Game show resurgence:

[rmfromfla]

That 12:30 Millionaire run could have been a rerun from the first (syn)
 season:  two stations in my area run an early episode (S1) around noon
 and then have the regular ep. at 6:30;  Columbus, GA, has a full hour
 at 10 AM.....

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jul 17 2004, 01:25 PM\'] Aren't some of the ABC O&O's airing "Millionaire" at 12:30?  Maybe it's not the same as being on the full network, but it might be a start towards daytime if ratings prove successful. [/quote]
WPVI-6 from Philly and WABC-7 from NYC, both ABC O&O's, run "Millionaire" at 12:30pm. WHTM-27 from Harrisburg, also an ABC affiliate (owned by Allbritton Communications, though, not ABC), is going to change "Millionaire"'s timeslot from 4pm to 12:30pm this fall. I frankly wouldn't be surprised to see WNEP-16 (Scranton's ABC) do it either.

[starcade]

My guess -- to the initial question is:

No.  Ken alone won't do it.  You get contestants like him maybe once a decade or so.

But if Davies goes ahead with a grand tournament of champions across the genre (for, say, two or five million dollars), THAT might...

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' date=\'Jul 17 2004, 03:00 AM\'] The Challengers, OTOH, I found really enjoyable as a J! alternative.  It had plenty of play-along value, plus enough big risks with $$$ to keep me on the edge of my seat.  I think it deserves another chance.  (side note:  this is generally credited as a revival of the Who What or Where Game).  

 [/quote]
 What a magnificent show that was--even though they putzed with the rules a bit too much along the way. Why some people thought it was a Jeopardy! ripoff is beyond me. The scoreboards were identical, but so what? The players had to answer in the form of an answer. I don't get the copycat accusation. Plus, there was the added nicety of the runners-up being able to keep their money.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jul 20 2004, 10:42 PM\'] [quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' date=\'Jul 17 2004, 03:00 AM\'] The Challengers, OTOH, I found really enjoyable as a J! alternative.  It had plenty of play-along value, plus enough big risks with $$$ to keep me on the edge of my seat.  I think it deserves another chance.  (side note:  this is generally credited as a revival of the Who What or Where Game). 

 [/quote]
What a magnificent show that was--even though they putzed with the rules a bit too much along the way. Why some people thought it was a Jeopardy! ripoff is beyond me. The scoreboards were identical, but so what? The players had to answer in the form of an answer. I don't get the copycat accusation. Plus, there was the added nicety of the runners-up being able to keep their money. [/quote]
 Could it be the fact they had something called "The Final Challenge" [or whatever it was called], and players had to make a wager?

[rmfromfla]

In "The Final Challenge", the category was revealed , and the topics of the
 three questions were shown, with their odds:  3x, 2x, and Even Money.
   If two or all three players picked the same question, the player who had the
 most money wagered would answer that question.
   The winner moved on to the Ultimate Challenge for either:
 1. In the first two months of the show, the jackpot started at $50,000 and went
up $1,000 for each day it was not won.  Players had to win three games in order
to have a shot at the jackpot.
 2.  After the first TOC, the Ultimate Challenge became only $10,000, did not
 escalate, and the day's winner would have a chance to play for that.


  This just in,  Florida Governor Jeb Bush has signed into law a bill that requires
 preschoolers to learn the basics of copyright laws.   Film At 11.....
   (check the Kevin Olmstead post.....)

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'rmfromfla\' date=\'Jul 21 2004, 08:55 AM\']
   The winner moved on to the Ultimate Challenge for either:
 1. In the first two months of the show, the jackpot started at $50,000 and went
up $1,000 for each day it was not won.  Players had to win three games in order
to have a shot at the jackpot.
 2.  After the first TOC, the Ultimate Challenge became only $10,000, did not
 escalate, and the day's winner would have a chance to play for that.

 [/quote]
 Originally, the Ultimate Challenge started at $50K and went up $5K each time it was played for and not won(was played for on the Sneak Preview episode airing on Labor Day weekend in 1990). After a few weeks, they changed it to have it increase $1K per show until won. After the first UC win, the jackpot then started at $25K.

