Things Change

That argument seems to be continuing at the forums.

And if you look at past numbers, classics did well on weekends too. From the link classics on Saturday averaged 304K. All four of them.

Here are the numbers of those older shows in the morning

9:00am - Match Game SYN - 206K
9:30am - Password Plus - 350K
10:00am - Super Password - 325K
10:30am - Family Feud (Dawson) - 335K

I guess those were good numbers, but that overall was a pretty good week of ratings.

Douglas continued to post ratings over the summer of 2009, and they (the older shows) began to go down a little bit. He posted the last weeks in August 2009. Then in November 2009, all the old shows were eliminated from weekends, and he began to post again in January 2010, and has posted a lot since then (except from January 2011-April 2011) Obviously since August 2009-November 2009, the older shows obviously bombed in ratings, which is why they were replaced. I was sad to see Password Plus leave in November 2009, but it obviously had a good run, then dwindled.

Older shows now get a good number once in a while, but they're not that great. The novelty is obviously wearing off. Time to move on.

Did she say that on purpose

Another recent GSN discussion

At the end of the episode that aired Monday August 29 at 11:00 AM ET, Gene posed the question "Johnny Olson's lovely wife couldn't get any sleep last night because Johnny kept saying BLANK!"

After the well-to-do contestant gave her answer "COME ON DOWN" Gene prompted Johnny to say the line, whereupon Gary had a rare entertaining moment on the show when he pretended to be an excited Price is Right contestant.

Scoey wasn't thinking of Johnny's extremely famous catchphrase, but his answer of "Wake Up" at least made some sense. Brett and Fannie who should know better came up with the answers "Hi There!" and "Are You Happy?" respectively. All three got the boos they richly deserved. (Of course, Gary and Richard answered correctly.)

My view Brett and Fannie sabotaged a contestant they didn't like.

Here's my response:

Well it is Brett we're talking about. I'm sorry but Scoey was just plain stupid at times, and this was no exception. Who knows, but it's one of my favorite moments. Here is the moment. It's one of my favorites.

Don't Believe it When They Say it's Over

I am a big fan of the Australian rock band The Church. The band started in 1980. This was one of their first songs, and it's one of my favorites. Too Fast For You. That was a great song IMO. Really great song, well written out. However Kilbey really didn't care for it that much. Oh well, I guess he's his biggest critic. I however enjoyed it. Also funny to see Richard Ploog jump over the drums. Enjoy

A New Season

Ah yes, A New Season was one of my favorite Peter Koppes songs from the band The Church. But many game shows will experience this next month. Here is what to see.

Monday September 5th - Millionaire with Meredith Viera

Monday September 12th - Family Feud with Steve Harvey, in Atlanta Georgia

Monday September 19th - Wheel of Fortune with Pat Sajak, and new Announcer Jim Thornton
Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek
Let's Make a Deal with Wayne Brady
The Price is Right with Drew Carey and George Gray's first full season as an announcer.

Hope you enjoy them. I'll post reviews for most of them, except Millionaire. I will be returning from Idaho.

Cancelled

Well, I personally enjoyed Drew Carey's Imrpov-A-Ganza which debuted April 11, 2011. But the remainder of the GSN audience didn't like it. Oh well, the ratings sucked, both in primetime, latenights, and weekend afternoons. Too bad, I enjoyed this Whose Line Revival.

Love Triangle debuted the same day Improv did. I saw one episode and it never saw my TV again, unless I accidently left it on. Couldn't stand it, Wendy Williams was annoying, and the concept just sucked.

1 vs. 100 with Carrie Ann Inaba is probably cancelled. In late July she tweeted she would not be returning to host the show. I don't know if they will find another host, but who knows. I wouldn't mind seeing Bob Saget host, a live mob, and a $100,000 top prize. I enjoyed Carrie Ann. The pre-taped mob and the $50,000 didn't seem right. Especially the $50,000. 1 vs. 100 was a hard game, and $50,000 is simply not worth it.

And Catch-21 is also probably done for.

But the network will probably continue to air Newlywed Game with Sherri Shepherd, Baggage with Jerry Springer, and Lingo with Bill Engvall.

GSN Schedule Worries

Well, with the new schedule changes happening today, I've been beginning to worry about some things. Here is what I wrote:

As I said earlier, I'm very excited for this schedule, and will enjoy it.

But, I don't see it lasting long. Why?!? Here's why:

Recently ratings have been sucking. Those bombs that made it suck are almost gone. However, shows like Engvall Lingo and Sherri's Newlywed Game have done rather well, even by recent standards. Engvall's Lingo has produced some good ratings. What does that mean? R-E-N-E-W. It's probably gonna get a second season, whether you like it or not, it's probably gonna happen. They'll tape Engvall's second season. Where to put it? In Primetime, probably to replace Regis. Regis will probably replace the Pyramid hour. They'd probably give it an afternoon showing or rerun his first season, so Whammy! would be cut back to weekends, or moved to daytime, meaning, an older show would be the sacrificial lamb. Hey, I expect Sherri to get another season. That has to go somewhere too. This change is probably a temporary thing until they're ready to debut new seasons of high-rated originals.

