Looking Back Again

Well, this is the first New Year's Eve without Dick Clark. Kind of sad. GSN is airing a day long marathon of Pyramid and most of it is dedicated to Dick Clark. I have to say, my favorite thing he did was Pyramid. It is also one of my favorite shows. I have to say Dick made the show good, and just fit. I mean anyone could do it, but Dick fit best, I don't know why. Also one of my favorite formats ever.

Sad to believe we lost Dick Clark last April. Well, we miss him, and his legacy lives on. I also think it's fitting that GSN is airing this on the day he made famous.

The countdown isn't going to be the same. It hasn't been the same, and it was painful to watch him, but he was improving. We miss you. I'll try and catch the special tonight. Until then, I'm going to enjoy some Pyramid today, both for Dick Clark, and the game.

The Convy Pilot

Well, ain't that a flattering picture :p. Well, I received a Christmas gift this year. And it was amazing. Of all the worldly things, it would be seeing the 1989 Match Game pilot hosted by Bert Convy. And I'm going to say WOW! Bert was a great panelist on Match Game throughout the Gene Rayburn tenure, always funny, and as the host of Tattletales he was splendid. Super Password and Win, Lose or Draw he handled well with class. This though after it was over made me think of what could've been. I didn't ever have a problem with Ross Shafer, but this is how the revival should've been. Really a huge shame that Bert got sick, and eventually passed. He was almost as good as Rayburn (not better though, just because Rayburn permanently holds the title). No Match-Up is OK. The celebs were amazing. This was a real treat to see for a marathon. Shame Bert wasn't available the show could've lasted longer than a year. Bert passed away 3 days after the 1990-1991 run ended.

Thank you GSN for giving us something we've been longing for.

Going Back Already

Well, I hope you had a good holiday. I enjoyed yesterdays Match Game marathon. Seeing the Convy pilot was a treat. Well, two shows that returned to the lineup in October only leased 50 episodes. Starting Friday, both Jim Perry's Card Sharks and Press Your Luck cycle back to their respective starts, where they started in October.

Well, I'm disappointed, as I was looking forward to seeing more 1983-1984 shows or Press Your Luck and certain episodes of Card Sharks. But it's not meant to be at this time I guess. I mean, I'm grateful for a couple reasons. One, they aired Press Your Luck and 1983 episodes for that mattered, which have never aired on the network, ever, or rerun for several years. Plus I thought the show would never return after it was pulled a few years ago. So seeing these shows were cool, although the first couple weeks were kind of bland, so that's a little disappointing. At least the show holds on.

Plus, also shows like Dick Clark's Pyramid, Card Sharks, Press Your Luck , and Password are on the schedule at the same time. Put stuff like Card Sharks and Password or Dick Clark's Pyramid and Press Your Luck haven't been seen on together for years, so it's been kind of cool. Oh well, life moves on, and I still haven't seen all of the episodes they've leased. Plus the network still has done some cool things.

A Happy Holiday

Well, with GSN's Holiday Marathon list, I thought I'd return to comment on my favorite one. The Christmas Day marathon filled with Match Game. However, it will only feature 1 episode of 74 :) I'll post the lineup, and my thoughts about each any every episode. The marathon will air from 8:00am ET-5:00pmET.

The lineup is as follows. My Commentary is underlined

8:00am - The Match Game, 1962 Pilot episode with Peggy Cass & Peter Lind Hayes. Well, that's awesome, I've only seen a few parts on Youtube. I understand it will probably be not as exciting as other episodes, but it beats Algebra 2 any day.
8:30am - The Match Game, July 28, 1964 episode with Jayne Mansfield & Orson Bean. I've only seen 1 other episode of the 1960's version. And that was an All*Star episode. So I'm looking forward to this.
9:00am - Match Game, 1973 Pilot with Bert Convy, Arlene Francis, Jack Klugman, Jo Ann Pflug, RD, BW. Yeah, this is really awesome. I truly mean it. I'm very excited to see the beginnings of one of my favorite TV shows.
9:30am - Match Game 73. Premiere episode with Michael Landon, VL, Jack Klugman, Jo Ann Pflug, RD, Anita Gillette. Been awhile since this has been on the network, so this will be nice to see again. Especially for those who just recently started watching
10:00am - Match Game 73, First episode with Brett & Charles, #11, with Bert Convy, Jaye P. Morgan, CNR, BS, RD, BW So cool, this is a classic episode, something that would start something great :)
10:30am - Match Game 74, #158 with Steve Allen, BS, CNR, FF, RD, Kaye Ballard. This was the first time boobs was used for an answer, so, yeah it's a classic, even though GSN has aired it a lot lately.
11:00am - Match Game PM, #3, with William Shatner, BS, CNR, Lee Merewether, RD, JB. This is a good episode. Should be fun to watch again
11:30am - Match Game 76, #827 with Avery Schrieber, BS, CNR, Nancy Kulp, RD, JB. Another classic, hasn't been seen for years.
12:00pm - Match Game 77, #972, with Dick Smothers, BS, CNR, Meg Bennett, RD, FF Other reports are reporting New Years Eve 1976. We'll see, either way, I've probably never seen them
12:30pm - Maych Game 77 #1005, with Edward Asner, BS, CNR, DS, RD, PD You know, this episode kind of pissed me off. I mean the riot was funny, but the judge's decision was completely Back Asswards (Yeah I said that right). Hey better than nothing :)
1:00pm - Match Game 78, #1228, with David Doyle, BS, CNR, EJ, RD, BW. Classic episode with classic moment, nuff said
1:30pm - Match Game PM, #151, with Kukla & Ollie, BS, CNR, Eva Gabor, Arte Johnson, Another classic, one of my favorites.
2:00pm - Match Game SYN, 1979, with Foster Brooks, BS, CNR, Sarah Purcll, Scoey Mitchlll, FF Should be interesting to see again
2:30pm - Match Game SYN, 1980, with Charles Siebert, BS, CNR, Phyllis Davis, Robert Donner, MW I Think I know this one, or maybe I don't :)
3:00pm - Match Game SYN, Finale of the 1973-1982 version featuring Skip Stephenson, BS, CNR, Melinda O. Fee, MS, BW Unnanounced, but Dawson is mentioned :)
3:30pm - Match Game 90, #41 with Bill Kirchenbauer, BS, CNR, VL, Ronn Lucas, Deborah Tranelli Awesome, an MG90 episode with Brett. I do love Ronn Lucas
4:00pm - Match Game 98, with Nell Carter, George Hamilton, Judy Tenuta, Rondell Sherdian, VL This is the black licorice flavor in the marathon. Oh well, beats Dog Eat Dog.
4:30pm - Match Game 90 Pilot with Bert Convy Hosting. Um, wow, DVR set.

