[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jul 18 2005, 05:15 PM\']
Now, the genre is in another down period (still not as bad as 1995, don't think it'll ever get that low), but give it time. I guarantee game shows will be back by the end of the decade.
I doubt it. A point I keep making here again and again is that over the past decade and a half, the networks have gotten out of daytime programming in a big way, giving back to affiliates large chunks of the daytime schedule formerly occupied by game shows. Game shows are considered undesirable by the networks because of their generally older demographics. The infrastructure that used to support daytime game show development at the networks is gone and there is no reason to reconstruct it. The entrepreneurs who used to package shows and sell them to the networks are (with the possible exception of Monty Hall) retired and their companies folded or sold, while they count their millions from their Beverly Hills mansions. The point is, in the U.S., the game show business is a mere shadow of its 1980s-era self.
Nowadays producers would just as soon hire a hack comedian or actor to emcee a game show, making discoveries such as Tom Bergeron much more the exception than the rule. Consider also that for every Tom Bergeron or Richard Karn who emcees a legacy show, there is a Peter Marshall or Richard Dawson who is being displaced. Look at it this way: I'm thinking of a very well-known, seasoned veteran emcee. He is one of the best in the field, but he hasn't emceed a game show in decades. On the day he taped the final episode of the last game show he did, he had no idea there would be no further work coming his way. Imagine waking up one day two, three or five years down the line while someone else is doing the show you used to do and thinking to yourself, "Gee, I guess I'm retired".
No one should aspire specifically to be a game show emcee. If you have the itch to be an on-air performer, consider some genre other than game shows such as news or radio. If a game show comes your way, whether it be a national gig or a local cable deal, consider yourself lucky.
Now here's Randy West to tell you how hard that end of the business is ...
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But before one of the guys I look up to as an aspiring broadcaster, Mr. West, does offer his words of wisdom...just wanna point out you're dead on, Chris. I mean how many of the game show emcees you see on classic game shows grew up saying, "You know what, I think I wanna be a game show host!"...few if any. I mean if you look down the lines they were actors, comedians, newscasters, and weathermen and a game show happened to fall in their lap. On the Yahoo group I use to run I made it a point to include clips of game show personalities before they were stars like Rod Roddy on the radio in 1960 and a pre-Match Game Gene Rayburn on Monitor. And, while I think I have a decent format for a game show (note the website in the sig), I fully realize it probably will never go network let alone syndicated. And as much as I wanna take the reins of Price when the dreaded day of Bob's departure be it retirement or untimely death comes (which I hope doesn't happen for years of course, since I love Bob's work), I realize the chances are better of winning as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest. And, the same goes for being a contestant. Some people put on a great act to get to become a contestant, and if you're a good actor than you can exude what is needed to impress Stan Blits and Fingers Greco and the other contestant coordinator types at Studio 33 in Hollywood. If you have the brains, more power to you. If not, don't shoot yourself or commit suicide. Life isn't all about game shows. Just like how life isn't all about sports (unless you're a Philly sports fan, lol). Make the best of where life takes you. I'm trying to, and I know we all can.
