GSN 50 greatest game shows special...

[uncamark]

And our long national nightmare is over.

As stated before, I couldn't complain about the goofiness of the selections because I knew that coming in because of the nature of the beast.

However, if you were going to do this sort of thing, you should've done it right by either making an effort to get one-shot deals on shows or doing a clipfest-with-snarky-comments show that VH1 and E! are able to do at the drop of a hat.  Not that there weren't entertaining moments throughout the six weeks.  But if this is going to be your big prime time horse in conjunction with the two new series in cable's biggest season of the year, you better do it the way it should be done.

And I hope that the Nielsen numbers bear me out.

[clemon79]

My fear is that the numbers won't, and here's why:

Consider the GSN boards. I'm really starting to think these people think those users are representative of their viewership. We have chumps here who SHOULD be over on the GSN boards instead who are saying "yeah it was great because now I have three more episodes of something obscure to add to my collection of six-thousand episodes of WOF could someone please post more Pyramid clips this is the best message room kthxbye" who were apparently both hunky and dory with it.

So if the majority of the GSN viewing audience is truly as stupid as I'm starting to think they might be (and let's remember that the collective of clueful folks here amount to an ingrown hair IN the pimple ON the ass that is that group), then I'm suspecting we'll find out that they lapped it up and came back for seconds.

[LocalH]

It's the same thing that happened to G4/TechTV after the merger. They've started skewing to what I can only refer to as the "idiot" demographic, and in the process managed to piss off the true fans. It sucks, too, because we all know how great GSN used to be (you know, back when they didn't actually call themselves "GSN" on-air).

In other words, you're 100% correct, Chris. The idiots drank it up as if it was a fine wine, except it was actually the diarrhea of GSN executives. Sort of like people who drink American Budweiser and think it's really the "King of Beers".

[rebelwrest]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'130075\' date=\'Sep 1 2006, 01:42 PM\']
So if the majority of the GSN viewing audience is truly as stupid as I'm starting to think they might be (and let's remember that the collective of clueful folks here amount to an ingrown hair IN the pimple ON the ass that is that group), then I'm suspecting we'll find out that they lapped it up and came back for seconds.
[/quote]

I'm guessing this may be a shock to the heads a GSN when the head story in today's Life section of USA Today starts with the line "Clearly, somebody in TV thinks we're getting smarter."

[DrBear]

[quote name=\'LocalH\' post=\'130090\' date=\'Sep 1 2006, 01:58 PM\']
The idiots drank it up as if it was a fine wine, except it was actually the diarrhea of GSN executives. [/quote]

Worst. Simile. Ever.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'LocalH\' post=\'130090\' date=\'Sep 1 2006, 11:58 AM\']The idiots drank it up as if it was a fine wine, except it was actually the diarrhea of GSN executives.[/quote]

[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'130101\' date=\'Sep 1 2006, 01:41 PM\']Worst. Simile. Ever.
[/quote]Sorry, Ray, the correct answer was "Man, I've seen some crappy similes before, but this one takes the cake."

[J.R.]

For no reason at all, I decided not to watch the "GSN 50 Greatest Game Shows" thing. It sounds like I saved myself from a lot of stress.

-Joe R.

[J.R.]

[quote name=\'Brandon Brooks\' post=\'130143\' date=\'Sep 2 2006, 04:26 AM\']
Well, if you stress over the broadcast decisions of GSN, then yes.  But if that's so, that's a shame.
[/quote]

I don't (I really don't care what GSN airs anymore. If I don't like what's on, I change the channel.), but judging by all the complaints on this thread about the show, it appears people got pretty upset and stressed over the choices and how they were handled.

-Joe R.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'JRaygor\' post=\'130146\' date=\'Sep 2 2006, 06:52 AM\']
I don't (I really don't care what GSN airs anymore. If I don't like what's on, I change the channel.), but judging by all the complaints on this thread about the show, it appears people got pretty upset and stressed over the choices and how they were handled.
[/quote]
I must admit I am upset, but more because someone at GSN really thinks that this list should be taken as gospel, and that some of these shows can actually claim themselves as "One of GSN's Top 50 Greatest". Plain and simple, Studs had absolutely no place on that list, and neither did Shop Til You Drop.

The way they handled the Top 6 was an absolute joke, esp. when they should have rights to two of the shows mentioned. You mention the Top 6 over three nights, and instead of showing six half-hour shows, you do a piddly mention, then show an hour-long episode, or two episodes. Not to sound like a fanb0i, but that's a piss-poor, halfass way of handling a "Best Of" countdown, especially when shows in the teens and twenties got separate half-hours (the hour that had Win Lose or Draw and TJW).