Later in the run, the $10K UC question was dumped and there was no more endgame.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Jul 20 2004, 11:20 PM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jul 20 2004, 10:42 PM\'] [quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' date=\'Jul 17 2004, 03:00 AM\'] The Challengers, OTOH, I found really enjoyable as a J! alternative.  It had plenty of play-along value, plus enough big risks with $$$ to keep me on the edge of my seat.  I think it deserves another chance.  (side note:  this is generally credited as a revival of the Who What or Where Game). 

 [/quote]
What a magnificent show that was--even though they putzed with the rules a bit too much along the way. Why some people thought it was a Jeopardy! ripoff is beyond me. The scoreboards were identical, but so what? The players had to answer in the form of an answer. I don't get the copycat accusation. Plus, there was the added nicety of the runners-up being able to keep their money. [/quote]
Could it be the fact they had something called "The Final Challenge" [or whatever it was called], and players had to make a wager?[/quote]
It should be remembered that "The Challengers'" progenitor, "The Who, What or Where Game," ran for four years after "J!" every day on NBC.  Neither Merv nor Ronnie Greenberg seemed to be too concerned that their shows both featured in their last rounds players making secret decisions to think music.

[Gromit]

This is exactly why I've been so upset with recent shows and their silly decision to get rid of returning champs (hello Pyramid)

Returning champs function as a bridge to the next show, a cliffhanger if you will. Tune in tomorrow to see how the champ does. It's a key component in turning the casual viewer into an everyday viewer.

The reasons for ditching them are no longer valid in the age of satellites.

As to the subject at hand, no I don't think we're going to see a resurgence.

[chris319]

This just in, Florida Governor Jeb Bush has signed into law a bill that requires
preschoolers to learn the basics of copyright laws.

The difference between the game show industry and elections in Florida: In the game show industry it's illegal to rig the outcome.

[starcade]

Given present situations with competitions such as Survivor and American Idol, is it such?

(One of the unpleasant offshoots of the likes of those two shows are a number of people proposing this is Charles Van Doren II.)

[MSTieScott]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Jul 17 2004, 09:35 AM\'] Question for the game show experts in the biz...where is Liar? [/quote]
 I'm no expert, but from what I saw of Liar, I'm assuming it's dead. The only way I saw it going to air was if CBS decided it was an inexpensive alternative to summer reruns.

Actually, I was surprised it even made it to pilot -- didn't we recently learn that To Tell the Truth was pretty much a dead concept in this day and age? (Not saying that's a good thing, mind you.)

--
Scott Robinson

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'rmfromfla\' date=\'Jul 21 2004, 08:55 AM\'] This just in,  Florida Governor Jeb Bush has signed into law a bill that requires
 preschoolers to learn the basics of copyright laws.   Film At 11.....
   (check the Kevin Olmstead post.....) [/quote]
 And we wonder why our kids don't learn anything in school anymore...its that we have teachers like this.

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' date=\'Jul 21 2004, 11:06 PM\'] [quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Jul 17 2004, 09:35 AM\'] Question for the game show experts in the biz...where is Liar? [/quote]
I'm no expert, but from what I saw of Liar, I'm assuming it's dead. The only way I saw it going to air was if CBS decided it was an inexpensive alternative to summer reruns.

Actually, I was surprised it even made it to pilot -- didn't we recently learn that To Tell the Truth was pretty much a dead concept in this day and age? (Not saying that's a good thing, mind you.)

--
Scott Robinson [/quote]
 TTTT not working was someone's opinion.  My opinion is that it would work again.

[Ian Wallis]

Returning champs function as a bridge to the next show, a cliffhanger if you will. Tune in tomorrow to see how the champ does. It's a key component in turning the casual viewer into an everyday viewer.

The reasons for ditching them are no longer valid in the age of satellites.

I think it's for a number of reasons:  producers probably feel that today's viewer doesn't have the attention span (or maybe even the time) to tune in every day to see how their favorite player is doing.  They probably want the show to come to a natural conclusion at the end so the viewer can feel satisfied that they've seen how things are going to turn out, without having to remember to tune in the next day (this is just my guess).

Also, it does allow them to air episodes out of order and save the most memorable for November and February sweeps.  In the case of "Pyramid", it allows them to schedule the most well-known celebrities for those periods.