Another thing. I'm worried Regis might not do very well. Face it, the show is 10 years old. Most viewers think older=bad. It got 435K on that marathon. But, because it's on everynight, it could bomb. And as I said, Engvall will probably be back.

Also, the older shows are losing some appeal, (new episodes probably wouldn't help). I remeber watching Match Game last September and thinking "Dayum, this show is REALLY old. They're just losing appeal. I'd expect them gone pretty soon. Hey, maybe Whammy! And Who Wants To Be a Millionaire will turn up in the morning when new episodes of the originals arrive.

Well, you have to expect with a post like this, you'll receive criticism. Here is what a few posters said:

Whatever.

They have figured out that those high-cost originals haven't been delivering, for the most part...think Drew, Wendy, and Poker, in particular. I would expect to see classics airing from 8-2, and a shakeup in late night. I would be willing to bet that Password will return in some form in the next 6-12 months. We might even see MGPM at some point, since we know they more than likely have the rights to air it. That leaves plenty of time for the newer shows in the evenings, where they belong. Given that they've had three shows debut and BOMB in the last year or so, they may want to cut their losses and pick up some newer acquisitions, like Harvey Feud.

This is what I have been saying to you for months. Why do you think MG is "losing appeal" ? You see the same ep's over and over. Twice a day. Yes, it becomes "oh , yeah...funny. Saw that"....or " I just saw this a few weeks ago ( when it was actually months)." But as far as losing appeal, the ratings for MG a few months ago...not September....were pretty darn good . 300 plus 11 AM for a bit. That isn't losing appeal. BTW, old show 25K Pyramid certainly hasn't lost viewers. Just the opposite, in fact.

One thing I don't get with you. Over and over, you keep posting "be glad you get MG, stop complaining about the same ep's..."But now, you are saying you think MG has lost its appeal since "LAST SEPT..". That is sort of contradictory.....please explain.

To try and back my theory up, I posted some hourly averages. The daytime ratings have not been doing too well. Maybe that was a bad week, who knows.

Online Pick of the Week (8/28) - Match Game PM

Brandon from the GSN Forums in his blog which he unfortunately no longer posts at had an online pick of the week. I will also do so. Here is an episode from December 1976 of Match Game PM. It features Bob Barker. It is a good episode, and the CBS week was pretty good too. Well, enjoy Part 2 and Part 3. Match Game PM, My Online pick of the week.

I think Engvall is Great

I've seen various posts on the GSN forums. One common subject is the new Lingo with Bill Engvall. A few people on the boards such as I enjoy him and think he's a great host. Most of them though complain about him saying he sucks, and the show now sucks and complaining that his name is not Chuck Woolery. Engvall usually does well in GSN ratings, still trying to figure out how Bill got 1-a-day, but it will be good to see it cutdown. I prefer Bill over the Chuck & Shandi days, but Chuck's solo days were the best. Can't wait to see a second season.

Arnold's Modern Life

According to Entertainment weekly, The 90's are All That Block on Teen Nick will shaken up a little bit. Kenan and Kel and All That remain on the lineup, but Doug and Clarissa Explains it All leave. I really enjoyed Doug and it was nice to see that again. However Clarissa Explains it All, that show was awful. Sorry but it was just dumb, although she did have the looks.

Replacing them, Hey Arnold, and Rocko's Modern Life. I've never seen Rocko's Modern Life, but I'll give it a shot. Seeing Hey Arnold back makes me happy, I remember watching it while I was young. Although the 90's block isn't a ratings winner.

No Longer Exists

Some information regarding the status of the 1980's Game Show $ale of the Century from a poster at GSN buzz

I found out on G-R.net a week or two ago that Mitt Dawson, a former NBC staffer, who name is listed in the closing credits to $ale of the Century (I think?), has a YouTube account, and I was informed by a G-R.net user that he got a reply from Mitt Dawson on YouTube, and found out that the entire NBC run - except for the final 6 to 7 months of the run - are erased and no longer exist. He did mention, however, that the entire syndicated run is still intact and is held in the Fremantle vault to this day, as are the surviving NBC episodes from 1988 right to the 1989 finale (though USA Network only aired up to March 21, 1989 - the Tuesday of the show's final week - before advancing to the entire syndicated run).

Mitt Dawson has at least a couple of full episodes of $ale of the Century uploaded to YouTube - one of them being Christmas 1988, and another being the 1989 finale (and better quality than that of Michael Tiller's it seems!).

BTW, just to let you know, another user did upload a 1983 episode to YouTube that is in far-more superior quality and it does not exist on the trading circuit, as far as I know.

Older Game Shows I Miss

On the GSN forums, there was a thread titled "Classics You Miss Most"

Here is what I Miss

• Password Plus
• Blockbusters
• Wheel of Fortune
• Press Your Luck
• Super Password
• I've Got A Secret
• Password

As for shows that will never see the light of day again

• Double Dare
• Now You See it
• Body Language
• Trivia Trap
• Let's Make a Deal
• Tattletales

Happy Birthday

Yesterday in the game show world, 2 marvelous hosts celebrated birthdays. Monty Hall who hosted Let's Make a Deal for years and other shows such as Beat the Clock and other small duds that didn't do well turned 90 yesterday. I really enjoyed Monty's hosting of LMAD and Beat the Clock. He is great and I'm glad he's still around. Don't know how he's doing but last I heard he was doing great.

