Arrrrrrrsssseeeeniiiiooo Haaaaalllll,

[catnap1972]

[quote name=\'urbanpreppie05\' date=\'May 3 2004, 08:02 PM\']

My guess is that both PYL and LMAD will eventually get the heave-ho as well...it seems like GSN wants to detach itself from the stigma of that "old" network as soon as possible.

I don't think so. If they were, what's to stop them from doing that now? [/quote]
 Those are probably still under contract (until August at least) and they don't have anything viable to replace those shows with at the moment anyway.

[SRIV94]

My two Lincolns. . . (obviously, or I wouldn't be posting ;-) )

Isn't STAR SEARCH subject to the same musical hurdles that would preclude AMERICAN IDOL from being on GSN (I'd add GONG to that list, but I think it's more than just musical hurdles keeping GONG off the net)?

Also, the Hall/CBS version drew a lot of its appeal from having its TV audience vote for who to keep and who to dump (what, did we really care what Matty Lesham *really* thought of an act?).  So it wouldn't make sense for GSN to air a program where they'd potentially have to tell viewers not to log on to CBS.com to vote (and keep telling them).  So it'd make more sense to show the McMahon version, but that's where those music clearance hurdles could be more of an issue.

OK, your turn.  Easy on the tomatoes.  

Doug

[sshuffield70]

There's also nothing in the book that says "Star Search" could be reedited to take out the numbers, but do include the winners.  AI could easily be edited down to 1 hour a week to do the same thing.

[Winkfan]

Geez, what's next? Dream Job repeats on GSN? Yeah, like we want to see Al Jaffe or Tony what's-his-nose (whichever one of those two is DJ's answer to Simon) harp on that long-haired guy once again.

Or.....we might see those sole Queen For A Day episodes that Trio ran last year turn up on B&WO as well. (I'd love to see the 1969-70 Dick Curtis version, though. Used to watch it when I was a kid.)

Cordially,
Tammy Warner--the 'Jane Nelson of the Big Board!'

[tommycharles]

Hmm. Season one was good, season two was crappy. And I do think reruns will hold up of Star Search - it's got a name which people recognize, and not all that many people saw more than the first 9 eps of Arse's version.

Not that I *want* it on the sched, but in Cronin's position I think it's got a better chance than, say, Mole did.

[whewfan]

[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'May 3 2004, 06:14 PM\'] [IMO, the closest we will see to Ed McMahon's version is that episode of Full House when Joey goes on SS.

 [/quote]
 Dave Coulier really did get his start on Star Search, and they showed a clip of it on Before They Were Stars. Incidentally, the routine Dave did on the Full House ep. is the same routine that he did on Star Search when he was originally on it.

[ChrisLambert!]

Maybe "Mole" will stil get to be on the Sunday sched... I would be surprised to see them pull the same sked - with GAA - out for Sat and Sun.

OTOH, maybe I shouldn't be.

[CaseyAbell]

Interesting that Dog Eat Dog gets the leadout from Millionaire. Doesn't seem like the most compatible leadout, but it's better than trying to jerk the core game show audience into, say, Average Joe. I won't mind sampling the show. Only got a few glimpses of its original run, and I like silly stunt shows. I'll also take a peek at Street Smarts, which seemed funny enough the few times I've seen it.

Don't have much use for talent contests of any description, so I'll pass on Star Search. I'm a little surprised that KvS and Spy TV are still around, but they're probably dirt cheap and make for so-so filler in the 10:00 and 11:00 hours.

The weirdest note is the replacement of Blackjack by celeb Millionaire after the second series. GSN has said that a third series is on the way, and that Blackjack did the best numbers of any of the new shows. Maybe the Prof got his wires crossed with his source. Or maybe GSN doesn't want to rerun the shows into absolute dust.

The departure of the semi-rigged Hollywood Squares does not fill me with sorrow. Too bad about Pyramid, though. It's the one loss so far that I really don't like.

[catnap1972]

[quote name=\'tyshaun1\' date=\'May 3 2004, 06:55 PM\'] We PYL fans (Jason H., Ian, and myself) believe that since their current package will be run through by around September (around the time their current contract expires, more than likely), that PYL will go altogether. Same for LMAD, since I recall reading that GSN signed a two year extension in August 2002.
 [/quote]
 Now that I think about it, depending on if GSN decides to run Star Search into the ground (and the fact that they like to run most of the schedule based on 7 days and not 5 + the weekend), there's a very real chance that PYL might also be dumped when the schedule change comes around since the 11a-12n timeslot(s) would be taken over with it.

[sshuffield70]

[quote name=\'whewfan\' date=\'May 4 2004, 04:23 AM\'] [quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'May 3 2004, 06:14 PM\'] [IMO, the closest we will see to Ed McMahon's version is that episode of Full House when Joey goes on SS.

 [/quote]
Dave Coulier really did get his start on Star Search, and they showed a clip of it on Before They Were Stars. Incidentally, the routine Dave did on the Full House ep. is the same routine that he did on Star Search when he was originally on it. [/quote]
 Was this before or after Nick's "Out Of Control"?

[JMFabiano]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'May 3 2004, 09:23 PM\']
Isn't STAR SEARCH subject to the same musical hurdles that would preclude AMERICAN IDOL from being on GSN (I'd add GONG to that list, but I think it's more than just musical hurdles keeping GONG off the net)? [/quote]
 I'm tempted to answer, "Because this is the 2000s, meaning a lot of that is not real music anyway."  Oops, I just did.

