Author Topic: $ale of the Century Syndicated (Read 63329 times)

irismason42 · « **Reply #60 on:** November 13, 2013, 04:55:44 PM »

I have a childhood memory regarding Syndie $ale that I would like to share.

In 1993, I was a 6-year-old kid, and USA Network was showing reruns of the show. Now at the time, I didn\'t know that it was reruns of the 80\'s series, nor did I know that it lasted from 1983-1989, and that the only thing they ever showed of this series was the last few months of the daytime edition from 1988-1989, and the entire 1985-1986 Syndicated one. After they showed the last few months, the series came on one day, and I remember thinking to myself \"Why did they change the music? And why is the endgame different?\". Their one and only cycle of the Syndicated edition ended in 1994. Just as they started giving those last few daytime months another cycle, they completely dropped it.

It was the same story with when the 1983 episodes of Press Your Luck debuted on USA Network in 1992. I was like \"What the hell? Why did they change Rod Roddy\'s opening? And why does the set look a little different?\". For many of the game shows on USA Network, I actually thought they were brand new episodes.

How far back did they go with 1983 PYL\'s?

The earliest episode that USA reran was the October 5, 1983 episode(the first episode with the red windows behind the audience IIRC).

tyshaun1 · « **Reply #61 on:** November 13, 2013, 05:11:34 PM »

How far back did they go with 1983 PYL\'s?

From what I\'ve heard, about as early as in the third week or so on the air... I don\'t think USA ever showed Randy West\'s episodes... going in the other direction, how far forward did they get into the 1986 shows? I don\'t think they ran any of the Sept. \'86 shows...

Your \'83 recollection is right, as well as your \'86 one. USA aired about 650 episodes of the 760-ish they produced. There are still a handful of episodes that have yet to be reran.

Tyshaun

Bryce L. · « **Reply #62 on:** November 13, 2013, 05:36:52 PM »

I have a childhood memory regarding Syndie $ale that I would like to share.

In 1993, I was a 6-year-old kid, and USA Network was showing reruns of the show. Now at the time, I didn\'t know that it was reruns of the 80\'s series, nor did I know that it lasted from 1983-1989, and that the only thing they ever showed of this series was the last few months of the daytime edition from 1988-1989, and the entire 1985-1986 Syndicated one. After they showed the last few months, the series came on one day, and I remember thinking to myself \"Why did they change the music? And why is the endgame different?\". Their one and only cycle of the Syndicated edition ended in 1994. Just as they started giving those last few daytime months another cycle, they completely dropped it.

It was the same story with when the 1983 episodes of Press Your Luck debuted on USA Network in 1992. I was like \"What the hell? Why did they change Rod Roddy\'s opening? And why does the set look a little different?\". For many of the game shows on USA Network, I actually thought they were brand new episodes.

How far back did they go with 1983 PYL\'s?

The earliest episode that USA reran was the October 5, 1983 episode(the first episode with the red windows behind the audience IIRC).

You remember correctly, since I just checked my copies of October 4 and 5, 1983... October 4 still has the purple windows behind the audience, and October 5 has the red ones.

Sodboy13 · « **Reply #63 on:** November 13, 2013, 06:09:29 PM »

I was looking through some old Chicago Tribune TV listing pages on ProQuest earlier and I noticed that syndie Sale ran at 11:30pm on WLS. I wonder if any other markets ran it late.

Later on, WLS used that timeslot for Davidson Squares. I think they used it for Headline Chasers at some point, too. I remember distinctly staying up late for Squares as a kid (obviously not a school night) and getting the Ted Koppel \"I\'d like to inform our affiliates we\'ll be running late\" buzzkill.

Looking back on it, as the 8-year-old in 1987 who was the only one in the house who knew how to program the VCR, I really whiffed on an opportunity. Oh well. Summers, vacations, and days off tided me over.

JMFabiano · « **Reply #64 on:** November 13, 2013, 06:57:00 PM »

And while we are talking about syndication and PYL, did the NY market get the Republic package of reruns ever?

Vahan_Nisanian · « **Reply #65 on:** November 13, 2013, 06:59:12 PM »

And while we are talking about syndication and PYL, did the NY market get the Republic package of reruns ever?

No, and I doubt the Los Angeles market got it, either. It was only intended for stations that never carried the series during its original run. So in those markets, it was treated as a \"new series\".

snowpeck · « **Reply #66 on:** November 13, 2013, 07:27:53 PM »

Which brings up something interesting I ran across while researching Sale. I wasn\'t aware that Golden West tried to pitch a nighttime version of PYL for fall \'85. The idea was abandoned because the prime access field was too crowded and CBS wouldn\'t allow it to run in any other daypart.

tyshaun1 · « **Reply #67 on:** November 13, 2013, 07:31:11 PM »

Which brings up something interesting I ran across while researching Sale. I wasn\'t aware that Golden West tried to pitch a nighttime version of PYL for fall \'85. The idea was abandoned because the prime access field was too crowded and CBS wouldn\'t allow it to run in any other daypart.

