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Hello to all!
We have been talking about the best opening sequences for a game show. How about the best closings? What do you think?
I, for example, liked the closing sequence for $ale of the Century during the NBC Shopping era. During the credit roll, the camera would do a very slow zoom out from the big doors. As they do so, the large set of doors would close (you would still see the back room through the smaller frame, however) and you would see the darkened front main game set in full view eventually.
Anybody else have their faves? Tell it here, and thanks in advance for the responses!
The Inquisitive One
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[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Oct 17 2004, 11:15 PM\']We have been talking about the best opening sequences for a game show. How about the best closings? What do you think?
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I liked the ones with theme music, applause, and credits.
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My absolute favorite is still the closing from WoF in the earlier years of the show, in which they cut away, and the host and hostess were in the middle of the wheel.....
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[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Oct 17 2004, 09:34 PM\']My absolute favorite is still the closing from WoF in the earlier years of the show, in which they cut away, and the host and hostess were in the middle of the wheel.....
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Not sure if this is what you meant, but I thought the Wheel close was more interesting when they said their goodbyes, and the camera would pull out to reveal the wheel spinning and the hosting duo in the chromakeyed green spot in the middle.
The BEST outcue, bar none, however, is Kevin O'Connell's "K.O. for G.O.. We'll see you tomorrow." I will not argue with this.
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I liked the shows where the lights would dim during the credits. BtB '76 and 70's Treasure Hunt are among my favorites.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 12:51 AM\']
Not sure if this is what you meant, but I thought the Wheel close was more interesting when they said their goodbyes, and the camera would pull out to reveal the wheel spinning and the hosting duo in the chromakeyed green spot in the middle.
The BEST outcue, bar none, however, is Kevin O'Connell's "K.O. for G.O.. We'll see you tomorrow." I will not argue with this.
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Was trying to think of a good way to describe it, and came up short. That's EXACTLY what I meant. :)
"K.O. for G.O." is also a good signoff.
I also am a fan of "Dick Clark.....[salute].....so long."
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My favorite outcue was the one Allen Ludden used in -- I think -- the first Password Plus: "the password is 'thanks.'" I also liked the later episodes, which he'd close by saying "the password for today is..." and making a funny comment or two using the word he'd chosen.
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[quote name=\'dzinkin\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 12:41 AM\']My favorite outcue was the one Allen Ludden used in -- I think -- the first Password Plus: "the password is 'thanks.'" I also liked the later episodes, which he'd close by saying "the password for today is..." and making a funny comment or two using the word he'd chosen.
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Dave, IIRC, he did this on the original series of Password as well.
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Any closing Chuck Woolery couldn't get right is a classic:
"This is Chuck Woolery hoping that all your good dates are tonight."
"And remember, it's not just Lingo, it's...[cracks up]"
Seriously, I'll second the vote for Allen Ludden's different Passwords.
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Yeah, the Allen Ludden 'password' closings are cool. I also like the Double Dare closing, especially when Marc and the contestants play around in the gak. It was always neat to see Harvey, too. When a contestant won the bonus round in Starcade as their friends would come up, I liked that as well.
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[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 02:14 AM\']Dave, IIRC, he did this on the original series of Password as well.
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Goes to show how long it's been since I've dragged out my tapes of the other Passwords. :-) P+ has always been my favorite of the various Passwords anyway -- probably because I remember it so vividly from having watched it as a kid.
The one from the first P+ just seems so fitting... quick, dignified and apparently sincere.
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At the end of Face The Music, I enjoyed the closing moments when Tarzan would say, "Join us next time when once more we face the music" and then he would punch the air followed immediately by Tommy Oliver & Company bringing us the theme with a neat drumbeat.
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To introduce a much more recent example, the mighty Mr. Stein's closing, with the references to the money he saved, to futility.com and all the way to the reverb at the end always impressed me.
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I also liked the Dick Clark salute as well as Ben Stein's signoff.
