GSF 50 Greatest List - RESULTS THREAD

[MSTieScott]

I deliberately did not include Twenty-One on my list because of the fact that it was rigged -- if it was rigged, no matter how much of an impact it had on the television landscape, it cannot be one of the 50 greatest game shows of all time. And the non-rigged version didn't do anything special (other than pioneer the concept of handing out absurd amounts of money in a misguided effort to obtain high ratings) to put the title on the list. Granted, it only made it to number 41, but this is the only disagreement I've had with the group so far.

--
Scott Robinson

(I like having this discussion much more than having the discussion of why Love Connection would be ranked so high.)

[Chuck Sutton]

Well I can honesstly say Deal ranked above Treasure Hunt becuase of me.   I had it more than 21 spots higher.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'Chuck Sutton\' post=\'129767\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 11:38 AM\']
Well I can honesstly say Deal ranked above Treasure Hunt becuase of me.   I had it more than 21 spots higher.
[/quote]
Yes, I'm sure it's ALL you.  Who says someone didn't rank it 2nd?

Cripes.

[tomobrien]

[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' post=\'129765\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 11:23 AM\']
if it was rigged, no matter how much of an impact it had on the television landscape, it cannot be one of the 50 greatest game shows of all time.
[/quote]
So sez you.  All depends on your definition of "greatest."  To me, "Twenty-One" (and "$64,000 Question," for that matter) were cultural phenomena for their time.

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'129754\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 11:29 AM\']
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'129701\' date=\'Aug 29 2006, 11:29 PM\']
[color=\"#009900\"]42 Break the Bank (1976-77)[/color][/size]
(757 37/80 including one first place vote)
[/quote]Gee, who could that 1st place vote have come from?[/quote]
I have no clue.  We were only talking about this exact topic on Saturday night.  No, really.  We did, over some I pretzels while the Indians were beating the tar out of the Tigers.

I don't have my ballot in front of me, but I had Break the Bank in the mid-30s.  If I considered game play and the enjoyment factor a little more than I did a show's longevity, BtB would've easily been in my top 10.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'MikeK\' post=\'129773\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 02:10 PM\']
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'129754\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 11:29 AM\']
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'129701\' date=\'Aug 29 2006, 11:29 PM\']
[color=\"#009900\"]42 Break the Bank (1976-77)[/color][/size]
(757 37/80 including one first place vote)
[/quote]Gee, who could that 1st place vote have come from?[/quote]
I have no clue.  We were only talking about this exact topic on Saturday night.  No, really.  We did, over some I pretzels while the Indians were beating the tar out of the Tigers.
[/quote]
Bev and I remember it very well. And thanks so much again for the Temptation, et.al. surprise.
We enjoyed the game, the food and the fellowship.
I'm still mystified over why Break The Bank couldn't be moved to noon in July 1976.
Hot Seat really didn't need to see the light of a cathode ray tube.

[Neumms]

[quote name=\'tomobrien\' post=\'129770\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 12:08 PM\']
So sez you.  All depends on your definition of "greatest."  To me, "Twenty-One" (and "$64,000 Question," for that matter) were cultural phenomena for their time.
[/quote]

I agree. I put both on my list, "Question" up much further because it came first and seems more influential and seems a little less rigged, if that's possible.

[cweaver]

[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'129799\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 03:25 PM\']
[quote name=\'tomobrien\' post=\'129770\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 12:08 PM\']
So sez you.  All depends on your definition of "greatest."  To me, "Twenty-One" (and "$64,000 Question," for that matter) were cultural phenomena for their time.
[/quote]

I agree. I put both on my list, "Question" up much further because it came first and seems more influential and seems a little less rigged, if that's possible.
[/quote]

I always heard The $64,000 Question simply manipulated categories and questions toward favored contestants without the contestants' or host's knowledge, while Twenty-One flat-out fed the answers to their favorite contestants and even coached them on how to act nervous and surprised on camera.  So yes, you could say it's a little less rigged,  but that's another way of saying something stinks but maybe not so much.  

Still, I had both on my list too, for pioneering the idea a game show could be appointment/watercooler TV and for playing up the suspense element.

[Matt Ottinger]

[color=\"#009900\"]40 Go (1983-84)[/color][/size]
(796 39/80)
 
Thirteen weeks on the air (plus cable reruns) and a flawed scoring structure that frequently rendered the third round meaningless.  But golly, what a fun little game to watch.  Somewhere in a parallel universe, Kevin O'Connell is a game show legend and Wink Martindale is doing the weather in Buffalo.

