-
What are your picks for shows you thought were safe from cancellation but got the ax anyway? The CBS "Match Game" was one, another, in my opinion was "Celebrity Sweepstakes." It seemed like everything was going well, it had two years plus under its belt, a new prime access version had just started, no major format changes that I recall, and suddenly, in Oct 76, it was gone, never to return.
-
Greed. Once all the kinks got worked out and it finally started to stand on its own two, it disappeared from the Fox lineup. I remember hearing that the ratings were better than anything else in the Friday @ 9 timeslot, yet it got canned anyway.
Also, Osmond's Pyramid. Same deal. Ratings were up, yet it got axed nonetheless.
-
BtB76 is another great example of this. Despite being a knockoff of HS, it was once the 2nd highest rated game show on network TV.
The rest of the story can be found in the 4th paragraph of this webpage...
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/5410/other.html (http://\"http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/5410/other.html\")
-
I guess 3 major ones for me would be the previously mentioned "Celebrity Sweepstakes", along with '76 "Break the Bank" and "Whew". I remember pretending I was sick so I could stay home and watch the final episode of "Sweepstakes", since the prime access version wasn't seen in my area. As for "BTB" and "Whew", I thought both were great shows and were doing well - we know in "BTB's" case it had the ratings.
For that matter, just about anytime TVGuide stated "Last show of the series" it kind of surprised me. I remember being surprised when the original "Joker's Wild" and the original "Hollywood Squares" were gone - those are two shows I didn't think would be cancelled.
You could usually tell when a show was going to be cancelled - when they stopped giving contestant and ticket plugs. Because of pre-taping, they always did this a few weeks before the end.
-
[quote name=\'dmota104\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 08:44 AM\']BtB76 is another great example of this. Despite being a knockoff of HS, it was once the 2nd highest rated game show on network TV.
[snapback]72083[/snapback]
[/quote]
Grrrr. That's it. Being reminded of the idiocy of this show's cancellation turns my skin green. ARRGGGHHHH! Hulk is strong. Hulk will smash. Where Fred Silverman house? Grrrrrrr.
-
Grrrr. That's it. Being reminded of the idiocy of this show's cancellation turns my skin green. ARRGGGHHHH! Hulk is strong. Hulk will smash. Where Fred Silverman house? Grrrrrrr.
This show actually came up in another thread a couple of weeks ago, but I pulled out a tape and watched a couple of the Jack Barry-hosted episodes of this just recently. The Barry version just seems too rushed - they barely get into a second game and the time's up signal goes. Having that bonus round didn't help because it ate up more time, as did all of the descriptions of the prizes someone would win if they broke the bank. The Kennedy version didn't seem as rushed, but they had the luxury of straddled games. They had a good mix of celebrities too.
It's just too bad GSN couldn't have given this one complete run-through when they had it on the schedule...IMHO it's a superior show to "Go" or "Hot Potato". Oh well, maybe they'll find a spot for it if they ever decide to go back to traditional games 24/7.
-
The original Scrabble was a surprise when it got the Ax. That one really caught me off guard. Original Dawson Feud was another one. I know the ratings were down.. but I somehow thought it would recover. I remember being surprised by Hitman too. It was to short lived and the cancelation was presented in a way that nobody will ever forget. 80's Dream House was another unpleasant surprise. I think it deserved a much longer run.
John
-
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 03:52 AM\']What are your picks for shows you thought were safe from cancellation but got the ax anyway? The CBS "Match Game" was one, another, in my opinion was "Celebrity Sweepstakes." It seemed like everything was going well, it had two years plus under its belt, a new prime access version had just started, no major format changes that I recall, and suddenly, in Oct 76, it was gone, never to return.
[snapback]72075[/snapback]
[/quote]
I think it took a lot of people by surprise. Jim Mackrell told me a few years back that he was shocked when NBC asked him to host a pilot for a new game in the summer of '76 -- that's a sure sign your current show hasn't long to live.
Before we all sit and wonder why ABC canned Break the Bank, read the fine print in EOTVGS. That 2nd-place finish in the ratings was based on the 1975-76 through the end of April -- which means BtB had only three weeks' worth of ratings to work with. I suspect the ratings went down thereafter -- let's face it, if the show was still that highly rated, it's likely either ABC would have moved it to another time slot or another network would have snagged it.
