GSF 50 Greatest List - RESULTS THREAD

[JasonA1]

Imagine for a second that WWTBAM never happened. Imagine a poster here puts up a proposal for the very same game, right down to the title. I bet dollars to donuts that we'd get snarky responses quoting the title going "Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Not me." We'd have replies where they quote the money tree as "[incredible long, ludicrous stream of values edited." We'd have people saying the poster has no concept of a prize budget, further stating that the $32,000 milestone guarantees too much payout and allows the player to take a wild stab at the next question, further resulting in more money being given away. They'd prolly balk at the option for players to see the next question and choices before deciding whether to walk or not. They'd call the lifelines gimmicky.

You can see where I'm going. I liked the show, and enjoy the syndie version a great deal too. But without the actual episodes to flesh out how good a show it was, with the atmosphere and Regis and what have you, I don't think it'd be as well loved. Hell, a lot of shows would've been laughed right out of here as just standstill proposals. Not much insight here, I apologize, but something to ponder.

-Jason

[cweaver]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'130707\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 10:35 AM\']
Imagine for a second that WWTBAM never happened. Imagine a poster here puts up a proposal for the very same game, right down to the title. I bet dollars to donuts that we'd get snarky responses quoting the title going "Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Not me." [/quote]

I'm sure everyone had their own criteria for how they listed their shows.  But I, for one, didn't strip away everything about the show except for what someone might pitch at a network meeting.  I don't watch any game show, sitcom, crime drama or talk show for that reason, I watch it because it worked for me.  And that's why I also listed the shows that I did.  

If you ever see Jackie Gleason's half hour You're in the Picture apology, you'll hear him allude to some guy walking into a bank and asking for money to make a movie about "an ugly butcher from the Bronx who can't get a date," and speculates about the bank being sealed off until the guy can get carted off to Bellevue.  Of course, he was talking about "Marty," which won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1955 and won an Oscar for Ernest Borgnine as the ugly butcher.  Point is, you can't always judge a project by its stripped-down, bare-naked format unless it's something controversial on its face (like something that endorses racism).  Your evaluation of Millionaire having such an unlikely premise (versus its ratings success and its status as a water cooler show) just basically makes my whole point...they pulled it off.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'130700\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 07:58 AM\']
This is one show I'm a tad disappointed to see miss the top 10.  I thought it would rank a bit higher. [/quote]

It would've for me, if not for the one or two seconds that a certain Margate, NJ resident was actually on camera. . .  

/as it was, I still ranked it 10--and no, I wasn't being serious.

Doug

[Adam Nedeff]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'130642\' date=\'Sep 7 2006, 05:38 PM\']
Tt least TJW had SOME thought provoking questions, as well as the values determined by the slots to vary it up.

-Jason
[/quote]

Joker's question quality went down as the years went by, I think. Watching the episodes I have on DVD, the questions didn't become cringe-inducing until the 80s came along and they began giving you part of the correct answer at the end of each question. ("For $200, that Revolutionary hero was Ethan WHO?") I have the first edition home game from 1973 and actually find a number of questions ridiculously difficult (although part of me thinks it's just a matter of the same problem as the old Jeopardy games--the material may not be aging well).

[Adam Nedeff]

[quote name=\'Peter Sarrett\' post=\'130659\' date=\'Sep 7 2006, 07:14 PM\']
Another note about Tic Tac Dough's poor quality: in the Thom McKee episode shown during GSN's top 50 countdown, the answers to two back-to-back questions in the same category were the same (I think the answer was The Count of Monte Cristo).  McKee's opponent seemed to get the second question wrong because he didn't think the same answer would appear twice, let alone twice in a row.

That's poor, unfair writing / editing.
[/quote]

I'm probably one of only a few people who liked that. I found it clever and I thought it was a good way to demonstrate "You can't always predict what we might do here." I can understand your complaint, but I'm just throwing my view out there. It keeps the players and the viewers on their toes.

[Neumms]

What is so remarkable about WWTBAM is its simplicity. One might say it's just "$64,000 Question" with multiple choice, but who else thought of it? The lifelines were brilliant. Phoning a friend? Ingenious!

