GSF 50 Greatest List - RESULTS THREAD

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'129846\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 10:33 PM\'][Not very many] weeks on the air (plus cable reruns) and a flawed scoring structure that frequently rendered the third round meaningless. [/quote]

Dawson's Family Feud had this same problem for a while, so I can't really call that a knock.

Kevin O'Connell certainly is different in terms of a host.  I'm not sure if it's a good different or bad different, but it is what it is.

/Hooray Groucho!

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'129897\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 10:37 PM\']
Kevin O'Connell certainly is different in terms of a host.  I'm not sure if it's a good different or bad different, but it is what it is.
[/quote]
The thing about K.O., for those of us who have seen the premier episode of Go, is that he looked like he had been there for years from the very first day. And since these days everytime some comedian or hack VJ comes out and stinks up the set, we're supposed to say "aw, it's okay, they're new and nervous, they'll get better", it's nice to remember a time and a person for whom that wasn't an issue.

[Jimmy Owen]

Go is a good show (I liked NBC CR better, however).  Being a KNBC weathercaster was always a good prerequisite for easygoing hosts.  Sometimes, though, I think KO was a little too sincere.  Some more charisma would have served him better.

[DrBear]

Let's see:

Go didn't make my list; just personal preference, I guess. But if I was doing a right-wing radio talk show, I'd borrow the theme.
Gong Show? It had to be on there; those of us around when it was hot remember every local group, college club and high school class doing their version of it. I wouldn't be surprised if some still do.
Whew! had to be on the list for this group, although personally it was just below the cut-off line. The hazards of being one of the old guys around here.
The three W's was higher on my list, but that was personal preference. Strangely, I never saw The Challengers.
And YBYL was, indeed, all Groucho and a bag of chips. And isn't it about time for another Marx Brothers revival? I firmly believe that "Duck Soup" should be played after every Bush press conference.

[Clay Zambo]

[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'129905\' date=\'Aug 31 2006, 07:25 AM\']
Let's see:

Go didn't make my list; just personal preference, I guess. But if I was doing a right-wing radio talk show, I'd borrow the theme.
[/quote]

Gee, I'd've never thought of using it for a right-wing radio talk show (probably because I never listen to them), but I'd love to hear a hot college marching band play it--maybe in a medley with the NBC "Card Sharks" theme.

[sshuffield70]

[quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' post=\'129908\' date=\'Aug 31 2006, 06:45 AM\']
[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'129905\' date=\'Aug 31 2006, 07:25 AM\']
Let's see:

Go didn't make my list; just personal preference, I guess. But if I was doing a right-wing radio talk show, I'd borrow the theme.
[/quote]

Gee, I'd've never thought of using it for a right-wing radio talk show (probably because I never listen to them), but I'd love to hear a hot college marching band play it--maybe in a medley with the NBC "Card Sharks" theme.
[/quote]

Personally, I'd like to hear CS as a high school or college fight song for a Sharks mascot, of course.  GO would be a good news theme, though.

[Jimmy Owen]

I think it's ironic that a certain right-wing radio talk show host's theme is by "The Pretenders."

[Ian Wallis]

40 Go (1983-84)
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.

Go didn't make my list.  I must admit this is one game I just couldn't get into.  I have a few episodes on tape and I'll watch them every once in a while, but I'd never go out of my way to watch this.

38 Whew! (1979-80)
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.

This is another show that I'm surprised didn't rank at least a bit higher, because (in the trading curcuit anyway) most people seem to consider this a gem.  It was in my personal top 10.  I think this show was one of Tom's best performances.  I'm pretty sure I've heard somewhere that he thought Split Second was a tougher show to do, but reading those bloopers flawlessly and still allowing contestants enough time to Charge! up the board while the clock was counting down seemed liked a difficult thing to do - and he did it great.

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

Thanks for the salute!  

