLEberle]

I'd imagine that Shop Till You Drop has faded into obscurity beyond our borders. That had a pretty healthy run including one reboot.

If YouTube comments mean anything, it seems plenty remember.  Wasn't this on GSN somewhat recently?

Ten or eleven years ago I believe.

that said I know friends have brought up Sweep and Drop when the topic came up; they aren't two shows I will effuse over just for their own sake, though I think the Shopper's Challenge Round is as good an ending as that on Sale of the Century.

[Clay Zambo]

When there was the discussion on here about what NBC was doing with their shows, I thought of how You Don't Say was one of several contemporary examples that made OG Password look like a game for squares.

That’s funny; the first time I saw YDS I thought it was Password for anarchists.