-
The 2000 version of Twenty-One is a good example. It was doing so well, against the NCAA Final Four. But Nonetheless, NBC cancelled it anyway. (Bleep) you NBC! The stupidist decision in my book, along with expanding The Today Show to a third hour instead of Reviving Concentration!
-
[quote name=\'Jamey Greek\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 08:27 PM\']The 2000 version of Twenty-One is a good example. It was doing so well, against the NCAA Final Four. But Nonetheless, NBC cancelled it anyway. (Bleep) you NBC! The stupidist decision in my book, along with expanding The Today Show to a third hour instead of Reviving Concentration!
[snapback]72178[/snapback]
[/quote]
Wow. (Sorry, Chris L. We needed one now.)
Doug
-
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 07:35 PM\']Wow. (Sorry, Chris L. We needed one now.)
[/quote]
Not a problem. No ownership is assumed or implied. :)
(And the feeling is quite mutual.)
-
Scrabble and Scattergories. Back then I had no idea that they were placeholders, or why NBC would do such a thing, but I was still disappointed when I found out they'd be airing no more.
-
I remember being very shocked in 1989 when TV Guide had the infamous "Last show of the series" tacked on under the listing for daytime WoF on NBC...
-
[quote name=\'Jamey Greek\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 09:27 PM\']The 2000 version of Twenty-One is a good example. It was doing so well, against the NCAA Final Four. But Nonetheless, NBC cancelled it anyway. (Bleep) you NBC! The stupidist decision in my book, along with expanding The Today Show to a third hour instead of Reviving Concentration!
[snapback]72178[/snapback]
[/quote]
You go, boy. The Today show could get canned tomorrow and be replaced with cartoons and I'd be happy. Another 1976 shocker cancellation for me was Gambit.
-
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 11:51 PM\'][quote name=\'Jamey Greek\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 09:27 PM\']The 2000 version of Twenty-One is a good example. It was doing so well, against the NCAA Final Four. But Nonetheless, NBC cancelled it anyway. (Bleep) you NBC! The stupidist decision in my book, along with expanding The Today Show to a third hour instead of Reviving Concentration!
[snapback]72178[/snapback]
[/quote]
You go, boy. The Today show could get canned tomorrow and be replaced with cartoons and I'd be happy. Another 1976 shocker cancellation for me was Gambit.
[snapback]72205[/snapback]
[/quote]
Yep, I don't know why, but I distinctly remember the "Gambit" one. It was to be replaced the following Monday with some damn clapping music (:)) and some physical challenges (oh, no wait! Wrong one! It's the one with isolation booths and puzzles.....but yes, the damn clapping music......). Of course the sarcasm meter is high. The damn clapping music is actually one of my big faves.
-
I had thought GONG was enough of a staple that NBC wouldn't cancel it (even though it had only run a little more than two years). If I only knew then what I know now. . .
And naturally, while I knew that some game shows would have to go in favor of David Letterman's morning show, the thought had never entered my mind that HSq would be among the jettisoned (I first suspected that CS would be gone before HSq was--although once it went to 12N ET, you could see its cancellation coming).
Doug
-
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 21 2005, 08:21 AM\']I had thought GONG was enough of a staple that NBC wouldn't cancel it (even though it had only run a little more than two years).
[/quote]
In your defense, you couldn't know the Popsicle Twins would come down the pike. :)
-
H2 seemed to be doing a helluva lot better ratingswise, but got canned anyhow. Network Millionaire got canned because people got burned out on it way too quick. If they would have ran it 2-3 nights a week max, we still might have it on ABC to this very day.
-
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 21 2005, 10:21 AM\']I had thought GONG was enough of a staple that NBC wouldn't cancel it (even though it had only run a little more than two years). If I only knew then what I know now. . .
And naturally, while I knew that some game shows would have to go in favor of David Letterman's morning show, the thought had never entered my mind that HSq would be among the jettisoned (I first suspected that CS would be gone before HSq was--although once it went to 12N ET, you could see its cancellation coming).
[snapback]72245[/snapback]
[/quote]
Wasn't the story that they were going to can "Wheel" and then changed their mind? Also, Filmways had already announced the syndicated strip of "Squares" for the fall of 1980 and NBC may've reacted to that.