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Unfortunately, it's an art that's dying, along with the game show.
One of the better older one - Bob Barker signing off another TorC: "Here's hoping all your consequences are happy ones. Good-BYE, everybody!"
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[quote name=\'DrBear\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 11:58 AM\']Unfortunately, it's an art that's dying, along with the game show.
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But it looks like the Brits are trying to keep it alive, if that four-hour block on BBCA Sunday morning is any indication, with Nigel Lythgoe's "keep your friends close--and your enemies closer" and Ulrika Jonsson's "remember, every dog has his day." I don't know if the other British shows try for catch phrase closings--since after all, the other show in the block just ends with "Join us next time for 'The Weakest Link'--(wink) goodbye." But it's not dead yet.
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[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 12:29 AM\']
[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 12:51 AM\']
I also am a fan of "Dick Clark.....[salute].....so long."
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It always struck me as odd that Dick would leave right after saying that, yet everyone else had to sit there through the credits. I realize he was a busy man, but gosh, it's not like Nipsey Russell didn't have anywhere to go, too.
Mr. Ludden's later work is the best. On the original, his passwords were preachy, but they became witty when he took viewer submissions during the P+ years (if not during the ABC versions).
And there's still something magical about the final shot of Barker and the girls and the triumphant Showcase winner back by the prizes.
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If I may deviate from the topic slightly..the worst ending by far had to be the '86 Crosswits. Nothing really bad about David Sparks' send-off, from what I can remember, but during the credits they showed still frames of supposedly 'memorable' moments from the show, like soap operas used to do (and as TPiR does sometimes, before commercial breaks, but in a much more tasteful manner). Horrible!
--Sam
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[quote name=\'SamJ93\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 02:44 PM\']If I may deviate from the topic slightly..the worst ending by far had to be the '86 Crosswits.
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I'm glad Sam started this, because I was going to suggest SCRABBLE (the first version) for among the worst endings. When they moved the audience into camera range (becoming one of the few NBC shows from Burbank to actually show the audience consistently, even if the reactions were still McKenzied), Woolery would start chatting up the audience at the end of each show. Then the audience would start applauding (cue McKenzie effects), and Woolery would still be chatting! I don't know about you (colloquially), but I'd find it difficult to carry on any sort of civilized conversation if there was applause all around me.
Doug
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MY fave GS closing, hands down, is Jackpot! I even mentioned it at my fanpage on the show!
Cordially,
Tammy Warner--the 'Siv Averg of the Big Board!'
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I've always wanted to hear Gene Wood saying this closing spiel when he was the host, he had the same closing spiel as Bud Collyer had and that was "Be sure to accomplish a challenge on time when it's you time to Beat The Clock" but Gene always says on the Friday's show "We'll see you on Monday, have a fantastic weekend."
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Let's see...my fave closing would include:
- "KO for G-O"
- Dick Clark's Pyramid signoff
- Geoff Edwards' Treasure Hunt close "Join us again next wk...until then, this is GE saying good luck...good night!"
- Mark Walberg's "Until next time, I'm Mark Walberg...watch your step!"
- Pitfall, more so when they had a full credit roll, because it was just cool seeing how the big-ass bridge would dwarf Alex and the champ as they made their exits during that static WS that closed each ep
- "Until next time, this is Jim Lange hoping everything you're going for (fist windup and release) hits the Bullseye...bye!"
Least faves:
- Joe Garagiola's "They struck it rich, and I hope you strike it rich!"
- Clark Race's "Remember, it's not kids who say the darndest things, it's their parents."
- Jim Lange's "You don't have to be a newlywed to act like one" from his 1984 ABC Daytime Special wk of TNNG
- Richard Karn's 1st and 2nd season closes on FF, if you could call them that
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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I'm one to play favorites, but here are some honorables in no particular order, most not already mentioned:
"Watch your step."