This looks to be a good marathon.

Memories

I think Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday. Nah, that's Christmas. So it's Number 2. I think back to 5 Years ago tomorrow, as I will be on the coast hiking. I think back to the Viewer's Choice Marathon GSN did back in 2007. Happened around Thanksgiving. This was a few months before I joined the boards. Users voted for their favorite shows. Being that most of them were old fans, all old shows made the lineup. Smelling the turkey gives me memories of rare shows that never get time on the network. One of these shows is Bullseye.  A show that was a combination of Tic Tac Dough and The Joker's Wild that was hosted by Jim Lange. Very good I might add, good music, actually good premise. Jim was always confident, and, well.. I enjoyed it. Not because it's old, but because it's good. Plus the Celebrity format wasn't too bad.

Also, I'd like to think about Hot Potato hosted by Bill Cullen. Good show, music, host, and more. Also aired on that marathon. Kind of a Family Feud style show. I enjoyed it. Bill did good, and the contestants were good. The celebrity format killed it though. Oh well.

Well, happy Thanksgiving.

Surprising Returns

Well on Monday, some changes happen to the daytime schedule, and I have to say I'm impressed. They must've read my earlier post about a show. First off Password Plus drops off the weekday schedule. Replacing it at 9:00am is Jim Perry's Card Sharks. The episode selection begins with March 1979. I'm assuming this goes to the end of that year. Hot dawg, I'm excited.

Richard Karn's Family Feud loses a morning slot. This goes to Press Your Luck. No not the GSN revival , the original from 1983. And it's actually 1983 episodes, from the very beginning. I'm assuming this goes to mid 1984 with a 200 episode lease. That otta be exciting. Super Password remains on the schedule, and the weekends will still be Password Plus and Whammy! The All New Press Your Luck.

For the noon hour, we say bye to Whammy! and Woolery Lingo on Weekdays. The first half of the hour goes to The $100,000 Pyramid and the other half, The $25,000 Pyramid. Also the new GSN version gains an afternoon slot replacing Whammy! at 3:00pm. So much Pyramid.

Here are my thoughts. I approve. This is actually kind of a ground breaking event. Since March 2009, the only 3 G-T shows have been Family Feud, Match Game, and either Password or Card Sharks. Well, both are present on the regular schedule at the same time. Plus Press Your Luck is there with them. Also Press Your Luck and Dick Clark's Pyramid are on at the same regular schedule. Hasn't happened since February 2007. Wow. This is pretty big and exciting. Maybe more things will come. I'm looking forward to this.

Out With the Old, and In with the New, Another GSN Experiment

GSN has done a whole bunch of schedule shakeups. For example, this week Harvey Feud gains 2 hours in latenights, replacing Karn, Engvall, Jeopardy!, and Password Plus. And Baggage replaces The $25,000 Pyramid and Super Password in latenights. And now, on September 21, Baggage also will replace Match Game and the Richard Dawson Family Feud.

I am going to support this change. Time is moving on. Older shows (especially game shows) are no longer appealing to people, except a select few. I mean, on GSN, there getting awful numbers, and they are putrid compared to big stuff such as American Bible Challenge which pulls almost 1 million viewers each week, or The Pyramid. Looks like GSN has had it. Seeing how Match Game pulls around 100,000 viewers each week, and Dawson has just about 75,000 each week. Looks very wimpy compared to those stuff. Hey I enjoy both Match Game and Dawson's Feud, but no one else, except the die-hard fans do (not that there's 100,000 of them). GSN figures Baggage could do better numbers. If all else fails, there's always Harvey.

I truly enjoy older shows, as well as modern. But as time progresses, those shows only get older. Match Game is turning 40 in July. Sorry, they just don't work.

Contrary To Popular Belief

Well, everyone has their opinions. I have mine, and others do. And most of them are different. That is awesome, because it adds a lot of different views.

However there are some opinions, that everyone has, and it's heresy if you disagree. Here are 3 of them, that is "dangerous to disagree with"

• Ray Combs is the best host of Family Feud, and Karn sucks
• Meredith Vieria is a better Who Wants To Be a Millionaire host than Regis Philbin
• British Game Shows Beat American Game Shows

I'll look at the first one. Ray Combs, who hosted Family Feud from 1988-1994. I used to think Combs was awesome. But over time, as I got older (I'm 17 now), I found his jokes not to be funny (but I still find Dawson's funny, and they're really out of date), and tasteless, and his style quickly wore off on me. Yes, I am glad GSN no longer (and probably never will again) carries the show. Plus his exit on his last show, the way he acted, was just unprofessional. Dawson's return seemed so much better to me. Although, the rest of Ray's life at this point, was very tragic. Suicide is not a good thing. He probably had his brain chemicals out of whack, and I understand that happens to some people, but if he had gotten some help, things probably would've been different. As for Karn, I used to hate him, but some how I grew to appreciate him more. He wasn't that bad.

