Shows You Didn't Expect Would Be Cancelled

[Jimmy Owen]

What are your picks for shows you thought were safe from cancellation but got the ax anyway?  The CBS "Match Game" was one, another, in my opinion was "Celebrity Sweepstakes." It seemed like everything was going well, it had two years plus under its belt, a new prime access version had just started, no major format changes that I recall, and suddenly, in Oct 76, it was gone, never to return.

[MTCesquire]

Greed.  Once all the kinks got worked out and it finally started to stand on its own two, it disappeared from the Fox lineup.  I remember hearing that the ratings were better than anything else in the Friday @ 9 timeslot, yet it got canned anyway.

Also, Osmond's Pyramid.  Same deal.  Ratings were up, yet it got axed nonetheless.

[dmota104]

BtB76 is another great example of this.  Despite being a knockoff of HS, it was once the 2nd highest rated game show on network TV.

The rest of the story can be found in the 4th paragraph of this webpage...

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/5410/other.html

[Ian Wallis]

I guess 3 major ones for me would be the previously mentioned "Celebrity Sweepstakes", along with '76 "Break the Bank" and "Whew".  I remember pretending I was sick so I could stay home and watch the final episode of "Sweepstakes", since the prime access version wasn't seen in my area.  As for "BTB" and "Whew", I thought both were great shows and were doing well - we know in "BTB's" case it had the ratings.  

For that matter, just about anytime TVGuide stated "Last show of the series" it kind of surprised me.  I remember being surprised when the original "Joker's Wild" and the original "Hollywood Squares" were gone - those are two shows I didn't think would be cancelled.

You could usually tell when a show was going to be cancelled - when they stopped giving contestant and ticket plugs.  Because of pre-taping, they always did this a few weeks before the end.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'dmota104\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 08:44 AM\']BtB76 is another great example of this.  Despite being a knockoff of HS, it was once the 2nd highest rated game show on network TV.

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Grrrr. That's it. Being reminded of the idiocy of this show's cancellation turns my skin green. ARRGGGHHHH! Hulk is strong. Hulk will smash. Where Fred Silverman house? Grrrrrrr.

[Ian Wallis]

Grrrr. That's it. Being reminded of the idiocy of this show's cancellation turns my skin green. ARRGGGHHHH! Hulk is strong. Hulk will smash. Where Fred Silverman house? Grrrrrrr.

This show actually came up in another thread a couple of weeks ago, but I pulled out a tape and watched a couple of the Jack Barry-hosted episodes of this just recently.  The Barry version just seems too rushed - they barely get into a second game and the time's up signal goes.  Having that bonus round didn't help because it ate up more time, as did all of the descriptions of the prizes someone would win if they broke the bank.  The Kennedy version didn't seem as rushed, but they had the luxury of straddled games.  They had a good mix of celebrities too.

It's just too bad GSN couldn't have given this one complete run-through when they had it on the schedule...IMHO it's a superior show to "Go" or "Hot Potato".  Oh well, maybe they'll find a spot for it if they ever decide to go back to traditional games 24/7.

[Skynet74]

The original Scrabble was a surprise when it got the Ax. That one really caught me off guard. Original Dawson Feud was another one. I know the ratings were down.. but I somehow thought it would recover. I remember being surprised by Hitman too. It was to short lived and the cancelation was presented in a way that nobody will ever forget. 80's Dream House was another unpleasant surprise. I think it deserved a much longer run.


John

[calliaume]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 03:52 AM\']What are your picks for shows you thought were safe from cancellation but got the ax anyway?  The CBS "Match Game" was one, another, in my opinion was "Celebrity Sweepstakes." It seemed like everything was going well, it had two years plus under its belt, a new prime access version had just started, no major format changes that I recall, and suddenly, in Oct 76, it was gone, never to return.

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[/quote]
I think it took a lot of people by surprise.  Jim Mackrell told me a few years back that he was shocked when NBC asked him to host a pilot for a new game in the summer of '76 -- that's a sure sign your current show hasn't long to live.

Before we all sit and wonder why ABC canned Break the Bank, read the fine print in EOTVGS.  That 2nd-place finish in the ratings was based on the 1975-76 through the end of April -- which means BtB had only three weeks' worth of ratings to work with.  I suspect the ratings went down thereafter -- let's face it, if the show was still that highly rated, it's likely either ABC would have moved it to another time slot or another network would have snagged it.

[Jamey Greek]

The 2000 version of Twenty-One is a good example.  It was doing so well, against the NCAA Final Four.  But Nonetheless, NBC cancelled it anyway.  (Bleep) you NBC! The stupidist decision in my book, along with expanding The Today Show to a third hour instead of Reviving Concentration!

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Jamey Greek\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 08:27 PM\']The 2000 version of Twenty-One is a good example.  It was doing so well, against the NCAA Final Four.  But Nonetheless, NBC cancelled it anyway.  (Bleep) you NBC! The stupidist decision in my book, along with expanding The Today Show to a third hour instead of Reviving Concentration!

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Wow.  (Sorry, Chris L.  We needed one now.)

Doug

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 07:35 PM\']Wow.  (Sorry, Chris L.  We needed one now.)
[/quote]
Not a problem. No ownership is assumed or implied.

(And the feeling is quite mutual.)

[BrandonFG]

Scrabble and Scattergories. Back then I had no idea that they were placeholders, or why NBC would do such a thing, but I was still disappointed when I found out they'd be airing no more.

[aaron sica]

I remember being very shocked in 1989 when TV Guide had the infamous "Last show of the series" tacked on under the listing for daytime WoF on NBC...

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'Jamey Greek\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 09:27 PM\']The 2000 version of Twenty-One is a good example.  It was doing so well, against the NCAA Final Four.  But Nonetheless, NBC cancelled it anyway.  (Bleep) you NBC! The stupidist decision in my book, along with expanding The Today Show to a third hour instead of Reviving Concentration!

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[/quote]
You go, boy. The Today show could get canned tomorrow and be replaced with cartoons and I'd be happy. Another 1976 shocker cancellation for me was Gambit.

[sshuffield70]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 11:51 PM\'][quote name=\'Jamey Greek\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 09:27 PM\']The 2000 version of Twenty-One is a good example.  It was doing so well, against the NCAA Final Four.  But Nonetheless, NBC cancelled it anyway.  (Bleep) you NBC! The stupidist decision in my book, along with expanding The Today Show to a third hour instead of Reviving Concentration!

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[/quote]
You go, boy. The Today show could get canned tomorrow and be replaced with cartoons and I'd be happy. Another 1976 shocker cancellation for me was Gambit.

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[/quote]

Yep, I don't know why, but I distinctly remember the "Gambit" one.  It was to be replaced the following Monday with some damn clapping music ( and some physical challenges (oh, no wait!  Wrong one!  It's the one with isolation booths and puzzles.....but yes, the damn clapping music......).  Of course the sarcasm meter is high.  The damn clapping music is actually one of my big faves.