The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: inturnaround on June 29, 2003, 08:13:36 PM
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I was watching an episode of \"The Pennsylvania Game\" on one of our local PBS stations and I was wondering if there are any other regional/state game shows out there (outside of lottery game shows)?
For those not familiar, \"The Pennsylvania Game\" is a production of Penn State and filmed in University Park, PA. It features multiple choice questions through most of the game about people, places and things that have something to do with Pennsylvania. Between questions, clues are given about the \"Mystery Pennsylvanian\". Supposedly the people who play the game are celebrities, but they're probably minor celebrities out of Central PA, because I've never heard of any of them.
The prizes are pretty much nonexistent, but they will give PA Scratch-Off lottery tickets to all the panelists if they all guess the same in the multiple choice.
All in all, it's a fun little game that really does educate and entertain at the same time. I'm not sure if anyone outside Pennsylvania would care, though.
The Pennsylvania Game (http://\"http://pagame.psu.edu/default.html\")
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Well, speaking from experience, there are still a couple dozen or so high school quiz bowls with various formats scattered across the country. Actually, I'm just guessing as to the number, I really have no idea. I'm only personally aware of about a dozen, but I assume there are more in smaller markets.
Other than that, you have to go back a few years to when the people who gave New Orleans \"N.O.-It-Alls\" (one of whom was Brandon Tartikoff, I believe) decided to franchise their local trivia format to other markets. I know there was \"That's Atlanta!\" but I don't know how many other cities took the show on.
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When our family vacationed in Quebec in the summer of 1986, there was a similar (I think -- I didn't speak much French at the time) show called \"Le Quebec a la carte\". My memories of it involved answering questions that seemed to be answering questions on Quebec's culture and history, with each of two teams trying to complete a path down the St. Lawrence River as shown by two sets of lights, one on either side of the river on a giant map of Quebec on one wall of the set. A Google search shows one page with a list of Canadian game shows listing it, but that's all.
If Charles Blaquière is on the new group, he could probably tell us more about it, as well as all of Quebec's other distinctive game shows. :-)
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Some parts of Oregon/Washington get a High School/College quiz game called \"The High Five Challenge\". If I'm not mistaken when it originally aired a long time ago, it was hour-long.
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[quote name=\'TonicBH\' date=\'Jun 29 2003, 09:57 PM\'] Some parts of Oregon/Washington get a High School/College quiz game called "The High Five Challenge". If I'm not mistaken when it originally aired a long time ago, it was hour-long. [/quote]
Still is, I think. I happened to come across that little gem only last weekend.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 29 2003, 10:34 PM\'] Well, speaking from experience, there are still a couple dozen or so high school quiz bowls with various formats scattered across the country. Actually, I'm just guessing as to the number, I really have no idea. I'm only personally aware of about a dozen, but I assume there are more in smaller markets.
Other than that, you have to go back a few years to when the people who gave New Orleans "N.O.-It-Alls" (one of whom was Brandon Tartikoff, I believe) decided to franchise their local trivia format to other markets. I know there was "That's Atlanta!" but I don't know how many other cities took the show on. [/quote]
There was a Cincinnati version called Know-It-Alls, hosted by Michael Flannery from 1997 to 2000 on WCPO.
The late Bob Braun hosted On the Money on WLWT in 1973-74.
Brian
Cincy43235@aol.com
The Jehovah's Witnesses distribute Mad magazine?
We want some more pro wrestling (STILL) and NASCAR questions!
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Still on the topic of HS quizzers, Atlanta's High-Q is still running strong. I think it's been running about as long as another show out of Michigan or somewhere.
Oh, and I once saw a high school quiz show based out of Albany, GA. There were two incredibly large strikes against it in my eyes. One, the host couldn't read questions properly to save her life. After five minutes, you'd be ready to pay Regis to come in and read questions about Sacajawea.
