“Cool a new game show!” but it’s not a game show

[Kevin Prather]

(sigh) “Points.”

We need a GIF of Taylor hitting the button now.

I'll take a GIF of Taylor hitting anything she wants.

[TimK2003]

Spring Break trip out to California in the 80s.  Looking for game show tapings to see.

Went to NBC Burbank and saw the list of shows taping while we were there.  Among the shows on the list for one particular day was Super Password, Davidson Squares, and Saved By The Bell (IIRC the first year after changing from "Good Morning Miss Bliss").

Fortunately, we stuck with the tickets to Squares and Password.  It was later when we found out that SBTB was a kids TV sitcom.

[Loogaroo]

Not a specific show, but my old newspaper's TV guide would list a "Post Game Show" after a sporting event and I'd wonder excitedly what a "Post Game" was.

[Jeremy Nelson]

Not a specific show, but my old newspaper's TV guide would list a "Post Game Show" after a sporting event and I'd wonder excitedly what a "Post Game" was.

Around that same time, WGN had a show called “Bullseye” and I immediately got my hopes up thinking it was the Jim Lange show. Nope. Chicago Bulls highlights.

Both of these for me. For several months, 8 year old Jeremy from Chicago thought he was missing out on some elusive Saturday night game show for these stupid Bulls highlights- I legit watched this, and the Bears Post Game Show for a while thinking maybe I'll catch a bonus round. Nope. Didn't help that Instant Riches was often postponed due to these non-game shows.

[Mike Tennant]

Going in the other direction, having seen the Pennsylvania Game News in my school library, I recall thinking that when the listings said "Pennsylvania Game," it was a show about hunting--especially since it was on PBS. I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across it (discussed here not long ago) while channel-surfing.

[aaron sica]

Not so much game shows, but seeing just "Pennsylvania Game News" by title I was excited, thinking it was about board games. I was rather disappointed when it wasn't.

[Jamey Greek]

The HGTV show Dream House figured it would be reruns of the Eubanks run or perhaps a revival .... Nope

[Jamey Greek]

Not a specific show, but my old newspaper's TV guide would list a "Post Game Show" after a sporting event and I'd wonder excitedly what a "Post Game" was.

Same goes with pregame show

[CeleTheRef]

I remember someone on this forum came here in Italy in the 90s and found a program titled "Pressing" on TV listings and believed it was Press Your Luck.  It was a soccer show (which is still on the air btw)

[Matt Ottinger]

In seventies daytime television, it seemed like there were either game shows or soap operas, so whenever a show like The Girl In My Life popped up that clearly wasn't going to be a soap opera, I would go in assuming it was going to be a game show, only to be disappointed.

[SuperMatch93]

Not exactly an example, but when reading TV Guide at 5 years old, for some reason it didn't gel with me that "To Be Announced" wasn't the name of an actual show. I was always left curious as to what a show named that would be like.

[BrandonFG]

Not exactly an example, but when reading TV Guide at 5 years old, for some reason it didn't gel with me that "To Be Announced" wasn't the name of an actual show. I was always left curious as to what a show named that would be like.

This actually happened to me as well…I might’ve been about 7.

I vaguely recall seeing that “That Girl” under the USA listing and thinking it was along the lines of what Matt described. Didn’t find out for a few years that it was Marlo Thomas’s sitcom.

[Clay Zambo]

In seventies daytime television, it seemed like there were either game shows or soap operas, so whenever a show like The Girl In My Life popped up that clearly wasn't going to be a soap opera, I would go in assuming it was going to be a game show, only to be disappointed.

And yet in the case of that particular show, they gave away prizes and had a really catchy Score Productions music package, so it's at least game-adjacent.

(I was disappointed, too--except for the music.)

[davidhammett]

I'll second "The Girl in My Life."  Also, the promos for "That's My Line," hosted by Barker and done in 33, made it hard to believe it wouldn't be a game show.

But the one that stands out to me (although not quite on topic) was the old game show that turned out to be a new one.  When what was then CBN began airing "Jackpot!" in the afternoons, TV Guide used the same description used in 1974 when the show premiered (including the reference to $50,000), so I was elated that I'd finally get to see the show, as the Atlanta affiliate didn't carry the show back then.  Imagine my disappointment when that was not the case.

[aaron sica]

Could be the Mandela effect again, but speaking of "Jackpot!", I remember seeing promos for it leading up to the premiere, and they used footage of the old version in the promos, complete with Solari. I also was disappointed when the version turned out to be new, and not the old one.