Greatest Cable Game Shows

[Strikerz04]

1. Double Dare
2. Debt
3. Russian Roulette


(Honorable Mention: Top Card)

[aaron sica]

1. Remote Control
2. Double Dare
3. Debt

What a shame that I knew most of the answers on Remote Control but was only 13 and years away from college and being eligible. Double Dare was just plain fun to watch. Debt was so well put together as Chelsea said, and I loved the intro with the screen sliding up to reveal Wink.

[Matt Ottinger]

1. Win Ben Stein’s Money
2. Remote Control
3. Double Dare

Brandon did the work so I wouldn't have to.

[BillCullen1]

1 Russian Roulette
2 Debt
3 Catch 21

[Casey]

My selections:

1. Win Ben Stein's Money
2. Supermarket Sweep
3. Fandango

[Jimmy Owen]

1. How Do You Like Your Eggs?
2. Finders Keepers
3. Shop til You Drop.

[Neumms]

1. Win Ben Stein's Money
2. Idiotest
3. Lingo

I've been watching a little Idiotest lately and am reminded how well done it was. Fun idea well mounted with a great host. I'd love to see more of Ben.

I was too old for Double Dare and didn't care for the talent's snotty attitude on Remote Control.

[Winkfan]

Here's mine, read 'em and weep:

1.) Paranoia
2.) Second Honeymoon
3.) Jackpot! (USA version)
4.) Bumper Stumpers
5.) Supermarket Sweep

Honorable Mention: Chain Reaction (GSN version), Shopping Spree

Cordially,
Tammy

[Sodboy13]

You know what? Paranoia was really good and picking three is a much harder exercise than I thought at the outset. Same for 2-Minute Drill.

[Stackertosh]

1.Supermarket Sweep
2. Whammy
3.Russian Roulette
4. Lingo
5. The Pyramid they did a pretty good job rebooting the show.

[SwohS Emag]

1. Ultimate Fan League
2. Legends of the Hidden Temple
3. Sports on Tap

(Dare to be different.) I'm surprised no one has mentioned Legends yet, since it seems to have set a new standard for kids' games.  UFL was such a great idea (league play followed by playoffs) and had a Remote Control vibe to it, and Sports on Tap, for 9-year-old me, was appointment television, probably because I loved the overall tournament structure and the final round that goes up the steps.  I wish there were more sports game episodes available on the internet.

[TimK2003]

Two of my three I base because of what they more or less spawned.  One because of personal fave.

In no particular order:

1) Double Dare (Nick version) -- This show pretty much introduced messy in-studio stunts that also spawned other similar in-studio games, like Legends of the Hidden Temple, (College) Fun House, etc...

2) Remote Control (MTV) ‐‐ One of the first, if not the first, modern day genre-specific quizzer that dared to go beyond sports or movie subjects.  Remote Control spawned Couch Potatoes, and may have inspired TV Land's Ultimate Fan search, which was also all about television.

3) Rodeo Drive -- Jay Wolpert's first game show foray into cable TV.  Like many of Jay's ideas, the show was a bit convoluted and had some glaring faults, it took elements from Canada's Talk About,  Sale of the Century's Fame Game, and a touch of the Whew! Gauntlet.  The show also was the first for Burton Richardson in the announcer role.   

It was nice to see Jay rebound for a modest run of cable shows after the demise of Blackout. And Rodeo was not a bad show to watch and play along with despite it's flaws.

Also, Rodeo Drive was one of the only cable game shows with returning contestants!

[weaklink75]

In no particular order:

1-Nick Game shows of the 80's and 90's in general
2-Remote Control
3-Supermarket Sweep
4-Win Ben Stein's Money
5-Lingo

and an honorable mention to the TNN Trifecta of Fandango/Top Card/10 Seconds- it was for a very specific type of knowledge, but especially the first two were good (except for the "Aces are worth 1" rule on Top Card)- 10 seconds was OK for the Bid-A-Note variant it was.

[Chief-O]

My selections:

1. Win Ben Stein's Money
2. Supermarket Sweep
3. Fandango

and an honorable mention to the TNN Trifecta of Fandango/Top Card/10 Seconds

(facepalms self)

.....and here I am calling "Double Dare" and "Remote Control" the first cable game show hits! Can't argue with a 5-year run on a channel otherwise known for country music...and the snot-load of episodes on YouTube must say something about it as well!

[TLEberle]

You know what? Paranoia was really good and picking three is a much harder exercise than I thought at the outset. Same for 2-Minute Drill.

I'm glad to hear you say that and that you have put so much thought into the exercise. The thing of it is that it is easy to pick your fifty favorite shows out of a thousand, or your twenty favorite hosts out of a pool of a hundred or so. I wanted to have people making those value judgments--I adore History IQ and Cash Cab, but do I rate them as higher than Ben's Money? Is Legends of the Hidden Temple better than the show that basically invented the game show for kids? By limiting the number of choices to three (not that everyone has stuck to that) it forces us to make those hard choices and if they want to do so explain why. I thought Paranoia was an interesting idea that I watched and was sorry to see go, but there were too many nicks in the armor to displace another show for me.