The 2nd one. Meredith Vieria has hosted Who Wants To Be a Millionaire for 10 years and counting. Regis only did 3. Personally, I couldn't really get into Meredith, no matter how much I tried. She wasn't bad, but her style wasn't my favorite (no it has nothing to do with the fact she's a woman). Regis' style suited my tastes better, and seemed to fit the show perfectly, but that's just me. But in all fairness, Meredith has done the show for 10 years, and has kept the show successful so, she does get credit for that.

The last one, The British are Better Than Us. I disagree. Shows like The Exit List, The Cube, Countdown, Cleverdicks, and the British versions of some shows. I just didn't like them that much. Sorry, and plus I think some people act like they're the best thing that's ever happened in existence (OK, it might be an over-exaggeration). Although, I will admit, I do have a soft spot for Family Fortunes, and Blockbusters (with Bob Holness, and Simon Mayo) and thought the concept of The Colour of Money was pretty awesome.

These are just my opinions. Keep your own, and hope I didn't offend too many people.

Remembering Neil Armstrong

Well, another legend has passed on. Astronaut Neil Armstrong passed away yesterday at the age of 82.

He was the first man to set foot on the moon. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. A pretty great accomplishment. He was amazing.

His parents appeared on I've Got A Secret the day he became an astronaut. Little did anyone know, something was about to happen. That was a cool moment.


R.I.P

Online Pick of the Week (8/26) - Match Game 73

For this pick for the week, I chose an early episode of Match Game 73. This episode is from the 4th week, and an episode I've been looking for since 2006.

This is from the early stages of the 70's CBS run. Not as exciting as it later got, but still enjoyable.

Match Game 73, My Online Pick of the Week

Pressing My Luck

Trying to get back into blogging. I'll do another post.

I do have wishes of shows I'd love to see on GSN again. One of them is the original Press Your Luck. Honestly, when I discovered this show years back on a GSN rerun, I was instantly hooked. This has always been one of my favorites, and the only reason I would quit watching is if there was something else important I needed to do. Peter Tomarken was a good host, and the game was just fun. Plus the whammies were pretty funny. Here's a collection. Who could ever hurt a whammy.

I would be happy if GSN brought it back, even if it is the same 1984-1985 episodes. They're still fun, I haven't seen all of them, so, come on BRING IT ON. Or not, there's a good variety of episodes on Youtube.

Remembering Phyllis Diller

Well, another one has died. Phyllis Diller has passed away at the age of 95. Of course, I don't know much about her, except she appeared on several game shows. Her works include, Match Game, Tattetales, Password Plus, Super Password, Family Feud, Body Language, The Gong Show, What's My Line? and more.

I've seen her on Match Game and Password Plus, and she did OK on there. She was always good at the games. One funny moment when she was on Tattletales belching while trying to give an answer. Classic moment.

R.I.P.

Online Pick of the Week (8/19) - Ron Pallilo's First Match Game

With Ron Palillo's passing this last week, my pick is his first appearance on Match Game 76. This was a good episode, and we get to hear his laugh. R.I.P. Ron Match Game 76, My Online Pick of the Week

Remembering Kathi Goertzen

This might have no importance to you, but it does for me.

Today, Seattle suffered a tragic loss, so did the news industry here. Kathi Goertzen, who was an anchor on Komo 4 News for many years passed away today at the age of 54, after battling brain tumors for 14 years. She died of complications of pneumonia after trying a new chemo drug.

Back a long time ago, I would watch Kathi and Dan Lewis. They made a great team. Along with Eric Johnson and Steve Pool, it was a great news team. She was a great anchor, and did her job well. Of course some news got the best of her, such as these bloopers. Who knew sheep hazing was funny.

But after she was diagnosed, she kept fighting, and always kept a positive attitude, even though the damn tumors kept coming back. After multiple surgeries, she kept going. Sadly she never returned to the anchor desk, but she kept working, and looked at life and cherished it. That's awesome. Overall, she won her fight, even though she is now no longer with us. That's what most people love about her.

She leaves behind 2 daughters, and her husband Rick.

R.I.P. Kathy. The news hasn't been the same without you, and we will miss you

Online Pick of the Week (8/12) - Card Sharks (Rafferty)

In memory of Bill Rafferty, I have chosen an episode of his version of Card Sharks. Bill was a great host of this version. Very underrated. It's Eva vs. Arthur. Enjoy Bill Rafferty's Card Sharks, My Online Pick of the Week

Remembering Bill Rafferty

Sorry, I've been rather slow in doing updates on this blog. But this one I feel needs to be posted. Well, earlier today, after a disappointment, I found a thread title on the GSN Buzz, indicating that Bill Rafferty had passed away. His family did confirm it on his facebook page.

This actually came as a total shock. I didn't even know he wasn't doing well. And only 68, I mean, yeah it's older than some, but compared to others, it's still pretty young. Not to mention he's the youngest of the Card Sharks hosts (not counting that 2001 for obvious reasons). I'm still kind of shocked, but as I've said, when your time here on earth is done, it's done, and I'll accept that, even if it seems unreal.

Rafferty got his start on Real People. Can't say I know much about that, but he did play on Family Feud with Richard Dawson. Here's a link from his appearance. He also hosted a show called Every Second Counts. And a pilot called Run For the Money, which didn't sell.

What won me over though of his hosting was Card Sharks. He hosted the nighttime version that debuted in September 1986. This man fit perfectly with it, making the whole 1986-1989 era mean something. Sorry Eubanks wasn't the best fit. I mean he did fine, but Rafferty mastered it right away. His version of Card Sharks was my 2nd favorite out of all of them. Rafferty was always calm, cool, and collective, and very funny.  Recently I watched an episode of Tattletales emcee week, where there was a question where Mark Goodson looked for qualities in a host. Those qualities were, 1. Sense of Humor, 2. Cool organizational head 3. Glib Tongue. Rafferty fit all of those on this show. Of course, his version only lasted 1 season, or 195 episodes. Should've lasted longer.