[color=\"#009900\"]39 The Gong Show/Extreme Gong (1976-80, 1988-89/1998-99)[/color][/size]
(810 35/80) (GSN: 12)(TVG: 16)

Infamous, notorious, legendary, it pretty much had to make our list even though "greatest" is rarely used to describe it.  Many of you probably left it off on "not-a-game-show" principle or it would have ranked even higher (as it did for GSN and TV Guide).  You know, technically, George Gray made our list twice.

[color=\"#009900\"]38 Whew! (1979-80)[/color][/size]
(811 38/80)

Another example of a show most people have forgotten, we may not be able to pronounce it but we remember it for its addictive gameplay.  Tom Kennedy's "traffic cop" skills were never put to better use.  Randy is smiling.

[color=\"#009900\"]37 The Who What or Where Game/The Challengers (1969-74/1990-91)[/color][/size]
(837 38/80)

Interestingly, ballots were pretty evenly split, with older members remembering the classic and younger ones recalling the updated version.  Both versions toiled under the shadow of Jeopardy!, but both had their fans.  And again, if we had counted them as separate shows, neither would have made the Top 50.

[color=\"#009900\"]36 You Bet Your Life (1950-61, 1980-81, 1992-93)[/color][/size]
(855 39/80)(GSN: 31)(TVG: 24)

Sure there were two remakes, but we remember "The one, the only...Groucho!"  Debuting on radio in 1947, this show is about to turn sixty.  Could another remake be around the corner?

[Blanquepage]

40 Go (1983-84)
Thirteen weeks on the air (plus cable reruns)

Actually, it lasted for 16 weeks, 78 episodes having been produced. I'm guessing this makes Break the Bank the shortest lived show on the list at 15 weeks?

--Jamie

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Fiono Coyne\' post=\'129861\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 10:50 PM\']

40 Go (1983-84)
Thirteen weeks on the air (plus cable reruns)

Actually, it lasted for 16 weeks, 78 episodes having been produced. I'm guessing this makes Break the Bank the shortest lived show on the list at 15 weeks?[/quote]
Sorry about the error. (I'm trying not to make too many of those, I know how some of us like to pick at them.)  Still, Break the Bank had a number of syndicated shows that gave it more total episodes.  

Techincally, there have been fewer episodes of Deal or No Deal to this point.

[JasonA1]

YBYL revival? I hope not. The original was totally Groucho, and all accounts of the revivals were negative. If anybody wants to mount a personality driven show nowadays, I hope they go with something akin to Distraction/Jimmy Carr or George Gray/Link. Anything with as little substance as a game as YBYL would be bad in today's market, IMHO.

And does anybody know what, if anything, they did for the final "Go?"

-Jason

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'129866\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 11:00 PM\']
And does anybody know what, if anything, they did for the final "Go?"
[/quote]
It was mentioned that it was the final show and Kevin O'Connell gave a nice speech at the end. Simple and classy and not too mawkish. No one broke out a guitar and began to sing, the celebs didn't start destroying the set and President Reagan didn't interrupt the final five minutes of the program to make a speech.

[Kniwt]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'129846\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 09:33 PM\']
37 The Who What or Where Game/The Challengers (1969-74/1990-91)
(837 38/80)
Interestingly, ballots were pretty evenly split, with older members remembering the classic and younger ones recalling the updated version.  Both versions toiled under the shadow of Jeopardy!, but both had their fans.  And again, if we had counted them as separate shows, neither would have made the Top 50.
[/quote]

And for the folks who don't remember the classic, I've dug up my audio (only) copy of the last third or so of an episode of Who What or Where.  Enjoy it here while I'm of generous spirit.

It still unnerves me to compare the caliber of questions from 35 years ago to those of today.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'129878\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 10:23 PM\']
[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'129866\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 11:00 PM\']
And does anybody know what, if anything, they did for the final "Go?"
[/quote]
It was mentioned that it was the final show and Kevin O'Connell gave a nice speech at the end. Simple and classy and not too mawkish. No one broke out a guitar and began to sing, the celebs didn't start destroying the set and President Reagan didn't interrupt the final five minutes of the program to make a speech.
[/quote]
The final ep of GO was also notable for one thing (among those of us who used to enjoy reading credits):  I'm almost positive that GO was the first NBC show to start the tradition of having an extra long credit roll for the final episode (including crediting cameramen and other assorted personnel whose names never saw the light of day on a regular credit roll).  $otC, SP, WoF (the Burbank era, not the TV City era) and SCRABBLE (84-90 version) would all employ a similar credit roll for their final eps.

And to the other 34 of you who put GONG on your lists, I salute you.  

Doug -- and the countdown to 2200 continues