'Its Card Sharks'

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'davemackey\' date=\'Feb 24 2005, 08:14 PM\']BTW, the Ahmed thing was a Jeremy Soria reference to wrestler Ahmed Johnson, whom Jeremy thought Rafferty resembled.

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Resembled in voice, not looks, as per a 1998 post in a.t.g.-s:

"Ahmed Rafferty's games were cool. (We like to call him "Ahmed" because of his
sometimes undistinguishable Brooklyn accent which makes him sound like WWF
wrestler-emeritus Ahmed Johnson.) "

[trainman]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Feb 24 2005, 03:51 PM\']I don't think it ran in a lot of markets. I know it was very sporadic in the San Francisco market. Ergo, a game show that we didn't see much when it was FIRST run, never MIND on GSN, makes for a popular item.

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It never ran in Tampa, and I've seen it exactly once:  someone I was at Northwestern with appeared as a Teen Week contestant, and dug up a videotape of his episode for a public showing.  (I don't think I even knew of the existence of the Rafferty CS until then.)  I might have to at least have my TiVo record it every day, just to see if they ever get around to that particular ep.

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Feb 24 2005, 06:51 PM\'][quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Feb 24 2005, 04:44 PM\']However I have to ask: What is so special about the sydicated 'Card Sharks' with Bill Raferty? I have seen many, many posts asking for it in the past.
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I don't think it ran in a lot of markets. I know it was very sporadic in the San Francisco market. Ergo, a game show that we didn't see much when it was FIRST run, never MIND on GSN, makes for a popular item.

(For me, I like Card Sharks, but I think Eubanks is a grinning idiot. So to see the new Card Sharks with a competent host at the helm is refreshing.)

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You would have loved it in Rochester then... we had Rafferty's run instead of the Eubanks version.  Our then-CBS affiliate pre-empted the latter but the then-NBC affiliate carried the former.

[tvwxman]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Feb 24 2005, 09:52 PM\'][quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Feb 24 2005, 08:53 PM\'][quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Feb 24 2005, 06:51 PM\'](For me, I like Card Sharks, but I think Eubanks is a grinning idiot. So to see the new Card Sharks with a competent host at the helm is refreshing.)[/quote]I'm not sure this will satisfy that requirement. But, nevertheless, enjoy![/quote]
I always had a fondness for Rafferty as a host.  To me, he was the Jim Peck of the eighties.  Not very flashy, but efficient and workmanlike, and witty enough when he needed to be.  One of my favorite shows that it seems we never talk about is Every Second Counts, a game that really needed a talented host, especially for a bonus round that lived up to the title.

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You're right. I don't think he was a terrible, "Blake Emmons/Jim Caldwell" type of host...he was rough around the edges...his accent gave him sorta a 'working man' kind of host...definitely not from the Lyn Bolen Blowdried Hair school of Emcees.

I thought he tried to be funny too often on ESC, and was just wrong for BB...this was definitely his best show.

As a quiz host, I always thought his most solid effort was the "Run For the Money" pilot he did for Grundy.

[Don Howard]

My favorite Bill Rafferty moment came close to the end of the final edition of Blockbusters. After Rich gave the contestant plug for Classic Concentration which included a California number, Bill said, "If you want to, call collect".

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'dzinkin\' date=\'Feb 25 2005, 05:49 AM\']You would have loved it in Rochester then... we had Rafferty's run instead of the Eubanks version.  Our then-CBS affiliate pre-empted the latter but the then-NBC affiliate carried the former.

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Well, no, most of the time I'll take a grinning idiot over a crappy talk show. I just thought it was a stark contrast, watching Eubanks bumble through CS after Perry did such a superior job with it over at NBC.

[uncamark]

In Chicago, Bill Raferty's "CS" aired the year after it was produced on WPWR in a block with "Pyramid," "Matchmaker" and another show which escapes me right now.

I always liked Raferty as a host because he *wasn't* "Mr. Game Show."  I wouldn't exactly have him doing "J!", but "CS" was a kind of show that he fit into beautifully, especially since they were going for more comedy with that incarnation, like Brucie's UK version.

[Jamey Greek]

When I first saw Rafferty CS on GSN, I was hooked!  When I first got GSN on the Primestar in 1997.  Rafferty CS was still on the schedule, and I watched it every night, tell me, what time did Rafferty CS come on at the time? I know it was late at night, and came on after the B/W shows, man, I'd give anything, for that Killer lineup GSN had at the time!  