-
[quote name=\'passwordplus\' date=\'Jan 21 2005, 02:22 PM\']H2 seemed to be doing a helluva lot better ratingswise[/quote]
Not really. I seem to recall the ratings sagged each year; until the final one; and they only remained stangant at that.
-
[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Jan 21 2005, 01:50 PM\']Wasn't the story that they were going to can "Wheel" and then changed their mind? Also, Filmways had already announced the syndicated strip of "Squares" for the fall of 1980 and NBC may've reacted to that.
[snapback]72269[/snapback]
[/quote]
Like I was reading Variety at 14½. . . :)
The story in Marshall's book may say so, but he had WoF being brought back when Letterman's morning show was trimmed by a half hour--as most of us by now know, WoF never left the air (that half hour was added to a half hour conveniently jettisoned from ANOTHER WORLD to create AW's spin-off TEXAS). So I'm not really sure how accurate the story is.
[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jan 21 2005, 11:43 AM\']In your defense, you couldn't know the Popsicle Twins would come down the pike. :)[snapback]72269[/snapback]
[/quote]
The "Have You Got A Nickel" girls supposedly never aired in my area--Chicago got the 4PM ET feed of GONG, which for that one day was different than the 1PM ET feed (not that I would've known the difference). Strangely enough, that ep did find its way into GSN's package (even if some 250 others missed the cut).
And besides, GONG wasn't cut loose by NBC until a good 10 months after the incident--plenty of time to forgive and forget (<DrEvil>Riiiight.<end/DrEvil>). I had posed a query on this board a long time ago and got no real definitive answer as to whether the decision to let GONG go was NBC's exclusively or Barris' (he has claimed in numerous interviews that he just plain didn't want to do the show anymore).
Doug
-
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 21 2005, 03:58 PM\']And besides, GONG wasn't cut loose by NBC until a good 10 months after the incident--plenty of time to forgive and forget (<DrEvil>Riiiight.<end/DrEvil>). I had posed a query on this board a long time ago and got no real definitive answer as to whether the decision to let GONG go was NBC's exclusively or Barris' (he has claimed in numerous interviews that he just plain didn't want to do the show anymore).
[snapback]72289[/snapback]
[/quote]
But he continued to do it for two more years in syndication anyway--but he may've been tired of doing approximately 239 shows a year and felt he could handle 39 a year (or 78 in the last syndication season--if they'd gotten that far when he pulled the plug on production) better.
-
[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Jan 21 2005, 03:09 PM\']But he continued to do it for two more years in syndication anyway--but he may've been tired of doing approximately 239 shows a year and felt he could handle 39 a year (or 78 in the last syndication season--if they'd gotten that far when he pulled the plug on production) better.
[snapback]72290[/snapback]
[/quote]
And funny that he stayed in Burbank to do that 1978-79 season (or at least the first 13 weeks or so of it--while we never saw those last couple of years in Chicago I did see some of the fall 1978 eps via WTMJ in Milwaukee)--you would think that if NBC wasn't keen on having him around that they'd force him to find alternative studio space (which he did for the 1979-80 season).
One footnote--at the end of GONG's 400th show (aired 1/5/78), Barris does say, "We got another couple hundred more to do--hope we get to do them." (As it turned out, they only did 100 more for the network.) And Barris could have concocted the story of not wanting to do the show anymore as well (taking the high road to help sell a book instead of playing bitter old man).
Doug
-
I agree with both Jamey and Don. If I had been put in charge of NBC back in 2000, I'd have kept Twenty-One in its 8:00pm slot on Wednesday night. I'm also in agreement on Gambit being an unexpected dismissal.
Might I also add The Big Showdown to the growing list of shows that weren't supposed to be axed, but were anyway.
Cordially,
Tammy Warner--the 'Shelley Smith of the Big Board!'
-
You can add "Win, Lose or Draw" to this list. Some might have said in a previous thread that ratings were the reason behind the scoring and format change, but I think it was the other way around. The changes were so confusing (in the early rounds, the person who drew did so for the first 25 seconds without any guesses from the teammates, then they had the next 5 seconds to guess for $200. If they did not guess correctly before then, they then had the remaining 30 seconds to guess for $100, and steals were worth $50) that viewers most likely were driven away. The best-known scoring system was you could score $200 for a correct guess, and you could hand off to a teammate after 30 seconds, but if you did, the charade's value dropped to $100, and you could guess the entire time.
