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as I got older (I'm 17 now), I found his jokes not to be funny (but I still find Dawson's funny, and they're really out of date), and tasteless, and his style quickly wore off on me.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