Barry Enright discussion

[wdm1219inpenna]

Lately I've been binge watching old episodes of "The Joker's Wild", both the 1972-75 CBS episodes available and some of the later syndicated season episodes as well.

This morning for kicks I decided instead to watch an old episode of Bullseye, even though I was never particularly a big fan of the game itself.  It had elements of The Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough, both shows also aired at the same time as Bullseye.

I often wondered why B&E would have three shows on at the same time that were all based on the same Q & A format and also why many stations would be interested in television three shows that were quite identical in nature.

Another curious thing I noticed is when Jim Lange told the current champion what he would win for winning 5 games in a row, Jay Stewart announced "It's a brand new car!" and that was it.  I'm curious to know why Bullseye never did a car plug when that was being mentioned yet a car plug was done on the other 2 shows.

I loved the trivia aspect of all three shows.  I loved Tic Tac Dough the most, that to me was the crown jewel of the B&E game shows of the 70s and 80s.  I also loved the original Play The Percentages format which got ruined when they changed it to solo players and it turned into another carbon copy of Joker, Bullseye & Tic Tac to me.

Another criticism I have is it seems to me the contestants were coached the same way when it came to facial reactions to bonus prizes being announced.  Many of their facial reactions seemed almost forced at times. 

Bullseye was bad enough but made worse when it went to an all Celebrity format playing for charities.  That was just awful...

I think Bullseye was the weakest link of the B&E shows during that era.  Bullseye's bonus game at times went on far too long, especially during the early days of the show when it took TEN turns without lighting to win assuming the player did not come up with three Bullseyes on the board.

[BrandonFG]

TTD sometimes didn’t show the car as well.

The following is all speculation.

Why Bullseye? My “just woke up” guess is stations needed content, esp. with the rise of indie stations in the early-80s. B&E had a track record with two top-10 syndicated shows, so why not take a chance on a third? Can’t afford Joker? We have its cousin from out of town.

With the car plugs, maybe Buick or Chevrolet didn’t pay their bill that week but the show wanted people to know you could still win a car?

As for the contestant reactions, a contestant shrugging over Z-Brick - justified as it may be - seems like bad television. I dunno, this is all speculation but I think the answer is closer to “Because.”

[Brian44]

Although TTD was the second of those 3 B&E shows to debut, it does seem like it was the template for the other 2 as far as contestant reactions and overall show pacing.

Is it just me or did TJW seem to have a much "looser" format until TTD came along in '78?

But yeah, if all you had to go by was Jay Stewart's or Charlie O's bonus round copy and a close-up of the contestant, you almost wouldn't know which of the 3 shows you were watching.

[Ian Wallis]

I've always been more of a Joker's Wild fan, but Tic Tac Dough had the higher ratings - especially when Thom McKee came along.  I think Bullseye was more "packaging" that "substance".  Its set and theme were great - but the show itself didn't seem like anything special, especially when comparing them to the others.

You find a formula that works, rinse and repeat.

[BillCullen1]

The B&E shows followed a formula, much like most of the GSN shows. Joker put B&E back on the map and made them a fortune. But by the 80s, the questions were easier than those on 5th Grader. "This 60s group led by Frankie Valli had hits such as "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry." You know them as the Four what?' Yeah, what a brain buster.

I thought TTD was their best show, though I was fond of their version of Break the Bank. I recall reading that when Joker and Dough were in production, the brainier people were put on Dough, and the less brainier went on Joker. Sounds right to me. Bullseye was okay. I liked it better without the celebs and I thought Jim Lange was a capable host who got stuck with turkeys to host. His hosting skills were better than Jack Barry, IMO.

[Dbacksfan12]

I thought Jim Lange was a capable host who got stuck with turkeys to host. His hosting skills were better than Jack Barry, IMO.

That's like saying the merchandise at Family Dollar is better than the merchandise at Dollar General.

[MikeK]

The B&E shows followed a formula, much like most of the GSN shows. Joker put B&E back on the map and made them a fortune. But by the 80s, the questions were easier than those on 5th Grader. "This 60s group led by Frankie Valli had hits such as "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry." You know them as the Four what?' Yeah, what a brain buster.