Two, the final round had the following format: all toss-ups, 10 points if right, no penalty if wrong, players can signal at any time, and if the first team misses the question, it's discarded immediately. I was so glad not to be living in that area at the time, since I know my \"must win game show\" mentality would've overpowered my \"play nice\" mentality, and (assuming my team had the lead) I would've played that poor format to the hilt.
\"What--\" *buzz* \"Which--\" *buzz* \"Who--\" *buzz*
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That's why Quizbusters has a -10 penilty for a wrong answer during its last round :-)
-Joe Kavanagh
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The folks on The Pennsylvania Game are local celebrities...although I'm not sure \"celebrities\" is necessarily the right word. As I recall, a few years back, two of the panelists were people from WTAJ's news department, neither of whom are particularly bright; one of them was a weathergirl who literally couldn't keep track from day to day how many Dakotas there are (frighteningly, she's now a meteorologist at WPXI). They also had Anne Grocer on once; she's this goofy woman who used to be the mayor of St. Marys and who is best known around my house for never wanting to spend any money on public schools (where both of my parents work).
Despite this, The Pennsylvania Game is a good little show that's pretty fun to watch if you're from around here.
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Despite this, The Pennsylvania Game is a good little show that's pretty fun to watch if you're from around here.
I agree...in fact, when my fam vacationed at a condo in the Poconos the last coupla yrs, I'd record an ep for the collection while we were there.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious \"Chuckie Baby\")
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I think the Pennsylvania Game did use at least one C-list celeb: Actress Nancy Kulp. I think I recall seeing Bill's daughter Lynn Cullen on an episode years back.
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I think I recall seeing Bill's daughter Lynn Cullen on an episode years back.
You may have seen Pittsburgh radio personality Lynn Cullen on an episode, but you certainly did not see Bill's daughter Lynn Cullen (unless Lynn's father just coincidentally happens to be named Bill). Game show host Bill Cullen had no children.
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[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jun 30 2003, 11:47 AM\'] I think the Pennsylvania Game did use at least one C-list celeb: Actress Nancy Kulp. I think I recall seeing Bill's daughter Lynn Cullen on an episode years back. [/quote]
Actually, Lynn hosted the show for a few years when the revival first came on. (The current show is actually its second incarnation.) She used to be on WTAE, so I actually knew about her before I knew about Bill. I had no idea the two were related, though.
EDIT: Oh, so she isn't his daughter. Well, that certainly explains why I'd never heard about it before.
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I actually knew about her before I knew about Bill. I had no idea the two were related, though.
--sigh--
I move as fast as I can, but this is exactly how misinformation gets going.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 30 2003, 11:56 AM\']
I think I recall seeing Bill's daughter Lynn Cullen on an episode years back.
You may have seen Pittsburgh radio personality Lynn Cullen on an episode, but you certainly did not see Bill's daughter Lynn Cullen (unless Lynn's father just coincidentally happens to be named Bill). Game show host Bill Cullen had no children.[/quote]
Thank goodness! As pleasing of personality and soothing of voice as Bill was, Lynn is not. (This has nothing to do with her politics, by the way, even though most--though not all--of the time I disagree with her.) She's now on another radio station here during the morning. I recall her days as a PG panelist, though, and found her much easier to take (even somewhat likeable, in fact) in smaller doses there. At the time, Lynn Hinds (a man) was the host.
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We here, in Sandusky, still have a local quiz game, although it's a few hours away from our area. Our PBS affifliate, has a quiz game called High School Challenge, and it's been running for as long as I can remember. Our Quiz Bowl team almost got on it, but unfortunatly, it wasn't in our area(We never played against North Branch, or Flint). Oh well, at least we made it to State Games.
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High School Challenge
I'm figuring that you're talking about the Flint, MI version on WFUM. It's actually even older than my show, having started way back in 1983. I believe that once upon a time there were other specific \"High School Challenge\" programs franchised across the country, but Flint's might very well be the only one left.
