Where do you differ from the norm?

[TimK2003]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'246950\' date=\'Sep 5 2010, 10:10 PM\'][quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'246939\' date=\'Sep 5 2010, 07:57 PM\']Excluding the original Gambit, and looking back in hindsight, Wink Martindale is one the most annoying hosts ever.[/quote]

Explain?
[/quote]


When I was a young'un, I don't think there was a Wink Martindale hosted show I didn't watch (except for Headline Chasers).  I always thought that Wink's strongest show was CBS Gambit -- he seemed to be a decent, personable host.   When he did TTD, he seemed to develop the Mr. Game Show persona that makes up much of the modern day "stereotypical" game show host to this day.  And looking back at those same shows nowadays, I just see him as being too corny and now I say "why did I watch him so much back in the day"?

Which leads to an interesting question:
Before Wink & Tic Tac Dough, who/what was the definition of a "stereotypical" game show host?   Allen Ludden?  Bill Cullen??  Gary Moore???  And if there was no Wink Martindale for Galoob Toys to refer to, who's persona would the Mr. Game Show toy have used to be the definitive game show host then?  

/I actually liked "Your Numbers Up" (With a little help from Lee Menning).

[RMF]

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'246952\' date=\'Sep 6 2010, 12:57 AM\']Which leads to an interesting question:
Before Wink & Tic Tac Dough, who/what was the definition of a "stereotypical" game show host?   Allen Ludden?  Bill Cullen??  Gary Moore???  And if there was no Wink Martindale for Galoob Toys to refer to, who's persona would the Mr. Game Show toy have used to be the definitive game show host then?[/quote]

Large amounts of the stereotype seem to be associated with Bert Parks.

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'246952\' date=\'Sep 6 2010, 12:57 AM\']Which leads to an interesting question:
Before Wink & Tic Tac Dough, who/what was the definition of a "stereotypical" game show host?   Allen Ludden?  Bill Cullen??  Gary Moore???  And if there was no Wink Martindale for Galoob Toys to refer to, who's persona would the Mr. Game Show toy have used to be the definitive game show host then?[/quote]
Bert Parks.

[mmb5]

I'll echo Mr. Nedeff's tenet that Go was not a good show.  There's a reason it lasted 15 weeks.

And in general, most game shows that have made the air are not good shows.  But that is true of almost any genre of TV, but we tend to be more hagiographic of our turf then we should be.  We need to be more critical.

John Harlan is a very underrated announcer and should have gotten more gigs.  Rod Roddy was an overrated announcer who probably got the TPIR gig more because he sounded liked Johnny O than people would like to admit.

I find most of whatever Chuck Barris did to be not worth my time, but for some reason I think Treasure Hunt is a great show.

The American version of Deal or No Deal was probably the worst thing for game shows in this country in the last 10 years.  It proved having glitz, no game and slow pacing can get you ratings.  Because of this, tons of poor imitators came along and we are probably entering another dead period.


--Mike

[J.R.]

[quote name=\'mmb5\' post=\'246964\' date=\'Sep 6 2010, 07:54 AM\']hagiographic[/quote]
I so had to Google that word.

[Don Howard]

My favorite version of Scrabble was the one that was produced in 1993 and that includes the music.

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'mmb5\' post=\'246964\' date=\'Sep 6 2010, 08:54 AM\']I think Treasure Hunt is a great show.

The American version of Deal or No Deal was probably the worst thing for game shows in this country in the last 10 years.  It proved having glitz, no game and slow pacing can get you ratings.[/quote]
That's an interesting set of statements.  

I agree that DoND did a lot of negative things, but The Millionaire Formula seems to be just as pervasive now as it was 10 years ago.

[GrandMasterGalvatron]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'246950\' date=\'Sep 6 2010, 12:10 AM\']Explain?

-Jason[/quote]
Well, let's see.  1994, I think I was eight at the time.  There really wasn't a game show I DIDN'T like.  I remember always watching the USA blocks in the summer which had things like PYL and Name That Tune on them, and I was always trying to answer all the questions and such.  I also took an interest in theme songs, and I really liked Free 4 All's (quicksilver's too.  Though evidently they're both reused Shop Til You Drop cues?)

Today, not much has changed I think.  Come to think of it, there STILL isn't a game show I can think of that I outright don't like.  Granted, I didn't like the set of Million Dollar password, but the show itself was ok.

