The game show thread

[mr3urious]

This is a thread made specifically to talk about game shows, good or bad, past or present.

I've been watching The Price is Right and Let's Make a Deal more often recently, as I've been busy staying home to hunt for jobs. Drew Carey and Wayne Brady are no Bob Barker and Monty Hall, but they have made their respective shows into their own, Drew especially. I've even enjoyed ABC's revivals of The $100,000 Pyramid and Match Game, and I especially love how they took elements from the best-known versions of those shows in terms of set design and gameplay, while still giving them their own identity.

Wheel of Fortune is another show I can always count on. While it has changed a lot since it debuted over four decades ago, the gameplay has largely remained intact. Compared to its sister show Jeopardy!, I feel like I can really make a killing on that show, as I've watched it long enough to know all the tricks and strategies.

As for the opposite side of the spectrum (that is admittedly more fun to talk about), I once made a thread on perhaps the worst """"game show"""" ever made called Shoppers Casino, and I still stand by those words. Awful gameplay, awful host, awful production values, and awful prizes. It must be seen to be believed.

http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/...ful-game-show-of-all-time.55736/#post-1071473

Game Show Garbage is also a great site to see some of the worst that game shows have to offer. Shoppers Casino is even covered there.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

ABC is bringing back primetime game shows for the summer. My mother's been watching the new version of The Match Game. I actually enjoy this version a lot more than the original since most of the panelists seem more lively and less bored than the originals. Yesterday Jack McBryer was there, I always like him.
I thought Alec Baldwin as the host was a bit of a strange decision at first, but I actually think he does a pretty good job. Maybe this is what he should be doing instead of acting.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

Does Whose Line Is It Anyway count?

 

[mr3urious]

Does Whose Line Is It Anyway count?

I'd say it's a semi-example.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

I'd say it's a semi-example.

Okay. Thank you.

 

[fuzzygobo]

I love old game shows from the Seventies. Back when Bob Barker's hair was dark (he's 94 and still kicking!),

Match Game was fun, with Charles Nelson Reilly, Richard Dawson and the ubiquitous Betty White. The coolest part of the show, they used to tape a week's worth of shows in one day. Between shows, the stars would change clothes, and have a few drinks. So when Friday's show rolled around, some of them were stinking fall down sheet-faced drunk. Fun to watch, but glad you didn't have to clean up after them.

The best 70's game was The New Treasure Hunt. Geoff Edwards hosted. A contestant picked one of 30 boxes. They could win cars, furs, boats, trips, or the grand prize, 25 thousand dollars (that's like 150K today). Or a few clunks (booby prizes).
Geoff was a master of building suspense. He could string people along, make them squirm.
Make them sweat. It was borderline torture. Some boxes had a twist. The contestant might think she won an empty oil can, but the oil is in the engine of your BRAND NEW CAR!!!!!
Pure gold.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

I love old game shows from the Seventies. Back when Bob Barker's hair was dark (he's 94 and still kicking!),

Match Game was fun, with Charges Nelson Reilly, Richard Dawson and the ubiquitous Betty White. The coolest part of the show, they used to tape a week's worth of shows in one day. Between shows, the stars would change clothes, and have a few drinks. So when Friday's show rolled around, some of them were stinking fall down sheet-faced drunk. Fun to watch, but glad you didn't have to clean up after them.

The best 70's game was The New Treasure Hunt. Geoff Edwards hosted. A contestant picked one of 30 boxes. They could win cars, furs, boats, trips, or the grand prize, 25 thousand dollars (that's like 150K today). Or a few clunks (booby prizes).
Geoff was a master of building suspense. He could string people along, make them squirm.
Make them sweat. It was borderline torture. Some boxes had a twist. The contestant might think she won an empty oil can, but the oil is in the engine of your BRAND NEW CAR!!!!!
Pure gold.

Both of my parents love old game shows as well especially the old Family Feud with Richard Dawson.

 

[charlietheowl]

The Price is Right is hands down the best game show of all time. Drew Carey's doing a good job now, but Bob Barker's days were the peak for the show and I don't think there's anyone out there who would doubt it. I'm glad there are tons of old episodes on YouTube, it's fun to see him and the show at its peak (in my opinion, from 1987-1990 is the show's absolute best, but anything from 1972 to 2000 or so is top-notch).

 

[Schfifty]

The Price is Right is hands down the best game show of all time. Drew Carey's doing a good job now, but Bob Barker's days were the peak for the show and I don't think there's anyone out there who would doubt it. I'm glad there are tons of old episodes on YouTube, it's fun to see him and the show at its peak (in my opinion, from 1987-1990 is the show's absolute best, but anything from 1972 to 2000 or so is top-notch).

As some fans of the show would say, Bob was the G.O.A.T (a.k.a. the greatest MC of all time!). Drew's no Bob Barker, but he's improved vastly ever since he started almost a decade ago. He does have his moments where his comedian persona slips in, but in general he's become a great host on the show. George Gray's pretty good as well, but often times he gets a bit goofy and wacky on air, and tends to exaggerate his build-ups and descriptions of the prizes (i.e. speak in a foreign accent for prizes manufactured outside the US). I kinda miss the classiness Johnny Olson and Rod Roddy had, but George has been okay for the last five years.

You've also gotta love and appreciate the returns Bob makes to the set occasionally. Alas he didn't return last season, but he'll probably make another special appearance the upcoming 45th season, I hope!

As for the opposite side of the spectrum (that is admittedly more fun to talk about), I once made a thread on perhaps the worst """"game show"""" ever made called Shoppers Casino, and I still stand by those words. Awful gameplay, awful host, awful production values, and awful prizes. It must be seen to be believed.

Shopper's Casino is bad, but don't get me started on Thousand Dollar Bee. That show could've had potential, but its lackluster production values, host, format and cheesy quality all contributed to its bad reputation. I wish more videos existed of it online, quite frankly, as there's only two videos floating around.

 

[Drtooth]

Shopper's Casino is bad, but don't get me started on Thousand Dollar Bee. That show could've had potential, but its lackluster production values, host, format and cheesy quality all contributed to its bad reputation. I wish more videos existed of it online, quite frankly, as there's only two videos floating around.

Thousand Dollar Bee, at the very least, has one thing over Shopper's Casino.

Shopper's Casino is a scaaaaaaaaam. It's a fake show made to sell viewers on a pyramid scheme. Luckily no one really fell for it, but it's terrifying to think that's how bad infomercials get. Sure, it's not quite the Kevin Trudeau level of con artistry, but a fake game show designed to trick viewers into thinking this fly by night organization was legit? Say what you will about those 1950's game show scandals that were so bad they made a movie about them, that was all just manipulation to keep viewers in (an entire genre of programming exists on that model these days). This was to get the Fred Flintstone type get rich quickers to give the last of their money to be buried in debt selling junk and toys that retail for much lower at brick and mortar stores.

The only reason this didn't become a scandal (at least a known one) was that it came and went without any fanfare either way, and possibly because it looked so shady it wasn't fooling anyone.