Author Topic: Greatest Hosts of All Time - Results Thread (Read 110992 times)

SRIV94 · « **Reply #240 on:** October 25, 2006, 11:09:26 AM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'135528\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 09:26 AM\']

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Would Art Fleming have made it without the original J!, or Richard Dawson without FF?

Of course not. For all intents and purposes, those were the only shows those two had. You can say the same (with different shows of course) for Bob Barker, Allen Ludden, Monty Hall, Dick Clark, etc.
[/quote]

Bzzz. Barker doesn't belong in your list--as he had long runs as host of two notable game shows (TPiR and ToC).

And if you want to split hairs, Clark doesn't really belong in your list either. Yes, PYRAMID was his major game show and very few, if any, other game shows he did had that kind of notoriety. But I don't think you can ignore the job he did on BANDSTAND, even though it wasn't a game show. As far as pure hosts went (whether game or music/variety, heck, even the Blooper shows), Clark was as good as any.

Doug

JasonA1 · « **Reply #241 on:** October 25, 2006, 11:30:10 AM »

My point with that was not to lessen the accomplishments of those people, but to show how useless it is to trot "would they have...if it hadn't been for..." out when you disapprove of a host on the list.

-Jason

SRIV94 · « **Reply #242 on:** October 25, 2006, 11:35:22 AM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'135535\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 10:30 AM\']
My point with that was not to lessen the accomplishments of those people, but to show how useless it is to trot "would they have...if it hadn't been for..." out when you disapprove of a host on the list.
[/quote]
Point taken. I withdraw the question.

Oh, too late.

Doug

cweaver · « **Reply #243 on:** October 25, 2006, 11:42:58 AM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'135528\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 09:26 AM\']

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Would Art Fleming have made it without the original J!, or Richard Dawson without FF?

Of course not. For all intents and purposes, those were the only shows those two had. You can say the same (with different shows of course) for Bob Barker, Allen Ludden, Monty Hall, Dick Clark, etc.[/quote]

I could definitely see that argument for Fleming (whose only other game show hosting gig was the forgotten radio College Bowl in the late 1970s) but Monty Hall did stamp his character on Video Village and Dick Clark hosted a number of game shows outside Pyramid. Ludden, of course did The Liar's Club as well as the original radio and television versions of College Bowl. On a list I made recently from what I know, of the hosts who've hosted the same game show the longest uninterrupted period of time, Barker apparently ranks first and fourth (don't forget Truth or Consequences). These men may be remembered for one thing in particular but to call them "one trick ponies" would be inaccurate.

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]As for Alex, I voted for him mostly on the basis of his other shows. He's not much of a host on J, more of "the guy who reads the answers." But I was a fan of him on High Rollers and his versatilty in going from J to a format like Classic Concentration.

I like Alex on the other shows too, especially High Rollers but to say he's just "the guy who reads the answers" and nothing more is something of a slap. With that many questions in that short a time and to keep track of the contestants, their scores, etc. doesn't look like it would be easy at all.

Mike Tennant · « **Reply #244 on:** October 25, 2006, 11:57:17 AM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'135535\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 11:30 AM\']
My point with that was not to lessen the accomplishments of those people, but to show how useless it is to trot "would they have...if it hadn't been for..." out when you disapprove of a host on the list. [/quote]
And my point was not to denigrate Trebek, who is very good at what he does, only to explain some of the thinking that went into my decision about where to rank him on my list. He's still on my list, just not quite so high. I don't "disapprove" of his appearance on the list or even of his ranking.

Also, I think it can be fairly said that all our lists are biased toward those people who hosted the shows we really like. I tend to prefer shows with lots of interaction between the host and the participants (whether contestants or celebrities), and even between the host and the audience. Therefore, guys like Barker, Rayburn, Hall, and Dawson rank pretty high on my list, whereas someone like Trebek, who is mostly known for hosting a show where (as was said earlier) he just reads answers and says "right" or "wrong" (and, yes, I know that's overly simplistic and his job is much, much harder than it looks) doesn't make my top ten.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #245 on:** October 25, 2006, 12:18:47 PM »

[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' post=\'135538\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 11:57 AM\']Also, I think it can be fairly said that all our lists are biased toward those people who hosted the shows we really like. [/quote]
I think that's very true, and in my opinion, it's particularly true when it comes to Art Fleming. To Q&A fans of my generation, he was all but worshipped. But when I go back and look at the handful of shows that survive, I can't help but think that he just wasn't very good at all. I have a similar feeling about Peter Marshall, though Marshall made my Top 20 and Fleming didn't.

Clay Zambo · « **Reply #246 on:** October 25, 2006, 12:59:31 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'135532\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 11:02 AM\']
[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'135531\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 07:48 AM\']
What, do you want him to lace up the figure skates and jump over barrels?
[/quote]
You've got to admit, it would make a hell of an entrance.
[/quote]

No better than coming out of the drive slot of that gigantic computer...