I guess I'm easy to please? =P

[Ian Wallis]

OK - a few for me off the top of my head:

--I never really liked Go very much, although it almost seems to be a favorite for many people here

--I never cared for the '69-78 version of the To Tell the Truth theme, I find it annoying

--I never really cared for Gene Wood as an announcer


Also, as a general rule my tastes are a bit different than the norm:  my favorite game shows of all time would probably be Press Your Luck, Celebrity Sweepstakes, Break the Bank '76, Whew, and probably "classic" WWTBAM.  Most other people would probably rank Password, Pyramid, To Tell the Truth, Match Game and Price is Right at the top of their lists.  I'd rank those shows high on my lists too, but a lot lower than many others would.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'246977\' date=\'Sep 6 2010, 02:03 PM\']I agree that DoND did a lot of negative things, but The Millionaire Formula seems to be just as pervasive now as it was 10 years ago.[/quote]
As much as I hated the fact that a lot of the shows tried way too hard to give away money (21 offering $25,000 then $100,000 for winning a round; Greed's "Million Dollar Moment"), at least they still required you to do some work.

But the reason I think D/ND is a good example is because the production values started to resemble something from a movie set--theatrical gimmicks, eight-hour production times, actors as contestants. And it carried over to many other game shows. The contestants in 2000 seemed like everyday people, folks you identify with. The ones post-2005 have been caricatures and/or stereotypes, folks you identify as wannabe actors. Even though they were somewhat derivative, at least they didn't reek of Endemol mass production, all the way down to how the contestants act and dress. Their contestants were so cookie-cutter I'm surprised they didn't have "Mattel" stamped on their backs.

I'll take the 2000 crop over the 2006 crap any day of the week.

[joker316]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'246958\' date=\'Sep 6 2010, 06:30 AM\'][quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'246952\' date=\'Sep 6 2010, 12:57 AM\']Which leads to an interesting question:
Before Wink & Tic Tac Dough, who/what was the definition of a "stereotypical" game show host?   Allen Ludden?  Bill Cullen??  Gary Moore???  And if there was no Wink Martindale for Galoob Toys to refer to, who's persona would the Mr. Game Show toy have used to be the definitive game show host then?[/quote]
Bert Parks.
[/quote]
Funny, my first thought was Bob Eubanks!

/but Bert Parks fits the mold, too!!!

[narzo]

I think Ray Combs was the worst of the "Family Feud" hosts (yes that includes Louie Anderson), was not funny, didn't come across very warm and made for terrible TV the way he held his mic on his chin.  

Don't care for Meredith Vieira's hosting style on WWTBAM, can't watch the show because of her

"GO" could be one of the worst game shows ever, I want to be the player on the right who barely does anything but shares in the loot

Bill Cullen is not the greatest host ever, he's average

MG' 98 was very enjoyable

WML belongs back at 2am, it puts me to sleep

[ET206]

*MG90 is my favorite version of MG.
*Super Password is my favorite version of Password.  After a while, Ludden would get on my nerves.
*Jim Caldwell wasn't that bad, at least on Top Card.
*I don't like Plinko.
*I do like Bonus Game, Joker, and Pick a Number.
*I've never liked WWtBaM.
*Eubanks is my favorite host.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'246884\' date=\'Sep 5 2010, 11:44 AM\']-I don't really drink the UK Kool-Aid[/quote] I would have been much more inclined to argue this point had you not said "drink the Kool-aid." I like what Britain and Australia are putting out, especially when you compare the same show from different countries. That's not "drinking the Kool-aid."

-If it weren't for 2 bad production decisions (one bad in hindsight), Temptation would've been an okay game

What would those be?

-I like fan jargon, if only because it allows you to paraphrase and because I think I sound like a bad color commentator half the time.  Admittedly, it would be nice if the jargon was easily explainable.

I don't like jargon because I think you should 1) say what you mean and 2) I don't like jargon that excludes people who don't have the decoder ring. I realize that you're not going to be able to wipe out all jargon, because it would be way easier to say "triple stumper" than "clue wherein all players are incorrect or refuse to buzz-in". But that's easily explainable or apparent to someone who has seen the show. Acronyms, initialisms and things where you have to be "one of us" to get it...I like those less.

[Neumms]

1. I hated the Jokers' Wild whistling theme.
2. I'm not fond of Tom Kennedy.
3. I liked Billy Bush's LMAD and didn't even mind him that much. (Although watching Access Hollywood is its own special form of hell.)
4. I prefer GSN's version of Chain Reaction to the original, which I hated.
5. I liked Louie Anderson on the Feud.