Another Hypothetical Situation...

[Dbacksfan12]

Follow this scenario....
You are appointed head of original programming.  Your boss tells you he wants you to:

Revamp 1 show from the vault
Select 1 "original" series from GSN to return
Choose a topic for a new reality series.

What would you pick, and why?

[gtbecbp]

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Apr 13 2005, 05:12 AM\']Follow this scenario....
You are appointed head of original programming.  Your boss tells you he wants you to:

Revamp 1 show from the vault
Select 1 "original" series from GSN to return
Choose a topic for a new reality series.

What would you pick, and why?

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I'd revive Blockbusters, because of the fun, versatile format.

I'd bring Russian Roulette back, even though I love Lingo too.  Russian Roulette was fun, and almost flawless.

This one is a toughie.  Perhaps a show about how GSN wrks?

Ben

[Jimmy Owen]

The reality show would be a competition of three teams who would vie to get a game show revival on the air.  If I could lure them out of their retirement I would have three "mentors:" Monty Hall, Merv Griffin and Chuck Barris.  The teams would have to revamp the show from the ground up, voting off members of the team.....etc.  The winning revival concept would get a 6 week run on GSN, more if it catches fire.

Personally, I'd revive "Jackpot!" (riddle version) or "Chain Reaction."
 

Original I would renew would be "Lingo," the other originals are too trendy.

[itiparanoid13]

I'm going to have to agree with Jackpot for the vault one.  From what I've seen of that show, it's very entertaining and could possibly work.

I'm obviously going to have to go with Russian Roulette, basically because it seems like the format for that show is completely done.  Lingo still has some work to do IMO.

[Ian Wallis]

I'd probably avoid "Jackpot", because the original I was thinking of bringing back would be "Hollywood Showdown".  I always thought it was one of GSN's best efforts.

[dmota104]

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Apr 13 2005, 05:12 AM\']Follow this scenario....
You are appointed head of original programming.  Your boss tells you he wants you to:

Revamp 1 show from the vault
Select 1 "original" series from GSN to return
Choose a topic for a new reality series.

What would you pick, and why?

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Revamp: Treasure Hunt.  Yes, you don't need brains to win here.  But it remains one of Geoff Edwards' best efforts.

Original to return: I'd vote for "Lingo" -- but reportedly a 4th season is in the work.  If that does come to fruition, bring back "Hollywood Showdown".  It was a great revival of "Jackpot".

Reality series: Since televised blackjack and poker tournaments have been the best of GSN's original programs over the last year (though compared to "Fake-A-Date", "Vegas Weddings Unveiled" and "Kenny vs. Spenny", that ain't sayin' much), why not a reality series following the days in the life of a professional gambler?  Title "The Real Deal", it doesn't have to follow one specific player throughtout the series.  One week, a profile of Evelyn Ng, a poker player.  The next episode, "Hollywood" Dave Stann, flamboyant blackjack player who served as dealer on "Celebrity Blackjack".

[Terry K]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Apr 13 2005, 10:11 AM\']I'd probably avoid "Jackpot", because the original I was thinking of bringing back would be "Hollywood Showdown".  I always thought it was one of GSN's best efforts.

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Well, Jackpot & Hollywood Showdown are so similar to each other that I'd probably go for a different show entirely.  HShowdown was one of the best efforts GSN had because it was produced by the folks who did Jackpot (for all practical purposes)

As for a GSN original, I'd like to see Inquisition come back.  It had a very intriguing format, and would work very well, in my opinion.  (actually I'd get George Gray to host it, I think he did a decent job on TWL)

For a GSN library show...

How about Pyramid?  We know it got decent ratings, its a familiar brand, and it could be done rather inexpensively.  Look at its prizes.  The average prize giveaway is only $2-3k a show (including bonuses and so on).  Rarely does anyone hit the 10 or 25K, so it could be done with a minimal amount of expense.  Donny Osmond is still available, and willing to to do it.  

Or better yet bring Win Ben Stein's money back!  (See below)

For my reality show, how about a version of the Apprentice to find Ben's new sidekick for the above mentioned revival of WBSM.  Ben would get the honour every episode of kicking off one of the people until you Win Ben Stein's job!

