Steve's latest column...

[Dbacksfan12]

In the \"teaser\" section of Steve's latest column-he expresses anger towards those of us 25 and under.  I'm sorry; but we have not really had any exposure to Bob Hope; therefore; do not sustain any sense of loss or memory towards the man.  Just one more thing that irks me--he expects everyone to agree in the same sense as him...

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Aug 1 2003, 04:39 AM\'] In the \"teaser\" section of Steve's latest column-he expresses anger towards those of us 25 and under.  I'm sorry; but we have not really had any exposure to Bob Hope; therefore; do not sustain any sense of loss or memory towards the man.  Just one more thing that irks me--he expects everyone to agree in the same sense as him... [/quote]
Speaking only for myself, I am 31 and remember the Bob Hope specials on NBC very well. I also remember Bob going to the Persian Gulf during the first Gulf War and entertaining the troops. Mind you I am six years older than that \"25 and under\" category but I most certainly had exposure to Bob Hope.

I did feel a sense of loss with Bob Hope's passing. I only needed to know what he did for our country to know that he will be missed.

JMHO,
Tim :-)

[Don Howard]

On Monday on his page, the eminent journalist informed his reading audience that NBC ended their contract with Bob Hope in 1994. Untrue. He further declared that Bob did a special on ABC in the mid-1990s. Also a fallacy. Bob (or Delores or one of his people) did the ending of the contract with NBC in 1996 after Laughing With The Presidents which was almost entirely a clipfest just like the Bob Hope specials of the last few years had been and was hosted by Tony Danza. The announcer was John Harlan (there's our game show connection). Bob delivered one-liners on the special here and there from behind a desk on a set which resembled the Oval Office. After that, we saw Bob sitting in a chair and waving on the 1998 Emmy Awards with Milton Berle and Sid Caesar standing next to him. No special on ABC, CBS, FOX, the WB or anywhere else. He was starting to slip away, he knew it and so he made the decision to end the specials.
The master of The Game Show Convention Center should spend a little less time shopping for chips for his shoulder and more time checking his facts. In addition, much of the material on his site has nothing to do with game shows. If we're going to start calling Big Brother and Meet My Folks game shows, how much longer until Face The Nation starts being referred to as one?
Happy August 1st 2003. Have a nice weekend.

[melman1]

That professor dude seems to be stuck in a bit of a time warp, as I suppose we all are toward many things from our childhood.  His recent article on the \"importance\" of You Don't Say is another example of this.  (I'm in my late 30's and never heard of that show... I suppose he'd be angry with me too.)

He does make a valid point though, even if he gets too worked up about it.  It's unbelievable that college-age kids would be completely ignorant about who Hope was (confusing him with Bob Newhart?). I mean, Jack Benny died when I in grade school but at least I knew who he was (even if it was likely only \"that guy in the cartoon with mice playing all the parts\").

(And what's with the picture of Mr. Professor sitting in his car?  Am I supposed to be impressed that he's a licensed motor vehicle operator?  Hmmmph.)

[DrBear]

He does make a valid point though, even if he gets too worked up about it. It's unbelievable that college-age kids would be completely ignorant about who Hope was (confusing him with Bob Newhart?). I mean, Jack Benny died when I in grade school but at least I knew who he was (even if it was likely only \"that guy in the cartoon with mice playing all the parts\").

Don't be too sure. Consider that a couple of years ago, a magazine polled baseball players and found that a majority didn't know who Jackie Robinson was - incredible not only from a baseball sense but from an American history sense.

(And what's with the picture of Mr. Professor sitting in his car? Am I supposed to be impressed that he's a licensed motor vehicle operator? Hmmmph.)

I could make a Dukes of Hazzard joke here, but I shan't.

OB game shows: I believe the Rev. Stoney Jackson, whose category on \"The $64,000 question\" was on Famous Love Stories, was from Tennessee.

[Matt Ottinger]

(And what's with the picture of Mr. Professor sitting in his car? Am I supposed to be impressed that he's a licensed motor vehicle operator? Hmmmph.)

I could make a Dukes of Hazzard joke here, but I shan't.

Careful, boy.  The Dukes weren't from Tennessee.  Technically, a state was never mentioned on the series, but there is a real-life Hazard (one \"z\"), Kentucky and the cast made a promotional appearance there.

