Author Topic: CBS Cancels Guiding Light (Read 42890 times)

chris319 · « **Reply #90 on:** April 02, 2009, 04:20:53 AM »

[quote name=\'CarShark\' post=\'211817\' date=\'Apr 1 2009, 08:57 PM\']
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'211796\' date=\'Apr 1 2009, 10:09 PM\']If they gave that hour away they would never get it back. The networks have basically shut themselves out of daytime for good in those time slots they released to the affiliates.
[/quote]Why did they give them away, then? Was programming daytime shows that much of a hassle that it wasn't worth it?[/quote]
I'm not sure. Part of it may have been that affiliates wanted to fill the time with barter syndication shows. Some of it may have had to do with affiliate compensation issues. Some of it may have been the cost of developing and piloting new shows every quarter. Some of it may have been that the major game show packagers were folding up shop and selling their assets to movie studios, etc. Having said that, you now have veteran producers such as Monty Hall and Merrill Heatter who seem to want to get back in the business.

Craig Karlberg · « **Reply #91 on:** April 02, 2009, 04:57:08 AM »

Somehow, I envisioned the Pyramid set to be a reworked version of the old set. If they still have parts of the set in storage for 21 years, they can always bring it out, repaint it & touch it up a bit. I'll accept flat screens as long as they don't irritate my eyes.

Chris does bring up an interesting point in regards to demos & marketing. GL's cancellation apparently was not only based on ratings, but its license fees were such that they couldn't add up financially. So, CBS eventually said it's time to pull the plug on a 72 year-old staple & maybe replace it with something that's cheaper & easieer to license. All they need for Pyramid is a viable host. Goen's not a bad canidate. But I think CBS might be looking for someone that caters to the "trendy" demos.

TimK2003 · « **Reply #92 on:** April 02, 2009, 07:43:35 AM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'211834\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 04:20 AM\']
Having said that, you now have veteran producers such as Monty Hall and Merrill Heatter who seem to want to get back in the business.
[/quote]

Here's another can of lighter fluid to add to the fire of speculation.

It was just a few weeks ago when Monty Hall was interviewed on WABC Radio. Monty said that they were working on a new incarnation of LMAD, but gave no other clues as to if & where it might show up.

Perhaps Monty & CBS were already talking about the possibility of bringing LMAD back to daytime TV. Price & Deal were two of the biggest daytime juggernauts of the mid 70's. Both are similar in vain -- pricing games & audience participation -- and both could attract demos across the board (if LMAD would include more younger audience members on the trading floor -- read as more single 20-somethings than older, married couples).

Though LMAD could be a possibility, I would like to see something more on the Pyramid/Password/Match Game side, myself.

Don Howard · « **Reply #93 on:** April 02, 2009, 07:54:16 AM »

[quote name=\'Loogaroo\' post=\'211832\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 04:07 AM\']
This is all being terribly presumptuous - we'd have to assume they are going to cancel GL (which no official announcement has been made about yet)
[/quote]
Yes, it has:
http://www.bittenandbound.com/2009/04/01/g...ight-cancelled/
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'211833\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 04:20 AM\']
Mr. Goen! Paging Mr. Bob Goen to the $300 courtesy phone, please!
[/quote]
Wayne Cox or nobody. CBS goofed it by not offering him the Million Dollar Password job. And we all saw what happened there.

RyanCDN · « **Reply #94 on:** April 02, 2009, 09:58:00 AM »

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'211837\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 06:54 AM\']
[quote name=\'Loogaroo\' post=\'211832\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 04:07 AM\']
This is all being terribly presumptuous - we'd have to assume they are going to cancel GL (which no official announcement has been made about yet)
[/quote]
Yes, it has:
http://www.bittenandbound.com/2009/04/01/g...ight-cancelled/
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'211833\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 04:20 AM\']
Mr. Goen! Paging Mr. Bob Goen to the $300 courtesy phone, please!
[/quote]
Wayne Cox or nobody. CBS goofed it by not offering him the Million Dollar Password job. And we all saw what happened there.
[/quote]

I always enjoyed Wayne as a host, I thought he was quite personable. He is currently working for Blagal BC as a news broadcaster.

CarShark · « **Reply #95 on:** April 02, 2009, 10:22:44 AM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'211828\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 01:08 AM\']
You were doing so well until this point.

LOVE the three-games-a-day thing. But make it easy: start with four contestants. Games 1 and 2, go to Winner's Circle for $10K. Game 3 features the winners of Games 1 and 2, winner plays for $25K. None of that moronic "the $10K goes away" crap, a possible day's work is $35K.

If you want to make sure everyone goes away with something, play for increments of $100 instead of points, losers keep their cash. Or send 'em away with Lovely Parting Gifts. Doesn't really matter.