Another thing he did was a revival of the popular game show Blockbusters. In January 1987 his version of the show debuted. It did eliminate the 2 vs. 1 concept, but the show was still OK. Yeah, I preferred Cullen's version, but Rafferty's was very watchable, and he made it good. I enjoyed watching it. I first discorvered it in 2005, and thought, hm, this is OK. Not as good as that one guy with the glasses, but I can watch this. Like Card Sharks it too was cancelled. It ended May 1, 1987. He also played as a celebrity on Super Password in March 1987. The entire week is on YouTube.

Rafferty is very underrated. I think he is the most underrated host of all time. Both of his shows deserved better. We will miss you.

R.I.P. Bill Rafferty
June 17, 1944-August 11, 2012

Online Pick of the Week (7/29) - Beat it

This week, I've picked a song I ran into the ground. Beat it by Michael Jackson. It's a good one, I tell ya.

Beat it, My Online Pick of the Week

Great Performer, Awful Rotten Person

Well, there's been recent discussion about The Price is Right 40th Anniversary Special that should air in early September to celebrate the shows 40th season. There's been debate as to whether Bob Barker should show up on the special. From the looks of things, he won't.

Well, there's a group of people who would love to forget Bob Barker was ever brought into existence. If he was a cruddy host at The Price is Right I would probably be in that group. But I enjoyed his hosting, as a matter of fact, he's my 2nd favorite Game Show host of all time. (You probably know who my first is). But he's probably, No, for sure one of the most self-centered, rudest, jerkiest game show hosts off camera I've ever seen. The whole modelgate thing was just stupid. And the argument with Betty White and The 2009 Game Show Awards for GSN was uncalled for too, and that was just childish behavior. It's sad what happened, and it is pathetic. He's lonely, unloved, and just a jerk. It's sad when you think about it, but it happened, and he's probably too prideful to apologize, and I'm sure the models wouldn't accept.

Well, he was part of the shows history, and he was kind of part of my childhood, so it's a little disappointing he's not showing up, but it's probably for the better.

Can I Have a Minute on GSN?

Well, might as well post some good news (to me, at least). GSN has made an acquisition, and this looks to be another good one. Minute To Win It will air in a stack on Tuesday nights replacing The Newlywed Game. Well, how can I complain? Here is the press release. I love this show, this revival of Beat the Clock was fun, and beat The Cube overseas (yeah, I'm not a buyer of that British are Better Than Us stuff), This was a fun show, and I'm glad to see it come to GSN. Guy was a great host.

Tuesdays at 7/6c

You Have Chosen.... The Loser

Well, I've been out of town last week, and finally have gotten back to blogging. Well, looks like GSN is bringing back what I look at as an awful show. Dog Eat Dog returns to the GSN schedule. It takes over all of Deal or No Deal's weekend slots, and all of Regis Who Wants To Be a Millionaire spots. This is the first time since mid-2009 since it has been on the schedule


Personally, I think that sucks. I really, hate this show. The only thing for me that doesn't banish this to hell is the hot female contestants. Not to mention this show actually suffered from that so called term "rerun abuse". 26 episodes, several slots a week for 5 years. I would've loved to see Weakest Link, Greed, or even 21. And my personal favorite Who Wants To Be a Millionaire with Regis Philbin drops off the schedule. If there's anything that pisses me off, it's the treatment Regis Who Wants To Be a Millionaire has gotten over the last couple years. It did great at midnight, and well at 2:00am on weeknights, then they removed it from weeknights, and it's done piss-poor ever since. 


Well, it could be wors......no never mind, I hate this show with  passion. Well, on the bright side, more time to do other things.

Online Pick of the Week (6/24) - Jeopardy! 3000th Show

Well, this last weekend, Alex Trebek had a heart attack. He's doing better from what I've read and will return to the Jeopardy! set very soon. So for this week (which I'm a little late on), I picked the Jeopardy! 3000th show from September 19, 1997. This was a good show, which featured clips from the 1984 premiere. The Jeopardy round also featured the exact categories from the premiere in the Jeopardy round. The Double Jeopardy round had different anniversary categories, the future, September 1984 (when the show debuted), 3000, and more. Very cool episode. So, that's what I picked. Alex also listed other game shows that made it to 3,000.

The show is still going today. Jeopardy!'s 3000th Show My Online Pick of the Week

Success

Well, I usually don't blog as much as I'd like, but I figured this is a subject that is worthy of a post here on my blog. As many know, GSN is attempting to revive the classic Pyramid series with new episodes. Mike Richards is supposed to be the host. They taped the pilot this last Saturday. From Buzzerblog, here's how the gameplay worked:

The game is played like the old version.  Two teams compete in two games per show.  You have seven clues to convey within 30 seconds.  The main difference is how money is handled.  Whenever you go to the titular Pyramid you play for a base of $10,000.  In the main game if you score a perfect 7-out-of-7 you earn a $500 bonus plus you play for $5,000 more on the Pyramid.  So one perfect round means you win $500 and have a chance at $15,000.  Two perfect rounds is $1,000 and a chance at $20,000.  A perfect game means you win $1,500 and play for $25,000.  Of course no perfect rounds mean you play for the base $10,000.  There are no bonus categories such as Mystery 7 or 7-11.  If you can’t beat the Pyramid you get money for each box you do beat.  In order, from left to right, the first row is worth $100, $200, and $300; the second row is $400 and $500; the top box is $750.

Well, I would like to see it made to air. As I said Mike Richards is the host and there has been some positive feedback from what I've personally heard. Here's the casting call. Almost looks like it's a go.

What Works? Somebody tell me

Well, another week of GSN ratings has come in. For the week of June 11-17, GSN averaged 347K/265K in primetime/total day ratings. That's awesome. It ranked 39 in both areas based on other networks ratings. That's actually pretty good. Harvey Feud is the thank for this. There's a reason it gets multiple slots during the week. Well, of course people (sometimes myself) like to speculate, and chat. Well, here's some of this from the GSN board.