Tops?  (I know the right answer.  That was my first instinct while glossing over the reply.)

See, it's not as easy as you claim.

[TLEberle]

TTD sometimes didn’t show the car as well.

The following is all speculation.

Why Bullseye? My “just woke up” guess is stations needed content, esp. with the rise of indie stations in the early-80s. B&E had a track record with two top-10 syndicated shows, so why not take a chance on a third? Can’t afford Joker? We have its cousin from out of town.

same reason you usually get Wheel and Jeopardy back to back on the same station. Production companies would give package deals to get two shows in production.


Why did Jack and Dan have Play the Percentages and Hot Potato and Break the Bank and Hollywood connection? If one show gets cancelled you’re still in business. If your only show gets cancelled you’re a fish out of water. No producer is going to settle for just one property, not Bob or Chuck or Bob and Merrill. It’s just the business.

[TLEberle]

To BC1 by way of MikeK—Jack and Dan literally lost their careers rigging game shows. Jokers Wild was to be seen as rig proof, and the innocuous questions helped to create that “there’s no way this is fixed” appearance.

[BrandonFG]

Why did Jack and Dan have Play the Percentages and Hot Potato and Break the Bank and Hollywood connection? If one show gets cancelled you’re still in business. If your only show gets cancelled you’re a fish out of water. No producer is going to settle for just one property, not Bob or Chuck or Bob and Merrill. It’s just the business.

This actually makes perfect sense. Didn’t even think about the “insurance policy”.

[wdm1219inpenna]

Why did Jack and Dan have Play the Percentages and Hot Potato and Break the Bank and Hollywood connection? If one show gets cancelled you’re still in business. If your only show gets cancelled you’re a fish out of water. No producer is going to settle for just one property, not Bob or Chuck or Bob and Merrill. It’s just the business.

This actually makes perfect sense. Didn’t even think about the “insurance policy”.

I was going to say the same thing but you beat me to it.  The more shows on the better as far as hedging one's bet.  This is why Mark Goodson did so well for decades as he more or less always had multiple programs on daytime at any given time across all 3 of the big networks back in the B.C. years (Before Cable).

[Blanquepage]

Bullseye's stylish presentation was burned into my mind at a very early age, yet now I see a mediocre TJW clone in glitzy dress. The formula worked for B&E so that they stayed relevant for a nice while. Their products passed the time just fine, all the way up through the run of Bumper Stumpers. When they got to stuff like All About the Opposite Sex, things had definitely run their course. For me now, Break the Bank, Bumper Stumpers, and CBS TJW are the 3 I could spend a chill day binge-watching.
A wild idea that I recently had to improve Bullseye was, instead of general knowledge categories, to use different mind games like those of 1000 Heartbeats. A game of perception, knowledge, math, memory, etc. Maybe one of these days I'll test it out during a game night 

[Ian Wallis]

For me now, Break the Bank, Bumper Stumpers, and CBS TJW are the 3 I could spend a chill day binge-watching.

I was never a huge fan of Bumper Stumpers but I'll go along with the other two.  I was fascinated to see CBS Joker on GSN all those years ago - too bad it couldn't have lasted a bit longer.

And if we could only find more Jack Barry episodes of Break the Bank, I'd be happy

[The Ol' Guy]

Have always preferred Joker's Wild to TTD and Bullseye. It moved quickly, and the suspense from not knowing what the wheels would offer up made for a fun half-hour. You didn't have the TTD tie games that went on and on. Also, IMO, the Joker board had more control over a player's fate than TTD. Even if a category you didn't know much about appeared in the TTD box you needed to block or win, there was still a chance you might know the answer. If you needed at least $100 to beat your opponent in Joker and three single categories popped up, you were done.   

[Neumms]

With the car plugs, maybe Buick or Chevrolet didn’t pay their bill that week but the show wanted people to know you could still win a car?

It’s like George still describing grocery items and small prizes on TPIR. Sponsors don’t buy the mentions anymore, but Fremantle would still be overjoyed to work out a deal. Also force of habit.

Can anyone elaborate on the revamp of Play the Percentages? I presume the ratings were low and they tried whatever someone thought of first, but maybe there’s more to it.