Yep.... in fact, the only reason $ale got on is because they started it in January. Golden West wanted to start PYL in March 1985, but by time they made that call, it was too late.

Tyshaun

Bryce L. · « **Reply #68 on:** November 13, 2013, 08:07:06 PM »

Hmm... if this nighttime PYL had gotten the green light, would there have likely been much different from the daytime series, other than possibly a higher prize budget?

aaron sica · « **Reply #69 on:** November 13, 2013, 08:25:01 PM »

Hmm... if this nighttime PYL had gotten the green light, would there have likely been much different from the daytime series, other than possibly a higher prize budget?

I can\'t imagine any money spaces being any higher than $5,000....Using WoF as comparison its highest money value was $5,000 as well. \"$10,000 + A SPIN\" might have been too much. I\'m thinking higher-end prizes too..

PYLdude · « **Reply #70 on:** November 13, 2013, 08:34:59 PM »

As I\'ve said a few times, WABC adding Sale was just one in the long line of one-season wonders or short lived series that they paired Jeopardy! with after they picked it up at midseason year one.

I think the longest overall pairing was with Entertainment Tonight, with which it shared the slot for two years in between the shuffling of Squares to WPIX and the acquisition of Wheel from WCBS. IIRC it was Name That Tune first, then Divorce Court (which moved to WCBS the next year), then Sale, then Card Sharks, then Split Second when Oprah got the 4:00 slot, then Squares when it initially moved to 7:00 in \'87 (they\'d been airing Squares at 7:30 since its debut).

I\'m actually curious to see what happened to ET after WABC dropped it. It airs on WCBS now but I don\'t think it picked it up right away once Wheel moved. While I seem to remember somebody posting a video on YouTube that showed it airing on WNBC at 4:30 for a brief period in 1991, I think that\'s fake because channel 4 was still airing Donahue in the 4:00 slot.

aaron sica · « **Reply #71 on:** November 13, 2013, 08:39:45 PM »

I\'m actually curious to see what happened to ET after WABC dropped it. It airs on WCBS now but I don\'t think it picked it up right away once Wheel moved. While I seem to remember somebody posting a video on YouTube that showed it airing on WNBC at 4:30 for a brief period in 1991, I think that\'s fake because channel 4 was still airing Donahue in the 4:00 slot.

(W)WOR picked it up for a time......So it might have went there after WABC dropped it..

PYLdude · « **Reply #72 on:** November 13, 2013, 09:15:24 PM »

I\'m actually curious to see what happened to ET after WABC dropped it. It airs on WCBS now but I don\'t think it picked it up right away once Wheel moved. While I seem to remember somebody posting a video on YouTube that showed it airing on WNBC at 4:30 for a brief period in 1991, I think that\'s fake because channel 4 was still airing Donahue in the 4:00 slot.

(W)WOR picked it up for a time......So it might have went there after WABC dropped it..

The way I read it back in the day is that ET bounced back and forth between WPIX and WABC for a few years- channel 7 picked it up from channel 11 early in the run, then I think it ended up back on channel 11 then back on 7.

Or maybe I\'m remembering when it was on channel 9- one of them aired ET at 8:30 PM and it sure wasn\'t WABC. Next time I take a trip to the library I\'ll hit the microfilm room up.

Johnissoevil · « **Reply #73 on:** November 13, 2013, 09:19:46 PM »

The way I read it back in the day is that ET bounced back and forth between WPIX and WABC for a few years- channel 7 picked it up from channel 11 early in the run, then I think it ended up back on channel 11 then back on 7.

Or maybe I\'m remembering when it was on channel 9- one of them aired ET at 8:30 PM and it sure wasn\'t WABC. Next time I take a trip to the library I\'ll hit the microfilm room up.

It was on WOR at 8:30 from 86 to 88. WPIX never had ET.

PYLdude · « **Reply #74 on:** November 13, 2013, 09:27:38 PM »

The way I read it back in the day is that ET bounced back and forth between WPIX and WABC for a few years- channel 7 picked it up from channel 11 early in the run, then I think it ended up back on channel 11 then back on 7.

Or maybe I\'m remembering when it was on channel 9- one of them aired ET at 8:30 PM and it sure wasn\'t WABC. Next time I take a trip to the library I\'ll hit the microfilm room up.

It was on WOR at 8:30 from 86 to 88. WPIX never had ET.

Are you sure about that? Because I remember digging through the old papers and when WABC had initially picked it up, it said that the show had been on WPIX at first.