Poster #1: Hopefully GSN won't take the approach this Fall of airing The Newlywed Game and The $100,000 Pyramid after 8pm. They are going to do the best at 6 and 6:30pm, so that's something to think about for the Fall.

Poster #2 replied:  Why would they do best at 6 & 6:30PM? New originals have aired at 7PM or 8PM and have done just fine. If Harvey keeps those numbers up at 6PM, I'm sure they won't be replacing him in that hour.

Poster #1 returns and says:  The Newlywed Game and Baggage were killed there last Fall because that's when J!/WOF air on most affiliates. Most people would rather watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.

Poster #3 replies:  It's always Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune huh? Because they air at 7pm they kill GSN's ratings? Let me tell you something, when Deal or No Deal was new and airing at 7pm on GSN years ago, it did quite well if I recall. That's not a GSN original, but it's just an example.

 Not to mention not everyone lives on the east coast. (For me, WOF and J! always come on at 10:00pm EST yeah I'm really far on the west coast), so around here, that excuse doesn't work. It's 4:00PM over here when that happens.

Poster #1: It's almost better if GSN didn't air anything except a new acquisition that would do well in the 7pm hour, maybe Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (half hour)

 Considering the fact Meredith bombed last time, I wouldn't expect to see her back. I can't explain why 7:00pm gets bad ratings (WOF/J! may be part of the problem).

You know thinking back, when Lingo with Chuck debuted with Shandi, they aired new episodes at 7:30pm with a previous season repeat at 7:00pm. Can't see why that wouldn't work, also considering Lingo had various lead-ins when it was there.

However, I don't see GSN moving Harvey out of the 6:00pm slot for awhile.
There's more there. Here's that thread if you want to read.

Online Pick of the Week (6/17) - Hot Potato Closing Theme

Well, I listened to the closing theme from the short-lived 1984 game show Hot Potato. All I have to say is the closing theme is groovy. I'm hooked, and will probably burn out the song later on in the week. But right now, I'm just listening to it. Pretty cool if you ask me. As for the show, I'll probably review it later this week.

Closing Theme of Hot Potato My Online Pick of the Week

A Sucky Revival

Well, I was reading the Game Show Forums and a post from March 2008. And I saw a post I'll share later in this blog post. It had something to do with The Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour. I saw a couple episodes of this, and I puked. Yeah, Gene didn't seem to enjoy it that much, and it was just stupid. I'm sorry but it was putrid, and very unwatchable. Jon Bauman, I'm sorry, I liked the Gangsta Bowzer that I've seen on the Late 70's Match Game and Password Plus in which he was cooler and enjoyable (OK, I liked his Super Password appearance). However, yeah, the stars weren't that great, both shows were weary and tired, and needed longer rests.

Now what brought me to this horrid review, it was this post. What was a normal tape schedule for The Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour


8:45 - Drag Gene kicking and screaming into the studio
9:00 - Tape first show
10:00 - Chase Gene back to dressing room. Call locksmith.
10:15 - Locksmith arrives
10:30 - Lock picked on dressing room door, drag Gene back into studio...

Yeah, I got a kick out of that. Well, this revival beat the 98 version of Match Game and Davidson's Squares, although the 1960's Match Game was much better.

Online Pick of the Week (6/10) - Phoenix Love Theme

I'm in love, I'll explain more, well, never. Anyway, here is a song I discovered on a Friday morning in April. It was catchy, I only heard part of it, and looked it up and heard the whole thing. I was hooked. This is now one of my favorites, very catchy. Love the saxes. Listen for yourself. And enjoy, this song from The Brass Ring and is called The Phoenix Love theme. Very sentimental I might say.

The Phoenix Love Theme, My Online Pick of the Week

One Last Dawson Post for Today

Well, Richard was always brilliant on Match Game, but he could give some funny answers sometimes. This was one of them. A friend of mine uploaded it as part of a YouTube Richard Dawson tribute. Enjoy.

Online Pick of the Week (6/3) - Family Feud Unaired Speech

After Richard's passing, for my pick this week is an unaired finale speech from Richard Dawson. This is really amazing. He really was awesome. Enjoy.

Richard Dawson's unaired Family Feud finale speech, my online pick of the week.

Richard Dawson Had Other Works Too!

Here are a couple videos uploaded by a good YouTube user. One is of Richard hosting Tattletales while Bert Convy played the game. The other is an episode of I've Got A Secret with him as a panelist.

GSN pays tribute

To those who say GSN has no class, they're wrong. They still have some. Here is what GSN said in a thread of theres

On Thursday, June 7th we will air a tribute to game show great Richard Dawson from 7:00pm to 11:00pm ET (check your local listings). The 4-hour stunt will feature some of his best moments on both Family Feud and Match Game. 

In addition, we aired an extra episode of Dawson Family Feud tonight (6/4) at 8:00pm, pre-empting an O’Hurley Family Feud. A special Richard Dawson tribute spot premiered tonight during the 8:00pm episode, and will air in regular episodes of Family Feud throughout the week.

Below is the episode schedule for Thursday:

7:00 pm ET Family Feud 78-070: Richard’s son Gary is on the show because he has won an acting award

7:30 pm ET Match Game 259 TM: Contestant wins matching Richard; she kisses him, McLean Stevenson kisses Richard

8:00 pm ET Family Feud 80-189 TM: Well known and beloved “September” episode

8:30 pm ET Match Game 236 TM: Gene & Richard get into a fight on Loretta Swift’s behalf

9:00 pm ET Family Feud 81-073 TM: Richard meets 2nd wife Gretchen, who is a contestant on the show

9:30 pm ET Family Feud 80-226 TM: Taped on Richard’s birthday, his two sons are on the show

10:00 pm ET Family Feud 001: (60 minutes) Richard returns to Family Feud after 9 years

Awesome. The 7:00pm episode is not in GSN's current range, so that otta be cool to see again. The other episodes look good too, but when I read the 10:00pm episode, I had to rub my eyes. Yup, his 1994 return. This is gonna be good, and I'm recording every episode of this.