As for the Hope thing, it's easy to see that Steve's degree isn't in sociology.  It's not surprising to me at all that the under-25 crowd wouldn't know much about Hope.  Disappointing, sure, but still not surprising.   Heck, even people Steve's (and my own) age don't *remember* Hope for anything more than the occasional corny TV specials and appearances on The Tonight Show.  Everything else we learned.

If the students at his college don't know who Bob Hope is, I'd tend to blame whomever it is at the college who teaches them about the media.

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'Timsterino\' date=\'Aug 1 2003, 06:38 AM\'] Speaking only for myself, I am 31 and remember the Bob Hope specials on NBC very well. I also remember Bob going to the Persian Gulf during the first Gulf War and entertaining the troops. Mind you I am six years older than that "25 and under" category but I most certainly had exposure to Bob Hope.

I did feel a sense of loss with Bob Hope's passing. I only needed to know what he did for our country to know that he will be missed.
 [/quote]
 Hear, hear... I'm only a year older than you are and I also remember the specials very well.  With tapes from my school library (of all places), I also had the chance to hear some of his radio work.  He will be greatly missed.

[jalman]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Aug 1 2003, 10:44 AM\']

(And what's with the picture of Mr. Professor sitting in his car? Am I supposed to be impressed that he's a licensed motor vehicle operator? Hmmmph.)

I could make a Dukes of Hazzard joke here, but I shan't.

Careful, boy.  The Dukes weren't from Tennessee.  Technically, a state was never mentioned on the series, but there is a real-life Hazard (one \"z\"), Kentucky and the cast made a promotional appearance there.

As for the Hope thing, it's easy to see that Steve's degree isn't in sociology.  It's not surprising to me at all that the under-25 crowd wouldn't know much about Hope.  Disappointing, sure, but still not surprising.   Heck, even people Steve's (and my own) age don't *remember* Hope for anything more than the occasional corny TV specials and appearances on The Tonight Show.  Everything else we learned.

If the students at his college don't know who Bob Hope is, I'd tend to blame whomever it is at the college who teaches them about the media. [/quote]
I think it's really because he hasn't had much exposure on TV in recent years to really \"connect\" w/us young'uns unlike a certain octogenarian emcee.

I guess it's the fanboy in him that got riled up.  Seeing people's ignorance about certain things and people shouldn't surprise him.  It happens to me sometimes when I discuss certain things w/less knowledgable others.

Unfortunately, some people, while not having to be exclusive to college students, care little about something or someone that doesn't have any immediate relevance in their lives.

[Jimmy Owen]

I haven't checked Steve's site to see if it had been mentioned, but Tex McCrary (husband of Jinx Falkenberg) died this past week at the age of 92.  Tex and Jinx co-hosted the \"Swift Home Service Club,\" which by all accounts was the first daytime network series on NBC in 1947 and the duo had various other local NYC and network series.  Haven't seen a lot of coverage about this.

[GS Warehouse]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Aug 1 2003, 09:44 AM\'] Careful, boy.  The Dukes weren't from Tennessee.  Technically, a state was never mentioned on the series, ... [/quote]
While it is true that a state was never mentioned verbially, one episode had a close-up of a package marked, \"Hazzard County, GA\".  Also, if you look really hard, you can find a couple of Georgia state markers.  Of course, it's a fictional place, so the point is moot.

[Matt Ottinger]

\"Hazzard County, GA\". Also, if you look really hard, you can find a couple of Georgia state markers.

Either way, they ain't from Tennessee.  Y'all stop makin' fun of my roots!

[Robair]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Aug 1 2003, 11:46 AM\']

"Hazzard County, GA". Also, if you look really hard, you can find a couple of Georgia state markers.

Either way, they ain't from Tennessee.  Y'all stop makin' fun of my roots! [/quote]
 That's why they chose Ashton Kutcher...he has that inbred look that only older women could go for.

BTW, the pic of Steve in the car was taken on the set of \"Hollywood Squares\" during Game Show Week.

[Jimmy Owen]

Matt, you're lucky you grew up in Tennessee rather than, say, Lansing MI.  They didn't have very many daytime game shows on TV there in Lansing until 1972.

[MyronMMeyer]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Aug 1 2003, 11:46 AM\'] Either way, they ain't from Tennessee.  Y'all stop makin' fun of my roots! [/quote]
 Confucius say: Man with no hair has no roots to make fun of.

[DrBear]

I duly apologize to everybody in the state of Tennesee.