Today's Classic Gameshow Milestone

[AH3RD]

OCTOBER 23, 1981.

"Aces High! Deuces Low!
Let's Win Some Money, And Go-Go-Go!"

That was the final opening poem read by Gene Wood at the top of the 864th and final edition of Card Sharks, which aired on NBC Daytime.

Picking up where the previous game left off, Denise Lockhart defeated the previous champion, Michelle Jenkins, in Sudden Death, and went on to amass $1,000 in the final Money Cards round: her sequence of cards was 9D, 8C, 10D, JD replaced by QH, 7C, 5D, QS, and 3C. In the following round, which was the final one and pitted Denise against Victoria Sieber, host Jim Perry announced that there would not be another MC round, what with this being the final telecast and time being so treacherously short, and so a best 2-out-of-3 round was played, deciding a $5,000 winner! Denise flubbed it, enabling Victoria to win 5-grand and become Card Sharks' last ever champ.

In the show's final fading minutes Jim stood flanked by several members of Card Sharks' ever-reliable soundstage personnel as he, in his parting speech, did a summing-up on the show's original 3 ½ year run on NBC:

"Well, that wraps it up for 3 ½ years on Card Sharks. Thank you. Um, maybe I have a couple of moments, 'cause I think you might be interested in this. I've mentioned from time to time in the 3 ½ years the way people have sent in poems and taken part in polls and have been a part in the show. We have polled in the last 3 ½ years 3,875,000 people on Card Sharks, and I am delighted to say, in 3 ½ years, we have given away $3,218,550 on this show to a lot of very nice people who've came down here as contestants. Thank you all who have sent in poems and were a part of the show.


"I do want to thank the NBC staff and crew; these guys and girls have been sensational with us for the last 3 ½ years. Are grateful to all of you. We are grateful to you for your support that enabled us to have 3 ½ years of Card Sharks on NBC, but I especially want to thank these people who are standing behind me, and, for one of the few times in my hammy life, I am going to get the hell out of the way here now as they roll the credits by so you could take a good look at these wonderful people from Goodson-Todman and Card Sharks who have made this thing go. I love each and every one of them. For Card Sharks on NBC, goodbye, my friends!"

Continued...

[AH3RD]

Then Jim Perry placed down his microphone, stepped off the original set of Card Sharks forever -- and into TV game show history, leaving the show's production crew onstage. After the fee plugs wrapped, a special shot of announcer Gene Wood was shown as he delivered the 864th and final reading of Card Sharks' closing spiel:

"This Is Gene Wood Speaking For Card Sharks,
A Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production!"

Then the long credits crawl precipitated a v e r y . . . s l o w . . . r o l l as they superimposed over the Card Sharks crew to accommodate the viewers at home to get a glimpse at and remember the faces of the men and women which have helped keep the show humming on NBC Daytime since April 1978.

The series' original run had expired, but the property itself did not. In late 1985, CBS decided that it wanted a big-money show on its daytime schedule, so they ordered a revival of the popular show Card Sharks (replacing the late Body Language, another Mark Goodson Production), calling it The New Card Sharks, but this new version differed in many ways from the original 1978-1981 NBC version hosted by Jim Perry. The set was changed, the music and most notably (in the first four weeks especially), The Money Cards was played differently (concering the process of changing cards), and there was a new host, Bob Eubanks, and new dealers, models Lacey Pemberton and Susannah Williams! Later on in the run, 10 people who had something in common began appearing in the front row of an auidence, and several times throughout the show, questions were asked about them. This version stayed in town between January 6, 1986 and March 31, 1989. There was a syndicated primetime edition on the side, lauched in fall 1986 and lasting for a year, hosted by Bill Rafferty.

In September 2001, yet another edition of the popular game was launched in syndication, emceed by comic Pat Bullard and with Tami Anderson as the new dealer. This failed on every level, and didn't even last beyond a full season.

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 09:50 AM\']
(replacing the late Body Language, another Mark Goodson Production),

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[/quote]

Actually, "Card Sharks" replaced "Press Your Luck" on the daytime schedule. It was PYL that replaced "Body Language".

