2024 USA Today Game Show Articles

[JasonA1]

On July 20, they ran a piece ranking the summer game shows "from worst to first."

On July 10, another article talked about game show giveaways lagging behind inflation.

-Jason

[Chuck Sutton]

Although if are going to do a story ranking all the summer game shows on broadcast TV, you should make sure to get them all.

[Joe Mello]

On July 20, they ran a piece ranking the summer game shows "from worst to first."

Clearly the emphasis for this author was on "show" more than "game"

[Clay Zambo]

Disapprove of the characterization of 1% Club’s questions as “too hard,” and surprised by the high ranking of Kiki Password—though pleased for the latter, because even loud Password is Password.

A friend of mine loves Kikiword, calling it “Day-Glo.” (He’s a fan of all Password, as am I.)

[Dbacksfan12]

A nit to pick:  Her information on NTT was inaccurate as to when it first aired.  Two minutes of research would have prevented this.  Also, I noticed that author said Password is “only” played for $25K.  Glad she’s swimming in money.

[Kevin Prather]

Although Oswalt is funny, the format is pretty dull, with overly complicated questions that aren't fun to play along with at home...

I have several friends who have never gotten in to game shows in the past who would disagree. They are absolutely loving playing along with this game.

[steveleb]

Kiki has grown on me as bas the format.  Look let’s be real—this format was all but dead until Fallon started his skits.  Given the age of the MDP audience I dare say no one under 60 save for these readers had any fond memories .  This is that execution with a real game overlay and people who are savvy enough to inject callouts to virtually every format the show ever had—even the “betting word” of the 70s abc version which the redemption word effectively is.  It’s a relative smash even with people under 50, and not many shows on this list can say that

[MSTieScott]

A listicle is a listicle, no matter which publication it's in. Apparently ABC's Press Your Luck recreated the "gloriously 1970s set" and Let's Make a Deal is a "syndicated staple." Gotta churn out something to publish.

Also, I noticed that author said Password is “only” played for $25K.  Glad she’s swimming in money.

But didn't you read her article on inflation? Inflation is a thing that exists! For example, when the Super Password jackpot was $25,000 in 1984, it would take more than $74,000 to get the same purchasing power today! Now you know!

[steveleb]

it honestly never fails to amaze me how pathetic some paid reporters for national publications can't even bring themselves to google some things as easy to do as what year a version of a show you are employed to write about debuted.  It's called research, and I'm stunned how it seems to be beyond the pay grade of so many writers.  It's no wonder publications like USA TODAY want to replace writers with AI.

[BrandonFG]

Newsrooms are a shell of their former self. I've seen so many fellow journalists tossed on the street thanks to venture capitalists who had no business funding a lemonade stand, let alone a newspaper. Add on the fact that publications are desperate for content - any content - and you get articles like this one. Used to be you had editors to make sure everything made sense, but I imagine you have a lotta people wearing many hats. Not that it excuses the errors, but publications going AI is more about greed than it is bad writing.

/Knew it was bunk when they ranked NTT and Password in the Top 5

[clemon79]

I have several friends who have never gotten in to game shows in the past who would disagree. They are absolutely loving playing along with this game.

Consider that the author is writing for the readers of McPaper.

[JasonA1]

/Knew it was bunk when they ranked NTT and Password in the Top 5

One of the reasons I started the thread was to see how this article's opinion aligned with ours, because it felt a tiny bit more doted upon, unlike a best hosts list that put Peyton Manning in a high position after just one episode of College Bowl aired.

I was thinking there had to be a reason Name That Tune was getting multiple seasons, but not a lot of love on this board. What about the show makes you want to rank it lower?

-Jason

[BrandonFG]

I was thinking there had to be a reason Name That Tune was getting multiple seasons, but not a lot of love on this board. What about the show makes you want to rank it lower?

I'll admit my hot take comes from only watching the first few episodes, but to me it came across as an SNL parody that was overproduced and all over the place. Dunno if that's changed since, but of the Fox musical games I prefer Beat Shazam.

[JasonA1]

For the record, I don't think yours is a "hot take." If you watched more than one episode, you did better than a lot of people. And if you were turned off, hey, they had their chance to keep you as a viewer.

Lately, there's been too much made out of having a strong opinion one way or the other, as if that can't be a genuine feeling. Sure, some people get in a proverbial I Love Nothing New Camp, but I don't think people should shy away from expressing themselves on this board. Selfishly, it would be great to see what people like and don't like about modern shows.

The thing I've been trying to figure out over the years is just who loves all the contestant backstories. There must be someone. I know they have their place on a longer-form competition show. But I can't help but remember all the comments I've read and heard to the contrary -- and not just from "us."

-Jason

[BrandonFG]

My theory on the backstories dates back to whenever NBC got the Olympics. IMO someone felt that because they were inspiring there, they must be needed elsewhere. I don't mind it sporadically, but when every other prime time game show or even some docuseries overuse them, it's definitely overkill.

ESPN started doing it a lot on SportsCenter too, but that all started in the early-2000s (give or take a couple years) so like you said, I dunno who the audience is for these.