I, too, put "Tic Tac Dough" on the list out of obligation. How well did it work, though, that the defending champion had the advantage in every game. Champs piling up over $100,000 made the show a big deal, despite boring questions and dull bonus round.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' post=\'130713\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 11:07 AM\']
I'm probably one of only a few people who liked that. I found it clever and I thought it was a good way to demonstrate "You can't always predict what we might do here." I can understand your complaint, but I'm just throwing my view out there. It keeps the players and the viewers on their toes.
[/quote]
Nope. Wrong. There are certain givens when you are gonna appear on a game show, and one of them is "we're not gonna regurgitate answers, especially in a single game, ESPECIALLY that close together." You're giving them WAY too much credit. It was lazy, pure and simple.

[DrBear]

Set phasers on "Flame," but I didn't have Card Sharks on my list at all. A good game in its first incarnation, but I was able to find 50 better ones IMHO, and the two lesser revivals (especially the last one) didn't raise it any in my view.

Of course, I may be the only guy to have a radio-only show on my list (and no, it's not "Whad'Ya Know?")

[DrBear]

And while I'm at it, some other comments:

14 What's My Line?
Despite my comments, I did not vote this first. It isn't even my top panel show. But it's probably my deep-down favorite these days.

12 Press Your Luck/Whammy! Most underrated part?  Rod Roddy's open. It's the only time from Television City in Hollywood sounded exciting. Coolest trivia?  The guy who made the Whammys went on to direct one of the best comedies of the eighties, Better Off Dead. I want my two dollars.

Not to mention "The New Adventures of Beans Baxter." And still the only show to introduce the host as both "your host" and "the star of our show" which is putting a lot of pressure on Tomarken.

11 Who Wants to Be A Millionaire Either we haven't forgiven ABC for the primetime flameout, or our collective
Quite true. If nothing else, it changed the look of the modern game show, for better or worse.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'130721\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 03:01 PM\'] And still the only show to introduce the host as both "your host" and "the star of our show" which is putting a lot of pressure on Tomarken.[/quote]
Is that true?  Seems as though I've heard that sort of double-billing intro on other game shows, but for the life of me I can't think of any.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'130727\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 03:04 PM\']
[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'130721\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 03:01 PM\'] And still the only show to introduce the host as both "your host" and "the star of our show" which is putting a lot of pressure on Tomarken.[/quote]
Is that true?  Seems as though I've heard that sort of double-billing intro on other game shows, but for the life of me I can't think of any.
[/quote]
Unless Ray's not thinking GONG is a game show--Chuckie was almost always introduced (by Sivi/Carol/Marlena/Markie/Johnny/Jack/insert guest here) as "[your/the] host and the star of our show."

There might very well be others as well.

Doug

[cmjb13]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'130727\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 04:04 PM\']
[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'130721\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 03:01 PM\'] And still the only show to introduce the host as both "your host" and "the star of our show" which is putting a lot of pressure on Tomarken.[/quote]
Is that true?  Seems as though I've heard that sort of double-billing intro on other game shows, but for the life of me I can't think of any.
[/quote]
I recall the intro to Peck's 3's a Crowd introduced him as both (episode from GSN's 50 Greatest)

[DrBear]

I stand corrected.

[tyshaun1]

[quote name=\'cmjb13\' post=\'130731\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 04:13 PM\']
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'130727\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 04:04 PM\']
Is that true?  Seems as though I've heard that sort of double-billing intro on other game shows, but for the life of me I can't think of any.
[/quote]
I recall the intro to Peck's 3's a Crowd introduced him as both (episode from GSN's 50 Greatest)
[/quote]

I think virtually every Barris show did the same thing, which would explain why Carruthers added it in his show's intro. "And now, here's your host....... the star of the Newlywed Game, Bob Eubanks!" immediately comes to mind.

Tyshaun

[cweaver]

[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'130720\' date=\'Sep 8 2006, 01:56 PM\']
Of course, I may be the only guy to have a radio-only show on my list (and no, it's not "Whad'Ya Know?")
[/quote]

We were allowed to do that?  Doggone it, I would've ranked Information Please very high if I'd known that.