This thread got me digging a little, and I've found fourteen high school quiz programs currently running on local stations across the country. I'll post the list in a different thread later, and I hope any of you who know of specific additions will chime in!
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For those not familiar, \"The Pennsylvania Game\" is a production of Penn State and filmed in University Park, PA. It features multiple choice questions through most of the game about people, places and things that have something to do with Pennsylvania. Between questions, clues are given about the \"Mystery Pennsylvanian\". Supposedly the people who play the game are celebrities, but they're probably minor celebrities out of Central PA, because I've never heard of any of them.
One of the guests listed for this season does have a certain amount of national celebrity--Eliott Abrams being the founder of Accu-Weather, the nation's largest private weather forecasting service, his voice is heard frequently on the many radio stations that subscribe to the Accu-Weather service. Granted, it's not *big* celebrity, but considering the success of Abrams' company, I don't think he's complaining much.
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[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Jun 30 2003, 02:56 PM\']
For those not familiar, "The Pennsylvania Game" is a production of Penn State and filmed in University Park, PA. It features multiple choice questions through most of the game about people, places and things that have something to do with Pennsylvania. Between questions, clues are given about the "Mystery Pennsylvanian". Supposedly the people who play the game are celebrities, but they're probably minor celebrities out of Central PA, because I've never heard of any of them.
One of the guests listed for this season does have a certain amount of national celebrity--Eliott Abrams being the founder of Accu-Weather, the nation's largest private weather forecasting service, his voice is heard frequently on the many radio stations that subscribe to the Accu-Weather service. Granted, it's not *big* celebrity, but considering the success of Abrams' company, I don't think he's complaining much. [/quote]
You know, I might have to try to tune into that. In addition to the Accu-Weather stuff, Eliott is also one of the forecasters on Weather World, WPSX's daily 15-minute show about (what else?) the weather. He's got a great sense of humor that I unfortunately can't really describe well in a post on a message board. Suffice it to say, though, that the guy's fun to watch.
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Actually, Lynn hosted the show for a few years when the revival first came on. (The current show is actually its second incarnation.)
Didn't know that. BTW, the host of the current version is Scott Bruce...does he have any other credits that you Central Pennsylvanians might know about?
Chuck Donegan (The Curious \"Chuckie Baby\")
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Yes, the initial series was hosted by Wendy Williams, now the voice of \"The Pennsylvania Game\".
I have no idea how many times he's said \"The answer is \"
The show is very high tech now. The only time they resort to the Sir Marks-a-lot is when they do the Mystery Pennsylvanian guesses.
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Washington, D.C. has a long-running high school quiz called \"It's Academic\" on the NBC affiliate, Channel 4. Mac MacGarry(sp?) is host for this show, now in it's 42nd or 43rd year!
I hosted \"High Q,\" a local high school quiz using the College Bowl format from 1984-1998 until it was cancelled on our CBS affiliate WOWK-TV, Channel 13, Huntington, West Virginia due to the sponsor leaving town and the TV station doing NOTHING to replace the sponsor. I am in talks with Marshall University to resurrect it, since the local stations in this market sadly have no interest.
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The show is very high tech now. The only time they resort to the Sir Marks-a-lot is when they do the Mystery Pennsylvanian guesses.
Indeed...for all other questions, the players' guesses are displayed via small monitors on their podiums.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious \"Chuckie Baby\")
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[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Jul 1 2003, 12:43 PM\'] Yes, the initial series was hosted by Wendy Williams, now the voice of "The Pennsylvania Game". [/quote]
Dear God, I've been trying to remember his name for about 15 years! Thank you!
If I remember correctly, he also used to host a local PBS talk show called \"Taking Note\" (now known as \"Take Note\"); I believe Patty Satalia replaced him on that at about the same time that he stopped hosting The Pennsylvania Game.
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I hosted \"High Q,\" a local high school quiz using the College Bowl format from 1984-1998 until it was cancelled on our CBS affiliate WOWK-TV, Channel 13, Huntington, West Virginia due to the sponsor leaving town and the TV station doing NOTHING to replace the sponsor. I am in talks with Marshall University to resurrect it, since the local stations in this market sadly have no interest.