JasonA1 · « **Reply #247 on:** October 25, 2006, 01:01:45 PM »

Quote

But when I go back and look at the handful of shows that survive, I can't help but think that he just wasn't very good at all. I have a similar feeling about Peter Marshall, though Marshall made my Top 20 and Fleming didn't.

Would you care to extrapolate? I can see it for Peter, sure, but I'm curious as to what specifically makes you think Art Fleming isn't that good. (Not to say I disgaree with your opinion, I'm just curious)

-Jason

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #248 on:** October 25, 2006, 01:52:35 PM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'135542\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 01:01 PM\']Would you care to extrapolate? I can see it for Peter, sure, but I'm curious as to what specifically makes you think Art Fleming isn't that good. (Not to say I disgaree with your opinion, I'm just curious)[/quote]
Tricky, because my opinions tend to go against the traditional ones. Where most people saw him as warm and friendly, I saw a very robotic delivery of a series of prepared phrases. More, he seemed to use the exact same phrases in the exact same cadence every single time. There's a reason why "The answer is..." became much more of a catchphrase during his version of the show than during Trebek's. It's pretty much the only way he EVER revealed a clue!

Believe me, I know from experience that a host has to use the same language over and over to describe game elements, but to me it was more than that. Even his apparent ad-libs seemed planned. If the clue was looking for a female star, for example, you cound count on him just about every time to refer to her as "a fine actress and a lovely lady." When it gets to the point that you expect to hear phrases like that (said exactly the same way every time), something's wrong.

Neumms · « **Reply #249 on:** October 25, 2006, 03:31:02 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'135551\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 12:52 PM\']
If the clue was looking for a female star, for example, you cound count on him just about every time to refer to her as "a fine actress and a lovely lady."
[/quote]

That is better than, "yeah, I did her once." But I see your point, and I'm starting to question my ranking of Peter. (I haven't seen enough Fleming to rate him.)

The thing about Peter's version of the Squares is that he was so in control, the show never got out of control. For such a terrific panel, it's hard to say any particular episode stands out from any other. Certain zingers do, but the proceedings were fairly robotic.

Maybe Bergeron's the better host--he was looser and he had the ability to make a good joke bigger.

clemon79 · « **Reply #250 on:** October 25, 2006, 03:48:08 PM »

[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'135561\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 12:31 PM\']
That is better than, "yeah, I did her once."
[/quote]
That would RULE.

"Who is Rosemary Clooney?"

"Yeah, I hit that. Select again."

SRIV94 · « **Reply #251 on:** October 25, 2006, 03:58:55 PM »

[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'135561\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 02:31 PM\']
The thing about Peter's version of the Squares is that he was so in control, the show never got out of control. For such a terrific panel, it's hard to say any particular episode stands out from any other. Certain zingers do, but the proceedings were fairly robotic.
[/quote]
Point taken, but that's what appealed to me about Marshall. It'd be so easy to lose control in that situation (see Davidson, John), and then you lose sight of the fact that there's a game going on.

For the record, Marshall and Bergeron both made my list. Davidson got points docked for hugging me.

Doug

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #252 on:** October 25, 2006, 04:01:27 PM »

[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'135561\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 03:31 PM\']The thing about Peter's version of the Squares is that he was so in control, the show never got out of control. For such a terrific panel, it's hard to say any particular episode stands out from any other. Certain zingers do, but the proceedings were fairly robotic.
[/quote]
Yeah, but not all of that was Peter's fault. He was under orders to keep the game moving along by a producer who seemed to think we cared who won the tic-tac-toe game. Peter was also not a funny person in his own right. I definitely think Bergeron is the better host of the two by far, and probably one of the greatest hosts ever.

(I had Bergeron at #10 on my list, and BTW I lied before. Turns out I didn't have Marshall in my top 20 after all. Not sure why I thought I did.)

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #253 on:** October 25, 2006, 04:11:24 PM »

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For the record, Marshall and Bergeron both made my list. Davidson got points docked for hugging me.

I won't ask...

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I definitely think Bergeron is the better host of the two by far, and probably one of the greatest hosts ever.

Although I seem to be one of the few who actually liked Davidson's version of Squares, I didn't even consider John to be one of the 50 best hosts of all time. For the record, I had Marshall at 8 and Bergeron at 13. I think Tom could have finished even higher had he hosted other shows, or been in it for a longer time. I know he was on Fox After Breakfast (that was the name of the show, right), but I'm not sure that was even carried in my area, so my first exposure to him was through Squares.

SRIV94 · « **Reply #254 on:** October 25, 2006, 04:19:02 PM »

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'135573\' date=\'Oct 25 2006, 03:11 PM\']

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For the record, Marshall and Bergeron both made my list. Davidson got points docked for hugging me.

I won't ask...
[/quote]

No need to.

Doug

Author Topic: Greatest Hosts of All Time - Results Thread (Read 110992 times)

cweaver