More than many, I've hoped for a return to the network daytime line-ups of years past with game shows aplenty. Sadly, I've finally resigned myself to the reality that those days are over. Daytime or not, games seem just not to be relevant anymore, unless of course it's the exception of a specific show that has been part of a viewer's life for a decade or three, during the transitional period to where TV has since evolved. There will always be comfort in the familiarity of seeing the ole Barker on TV.
In my opinion, game shows started to become obsolete when reality-based programming started to populate daytime more than a decade ago. Talk-based shows where people discuss their relationship issues (Jenny Jones to Maury, et al), battles with cancer (Donahue to Oprah, et al), and conflicts with their neighbors (People's Court to Judge Judy, et al) have slowly eclipsed what was once traditional fair. There is still a market for celebrity talk, but when it comes to civilian participants, now that we have accustomed the audience to being exposed to the widest range of human emotions exhibited by folks just like them (non-actors) reliving their extraordinary situations, lottery winners to suicide survivors, it's no longer compelling to see a contestant's simple surprise when being confronted with a new car, dissapointment when trading for a goat, or the frustration and satisfaction of getting a partner to name seven things in their bathroom within 30 seconds.
Where's the excitement of trying to catch eggs in teacups when lipstick cameras can catch the thrills of today's contestants crashing race cars or parachuting in their underwear?
Just my opinion. And in support of that opinion, here's a Pyramid category with few or no answers: Game show hits in the past decade.
And the prospect of relinquishing another hour of network time to the affiliates is not so abhorant these days, since the most of the major syndicators are owned by the same people who own the networks!
Randy
tvrandywest.com