[Ian Wallis]

Free advice to GSN : Give me a reason to give you a half hour of my important TV watching time, and I'm there. So far in your new format, you haven't even come close.

I was thinking the same thing.  I always had GSN on C-band satellite, and they discontinued that signal on March 19th of this year.  You know what, I haven't really missed it.  When I see all these shows that they're adding, I almost think I can do without it.  I can probably live on my 1700+ episodes I've acquired through the years.  It doesn't seem like there's much worthwile there right now.

We PYL fans (Jason H., Ian, and myself) believe that since their current package will be run through by around September (around the time their current contract expires, more than likely), that PYL will go altogether.

That's the one thing about it I do miss, since they're still running episodes they've never run before.  My guess is the current batch will never get repeated on GSN, and we're likely not to see the 1986 episodes again either.  Too bad...

[JMFabiano]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'May 4 2004, 12:58 PM\']

Free advice to GSN : Give me a reason to give you a half hour of my important TV watching time, and I'm there. So far in your new format, you haven't even come close.

I was thinking the same thing.  I always had GSN on C-band satellite, and they discontinued that signal on March 19th of this year.  You know what, I haven't really missed it.  When I see all these shows that they're adding, I almost think I can do without it.  I can probably live on my 1700+ episodes I've acquired through the years.  It doesn't seem like there's much worthwile there right now.

We PYL fans (Jason H., Ian, and myself) believe that since their current package will be run through by around September (around the time their current contract expires, more than likely), that PYL will go altogether.

That's the one thing about it I do miss, since they're still running episodes they've never run before.  My guess is the current batch will never get repeated on GSN, and we're likely not to see the 1986 episodes again either.  Too bad... [/quote]
 Yeah more and more it's like the best route for a GS fan to go is to take the MSTie advice and "keep circulating the tapes."  

And I think I'm accepting more and more that a haven for fans of any classic entertainment is just not feasible anymore.  Not without at least a FEW things people will complain about.  The GS in GSN doesn't mean "game shows" anymore, just like AMC's C is no longer for "Classics," the "M" doesn't mean Music in MTV (partially the programming, partially the lack of talent in today's so-called performers), and so forth and so on.  Even the channels that still swear they're otherwise end up conforming....see: the '80s influx on TV Land (and '90s on N@N), and in radio, the no-50s format on WCBS-FM here in the NY area.  

So sadly, our happy memories are too often too temporary, due to the dreaded words "demographics" and "advertising."  It does frustrate me too, but this is probably all Woolery left Wheel.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' date=\'May 4 2004, 01:18 PM\']And I think I'm accepting more and more that a haven for fans of any classic entertainment is just not feasible anymore.  Not without at least a FEW things people will complain about.  The GS in GSN doesn't mean "game shows" anymore, just like AMC's C is no longer for "Classics," the "M" doesn't mean Music in MTV (partially the programming, partially the lack of talent in today's so-called performers), and so forth and so on.  Even the channels that still swear they're otherwise end up conforming....see: the '80s influx on TV Land (and '90s on N@N), and in radio, the no-50s format on WCBS-FM here in the NY area.  [/quote]
And I remember that a late-80s issue of Spy magazine did as a sort of parody a NAN program schedule for 2001 featuring "In Living Color" and "Moonlighting."

It was inevitable--as I see time go on, I expect NAN and TVL to start airing post-1980 material.  Way back when Dick Bartley started syndication, he said at the time that he expected to add 70s music year-by-year as time went on.  Of course, I didn't really expect the older material to get shut out, but there will always be newer shows that can enter the pantheon of "classics."  (Of course, the problem that GSN has always had to deal with is that their chosen genre entered into a state of limbo during the 90s that it's never really gotten out of, with a few exceptions that you all know about.)

As for AMC, they had no choice--either make the programming decisions that they made or have cable systems drop them for being too expensive.  Need I add that TCM is still a home for old movies (and IMHO, a much better programmed and packaged home for old movies than AMC ever was) and is a great example of how you can program post-1970 films (and foreign films and silents) without offending the most loyal viewers.  And since that core library is bought and paid for, they don't have to worry about the studios jacking up the license fees (and then jacking up the subscriber fees in response).

[CaseyAbell]

Free advice to GSN : Give me a reason to give you a half hour of my important TV watching time, and I'm there. So far in your new format, you haven't even come close.

Really? No arguing about tastes, but I'd rank Blackjack as one of the three best originals GSN has produced (along with Lingo and RR). Interesting gameplay, some memorable contestants, genuine suspense right down to the last card of the last hand of every episode, alert and unobtrusive commentary, and a dash of eye candy. I'm happy to see that a couple more series will apparently follow.

I also enjoyed Celeb Mole, which fooled me on the Mole's identity and offered some fun stunts along the way. Too bad the reality-doesn't-repeat-well cliche nailed me on the first civvie series, and I lost interest.

Didn't have much use for the other three new shows. But for a while GSN gave me two hours a week of reasons to watch...which is more than I can say about most cablers.

As for AMC, they had no choice--either make the programming decisions that they made or have cable systems drop them for being too expensive.

And as I'm sure you know, those decisions have paid off with the best numbers AMC ever achieved. GSN doesn't appear to have been so lucky, but I can't blame them for trying to get beyond the niche audience.

Hands up, anyone who thinks Star Search in any way encompasses the concept of a "game".

My hand's up. Talent contests aren't my cuppa, but they sound pretty game-like to me. Contestants try to win a competition. That's not a game? What is it, a seminar?