And Regis Philbin of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire fame turned 80. I've enjoyed Regis' hosting. Although most people on the GSN boards hate him, I love him. Glad to still see him on reruns on GSN in Millionaire and Million Dollar Password.

Happy Birthday to both of you and many more.

August 29th GSN Schedule Changes

Well, last time I went camping for a week earlier this month and Jeopardy! returns to GSN. I go to that same place for a few days and see another good change. This schedule change is full of things I thought would never happen. Here they are

2:30pm - 1 vs. 100 (Inaba) (Replaces Chain Reaction)
3:00pm - Whammy! (Replaces Engvall Lingo)
3:30pm - Chain Reaction (Replaces 1 vs. 100)
6:00pm - Lingo (Engvall) (Replaces Baggage)
6:30pm - Baggage (Replaces Newlywed Game)
7:00pm - The Newlywed Game (Replaces Love Triangle)
8:00pm - Who Wants To Be a Millionaire (Replaces Engvall Lingo)
9:00pm - Deal or No Deal (Replaces Newlywed Game)
11:00pm - The Newlywed Game (Replaces Engvall Lingo)
11:30pm - Baggage (Replaces Improv-A-Ganza)
2:00am - The $25,000 Pyramid (Replaces Engvall Lingo)
2:30pm - The $100,000 Pyramid (Replaces Improv-A-Ganza)


My thoughts;

• Interesting to see Engvall get cutback to 1-a-day. Also interesting to see Sherri out of primetime.
• Improv getting cut is no surprise. Baggage getting a 4-a-day is interesting too.
• Whammy! Back in afternoons is a pleasant surprise.
• Regis in Primetime is Awesome!!! Unexpected buy great. Howie is in Primetime too. Primetime seems perfect!
• Pyramid in Latenights is also good. Didn't expect to see it again, especially the hour. Nice!!

Maybe weekends will get some changes.

The PDF's were updated. $100,000 Pyramid will start at episode #399, which aired in October 1987.

O'Hurley will air Saturdays at 4:00pm instead of Sherriwed. Love Triangle remains

Sundays also see some changes

2:00pm - Deal or No Deal SYN (Replaces Engvall Lingo)
8:00pm - Deal or No Deal (Replaces Improv-A-Ganza)
11:00pm - Catch-21 (Replaces (Improv-A-Ganza)
11:30pm - Chain Reaction (Replaces Improv-A-Ganza)

Online Pick of the Week (8/21) - Know Your Stars

With All That now airing on TeenNick, I look back to the relaunch era episodes and came across the Know Your Stars Portion. Here is Jamie Lynn Spears segment. The 2nd one.

Jamie Lynn Spears Know Your Stars. My online pick of the week.

Online Pick of the Week (8/14) - Tear it All Away

Love, Love Love The Church. One of the best bands ever. Here is a hit song from their debut album, Of Skins and Heart. Steve really liked this song. I like it too, the drums guitar, and bass, everything fell into place quite well. Glad they made a video out of it. Also loved Marty's red jacket. Enjoy Tear it All Away my online pick of the week.

Online Pick of the Week (8/7) - The New $25,000 Pyramid

One of the greats is The $25,000 Pyramid from the 1980's. This 1983 episode features Markie Post and Richard Kline. You've probably seen the opening of it before. It's one of the first episodes with the flashback intros, featuring that one where Dick Clark nearly gets kicked in the face lol. But it's a good episode, and it's not in GSN's current lease so, there you go.

The New $25,000 Pyramid my online pick of the week.

Big (And I Mean Big) Money Sunday

I guess Drew ain't doin so hot? Wait, I already knew that. I guess this is a marathon they're trying this Sunday

7:00pm - Deal or No Deal
8:00pm - Who Wants To Be a Millionaire
9:00pm - Million Dollar Password
10:00pm - Power of 10
11:00pm - 1 vs. 100 (Saget)

Nice! That could do good ratings. Baggage I guess gets a marathon on the 21st

I'll Take GSN Schedule Changes for $1,000 Alex

Just got back from camping for a week. Good times. Now to this thing which is new to me. Seems as if July was a barren month for schedule changes. So we're due for another one. Right? Correct. Apparently having started today, Match Game is gone off the weekend schedule at 9am. Oh well, it was early 75 so it's not a big loss. Taking its place. Engvall Lingo, Improv, Tattletales? Nope. Jeopardy! will take its place. Nice, even if it is the 2005-2006 season, who cares? If you enjoy Jeopardy! than tune in Weekend mornings.

Baggage gets 5:30pm replacing Inaba. Syndie Deal or No Deal gets 6:00pm.

Also Karn Feud will air at 8:00pm and O'Hurley at 9:00pm on Saturdays. Almost out Improv.

And Deal or No Deal gets weekdays at 5:00pm. Interesting. I like these changes.