Sad thing is, GSN folks are probably patting themselves on the back over this shite-minus-the-e.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'JRaygor\' post=\'130146\' date=\'Sep 2 2006, 06:52 AM\']I don't (I really don't care what GSN airs anymore. If I don't like what's on, I change the channel.), but judging by all the complaints on this thread about the show, it appears people got pretty upset and stressed over the choices and how they were handled. [/quote]
Yes, some people did.  And that's Brandon's point.  If you are the sort of person who's going to get stressed out over what a piddling little cable company chooses to do with its programming, then you were wise to skip this.  Brandon's point (with which I agree) is that it's possible to marvel at the stupidity of some of the choices, both on the items in the list and how the list was handled at the anticlimactic top, without having your blood pressure literally affected.

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'130149\' date=\'Sep 2 2006, 09:08 AM\']I must admit I am upset, but more because someone at GSN really thinks that this list should be taken as gospel, [/quote]
I have a hard time believing anybody at GSN considers this "gospel." I believe GSN considers this "a way to program some summer hours inexpensively and get people talking about us."  My guess is that yes, GSN considers their little stunt quite successful.

[mbc793]

Well if that's the case, I like to see what's going to happen over the fall time. I have to agree that this little stunt was successful and I wouldn't be surprised if they do something like this again in the future. I had trouble accepting it and yeah I wish they did the top 6 better, but hey it's GSN, what the heck do you expect them to do.

Michael

[cweaver]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'130149\' date=\'Sep 2 2006, 08:08 AM\']
I must admit I am upset, but more because someone at GSN really thinks that this list should be taken as gospel, and that some of these shows can actually claim themselves as "One of GSN's Top 50 Greatest". [/quote]

Actually I had the opposite problem.  I don't think they took it all that seriously.  To me, if anything, it looks like GSN was a bit flip at least with parts of the list.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'130158\' date=\'Sep 2 2006, 09:14 AM\']
I believe GSN considers this "a way to program some summer hours inexpensively and get people talking about us."  My guess is that yes, GSN considers their little stunt quite successful.
[/quote]
If you're in the "there is no such thing as bad publicity camp", then certainly. They might have learned a useful lesson from what G4 did to their street cred after Comcast took it over and eviscerated TechTV. Certainly, they've shot their wad with me (not that they care, or should), and I'm pretty much gonna figuratively roll my eyes at anything they announce from here forward. Again, though, if they had an ounce of sense in their head, they would realize that we're the folks they want PROMOTING them to non fans, not the ones they want badmouthing them.

[JasonA1]

Again, though, if they had an ounce of sense in their head, they would realize that we're the folks they want PROMOTING them to non fans, not the ones they want badmouthing them.

I hope nobody comes back with the always famous "they're not trying to cater to us" logic, because I feel Chris has it right here.

On a more grand scale, but in relation to this point, they would've been smart to try to nab the airing rights to the skipped over top shows. A casual channel surfer would be more apt to stop on a show with a black-haired Bob Barker and cars worth less than $10,000 than a blackjack show or some random episode of "The Newlywed Game" or "3's a Crowd," IMO.

-Jason

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'130193\' date=\'Sep 2 2006, 12:05 PM\']
I hope nobody comes back with the always famous "they're not trying to cater to us" logic, because I feel Chris has it right here.
[/quote]
Well, go back and read the post you quoted, since I did that myself in the previous sentence to the one you quoted. Because it's true. They shouldn't be catering to us, we're not a big enough audience to them. But at the same time, they shouldn't be doing things that are gonna piss us off so much that, when given the opportunity to spread the word and maybe get them some more of the casual viewers they covet, we instead say "Don't bother, they jumped the shark a year ago."

On a more grand scale, but in relation to this point, they would've been smart to try to nab the airing rights to the skipped over top shows.

A week ago, I would have said "I'm sure they made the call to CBS." (Or Fremantle or Whoever; my point's the same no matter who it would have been.) Now I'm not sure about that at all. But, if they DID, even to license a single episode, I'm sure the price would have been astronomical, mainly because Whoever knew they had GSN over a barrel; either GSN overpays for the show, or GSN looks like complete ninnies. You ever play Monopoly with someone who REALLY needed New York Avenue, and you had it? Same idea.

So, knowing that, it didn't surprise me THAT much when they skipped over TPiR. What surprised me was that GSN is apparently populated with businesspeople so moronic as to put themselves in such a no-win situation like that in the first place.