BTW, Did you know that the Rafferty Card Sharks came on in Orlando?  It came on WFTV Channel 9, in Fall of 1986, I may have been a baby then, but I collect TV Guides!  There was a daily Game Block consisting of J! at 4:00 Rafferty CS at 4:30 and Davidson HS at 5:00.

[Jumpondees]

I certainly will be tuned in to watch...

I've always known of the existance of the Rafferty version through reading the "Encyclopedia", and seeing all the posts talking about it from all of the "better-versed" members of this society, and I'm curious how he did with CS.

I do remember seeing a handful of eps of him doing Blockbusters, but nothing really stood out for me to remember him...So I have no clue if I'd like him or hate him...I guess he can't be any worse than that guy who did the last "gawd-awful" incarnation of CS.

[TonicBH]

[quote name=\'Jumpondees\' date=\'Feb 26 2005, 02:08 PM\']So I have no clue if I'd like him or hate him...I guess he can't be any worse than that guy who did the last "gawd-awful" incarnation of CS.

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I thought we had agreed to call the 2001 revival "Card Guppies" or something that doesn't resemble the original title, because it sure as hell isn't the same damn game.

Anyway, I've always wanted to see how Rafferty did Card Sharks. I always thought Perry was all game and no chit-chat, while Eubanks was the inverse of that. I hope Rafferty hits a "happy medium" or something like that.

[SplitSecond]

This is not a knock on Jim Perry at all, but I think he was seriously miscast for Card Sharks.  When you break the show down, it's basically wild guesses on how a survey responded to humorous or intriguing questions, followed by yelling "HIGHER!" if your card was lower than an 8, yelling "LOWER!" if your card was higher than an 8, and yelling the expletive of your choice if your card was an 8.  

Jim took the game way too seriously, and as a result, the show as a whole took itself way too seriously.

I do, however, share the apparent majority opinion here on Bob Eubanks's job with the show.  Yeech.

Bill Rafferty's New York-iness may turn some people off, but I think he was a good fit for the show.  Ironically, I found him to take Blockbusters a little more seriously than his venerable predecessor, which gave that game a desperately-needed faster pace, but took out some of the fun in the process.

[CarShark]

[quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 04:35 AM\']This is not a knock on Jim Perry at all, but I think he was seriously miscast for Card Sharks...Jim took the game way too seriously, and as a result, the show as a whole took itself way too seriously.

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I never really got that vibe. He would talk about the audience's reactions, or a contestant's playing history, how much he disliked Jacks, and the general absurdity of some of the questions. I mean, you can only be so serious when dealing with 100 pig owners. My favorite part was when he would insert a humorous comment right before the reveal. The thing is, he inserts his humor so fluidly that it doesn't interrupt the flow of the game, so I can see how some say it didn't exist. Everyone knows that Eubanks had humor, because he made a point to stop the game after every question to make it known, especially with the 10 person questions.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'TonicBH\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 03:59 AM\'][quote name=\'Jumpondees\' date=\'Feb 26 2005, 02:08 PM\']So I have no clue if I'd like him or hate him...I guess he can't be any worse than that guy who did the last "gawd-awful" incarnation of CS.

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I thought we had agreed to call the 2001 revival "Card Guppies" or something that doesn't resemble the original title, because it sure as hell isn't the same damn game.

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Card Guppies!!! Pick a day, pick your rules. It's a push, it's a bust, it's a push, it's a bust. Ya never know. On Card Guppies!!!

[tvwxman]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 12:19 PM\'][quote name=\'TonicBH\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 03:59 AM\'][quote name=\'Jumpondees\' date=\'Feb 26 2005, 02:08 PM\']So I have no clue if I'd like him or hate him...I guess he can't be any worse than that guy who did the last "gawd-awful" incarnation of CS.

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I thought we had agreed to call the 2001 revival "Card Guppies" or something that doesn't resemble the original title, because it sure as hell isn't the same damn game.

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Card Guppies!!! Pick a day, pick your rules. It's a push, it's a bust, it's a push, it's a bust. Ya never know. On Card Guppies!!!

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Call the cards...
High or Low!
We can't figure out,
if you'll win the dough...

Onnnnnnnnnnn Card Guppies!!!!!

[GS Warehouse]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 12:46 PM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 12:19 PM\']Card Guppies!!! Pick a day, pick your rules. It's a push, it's a bust, it's a push, it's a bust. Ya never know. On Card Guppies!!!

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Call the cards...
High or Low!
We can't figure out,
if you'll win the dough...

Onnnnnnnnnnn Card Guppies!!!!!

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[Ryan Seacrest]Matt...you do...

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not have the lowest number of votes.  Don, you're out.  Just us next week on Card Guppies Poem Idol.  Seacrest...out![/RS]