Chuck's Back

Well, looks like GSN is changing a part of the schedule again. Jeopardy! once again disappears from the schedule. And they haven't finished out the season yet. Oh well, some things I still would've liked to see, but oh well, life moves on.

It's replacement is something that is not on the schedule at the moment. Chuck Woolery's Lingo. According to the PDF schedules, it will be Season 5, with Chuck and Shandi.

Well, I enjoy Lingo but the Chuck and Shandi seasons weren't my favorites. They were OK, but I don't know, it just doesn't click with me. I just don't know. I didn't mind Stacey Hayes that much, but I personally think Lingo is best with just one host. I do prefer the Bill Engvall version over Chuck and Shandi, but of course, you can't beat Chuck solo, during his first two seasons. I'm sure 2003 episodes will turn up again soon. Might take a long time, but they'll be back, and I'll be watching. So Starting Monday February 25th at 11:30am, Woolery Lingo replaces Jeopardy!

I Love a Good Show

The last couple weeks, the GSN board has had a conversation about people who only give praise to older shows, or something like that. Well, I'll state my opinion on what I like about the genre.

Well, there's new shows, and well... older shows. I will admit most of my collection includes, well, majority older shows. There are many on the internet who clamor for older shows to be in abundance on the airwaves. Unforutately time is moving on, and it will keep going on. My favorite game show is turning 40 in July. Wow, I'm only 17, maybe I should re-evaluate my life. But they're getting older, and people want newer stuff. That's what the casual viewers want. That's why Steve Harvey is on 6 times a day, because the young casual audience (or even old) wants Steve, because he's new.

Then you have a small group of people that are complete purists. Yeah, there are some out there. If Richard Dawson is not hosting the Feud or if there's color in the picture (Other than black or white), then it's considered trash and therefore deserves no attention at all. I'm sorry but I don't buy that. I believe that both eras are great. (Note: I know some people on the GSN boards appreciate both, and I'm not attacking you).

I appreciate both eras, old and new. Today I love shows such as  The Price is Right with Drew Carey, Wayne Brady's Let's Make a Deal, Steve Harvey's Family Feud, and of course Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! I loved the revival of Pyramid with Mike Richards. However that didn't fly with the audience. Within the last 10 years I've enjoyed stuff such as Deal Or No Deal, 1 vs. 100, Catch-21, Lingo even Bill Engvall's too, The Power of 10, Family Feud, Catch-21, Whammy!, Russian Roulette and countless others. However, there's still some crap among there. Who's Still Standing and Take it All are awful. I understand getting new concepts out there, but they aren't working. So I enjoy many newer shows, and kind of don't mind over abundance of them, because I know more people like them.

However when we cross the timeline, I do have some favorites over there too. Match Game, Card Sharks (except Eubanks doesn't count as a favoite) Family Feud (Dawson), The Price is Right, Press Your Luck, Pyramid, Password and many others. There are multiple episodes made for each, some have several incarnations. However stuff like Ray Combs Family Feud, To Tell the Truth except for Moore Ward and Trebek, and even older episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! just don't appeal to me. OK, I like some older WOF episodes. Somethings are forgettable like Gambit or The Dating Game. Which also don't appeal that much, even though some absolutely adore.

So, when I was younger I used to openly like Game Shows, however, I keep it private now, as it seems weird to enjoy older shows. I still do, but now no one knows. If the show's good, I watch it. If it sucks, I don't bother. I don't care if it was 1974 or 2004, if it's good I'm watching. That's how every game show should be treated. Not based on age. I'm grateful GSN even still shows older programming in a time where it's becoming less popular. I don't care if it's only 50 episodes, or if the credits are being crunched, or if there's ads on the screen. We should be grateful we're seeing them.

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.