"Be good to your families, come back and see our families here on the Feud!" (Louie's Feud closing)
"I'm JD Roth, hoping to make your house a Fun House."
"When you don't have time to think twice, Think Fast!"
"I challenge all of you out there to write, call, or e-mail to futility.com in the hope, infinitesimal as it may be, that on some planet, on some distant day, you might win Ben Stein's money (oney-oney-oney...)"
"The next time you're at a checkout counter and you hear the beep (beep beep), think of the fun you could have on Supermarket Sweep!"
"Tally ho!" (Gene used this often on MG)
And from an ep of Family Double Dare:
"This is your announcer Harvey reminding you to join us again next time on the only show on television rated PG...for pretty gross!"
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What about "Thank you ever so much for joining us on (insert one of twenty-six shows)"? "No time to say goodbye, so good." (Chain Reaction) "Without you this show would still go on." (Blockbusters). The last two were only said once each by the best host ever, but they made an impression on me.
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And there's still something magical about the final shot of Barker and the girls and the triumphant Showcase winner back by the prizes.
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I always thought it was cool, to see Bob go into the audience and greet everyone following a double overbid. Good stuff. As far as openings go, you can't beat Price's. It has to be the best intro in the history of TV game shows IMO. I especially love the intros where Bob enters from the audience, and is slapping everyone's hands on his way towards the stage. Very cool!
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 07:04 PM\']What about "Thank you ever so much for joining us on (insert one of twenty-six shows)"? "No time to say goodbye, so good." (Chain Reaction) "Without you this show would still go on." (Blockbusters). The last two were only said once each by the best host ever, but they made an impression on me.
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Some of the Cullen one-time sign offs were classics. I still remember a goodbye from one show...
"And so good guess from Eye Bye."
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Some of the Cullen one-time sign offs were classics. I still remember a goodbye from one show...
"And so good guess from Eye Bye."
He did the same thing some 25 yrs later, when he bid the viewers "hot bye from Good Potato". :-)
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 11:54 PM\']
Some of the Cullen one-time sign offs were classics. I still remember a goodbye from one show...
"And so good guess from Eye Bye."
He did the same thing some 25 yrs later, when he bid the viewers "hot bye from Good Potato". :-)[snapback]61312[/snapback]
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And in between, no fewer than twice he said "good block from Byebusters".
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[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Oct 19 2004, 12:22 AM\'][quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 11:54 PM\']
Some of the Cullen one-time sign offs were classics. I still remember a goodbye from one show...
"And so good guess from Eye Bye."
He did the same thing some 25 yrs later, when he bid the viewers "hot bye from Good Potato". :-)[/quote]
And in between, no fewer than twice he said "good block from Byebusters".
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But did Cullen ever say "good love from The Bye Experts"? :-)
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[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 09:53 PM\']But did Cullen ever say "good love from The Bye Experts"? :-)
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More importantly, did Sarah Purcell ever try to steal Bill's material for her game show?
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I have a .wav of one of Bill's other wacky closings - "see you again next time, good bye from Busblockers."
-Jason
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[quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Oct 18 2004, 10:20 PM\']
More importantly, did Sarah Purcell ever try to steal Bill's material for her game show?
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<Bill Dana as Jose Jimenez> Oooooooh, I hope not! </bdajj>
But the reference to The Better Sex reminded me that their show's closing was one of my faves. Sarah and "Whispering" Bill Anderson would alternate each day and say something like, "Join us next time as we determine which one is The Better Sex. G'bye!"
Esoteric Eric; sometimes, Bill would also say: "So long and make it a good day!" That was also the signoff of Jack Chase, longtime morning and noon news anchor at Boston's WBZ-TV (then an NBC affil, now a CBS O&O.) Makes me wonder if Bill picked it up from Jack, or they both picked it up from someone else...
