New AMC Gameshow

[tvwxman]

This could do wonders for budding ventriloquists looking to jump start their careers...who has Jay Johnson's number handy?

From Cynopis on Monday:.

AMC has ordered up a new game show original series called Celebrity Charades, set for premiere in 2005.  Just as the title suggests, celebrities play that ageless parlor game, charades. Taping begins this week with Chad Lowe, Hilary Swank, Kathleen Turner, Richard Belzer, and Jill Clayburgh.


Discuss? or Disgust?

[parliboy]

Just like most things like this, we really can't decide upon disgust until we see it.  Granted, AMC doesn't have the best track record as far as classics go now, given the portions of their library they now emphasize.  But we can't yet pass judgement on this.

[Jimmy Owen]

This sounds good.  Good cross section of celebs.  I'm sure there's no connection to the 1979 series, however.  The original suffered, I thought, from a threadbare set and too much Squeaky.  I'd like to see Jay Johnson host a show without the puppets.

[Michael Brandenburg]

I never saw the "'79 original" version of this show being referred to, but I do remember the similar Pantomine Quiz/Stump the Stars game show that was hosted by Mike Stokey that was reasonably successful in the 1950s and '60s.  So I would consider this a logical move by AMC if they wanted to get into some kind of "classic" game shows to go along with their "classic" movies.


Michael Brandenburg
(But do you really think Smokey and the Bandit, Smokey and the Bandit II, and Smokey and the Bandit III are "classics"?)

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Michael Brandenburg\' date=\'Nov 11 2004, 10:12 AM\'](But do you really think Smokey and the Bandit, Smokey and the Bandit II, and Smokey and the Bandit III are "classics"?)

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If Seattle's "classic rock" radio station can play Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" while I'm getting a haircut (as was the case last night), then AMC can damn well call the Smokey Trilogy "classics" if they want to.

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Nov 11 2004, 12:15 PM\'][quote name=\'Michael Brandenburg\' date=\'Nov 11 2004, 10:12 AM\'](But do you really think Smokey and the Bandit, Smokey and the Bandit II, and Smokey and the Bandit III are "classics"?)[/quote]If Seattle's "classic rock" radio station can play Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" while I'm getting a haircut (as was the case last night), then AMC can damn well call the Smokey Trilogy "classics" if they want to.[/quote]A few months ago, my sister stopped on VH1 Classic because they were showing "Hangin' Tough" by New Kids on the Block.  I told her (a) that song is anything but classic (in Lemon-ese, it ain't Scottish) and (b) it's barely 15 years old, not old enough in my mind to be considered a classic.

"Sledgehammer"'s not classic yet either, but it is both a darn good song and a great video.

ObGS:  Classic Concentration.  There's your "classic".

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'Michael Brandenburg\' date=\'Nov 11 2004, 12:12 PM\'](But do you really think Smokey and the Bandit, Smokey and the Bandit II, and Smokey and the Bandit III are "classics"?)

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Well, there's something you must remember about AMC. It and GSN have something in common - they de-emphasized their name into initials for the same reason.

AMC - formerly American Movie Classics. Changed to AMC to get away from "classics" so they could air more modern fare. AMC stands for nothing now.

GSN - formerly Game Show Network. Changed to GSN to get away from "Game Shows" so they could air more gaming-style programs without being locked down to game shows. GSN stands for nothing now.

So whether the movies are "classic" or not, does not matter. AMC's not in the business to just do classic movies, just as GSN's not in the business to just do game shows.

[davemackey]

Never mind that they canned Nick Clooney... to me, AMC stopped being AMC when they decided to start accepting advertising and editing their movies for content.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Michael Brandenburg\' date=\'Nov 11 2004, 12:12 PM\']I never saw the "'79 original" version of this show being referred to, but I do remember the similar Pantomine Quiz/Stump the Stars game show that was hosted by Mike Stokey that was reasonably successful in the 1950s and '60s.

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Charades by themselves are public domain, but the 1979 "Celebrity Charades" was a license of the "Pantomime Quiz/Stump the Stars" format, with Mike Stokey listed as a consultant.  Don't know if Sony as successor to Columbia still owns rights or if everything reverted back to Stokey after the 1979 show tanked--or if AMC is licensing from Stokey's estate or Sony or whoever.

[Chief-O]

>> Don't know if Sony as successor to Columbia still owns rights or if everything reverted back to Stokey after the 1979 show tanked

I believe GSN's aired an ep. or 2 way back when.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Chief-O\' date=\'Nov 11 2004, 07:02 PM\']>> Don't know if Sony as successor to Columbia still owns rights or if everything reverted back to Stokey after the 1979 show tanked

I believe GSN's aired an ep. or 2 way back when.

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Celebrity Charades aired weekend nights at 10 or 11PM EST during the Dark Period(10/97-4/98).

When Stokey passed away a year or two ago, it was reported Stokey tried to bring back Pantomime Quiz a few years after Celebrity Charades came and went.

[Jimmy Owen]

There was a trade ad during NATPE from Metromedia's syndication arm with Mike Stokey and Pantomime Quiz sharing a page with Nina Blackwood of MTV fame and a proposed music magazine show, so that must have been the mid-80's or so (after Nina was no longer with MTV).

[DrJWJustice]

[quote name=\'Michael Brandenburg\' date=\'Nov 11 2004, 12:12 PM\'](But do you really think Smokey and the Bandit, Smokey and the Bandit II, and Smokey and the Bandit III are "classics"?)

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I don't know about other parts of the country, but where I live, those three films were instant classics, and some bawled when they didn't get nominated for Oscars (wink, wink).  

ObGameShows:  Geritol was a frequent sponsor of 21.  Goes to show how old it is.   :-)

[Ian Wallis]

Celebrity Charades aired weekend nights at 10 or 11PM EST during the Dark Period(10/97-4/98).

Actually, only three episodes of "Celebrity Cherades" were aired before it was pulled from the regular schedule.  It was on Sunday nights starting on October '97, and by November it was gone, having been replaced by black and white Bill Cullen "Price is Right" episodes.

I guess the ratings for the show must have been awful to be pulled that quickly.

[Matt Ottinger]

To me, this is every bit as good a piece of news as that live WML? they're doing in LA.  Better, in fact, because I get to see this one.  It's another example of "everything old is new again".  Just like the poker and blackjack shows, reasonably well-know celebrities seem willing to get together and play a game on television.  

The fact that it's a throwback to the fifties and Pantomine Quiz really isn't important to AMC, they just think this is a show that people will want to watch.  When more operations start thinking like that, the "traditionalist" fans will have a lot mroe to be thankful about.