Biggest game show story of 2004?

[zachhoran]

The question should actually be: What do people think is the second biggest game show story of 2004?

[inturnaround]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Dec 14 2004, 09:40 PM\']The question should actually be: What do people think is the second biggest game show story of 2004?

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I'd say it would either be the GSN rebranding (which led to a lot of pulse-quickening and teeth-gritting around here, even though the worst predictions about the channel have not come to pass) or the return of Regis and "Super Millionaire".

Anyone else have any other candidates?

[Jimmy Owen]

Besides KJ, there was nothing positive in the world of game shows in 2004.

[The Pyramids]

I'd say it would either be the GSN rebranding (which led to a lot of pulse-quickening and teeth-gritting around here,
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About that, see my post on the GSN board.

I'd at least was neat to read about the Congress guests in Burbank, and also i'd say the  demorlaizing cancellation of 'Pyramid.'

[brianhenke]

[quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Dec 14 2004, 11:14 PM\']I'd say it would either be the GSN rebranding (which led to a lot of pulse-quickening and teeth-gritting around here,
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   Since we know what is Number One, my #2 story of the year is the cancellation of Pyramid and H2, and #3 was Pax airing a game show block in prime time (On the Cover and Balderdash).

  Personally, it was the fact that we got digital cable from Time Warner Cable - and we found out that GSN is a subscription only service. Instead, we still have the likes of Sopresa.

   Brian

   Pope John Paul the Sixth?

[OntarioQuizzer]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Dec 14 2004, 10:40 PM\']The question should actually be: What do people think is the second biggest game show story of 2004?

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#2, I think, would be Super Millionaire.

[beau]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Dec 14 2004, 09:40 PM\']The question should actually be: What do people think is the second biggest game show story of 2004?

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Tough question.

To me, it would have to be the passing of Gene Wood.

[Craig Karlberg]

I have 3 canidates for #2:

Super Millionaire

GSN's rebranding

On The Cover & Balderdash completes PAX's game show block.

If I had an honorable mention. it's Jeff Thisled's wedding proposal to Rachel Probolic on TPIR.

[tyshaun1]

I dunno, I think we'd have to go with the "Bowling Buddy". But that's just me.

Tyshaun

[Don Howard]

Would the naming of Rich Fields as Price Is Right announcer factor in anyone's Top Five?

[zachhoran]

GSN dropping four classic game shows from their lineup: WLOD and LMAD due to rights to air them lapsing, and $100K Pyramid and WOF(even if they were showing the 1988-89 season of WOF for their third cycle, and the 1986-88 seasons of $100K had several rotations in the last few years). GSN deciding not to renew any of its originals from the class of 2002-03; reruns of Wintuition, Cram, NL's Funny Money, and Russian Roulette biting the dust.

Gene Wood and Art James' deaths, plus (Steve Beverly)six-decade club(Steve Beverly) game show celeb Tony Randall and several other people who were occasional game show guests.

TPIR's 12+ year-old daytime winnings record being smashed, and their 6000th daytime episode, both on the same day.

TPIR Live becoming a hit in several cities, including Atlantic City and Shreveport.

Dick Clark turning 75-teen and suffering a stroke days later.

Add to the list of cancelled Syndie game shows which include H2 and Pyramid: Powerball INstant Millionaire. Another first: The NATPE convention fails to sell or offer a new traditional game show for a second year in 2004, and it is inevitable 2005 will be a record third year without selling or offering a new traditional game show. Was 2003 the first NATPE convention where a new traditional game show was not sold or offered.

[CaseyAbell]

The upside: game shows are cheap, it's easy to produce lots of episodes, you can get good household numbers with a well-designed game.

The downside: the audience skews older and not particularly advertiser-friendly, the genre is as hard as any and harder than most to master.

These pluses and minuses have been known since at least the sixties. When TV people get fixated on the downside, game shows disappear faster than KJ's opponents. When they start dreaming about the upside, game shows stage a comeback. Right now we're in downside-fixation mode, thanks at least in part to the Millionaire-crippled-ABC mantra. Game show elements do get smuggled into reality series, but they're carefully concealed behind soapish human-noninterest stories.

The much-maligned casino game shows may herald a return of more traditional-looking shows, though I wouldn't try to convince the Prof of this. Someday it might dawn on a TV exec that, gee, these shows have people playing a game! Why not try some other games?

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'CaseyAbell\' date=\'Dec 15 2004, 07:36 AM\']Someday it might dawn on a TV exec that, gee, these shows have people playing a game! Why not try some other games?

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Be careful what you wish for....

"It's more then Pente, it's Pente Plus!"

"From Television City in Hollywood, this is All-Star Operation!"

"Last week, on the $1,000,000 Game Of Life..."

[CaseyAbell]

You've already got The Operation Live. There was a taped and edited U.S. show a while back that displayed surgery in some of its bloody glory. IIRC, they once showed a C-Section, not to be confused with C-Span.

Not exactly a game show. But if traditional shows are ever to work their way back to semi-health, the casino game shows might furnish an example. In other words, don't go overboard on all the traditional trappings: the host with a million capped teeth, the lovely parting gifts, the buzzers and buttons and sound effects. Then maybe you can smuggle a game show past the execs, and they won't know what hit 'em. In my opinion, that's just what a lot of the casino gamers have done.

[Jimmy Owen]

We have three very popular traditional shows on over-the-air TV, TPIR, WOF and J!, and maybe that's all the market needs.  I certainly wouldn't watch a game disguised as a casino show, so any effort to do that would be wasted on me.