Someone mentioned playing along in the earlier thread. In the first format, you could simply cover up part of the bottom of the screen until the host said "Go!" and then you could cover it up again before 30 seconds had expired if you wanted to play along.
(In the Cleveland area, the Bert Convy-hosted version aired in the late afternoon in its first two seasons, then it moved to overnights in its final season, possibly because the WKYC staff saw the format change [which started late in the Vicki Lawrence run] and did not like it.) This show should have had a much longer life.
-
[quote name=\'mbclev\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 01:15 AM\'](In the Cleveland area, the Bert Convy-hosted version aired in the late afternoon in its first two seasons, then it moved to overnights in its final season, possibly because the WKYC staff saw the format change [which started late in the Vicki Lawrence run] and did not like it.) This show should have had a much longer life.
[snapback]72360[/snapback]
[/quote]
I'd say it's more likely it dropped to overnights becasue Convy wasn't hosting anymore--Robb Weller took over hosting chores for the third season (Convy took the 3RD DEGREE hosting chores). Not sure how "name" Weller was at that poiint (I knew of him from his stint as host of AM CHICAGO, where he was succeeded by some girl named Opera or Okra or Oklahoma or something like that. . .).
Doug
-
In the early-evening syndicated category, my vote goes to The Cross Wits. A very solid show, and few tweaks during the course of it's existence.
By the time Cross Wits was gone in 1980, there were several stronger shows that pretty much nudged them out: The B&E trio of TJW, TTD & Bullseye, as well as Goodson/Todman's Family Feud and Match Game, along with non-gs jauggernaut PM Magazine -- those shows alone dominated that 7-8PM ET local block on the Big 3 local affiliates, and left not much room for the once-or-twice a week shows like Pyramid, HSq, Name That Tune or LMAD -- all of which were dead by September 1981.
Not to mention that Cross Wits wasn't a show that regularly gave away tons of cash & prizes like the B&E and G/T shows did, and the early 80's marked the start of the 'Mo Money Syndrome.
-
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 02:25 PM\']
I'd say it's more likely it dropped to overnights becasue Convy wasn't hosting anymore--Robb Weller took over hosting chores for the third season (Convy took the 3RD DEGREE hosting chores). Not sure how "name" Weller was at that poiint (I knew of him from his stint as host of AM CHICAGO, where he was succeeded by some girl named Opera or Okra or Oklahoma or something like that. . .).
Doug
[snapback]72390[/snapback]
[/quote]
Robb was co-hosting the Home show on ABC at the time he started WLOD. He left Home show in late 1989 IIRC and was replaced by Gary Collins.
-
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 05:46 PM\']In the early-evening syndicated category, my vote goes to The Cross Wits. A very solid show, and few tweaks during the course of it's existence.
By the time Cross Wits was gone in 1980, there were several stronger shows that pretty much nudged them out: The B&E trio of TJW, TTD & Bullseye, as well as Goodson/Todman's Family Feud and Match Game, along with non-gs jauggernaut PM Magazine -- those shows alone dominated that 7-8PM ET local block on the Big 3 local affiliates, and left not much room for the once-or-twice a week shows like Pyramid, HSq, Name That Tune or LMAD -- all of which were dead by September 1981.
[snapback]72417[/snapback]
[/quote]
Bullseye didn't start production until after Cross-Wits ended production. Squares expanded to five days a week in syndication in 1980-81.
-
[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 06:30 PM\'][quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 02:25 PM\']
Not sure how "name" Weller was at that point (I knew of him from his stint as host of AM CHICAGO, where he was succeeded by some girl named Opera or Okra or Oklahoma or something like that. . .).
[snapback]72390[/snapback]
[/quote]
Robb was co-hosting the Home show on ABC at the time he started WLOD. He left Home show in late 1989 IIRC and was replaced by Gary Collins.
[snapback]72430[/snapback]
[/quote]
Still doesn't establish how "name" he was. :)
Doug
-
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 07:37 PM\']Still doesn't establish how "name" he was. :)
Doug
[snapback]72433[/snapback]
[/quote]
No, but it establishes the theory of PJTP...
