The *worst* Game Show Ever

[Dbacksfan12]

Of all the game shows out there...what is the worst one you have actually watched, and the worst you have read about?

The worst one I've actually seen is "Born Lucky".  Cheap prizes (a home security system?  Poor Bob Goen--he never gave away anything worthwhile), degrading stunts, and a tacky setup make this the worst I've ever watched.

The worst I've read about has to go to "Sex Wars".  I remember when Mike Klauss posted that $50 chyron picture.  I can't believe Tim Connoly gave this show a higher rating than the 1990 version of The Joker's Wild.  To each his own, I guess...but...wow.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'May 16 2005, 04:10 AM\']Of all the game shows out there...what is the worst one you have actually watched, and the worst you have read about?

The worst one I've actually seen is "Born Lucky".  Cheap prizes (a home security system?  Poor Bob Goen--he never gave away anything worthwhile), degrading stunts, and a tacky setup make this the worst I've ever watched.

The worst I've read about has to go to "Sex Wars".  I remember when Mike Klauss posted that $50 chyron picture.  I can't believe Tim Connoly gave this show a higher rating than the 1990 version of The Joker's Wild.  To each his own, I guess...but...wow.

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I remember actually staying up until 4 or 5 am to watch Sex Wars. It wasn't as bad as you think it is, I mean, it wasn't Emmy material, but I prolly would've sat through it, esp. since I have to work 3rd shift nowadays :-) Seriously, it wasn't a bad show.

Worst I've read about is prolly Extreme Gong. I saw a clip on one of the Outrageous specials, and it looked pretty corny. The fact that George Gray treats it like a bastard stepchild doesn't make it sound any better.

The worst I've seen is Card Sharks 01. Unnecessary rule changes, which in turn presented horrible flaws in the format. Chip clips? CHIP CLIPS?

[Johnissoevil]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'May 16 2005, 05:46 AM\']I remember actually staying up until 4 or 5 am to watch Sex Wars. It wasn't as bad as you think it is, I mean, it wasn't Emmy material, but I prolly would've sat through it, esp. since I have to work 3rd shift nowadays :-) Seriously, it wasn't a bad show.

Worst I've read about is prolly Extreme Gong. I saw a clip on one of the Outrageous specials, and it looked pretty corny. The fact that George Gray treats it like a bastard stepchild doesn't make it sound any better.

The worst I've seen is Card Sharks 01. Unnecessary rule changes, which in turn presented horrible flaws in the format. Chip clips? CHIP CLIPS?

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Worst, IMO, had to be Break the Bank '85.  Seeing Gene lose his humor as per orders from the staff, plus Joe Farago's style, just didn't cut it for me.

[JMFabiano]

[quote name=\'Johnissoevil\' date=\'May 16 2005, 05:08 AM\'][quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'May 16 2005, 05:46 AM\']I remember actually staying up until 4 or 5 am to watch Sex Wars. It wasn't as bad as you think it is, I mean, it wasn't Emmy material, but I prolly would've sat through it, esp. since I have to work 3rd shift nowadays :-) Seriously, it wasn't a bad show.

Worst I've read about is prolly Extreme Gong. I saw a clip on one of the Outrageous specials, and it looked pretty corny. The fact that George Gray treats it like a bastard stepchild doesn't make it sound any better.

The worst I've seen is Card Sharks 01. Unnecessary rule changes, which in turn presented horrible flaws in the format. Chip clips? CHIP CLIPS?

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Worst, IMO, had to be Break the Bank '85.  Seeing Gene lose his humor as per orders from the staff, plus Joe Farago's style, just didn't cut it for me.

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Minus the stunt era of the Prize Vault, BTB '85 wasn't a BAD show.  But yeah, it was awkward to see Gene on a non-MG show, and knowing what happened to him does make it more awkward too.

For those of you who actually saw the one episode of the series, how would you say You're In The Picture ranked among the worst?  Or does the story of Jackie's apology and all make it seem worse than it really was?  (Kind of like the old MST3K FAQ question about them doing Plan 9 From Outer Space...besides competing with the narrator's observations, it said that "while Plan 9 is among the worst, MSTies know better.  There were movies that made it look like a masterpiece," or words to that effect)

[Ian Wallis]

Worst I've seen:  "The Cheap Show".

Worst I've read about:  too many to list here...

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' date=\'May 16 2005, 08:48 AM\']For those of you who actually saw the one episode of the series, how would you say You're In The Picture ranked among the worst?  Or does the story of Jackie's apology and all make it seem worse than it really was?  [/quote]
It was awful, but no, not nearly as bad as its reputation and frankly, no worse than any number of other lame celebrity-panel shows from that general era. (see: What's Going On?)

"Worst" is such a relative term that nobody's going to have a definitive answer.  Already in this thread, we've had people mention The Cheap Show, which was SUPPOSED to look bad, Card Sharks 01, which merely suffers by comparison to earlier versions but has developed its own reputation around here,  and Break the Bank '85, which is about as inconsequential and average a show as you're going to find.