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I'm glad Sam started this, because I was going to suggest SCRABBLE (the first version) for among the worst endings. When they moved the audience into camera range (becoming one of the few NBC shows from Burbank to actually show the audience consistently, even if the reactions were still McKenzied), Woolery would start chatting up the audience at the end of each show. Then the audience would start applauding (cue McKenzie effects), and Woolery would still be chatting! I don't know about you (colloquially), but I'd find it difficult to carry on any sort of civilized conversation if there was applause all around me.
What I liked about that when they first started doing that is that there'd be no applause right until the end. After a few months, the audience would start applauding after the "this has been a Reg Grundy production" announcement. But I agree it looked kind of silly to have Chuck still chatting with them.
I believe this started about mid-1986, and by 1988 they went back to having full applause during the close.
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My 2 faves , already mentioned....
Geoff Edwards, THunt..."GE wishing you good luck, and good night".
Bob Barker, Truth or Consquences, read the signoff below....
And the best "Bill-Bye"s, from Eye Guess...
"Theres' a weekend up ahead, so watch it!"
and from Blockbusters,
"Have yourself a good whatever it is, wherever you're going, and we'll see you next time on Blockbusters"
He was, in fact, the man.
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More Cullen:
"We thank you for letting us come into your homes--but next time, could you please clean them before we come?"
"We than you for letting us come into--your bedroom."
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Esoteric Eric; sometimes, Bill would also say: "So long and make it a good day!" That was also the signoff of Jack Chase, longtime morning and noon news anchor at Boston's WBZ-TV (then an NBC affil, now a CBS O&O.) Makes me wonder if Bill picked it up from Jack, or they both picked it up from someone else...
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David Hartman said something like that on "Good Morning America," not that he didn't pick it up elsewhere. He might have said make it a great day.
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[quote name=\'Esoteric Eric\' date=\'Oct 19 2004, 05:44 AM\']Makes me wonder if Bill picked it up from Jack, or they both picked it up from someone else...
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I remember that "Make it a good day!" was David Hartman's signoff at the end of the 7:00a hour of Good Morning America for those affiliates who weren't sticking around for the last one. (I dunno if he closed the show overall with it or not, I was at school by that time. :))
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I liked when Allen Ludden would use the closing password to lead into a public service message, something like:
"Until tomorrow, this is Allen Ludden saying the password today is 'college'. College is America's best friend, so remember to Give to the College of Your Choice. Seeya tomorrow, I hope...."
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Oct 19 2004, 10:37 AM\']I remember that "Make it a good day!" was David Hartman's signoff at the end of the 7:00a hour of Good Morning America for those affiliates who weren't sticking around for the last one. (I dunno if he closed the show overall with it or not, I was at school by that time. :))
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Thanks, but when I mentioned that Jack Chase was a longtime anchor, I meant longtime; he may even have been the first morning anchor ever at Boston's channel 4. Not sure about the year (as early as the station's 1948 sign-on, but almost certainly by the time of The Today Show's debut in '52), but I know that Mr. Hartman was a struggling young actor, if not an aspiring actor, when Jack Chase had been using the signoff for years.
EDIT: To clarify, Mr. Chase is "no longer with us," and retired from WBZ long before Westinghouse and CBS became one big happy family.
Esoteric Eric... ObGameShow (even so, stretching): Over the years, members of the news team at Seattle's channel 4 (KOMO) appeared in specially produced episodes (one each) of syndie Combs Feud and Osmond Pyramid
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Geoff Edwards' Treasure Hunt close "Join us again next wk...until then, this is GE saying good luck...good night!"
Another from Geoff during his years on "Starcade" -- "hope all your troubles get zapped."
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TPIR had really good end credits before CBS bastardized it. Especially the "full credit roll", and being able to see either Johnny O. or Rod Roddy on camera would have to be high on the list here.
EDIT: After re-reading the thread, this might not apply to the thread. Bob Barker's "spay or neuter" gig seems ok, could be better. But when he is trying to say it with 20-30 or more college students charging the turntable, it makes for one helluva exit.