I believe Robb Weller worked for ET as well....
-
Robb was co-hosting the Home show on ABC at the time he started WLOD. He left Home show in late 1989 IIRC and was replaced by Gary Collins.
[snapback]72430[/snapback]
[/quote]
I used to watch Entertainment Tonight back in the late 80's.... Robb was on weeknights for a few years until 1986 when John Tesh came in. Robb then moved to weekends and filled in for Tesh when he was out. He left Home in late 1988 and was replaced with Gary Collins. I believe he was dropped from the show. He left ET in summer for Win Lose or Draw. He's got his own company now and does stuff for Food Channel, Discovery, etc.
-
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 07:37 PM\'][quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 06:30 PM\'][quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 02:25 PM\']
Not sure how "name" Weller was at that point (I knew of him from his stint as host of AM CHICAGO, where he was succeeded by some girl named Opera or Okra or Oklahoma or something like that. . .).
[snapback]72390[/snapback]
[/quote]
Robb was co-hosting the Home show on ABC at the time he started WLOD. He left Home show in late 1989 IIRC and was replaced by Gary Collins.
[snapback]72430[/snapback]
[/quote]
Still doesn't establish how "name" he was. :)
[snapback]72433[/snapback]
[/quote]
But it establishes an opportunity for Zach to add his usual worthless amount of information.
-
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jan 22 2005, 07:12 PM\']But it establishes an opportunity for Zach to add his usual worthless amount of information.
[snapback]72440[/snapback]
[/quote]
Heck, I could type the word "sardine" as an entire post and it would establish an opportunity for Zach. :)
Doug
-
[quote name=\'MTCesquire\' date=\'Jan 20 2005, 04:11 AM\']Greed. Once all the kinks got worked out and it finally started to stand on its own two, it disappeared from the Fox lineup. I remember hearing that the ratings were better than anything else in the Friday @ 9 timeslot, yet it got canned anyway.
Also, Osmond's Pyramid. Same deal. Ratings were up, yet it got axed nonetheless.
[snapback]72077[/snapback]
[/quote]
I for one wasn't surprised that Osmond's Pyramid got cancelled. It wasn't the same as the Dick Clark Pyramid. I think for me the one I didn't expect to be cancelled was Scrabble from the 80s and in 1993. They were both good versions yet they didn't last (especially in 1993).
-
Pyramid kinda surprised me, but since there was already heavy speculation about it, I, too wasn't surprised. Despite the flaws, I did still enjoy the show, even though there was room for improvement, and still held out hope for a third season. Hopefully the decent ratings can still merit a revival, and maybe this time it won't take 11 years. ;-)
Another surprise for me, TPiR94 and Feud94. I think the fact that both were off the air by February (in Norfolk) was what got me. I don't think WTKR kept either one beyond New Year's 1995.
-
Before we all sit and wonder why ABC canned Break the Bank, read the fine print in EOTVGS. That 2nd-place finish in the ratings was based on the 1975-76 through the end of April -- which means BtB had only three weeks' worth of ratings to work with. I suspect the ratings went down thereafter -- let's face it, if the show was still that highly rated, it's likely either ABC would have moved it to another time slot or another network would have snagged it.
But would ratings really have dropped that much in the ensuing weeks? I think they still would have been fairly decent. How many shows would start that high and then drop off that quickly anyway?
I think with some game shows, ratings really didn't have anything to do with cancellation. Wasn't "The Better Sex" still getting good ratings when they pulled the plug (again, for an expanded soap)? What about the original "Jeopardy"? The story we've all heard is that Merv agreed to exchange the last year of the contract to get "Wheel of Fortune" on the air. Take it further to 1991 - didn't Ross Shafer state that they'd be back soon on the final "Match Game"?
It seems that ratings for daytime shows don't really have as much play in whether they stay on the air as they do for prime time shows.
-
The "Have You Got A Nickel" girls supposedly never aired in my area--Chicago got the 4PM ET feed of GONG, which for that one day was different than the 1PM ET feed (not that I would've known the difference). Strangely enough, that ep did find its way into GSN's package (even if some 250 others missed the cut).
Ah yes, but times have changed since then. With what you see on TV today, I don't think it's that shocking. In reality, the whole act was pretty tame, but I can see why it would cause a stir in the mid '70s.