GSN, you're great.

Remembering a Legend - Richard Dawson

Well, on Saturday, it was the 16th anniversary since Family Feud host Ray Combs passed away. Unfortunately, the original Feud host, Richard Dawson, passed away at age 79. Unfortunately, 2012 isn't at the halfway point yet and 4 game show personalities have passed on. However, death is a part of life, and no one lives forever. I will now take this time to pay my own tribute to Richard and his accomplishments, as he is one of my favorite television personalities of all time, by far.

First, Richard got his start on Hogan's Heroes. That was one of my favorite shows, and he did a good job as Corporal Newkirk. That was a funny show. Hopefully some episodes will appear soon. He did good. I enjoyed it. In 1972, he was a panelist on the revival of I've Got A Secret with Steve Allen as host. He did very good on that I thought. That is one accomplishment that is often overlooked.

Another one of my favorites was Match Game. He was a regular panelist on that show from 1973-1978.  He sat in the 5th chair. He was a bright panelist, and very hilarious, such as this moment. He made tons of matches on the show and won a lot of contestants money.A star wheel was introduced to combat people choosing Richard, and the First time the plan failed, and everyone rage quit (almost, they walked off). Very many funny moments on this show. It was very fun to watch, and he was my favorite. At least he's with Gene, Brett, Charles, McLean, uh, Bert, Allen Ludden, and others who played the game who have passed on. This is what I enjoyed him best on, no doubt about that. Weird I was watching the last segment of Match Game 74 on GSN this morning, and I logged on the computer after a couple days absence, and read that Richard had passed away.

His best known accomplishment is Family Feud. He started in 1976 and was picked due to his brilliance on Match Game. He was known for kissing the female (and jokingly some male) contestants. He was the best when it came to the Feud, his class and more was just amazing. He handled it best. The show ended in 1985, and produced more than 2000 episodes. He was definetely the master at this. He was my favorite, and the original. He also returned in 1994 and didn't kiss the ladies. In 1981, he met a woman named Gretchen Johnson on the show, and they eventually married. That was a special moment. There was also a hilarious moment when a contestant gave a very STUPID answer. What made this interesting is Richard could not stop laughing.

R.I.P. Richard. You were great

The Ancient Wheel in the Daytime

Well, you'll see that yesterday's post is about older Wheel of Fortune. Well today, we'll go back even further to the NBC daytime era. It started in 1975 on NBC, but Pat and Vanna aren't there. Yup we're screwed. Instead Chuck Woolery hosted it. I do have to say he did a very good job hosting. It fit well. Susan Stafford was the original hostess. Yeah the word "Vanna" seems a lot more fitting for today. But she did good too. Unfortunately the shopping was still around, but Chuck makes it worth watching. He left in 1981 and was replaced by Pat Sajak, who still hosts the show today. Susan left in 1982 and was replaced by Vanna White. Susan was guest-hostess for a week in June 1986 on the daytime version. They did OK on the daytime version.

However, when we talk about awful game show hosts, Rolf Benirschke. He looked uncomfortable during the show, and it was totally unwatchable, and the shopping didn't help either (yeah, it wasn't that great). I think announcer M.G. Kelly should've taken over instead, after seeing a segment with him being introduced, he seemed to have fit in well. The show was cancelled in June 1989, but was brought back 3 weeks later on CBS. Bob Goen hosted it for 2 years on CBS, it moved back to NBC in 1991 and was then cancelled. Vanna stayed with it though. Bob did real good, and they dropped the shopping. The only downside was it was about as cheap as cheap. Yep, the show sure has changed.

The Older Wheel

In a group of tapes I got, I got some old reruns of Wheel of Fortune from the "infamous" 1988-1989 season. (It's called infamous because internet game show boardies hate it because GSN ran it more than once). But anyway, it's definetley different than the episodes today. Back then, Vanna actually had to turn all of the letters. Pat looked a lot younger, and the wheel didn't make a lot of noise. There was also a free spin wedge, and all you had to do was land on it, and you got the free spin. Same with prize wedges, you land on it, you pick it up, then guess a letter. Some changes have took place, where you have to guess the letter first before you get it. Adding a little more challenge. Not to mention the sound effects were also different back then. I like the newer ones, although I like the old category intro sound better than the new one (which debuted in July 1989), I don't know why I like it better, I just do.

One thing that sucked about the older ones is the shopping. Gee the prizes were awful, and it was waste of time. When the nighttime show eliminated it in 1987 there was more puzzles that were able to be fit in a show other than just 3. Although they're not totally unwatchable. It's interesting to see how much the show has evolved. It's definetley better today in 2012 then compared to 1984.

Online Pick of the Week (5/27) - Train Of Thought Solid Gold

Well, I'm tired and want to go to bed, but before I do, here's a performance of Train of Thought from aha on Solid Gold enjoy.

Train of Thought, My Online Pick of the week

And, We Change....AGAIN

Well, GSN is changing the schedule yet again, and daytime looks to be getting some changes.Let's look at them, shall we.

At 8:00am, Match Game departs and Richard Dawson's Family Feud moves in. There's your first error. His version of Feud has proven it cannot start of the day. Remember 2 years ago when Dawson's version couldn't crack 100K on a regular basis. It does currently at 9:00am, but that's because he's got Gene as a lead-in. This will hurt whatever is at 8:30am, which is still Match Game 74. 


At 9:00am is Password Plus. Looks to me like the show is failing at 10:00am, and they're giving it a throwaway slot. And with a potential week 9:00am hour, yep, this show's gonna fail :( I also wonder if they will run the episodes they have now 7 days a week considering the fact the show got added to Weekends. Meaning if they air an episode Friday, meaning the next episode will air Saturday. Hm.