[SteveRep]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'129915\' date=\'Aug 31 2006, 08:55 AM\']

38 Whew! (1979-80)
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.

This is another show that I'm surprised didn't rank at least a bit higher, because (in the trading curcuit anyway) most people seem to consider this a gem.  It was in my personal top 10.  I think this show was one of Tom's best performances.  I'm pretty sure I've heard somewhere that he thought Split Second was a tougher show to do, but reading those bloopers flawlessly and still allowing contestants enough time to Charge! up the board while the clock was counting down seemed liked a difficult thing to do - and he did it great.[/quote]
I didn't have it in my 50. It never entered my thinking process. Why? Because I have no exposure to the show at all. And it wasn't for dis-interest in watching. In Washington, I hardly remember it even being available. (And I gave every new show a fair shake) But then again, that could have been in the time when WTOP-9 was in its no-game show mode. Yup, they passed on everything, even TPiR.

I just went to YouTube and watched the clips of the opening and Randy's Gauntlet and nothing registers.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'Kniwt\' post=\'129881\' date=\'Aug 31 2006, 12:00 AM\']
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.
[/quote]
Oh, my gosh! That was a wonderful treat. Thank you so much.

[cweaver]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'129915\' date=\'Aug 31 2006, 07:55 AM\']
I'm pretty sure I've heard somewhere that he thought Split Second was a tougher show to do[/quote]

If you happen to run across anyone who thinks all a game show host has to do is look good, talk pleasantly, smile a lot and as Steve Martin once claimed, talk like he's laughing, Tom Kennedy hosting Split Second is a highly effective counter-argument.  I'm sure there are some legendary game show hosts who couldn't pull that one off like Tom did.  He rivals Alex Trebek hosting Jeopardy! for smoothly rattling questions off that quickly and keeping up with contestants ringing in (he was a whole lot faster for one thing).  An underrated gem, IMHO.  I could go on and on.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'SteveRep\' post=\'129929\' date=\'Aug 31 2006, 09:20 AM\']
I didn't have it in my 50. It never entered my thinking process. Why? Because I have no exposure to the show at all. And it wasn't for dis-interest in watching. In Washington, I hardly remember it even being available. (And I gave every new show a fair shake) But then again, that could have been in the time when WTOP-9 was in its no-game show mode. Yup, they passed on everything, even TPiR.
[/quote]
It was on my list, but low.  WHEW! was one of those shows that I didn't appreciate when it was originally on (primarily because I tended to watch whatever NBC had on opposite it, which for much of its run was HSq or ALL STAR SECRETS).  But once I saw the clips, I realized that it was a really good show.  Of course, adding the celebrities changed the whole dynamic.

So far, I've had 11 of the 15 on my list (GAMBIT, COLLEGE BOWL and YBYL I should've had in retrospect, TWL I dismissed).

Doug -- and the countdown to 2200 continues

[cweaver]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'129914\' date=\'Aug 31 2006, 07:50 AM\']
I think it's ironic that a certain right-wing radio talk show host's theme is by "The Pretenders."
[/quote]

...even more ironic when you consider what the lyrics are about, or that Chrissy Hynde supposedly donates all of the money she makes from the host's use of the song, to a certain organization that host utterly despises.

[mmb5]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'129846\' date=\'Aug 30 2006, 10:33 PM\']
[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.
[/quote]

I realize I'm in an apparent huge minority here, but why do people like this show?  I cannot stand to watch it for more than one minute without going into convulsions.  The alternating word thing is like fingernails on a chalkboard.  And I can't be the only one thinking this, since it was 75 shows-and-out.

Please convince me where I'm wrong...


--Mike

[SteveRep]

[quote name=\'mmb5\' post=\'129940\' date=\'Aug 31 2006, 11:46 AM\']
The alternating word thing is like fingernails on a chalkboard.[/quote]
The alternating word thing is THE thing that gets this show into the top 50.

The test is to see how quickly two people can get on the same page in trying to convey a thought to a third person.

It's a game of communication skills. For me, that's the biggest element that makes a game show good. That's why I have Password and Pyramid as #2 and #3 on my list.