-
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jan 23 2005, 01:23 PM\']
Before we all sit and wonder why ABC canned Break the Bank, read the fine print in EOTVGS. That 2nd-place finish in the ratings was based on the 1975-76 through the end of April -- which means BtB had only three weeks' worth of ratings to work with. I suspect the ratings went down thereafter -- let's face it, if the show was still that highly rated, it's likely either ABC would have moved it to another time slot or another network would have snagged it.
But would ratings really have dropped that much in the ensuing weeks? I think they still would have been fairly decent. How many shows would start that high and then drop off that quickly anyway?
I think with some game shows, ratings really didn't have anything to do with cancellation. Wasn't "The Better Sex" still getting good ratings when they pulled the plug (again, for an expanded soap)? What about the original "Jeopardy"? The story we've all heard is that Merv agreed to exchange the last year of the contract to get "Wheel of Fortune" on the air.
[snapback]72510[/snapback]
[/quote]
And Lin Bolen wanted to get her "studs" on and Art Fleming off ASAP. I still think that she moved "J!" to 10:30 a.m. to kill it--and instead it temporarily killed "Pyramid." It took moving it to 1:30 p.m. against "As the World Turns" and "LMAD" to do the job (although I guess Merv could've demanded that one last year if he wished).
-
In another thread I mentioned I recently came into possession of some Daytime TV Mags. In addition to the reader's polls, by the mid-70's they would print the daytime Nielsens. For the week ending 6/20/76, the top 5 game shows were......
1. Match Game 10.0/33 share
2. Price Is Right 7.1/38
3. $20,000 Pyramid 7.0/25
4. Break the Bank 6.8/25
5. Rhyme and Reason 6.4/24
Nary an NBC game show. Of course the soaps had impressive ratings as well- ATWT had a 9.7/35 and Y&R a 9.2/37, DOOL had a 7.7/28, so even at that the ABC afternoon games were coming up second or third in the slot. BTB was beating "The Doctors" on NBC 6.8 to 6.6.
-
For the week ending 6/20/76, the top 5 game shows were......
1. Match Game 10.0/33 share
2. Price Is Right 7.1/38
3. $20,000 Pyramid 7.0/25
4. Break the Bank 6.8/25
5. Rhyme and Reason 6.4/24
So I think that proves that "BTB" and "Rhyme and Reason" were highly rated all the way through their runs - and got cancelled anyway. We can thank Fred Silverman and his love of soaps for that!
-
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jan 23 2005, 12:26 PM\']
The "Have You Got A Nickel" girls supposedly never aired in my area--Chicago got the 4PM ET feed of GONG, which for that one day was different than the 1PM ET feed (not that I would've known the difference). Strangely enough, that ep did find its way into GSN's package (even if some 250 others missed the cut).
Ah yes, but times have changed since then. With what you see on TV today, I don't think it's that shocking. In reality, the whole act was pretty tame, but I can see why it would cause a stir in the mid '70s.
[snapback]72511[/snapback]
[/quote]
Actually, the shock value wasn't why I was surprised to see it crop up in the package. Since GSN wasn't able to clear every episode for air (either through music clearance issues or GSN's claim that they only had about half of the NBC run to begin with), and given that it hadn't aired outside of the East Coast initially in September 1977, I was surprised that that episode made the cut compared to other eps. Sure, by today's standards the bit was tame, but chances were about 50/50 anyway that GSN was going to air that program.
Doug -- and the countdown to 1000 continues
-
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jan 25 2005, 09:23 AM\']
For the week ending 6/20/76, the top 5 game shows were......
1. Match Game 10.0/33 share
2. Price Is Right 7.1/38
3. $20,000 Pyramid 7.0/25
4. Break the Bank 6.8/25
5. Rhyme and Reason 6.4/24
So I think that proves that "BTB" and "Rhyme and Reason" were highly rated all the way through their runs - and got cancelled anyway. We can thank Fred Silverman and his love of soaps for that!