As for the next change, The $100,000 Pyramid will air at 10:00am. Well, here's the first good part I see. Good addition, whether it be 1985-1986, or even 1987-1988 (Which they're airing), good move.

And Chain Reaction will air at 11:30am. Yeah, GSN's version. I think Match Game should've been left there.

And for Noon, we've got Jeopardy!. Hm, that's interesting, Alex always seems to show up in that spot.

I Was Wrong, Dead Wrong

Well, I just got off vacation from beautiful Victoria British Columbia in Canada. While I was eating lunch at the Bay Centre mall, while enjoying some pizza and  pasta and root beer, I used the slow Wifi there, and came across some good news. GSN's online schedule listed Donnymid Monday at 10:30am, and The $25,000 Pyramid for the other days. To my surprise, I saw a thread that said they aired The $25,000 Pyramid that morning. Hm, well, there's one thing I was wrong about, as you've read in my blog posts. I also said there was no new lease of episodes. They aired the June 20, 1986 episode, which is an episode they have not yet aired, and they aired the next consecutive episode after that. Well, I feel stupid, and apologize for my cynical behavior. Yes, I was wrong again, and I am glad to see different episodes back, and it looks like we've got some good stuff coming up, like an All*Star week, Bill Cullen playing the game again, the 1,000th episode, and much more. That's pretty exciting.

I did like seeing Donnymid again though. That was fun, and it was a placeholder. This situation, It's almost like The Music Man. Charlie Cowell says there is no boys band, and what do ya know, one is organized, although this sounds much better.

Online Pick of the Week (5/20)

For this week, I picked the finale of Jim Perry's Card Sharks. It had a very good run, and this was an excellent episode. And I'm heading to Canada right now, now how appropriate featuring a guy who hosted a Canadian game show. Enjoy

Card Sharks 1981 Finale My Online Pick of the Week

Please Keep Things Up To Date

Well, obviously GSN made a switch. They are no longer airing The $25,000 Pyramid and are now airing Donnymid (the newer version hosted by Donny Osmond) Now, I used to be an Older show Fanboy I will admit that, so I know where they're coming from. As of late, all of the Clark's version episodes have been replaced by Donnymid. There are many theories on what is going on, but here is what I think. Well, I do think a lease expired which explains the randon jumping around that happened during the first week of may. Now, last month, I think GSN knew that, so the PDF's just put "New" in the place of the episode numbers. With Crunch Time coming up and realizing they had nothing filled there, Donnymid was put there. I bet any $25,000 Pyramid listings past 5/4/12 are bull. There is no new lease, the probably was no new lease, and there may never be any new lease. I don't think that's rocket science. It's not that hard to understand. Yeah I like Clark's better than Donny's, but obviously Donny is doing quite well, it's still the same game we all know and love, just with someone else controlling it, and a slight bit more challenging. Dick had a good run, and yeah he died, but when you're in business, respect things like that, really don't matter. I think Donnymid is set in stone for now, but GSN seems to be slow in updating the schedule. Please just list Donnymid from now on so those board members who think The $25,000 Pyramid is coming back with a different season can shut up. That is all.

The New and Old Clock

Well, some Youtuber decided to upload some rare gems that GSN aired a few years ago. I do have to say, this is an older show that I enjoyed. Beat the Clock was not the most interesting show, but it could be fun. The 1969-1974 version of the show was my favorite, even though it was dirt cheap. It was just nothing but fun. Jack Narz was a good host at this show. And the pipe organ music was fun. The celebrity guests also did some shows, like Tom Kennedy, Patti Decutcsh, Dick Clark, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Dawson, and others. It was just fun to see them win stunts, and also a little bit of proof big money isn't necessarily the key to all game shows. I mean this show gave out very cheap amounts, I won't lie about that. But the stunts were fun, and it was fun to watch the celebrities.

Announcer Gene Wood took over when Jack Narz left in 1972. He did a very respectable job. As a matter of fact, he seems to be the one everyone remembers from this version. He did a good job, but I preferred Jack. Hey the show was still fun. Also later in the run, it was just one couple, instead of 2 couples competing against each other. It was really fun IMO. Yeah, it was better than the original B&W version.

Online Pick of the Week (5/13) - Color I've Got a Secret

Well for this week, I chose a color episode of I've Got A Secret from 1972, with Greg Morris as the Guest.

I've Got A Secret, My Online Pick of the Week

Online Pick of the Week (5/5) - Three on a Match

Well, in memory of Bob Stewart, I chose one of his creations. Three on A Match. Bill Cullen Hosts. If you follow all episodes that still exist, you'll see the big winner Fred Abrahams. Enjoy.

R.I.P. Bob Stewart

Out With the Old, and In With The New

Well, for this next week (and possibly beyond), GSN will be airing Donnymid at 10:30am and 3:00am replacing The $25,000 Pyramid. They say it should last only a week, but I highly doubt it. I personally think $25K is a goner. Sorry, I think that's what the NEW meant on the PDF's. Well, we'll just see what happens. It's a good exchange for me. I love Donnymid and he was a good host. I also liked the 6/20 format. The only thing that pissed me off was the judging. Really, Bike is not good enough for bicycle? Give me a break. Well, I'm excited. And also apparently $25K is on Friday nights still, but for how long? We'll just wait and see. I doubt it's a placeholder for a different season of $25K.

Remembering a Legend - Bob Stewart

Well, just a couple weeks after the famous host of Pyramid  Dick Clark passed away, the creator dies. Bob Stewart, the creator of Pyramid, and other shows like Chain Reaction, Jackpot! Go!, The Price is Right, Password passed away yesterday at the age of 91 from natural causes. Well, 91 is a long life. I do have to say, Bob was a bright man. Many of his formats and shows were awesome, and fun. And yes, I enjoyed Three on a Match a little bit. Pyramid is my absolute favorite of his productions. Chain Reaction was my 2nd favorite. He created a lot of good stuff, and we owe a great deal of thanks to him.