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 08:50 AM\'](replacing the late Body Language,[/quote]
Yes, 4pm is rather late in the day.
 
[quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 8:50 AM\']In September 2001, yet another edition of the popular game was launched in syndication, emceed by comic Pat Bullard and with Tami Anderson as the new dealer. This failed on every level, and didn't even last beyond a full season.

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[/quote]
Not every level. It never failed to make me vomit.

[adamjk]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 09:27 AM\'][quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 09:50 AM\']
(replacing the late Body Language, another Mark Goodson Production),

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[/quote]

Actually, "Card Sharks" replaced "Press Your Luck" on the daytime schedule. It was PYL that replaced "Body Language".

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[/quote]

Press Your Luck didn't replace Body Language. Unless you are speaking in terms of a timeslot, because Body Language was on through 1986.

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 11:37 AM\'][Press Your Luck didn't replace Body Language. Unless you are speaking in terms of a timeslot,

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[/quote]
Yes, he was talking about the time slot.  When Body Language was canceled in 1986, Press Your Luck replaced it in the same slot.

because Body Language was on through 1986.

As was Press Your Luck.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 09:27 AM\'][quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 09:50 AM\']
(replacing the late Body Language, another Mark Goodson Production),

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[/quote]

Actually, "Card Sharks" replaced "Press Your Luck" on the daytime schedule. It was PYL that replaced "Body Language".

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[/quote]
It's deja vu all over again.  Let's turn back the clock to March 22, 2004, and a conversation you and I had regarding a similar vein (and God help me that Zach completely agreed with me :-) ):

What was a thread about $otC's cancellation (but didn't end that way).

And, no, this is not intended as sniping--just a little food for thought.

Doug

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 06:49 AM\']"I do want to thank the NBC staff and crew; these guys and girls have been sensational with us for the last 3 ½ years. Are grateful to all of you. We are grateful to you for your support that enabled us to [/i]have 3 ½ years of Card Sharks on NBC, but I especially want to thank these people who are standing behind me, and, for one of the few times in my hammy life, I am going to get the hell out of the way here now as they roll the credits by so you could take a good look at these wonderful people from Goodson-Todman and Card Sharks who have made this thing go. I love each and every one of them. For Card Sharks on NBC, goodbye, my friends!"

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If anyone has this clip in WAV or RealMedia or something small and sendible, I would love to see/hear it. Contact me off-board if you do. I have GMail iffn' you don't have a host. Thanks!

[GS Warehouse]

After watching that episode for the occasion, I have two observations:
1) The tempo is obviously much faster late in the run.  Of course, this was even more the case in the finale, because Jim wanted to get in as much game as possible, but here are the facts: eight toss-up questions were played in the series premiere in April 1978, but eleven questions were played on episode 864.
2) Michelle's last name sounded like "Jacob" to me.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Oct 23 2004, 07:10 PM\']but here are the facts: eight toss-up questions were played in the series premiere in April 1978, but eleven questions were played on episode 864.

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[/quote]
Those are potentially misleading, though. Consider that when the show was first on, especially the first show, Jim had to spend time explaining the full rules of the game (the whole "the object of the game is to work your way across the board by correctly predicting whether the next card is higher or lower than the one preceding it" thing), whereas by the end of 3.5 years, everyone had a good idea of how the game worked and Jim could get away with making offhand comments when something strategic (such as a freeze) would happen.

I think you would have a far more compelling argument if you took a show, say, halfway through the first year, after they settled down a little, and compared THAT to a show towards the end of the run. And you'd want them to be equivalent shows, as well...it's not fair to take a show that began and ended with Money Cards and compare it to one heavy in front game.

[Strikerz04]

If you take a look at it, by the turn of 1979, it was easy enough to play off 9 questions and at least one money cards round. By the time you got to the middle of 1980, Jim was speeding through, because the pace got faster (usually, the game would play 7 questions/ 2 money cards, or 9-11 questions and 1 money cards round). He would usually not explain the rules as much by '79; he just said "the best two out of three match" spiel.

You get closer to '81, then it gets even faster since the bonuses were thrown in; more time for more play...thats a mixed blessing, although who wouldn't more of "Card Sharks" (1978, of course)?