[snapback]72937[/snapback]
[/quote]
But back then, before cable and mini-nets, you could get a 25 share and still get cancelled if you were in last place and not holding up your end of the schedule. A good many UHF stations in those days didn't even bother to sign on until mid-afternoon (if there was a UHF in the market at all) and PBS stations were running instructional programming, meaning the Big 3 could each get a 30 share without a lot of effort. Not to discount your feelings about Silverman, but if ABC was in last place against some established soaps--and they felt it was time to expand the higher-rated soaps to an hour, I don't blame them.
-
But back then, before cable and mini-nets, you could get a 25 share and still get cancelled if you were in last place and not holding up your end of the schedule.
In fact, Merv Griffin mentioned in his book that his first show, Word For Word, got cancelled after it dropped to a 35 rating, on which he commented "to show how times have changed, that's twice as high as even the highest-rated show could expect to pull today"...it was all about establishment, in those days.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Jan 25 2005, 03:44 PM\']Not to discount your feelings about Silverman, but if ABC was in last place against some established soaps--and they felt it was time to expand the higher-rated soaps to an hour, I don't blame them.
[snapback]73044[/snapback]
[/quote]
Yeah, but did he have to pull Break The Bank? Why couldn't they just have not debuted Hot Seat instead? Of course, moving BtB to 12noon might've brought about other trouble because of stations airing news at that time instead.
About the subject of ratings and numbers of channels then as compared to now, I imagine there are some stations that got a higher rating for Sunrise Semester back in the day than CSI: Pick Your Version gets in 2005.
-
Not to discount your feelings about Silverman, but if ABC was in last place against some established soaps--and they felt it was time to expand the higher-rated soaps to an hour, I don't blame them.
Point taken; however, if you look at the other network game shows that were on the air on June 25, 1976, both "Break the Bank" and "Rhyme and Reason" were getting higher ratings than shows like "Let's Make a Deal", "Hollywood Squares", "Gambit" and "Tattletales", just to name a few.
OK - "LMAD" and "Gambit" were gone by the end of the year, but "Squares" and "Tattletales" still had several years to run. To keep it on the same network, "$20,000 Pyramid", which had just slightly better ratings at the time, carried on another four years. I'm not suggesting "Break the Bank" could have lasted four more years, but it certainly deserved a much longer run than it got.
-
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jan 26 2005, 09:03 AM\']
Not to discount your feelings about Silverman, but if ABC was in last place against some established soaps--and they felt it was time to expand the higher-rated soaps to an hour, I don't blame them.
Point taken; however, if you look at the other network game shows that were on the air on June 25, 1976, both "Break the Bank" and "Rhyme and Reason" were getting higher ratings than shows like "Let's Make a Deal", "Hollywood Squares", "Gambit" and "Tattletales", just to name a few.
OK - "LMAD" and "Gambit" were gone by the end of the year, but "Squares" and "Tattletales" still had several years to run. To keep it on the same network, "$20,000 Pyramid", which had just slightly better ratings at the time, carried on another four years. I'm not suggesting "Break the Bank" could have lasted four more years, but it certainly deserved a much longer run than it got.
[snapback]73215[/snapback]
[/quote]
Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but R&R and BTB were considered by many to be ripoffs of G-T's "Match Game" and H-Q's "Squares." The next two games that debuted on ABC just happened to be from G-T and H-Q. Coincidence?
-
How were the $20,000 Pyramid and Family Feud's ratings when the $20,000 Pyramid got cancelled? This is a subject that's always interested me....Of ABC's what could be considered "morning" block, from 1977 to 1980, it was basically the same - 11am (EST) was Happy Days reruns (supplanted in 1979 by Laverne and Shirley), 11:30 was Family Feud, and noon was $20,000 Pyramid.
When $20,000 Pyramid was cancelled in June 1980, the 11am-12pm hour was replaced by reruns of "Love Boat", and, since Love Boat took up an entire hour, Family Feud moved to the noon spot, where its devotion by stations eventually dropped off:
WPVI-6 in Philadelphia continued to air it at 11:30am, however, it was on a one-day delay. They did this up until "Loving" premiered in June 1983, at which point, for the summer, the show moved to (then)WTAF-29 and aired at noon. Once fall 1983 rolled around, daytime "Feud" was gone from Philly.
WJZ-13 (which was then ABC) in Baltimore also continued to air it at 11:30am too, but once fall 1980 dawned, they moved the "Love Boat" reruns from 10am to 11am and like that, daytime "Feud" was gone from Baltimore.