Boom. Self-contained hour. Risks someone getting screwed with a bad celebrity, but so does a 2 of 3 match.
[/quote]I really don't like this idea. It feels like a step backward after the producers acknowledged the unfairness of the one-and-done format by dumping it in the revival. I think the best way of going about this is to take the 80s structure and allow games and matches to straddle to keep the show from feeling rushed.

Tony Peters · « **Reply #96 on:** April 02, 2009, 11:52:38 AM »

As someone who felt burned by the '02-'04 abomination, this new version (if it happens at all) would have to earn raves from each and every Pyramid fan on this board (besides myself of course) before I even consider watching, otherwise I will continue to hold to my current stance regarding the state of the genre (namely: mediocre, overprocessed, boring, artificial-feeling, incompetent; in short, why bother anymore?). Yeah, hope springs eternal and all that, but... if The $XX,000 Pyramid can't make it these days, what hope is there that game shows will ever be great again (if television itself survives long enough to give them a chance to become great again)?

\pessimistic much? yeah
\\to tie in another thread, this whole decade has been my most frustrating "moment" as a game show fan

SRIV94 · « **Reply #97 on:** April 02, 2009, 12:11:29 PM »

[quote name=\'Tony Peters\' post=\'211847\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 10:52 AM\']
As someone who felt burned by the '02-'04 abomination[/quote]

"Abomination" is such a strong word.

Am I the only who didn't like Donny-Mid simply because of its judging policy ("why you swim in a lake" not acceptable for "why you jump in a lake", as I'm pretty sure it would have been acceptable on the Clark/Cullen/Davidson versions)?

Neumms · « **Reply #98 on:** April 02, 2009, 12:12:40 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'211834\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 03:20 AM\']
[quote name=\'CarShark\' post=\'211817\' date=\'Apr 1 2009, 08:57 PM\']
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'211796\' date=\'Apr 1 2009, 10:09 PM\']If they gave that hour away they would never get it back. The networks have basically shut themselves out of daytime for good in those time slots they released to the affiliates.
[/quote]Why did they give them away, then? Was programming daytime shows that much of a hassle that it wasn't worth it?[/quote]
I'm not sure. Part of it may have been that affiliates wanted to fill the time with barter syndication shows.
[/quote]

Wasn't the issue that affiliates simply weren't clearing the shows? CBS didn't "give back" the Body Language/Tattletales time slot until they couldn't get enough stations to run what they were feeding.

tvwxman · « **Reply #99 on:** April 02, 2009, 12:14:11 PM »

Here's another option - let the bashing begin:

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cbs/wi...pand_113071.asp

SRIV94 · « **Reply #100 on:** April 02, 2009, 12:17:00 PM »

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'211853\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 11:14 AM\']
Here's another option - let the bashing begin:

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cbs/wi...pand_113071.asp
[/quote]
I feel so silly (that option never occurring to me). That's gotta be the odds-on favorite for what ends up happening.

Sodboy13 · « **Reply #101 on:** April 02, 2009, 12:21:16 PM »

Well, that's cheap to do, the resources are already in place, and the lead talent is banging the boss on a regular basis.

Done and done.

tpirfan28 · « **Reply #102 on:** April 02, 2009, 12:22:13 PM »

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'211853\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 12:14 PM\']
Here's another option - let the bashing begin:

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cbs/wi...pand_113071.asp
[/quote]
Isn't the Early Show in third place against Today and GMA? They might try something else (ie $25K Pyramid, talker, etc) to gain eyeballs before they give Chenbot essentially her own hour.

Thunder · « **Reply #103 on:** April 02, 2009, 12:29:47 PM »

[quote name=\'Sodboy13\' post=\'211856\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 12:21 PM\']
Well, that's cheap to do, the resources are already in place, and the lead talent is banging the boss on a regular basis.
...
[/quote]

That also makes the case for "Big Brother AM" as well.

/Shudders are highly encouraged...

clemon79 · « **Reply #104 on:** April 02, 2009, 12:34:49 PM »

[quote name=\'CarShark\' post=\'211841\' date=\'Apr 2 2009, 07:22 AM\']
I think the best way of going about this is to take the 80s structure and allow games and matches to straddle to keep the show from feeling rushed.[/quote]
Okay, but I'm dealing with a) the realities of the need for a self-contained non-straddling hour and b) the desire to not have to explain in the middle of the show that because Person A won $500 and Person B won $750 (and not necessarily on this episode, even) that Person B is the champion and will be facing a new challenger even though Person A won the most recent game. It worked on the '80s show because it *didn't* straddle and Dick was able to cover it all in the recap at the end.

Also I was trying to come up with a format that played three games in an hour, like Jay suggested, specifically to avoid that "rushed" issue.

Yes, if I had my druthers, it would be a two half-hour double-pump with two games per show. Also the desks would be made of chocolate fudge and Dick would make a miracle recovery so he could helm it.