R.I.P. Bob Stewart

Condolences to his family at this difficult time.

Let Them Eat Waffles

Thinking back to my childhood, I do have to say one of my favorite cartoons was Invader Zim. I once again got hooked early in 2010 when Nicktoons brought it back. Ah it was a funny show, Zim was stupidly hilarious, Dib couldn't foil his plot (even though there was no need to) and Grrr was stupid. The characters were funny, and this show was enjoyable from time to time. My favorite episode was Zim Eats Waffles where Dib puts a hidden camera in his house, and he's eating waffles for breakfast. Good times. Haven't seen it lately and don't know if it's on in reruns still, but this was a fun show.

Watch Your Step

Well, over the years GSN has made many originals. My favorite, Russian Roulette. This was a good quiz show hosted by Mark L. Walberg. This show was very fun. What made it great though, the people falling through the trap door. That's probably what got me hooked to the show back in the day (2003ish) was the people falling through. I always laughed and cheered whenever someone would fall into the trap door, after being randomly selected by the drop zones. Not to mention Mark was a good host who was always great with the contestants. The set was awesome (yeah, a dark 21st century set pulled off right), and the music and sound effects were cool too. And on April Fools Day 2003, Todd Newton host of Whammy! on GSN hosted an episode. He did good. Unfortunately when GSN decided to try something other than game shows, this show got the boot for new episodes, and eventually reruns. In 2008, GSN gave the show another slot, but it bombed. Very sad, but hey I got a few episodes on tape so it's not a total loss. And yes, it beat Who's Still Standing. Yes, this was my favorite GSN original. Yeah, it beats Lingo.

Online Pick of the Week (4/29) - The $25,000 Pyramid 1987

Well, with the recent passing of legend Dick Clark, I figured I would pick for this week, an episode of The $25,000 Pyramid. This is a special all*star edition of the show from February 1987. This episode features awesome Pyramid players Shelley Smith, Teresa Ganzel, Earl Holliman, and Henry Pollic II. Hope you liked it. As always, I did not upload this, some other kind soul on YouTube did.

The $25,000 Pyramid All Stars My Online Pick of the Week.

The Kennedy Administartion

Ah, love hurts. So I'll turn to game shows. So, I might as well give more praise to Tom Kennedy. In another tape I got, it had 5 episodes of Tom Kennedy The Price is Right. It was a special syndicated half hour edition of the show that ran from 1985-1986. The show had the format of the first few years of the show, 3 pricing games, and the top 2 winners compete in the showcase. I saw Tom's hosting. Man, he can go into any show that someone else had hosted, and could make it great in his own way, and his style would just settle right in comfortably. Yeah, he's no Bob Barker or Drew Carey, but he's good enough. The way he handled it was just great all round. Personally, I scratch my head wondering, why didn't this show last into the 1986-1987 season. I think it should've. Although part of the show was taped during a rough period of the show after Johnny Olson passed away in 1985. It was a good run, which could've (and should've) been longer. Hey, GSN aired it from 1996-1998, so it's not that bad. It beat the other syndicated version that followed a few years later.

Tom's Turn

Well, yesterday I just got some tapes in a giveaway contest. In one of those tapes it contained the France/French Blooper of Password Plus with my 2nd favorite permanent host, Tom Kennedy. I also got a couple other episodes from early in his run. Yes, I thought Allen Ludden was the best host of this series, but Tom was an excellent replacement. He seemed to settle in just fine. Although something happened on that France/French blooper with Dick Martin and Betty White. No human or game show host is perfect, and that was an exception of the best having an occasional screw up. He did really well on the show. He was also the first host I saw host Password Plus when I began watching in 2005 when GSN brought the show back (I started watching Ludden 2 months later when GSN ran it on a Saturday night marathon). There were many memorable moments on this run, such as when his brother Jack Narz hosted an episode of the show, and others. If Allen were still alive, I bet he would say that Tom did a good job succeeding him. I would have to agree with that. Also ironic on an episode when he played when Allen Ludden hosted, Ludden asked him if he would rather be a participant than an emcee. Kennedy said participant. Little did we know about a year and a half later he would be the emcee.

Online Pick of the Week (4/22) - The Object is

Well, here is the first episode of Dick Clark's first hosted game show from 1963. The Object is. This is my online pick for the week. Thank you David Downs for uploading.

Remembering a Legend - Dick Clark

Well, as many know by now, Dick Clark passed away on Wednesday.I do have to say, I loved his work, and loved most of what he did. In 1957 he started out as host of the program American Bandstand. Can't say I really got into the show, but once in a blue moon I would watch a clip on Youtube, and it was enjoyable. Clark did a good job there. Another thing he is well known for is New Year's Rockin Eve which he began in 1972. He did this every New Years Eve (Except 2004 his stroke). After his stroke, he was limited in his appearances. Sometimes it was painful to watch, but he seemed to get better every year, and this last year (2011/2012) he sounded a little better. I do commend him for getting back up and learning to walk and talk again after his stroke. Some people would just give up, but Dick didn't. And yes to other people who tried to do that again, good job too.

But what I knew Dick Clark best at was the Pyramid franchise. Definitely a great emcee there, who was just perfect. And when he did screw up, he always bounced back, like the 1958 moment, and the 1968 moment when he was announcing the car prize, and got the years mixed up. Wow, that was funny. Pyramid is a good He hosted the shows start back in 1973 starting with The $10,000 Pyramid. He continued with the show until 1988. As I said, I loved Dick on this show. It was tough on Wednesday watching some Pyramid and realizing, wow, he's really gone :( Well, I've appreciated him before, and now that he's gone, I appreciate him even more.

R.I.P. Dick. You will be greatly missed.