The first show that occurred to me was Hot Seat, a one-trick pony that got redundant before the end of the first episode.  Certainly from a quality and execution standpoint, none of the early GSN originals like Trivia Track were ever going to win Emmys.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'Johnissoevil\' date=\'May 16 2005, 05:08 AM\']Worst, IMO, had to be Break the Bank '85.

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I'll jump on this bandwagon. I knew it wouldn't be anything like the BtB I loved in '76-'77, but my God!!!!!!!!!
At the end of the show, the credits would show all the production companies responsible for that trash and I'd think, "All these people behind it and it's still crap?!?". Too bad Gene never got a crack at Match Game in 1990.

[Robair]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'May 16 2005, 09:43 AM\']The first show that occurred to me was Hot Seat, a one-trick pony that got redundant before the end of the first episode.

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Great theme, though. Can't say it was the worst in that case.

My vote for the worst: the 1986 remake of "Split Second". Took everything truly great about the original (host, pacing, endgame, music) and threw it out the window. When it takes Monty Hall a minute to read a question on that show, it pretty much takes all the wind out of the show. The set was kind of cool though.

[dmota104]

Could there be a game worse than TTD90 or BtB86?  Is there a show crummier than almost any Stone Stanley production?  Could a show have aired that makes CaSINO look like the original Gambit?

The answer to all questions: Yes -- $hopper's Casino from the '80s.  I brought this up at "the old place" -- but for viewers just tuning in, I'll gladly repeat here.

Long story short, the show was co-hosted by Jeff Maxwell (from M*A*S*H) and Debra Sue Maffett (former Miss America).  Dealer was a guy named Dirty Harry (who's about as much fun at a party as Emile Autori).

Object of the game: Win points by playing casino games.  The point values were determined by the prices of the merchandise up for sale (think TPiR prizes worth less than $100).

If there was more to it, I forget -- and also tuned out about 15 minutes into the show.

Why?  The set was just horrible.  Take a bunch of gaming tables, throw them in a vacant studio and, voila, it's a shopper's casino.  

What *REALLY* got my goat was during a "phone home" segment.  Thing was the contestant on the phone line sure didn't sound like she was on the phone.  The "phone connection" was as crystal clear as (insert your favorite game show announcer here) reading off the list of loving parting gifts losing contestants got to take home.

I was living in Dayton at the time.  Friend of mine ran master control at the Fox station on the day in question.  "Oh, you saw that piece of (deleted expletive), too, eh?"  Joke was I didn't get paid to watch it -- and he did.

I've sat through full half hours of StyD, TJW90, even Born Lucky and the most recent piece of (deleted expletive) I've seen -- ESPN's Teammates.  

While I admit to only watching half an episode, trust me, you haven't seen pathetic until you've seen $hopper's Casino.

[PYLdude]

Okay, my turn.

Where do I start, honestly? So many god-awful shows to choose from!

Of course, as was stated before, Card Guppies has to be considered (although I heard last night of someone who said compared to this one, the other three versions of Card Sharks were crap...wow). There were many others (which I don't want to list, because it would take too much time, you've already read them by this point, I'm sure, and I actually enjoyed one or two of those shows).

I guess you really can't consider this, because of the time frame, but I'll say season 2 of the syndie Weakest Link has to be up there. Sure, the first season may have had its flaws, but at least the game was somewhat passable. The second season just blew everything up. I could understand doubling the possible complete bank to $25K, but why ditch the double bank round? Plus, George Gray seemed to get more and more bitter as the season wore on.

And I still don't like Meredith Vieira's Millionaire, even though it's on its way to a fourth season.

[Steve Gavazzi]

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' date=\'May 16 2005, 01:28 PM\']I heard last night of someone who said compared to this one, the other three versions of Card Sharks were crap...wow

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Contrary to popular belief, it is possible for an opinion to be wrong. :-)

[SRIV94]

I'd like some consideration given to RODEO DRIVE.  Bad show, worse host (DuArt's impressions are lame enough as it is).

(Dis)Honorable mention--THREE'S A CROWD (either version, although the announcer on the second one rocked [is my nose turning brown?] ;-) )

Doug

[Blanquepage]

For those of you who actually saw the one episode of the series, how would you say You're In The Picture ranked among the worst? 

It was a cute idea, but the game itself turned out to be dreadful, and the celebrities did a lamentable job at playing the game. While not THE worst, I would categorize it as "Among the Worst."
Jackie Gleason was the only reason I found the show tolerable.
I think though that his subsequent monologue is some of the best television, period!

The worst game show ever: Bingo At Home. Poor Monty.

EDIT: But then there's The Perfect Match with Dick Enberg. Both of these shows were cures for insomnia.

--Jamie

[HairMetalLives]

It's interesting that someone brought this up. I launched a new section of my web site a week or so ago called "The Game Show Hall of Shame." The link is in my signature if anyone wants to check it out.

The worst show I've ever seen? I'll go with J.D. Roth's "Double Up."

[davemackey]

Actually "Perfect Match" is the title of not only one, but TWO game shows among the worst. That piece of garbage with Bob Goen in the 80's was pretty rank too.