Welcome to the newsgroup, Ernie!
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Another locally produced Q&A show no one has mentioned is the Pacific Northwest 80s favorite On the Spot, which aired on I think KGO in Portland and possibly a couple other stations(TV Game SHow Magazine reported in 1986 that there were negotiations to show it on stations in that region other than KGO)
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[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jul 2 2003, 06:16 PM\'] which aired on I think KGO in Portland and possibly a couple other stations [/quote]
That would be a neat trick, Zach, since KGO are the call letters of a television and radio station out of San Francisco.
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Yes KGO is SF, my mistake, but KGW I believe is the call letters of the station carrying On the Spot
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 30 2003, 01:55 PM\']I'm figuring that you're talking about the Flint, MI version on WFUM. It's actually even older than my show, having started way back in 1983. I believe that once upon a time there were other specific \"High School Challenge\" programs franchised across the country, but Flint's might very well be the only one left.
[/quote]
After spending the last two years appearing on both shows (12 times on Quizbusters and 10 on High School Challenge) I'd have to say that Quizbusters is a much better show in every respect imaginable. I'm not quite sure that HSC has changed at all in the last 20 years, while Quizbusters sharpens its image (and since this year, its questions) every couple of years. From what I've seen online of other programs, I'd have to say that Quizbusters is the best looking high school quiz show in the nation right now. And the host is somewhat tolerable, too. :)
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I'd have to say that Quizbusters is the best looking high school quiz show in the nation right now. And the host is somewhat tolerable, too. :)
Yeah, that's easy to say when you *win*!
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jul 20 2003, 02:33 PM\'] Yeah, that's easy to say when you *win*! [/quote]
Yeah, that's true. If I had lost I probably would have tried to burn the set down or something.
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Dear God, I've been trying to remember his name for about 15 years! Thank you!
If I remember correctly, he also used to host a local PBS talk show called \"Taking Note\" (now known as \"Take Note\"); I believe Patty Satalia replaced him on that at about the same time that he stopped hosting The Pennsylvania Game.
There was also a \"Wendy Williams\" listed in the credits of early eps of Double Dare as a writer...since both that show and TPG taped at WHYY (I believe), it's a definite possibility they're one in the same.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious \"Chuckie Baby\")
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Another locally produced Q&A show no one has mentioned is the Pacific Northwest 80s favorite On the Spot, which aired on I think KGO in Portland and possibly a couple other stations.
And from the 1 ep in the trading circuit, it was a pretty decent game...they actually billed it in the opening spiel by saying \"you don't have to go to Hollywood to win big!\".
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious \"Chuckie Baby\")
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WLVT does a high school quiz show called Scholastic Scrimmage. It is a terribly dry quiz. The sad part is the kids never really seem to add much personality. Shame.
Growing up, though, I wanted to be on it just to show people I could do it. Unfortunately I live in Bucks County and it was only for those schools in the Lehigh Valley.
http://www.wlvt.org/EDUCATION/SCHOLASTICSC...olScrimMAIN.htm (http://\"http://www.wlvt.org/EDUCATION/SCHOLASTICSCRIMMGE/ScholScrimMAIN.htm\")
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WLVT does a high school quiz show called Scholastic Scrimmage. It is a terribly dry quiz. The sad part is the kids never really seem to add much personality. Shame.
One of the problems of ANY academic quiz is that students really don't get a chance to add a lot of personality. We give our players just a tiny bit of time to say something about themselves. I wish there was a way around that -- I tell people how engaging most of the students are off camera -- but with (typcially) eight contestants to get through, you just can't spend a lot of time with each one.
But yeah, from the web page, Scholastic Scrimmage looks drier than most. Any show that describes its format as \"Contestants try to answer questions more quickly than members of the opposite team\" really isn't making creativity a priority.