[Terry K]

[quote name=\'dmota104\' date=\'Apr 13 2005, 10:29 AM\']

Original to return: I'd vote for "Lingo" -- but reportedly a 4th season is in the work.  If that does come to fruition, bring back "Hollywood Showdown".  It was a great revival of "Jackpot".

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Just lose the blonde eye candy.  She adds NOTHING to the show and is annoying at best.  Chuck doesn't even look comfortable with her on the set.  (Kinda reminds you of the Ludden ABC Password days, where Allen was very uncomfortable with the format.  He loosened up a LOT on P+ because it was password the way it was meant to be played!)
 
Lingo worked because it was SIMPLE.  

Every one of GSN's 'good' originals was such because the formats were simple and something people could play along with.  (Whammy is in a different league for obvious reasons)

Lingo is a nice play-along game that everyone can get the idea of fast.  I'd like to see Lingo come back, but again with out the annoyance of that eye candy.

I think we'll see a season 4 of Lingo, all I can hope is GSN gets smart and just brings Chuck back alone.

[BrandonFG]

Revamp: TJW...and if it succeeds, try to get it into syndication, and air reruns on GSN.

Original: Russian Roulette, bring back the five-in-60 seconds bonus round. I liked the trickyness (sp?) of the 5 questions. I'd give the set a makeover, though. The Millionaire look was out-of-style before RR even debuted.

Reality: Kinda like Jimmy's idea, and kinda like Project: Greenlight. Find some qualified producers to check out the ideas, and say why the format is either flawed or just plain bad. Merv Griffin would be a good judge. And if he doesn't mind the low pay, get Chris Lemon as a judge too...I think we still have some Free-4-All DVDs. ;-)

[TLEberle]

Something for Mark to clarify, then.  What's the difference between 'revamp' and 'revive'?  For revive, silly as it sounds, I always enjoyed "Inquizition."  Maybe make the payoff based on number of answers right, or something.  I liked the simplicity of it.

For 'reality' series, I'd like to see "Studio 7" get another try.  Pat Kiernan was great as host, and the format is excellent.  Drop the payoff to $7,000, and you have a weekly show.  Tournament? Sure, winner gets $77,000, if you want to go that way.  I like the idea of a contest where the winner wins because he or she was smart, as opposed to getting people to vote the other guy out.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Apr 13 2005, 12:19 PM\']Something for Mark to clarify, then.  What's the difference between 'revamp' and 'revive'?  For revive, silly as it sounds, I always enjoyed "Inquizition."  Maybe make the payoff based on number of answers right, or something.  I liked the simplicity of it.

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I don't wanna speak for Mark and be wrong, but I interpreted it to mean revive any non-original show in GSN's vault. So I guess Inquizition could be your GSN original to bring back.

[TLEberle]

So, in that case, it would be two revivals then...

If that's the case, then this is the easiest question ever.  "Password" or "Password Plus."  I do have a soft spot for the hexagon battlefield of Blockbusters, so it would be a close third.

[Blanquepage]

I'd definitely enjoy seeing a Break the Bank revival.
As for the GSN original, believe it or not, I'd actually like to see Faux Pause return. It was a cute way to liven up mediocre shows which we'll probably never see anyway like Camouflage and All About the Opposite Sex.

--Jamie

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Fiono Coyne\' date=\'Apr 13 2005, 02:27 PM\']I'd definitely enjoy seeing a Break the Bank revival.
As for the GSN original, believe it or not, I'd actually like to see Faux Pause return. It was a cute way to liven up mediocre shows which we'll probably never see anyway like Camouflage and All About the Opposite Sex.

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Just make sure you get people who are actually funny doing it this time.  Perhaps Mike Nelson or Joel Hogdson would like to mock bad game shows the way they mocked bad movies.

[michaellinn]

My choice for revamped show would be "Chain Reaction." (I assume GSN has it in the vault?) Anyway, I watched this show when it was on originally in 1980 with Bill Cullen as the host. I especially enjoyed the bonus round.

My choice for GSN original would be "Russian Roulette." I do like Fostergray's suggestion of giving the set a make-over. It looked too "Millionaire"-ish. I'd like to see it in a different style. I like most word game shows, but "Lingo" just doesn't hold my interest as much as I would like it to, so I don't care if there's a Season 4 or not.

Reality series...I'm not a huge fan of those. I enjoy the old classic game shows, so maybe some kind of reality series based on those, such as a documentary on the classic game shows.