The Game Show Forum

The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: TimK2003 on May 10, 2013, 02:54:44 PM

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: TimK2003 on May 10, 2013, 02:54:44 PM

Inspired by a post on another thread, have you ever been duped by a vaguely-worded ad or announcement, or a TV Guide listing thinking the title was a game show only to find out it wasn\'t even close?


 


Back in \'87 when I visited LA, I was looking to choose a show taping to see at NBC Burbank.  On the board of available tickets for that week -- listing just the titles only -- I almost made the mistake of choosing \"Saved By The Bell\".  I never heard of nor seen the show before and I thought it sounded like a great title of a new game show. 


 


Luckily, I opted for Super Password and Hollywood Squares instead and ultimately got to speak at length with Gene Wood in person!


 


Others?


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Jimmy Owen on May 10, 2013, 07:39:54 PM
Around 1968 or so, during the time when Newlywed and Dating Game were in prime-time, ABC started promoting a special called \"The Mating Game.\"  To my dismay, it was only a documentary about wild youth and their social lives.
Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: PYLdude on May 10, 2013, 11:21:58 PM
I don\'t know how Saved by the Bell was one of the shows considering it not only didn\'t premiere until the next year but it was also under a different title.


(if you go by the syndication package rules, which includes the entire Good Morning Miss Bliss series as part of the Saved by the Bell package)
Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Johnissoevil on May 10, 2013, 11:59:55 PM

When I first saw promos for Star Search before it premiered, I thought it was gonna be a game show.  Watched the premiere, and while it wasn\'t a game show, I still became a fan nonetheless.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: aaron sica on May 11, 2013, 01:07:41 AM

I can think of the polar opposite...Seeing the famous [Last show of the series. Beginning Monday, \"Body Language\" premieres here.] in the TVG, I figured it was an exercise program.


 


10 years later, the opposite would happen - VH1 had a music video show called \"Body Language\", which TVG incorrectly listed as the game show..


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: PYLdude on May 11, 2013, 02:05:39 AM
For years as a kid I thought \"Crossfire\" was a game show. Why I don\'t know.
Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: WilliamPorygon on May 11, 2013, 02:37:38 AM
For years as a kid I thought \"Crossfire\" was a game show. Why I don\'t know.

 


Probably because of Milton Bradley.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Craig Karlberg on May 11, 2013, 03:22:03 AM

When I saw Hart to Hart in a TVG listing once, I thought it was a dating show where couples try to create compatibility with each other, like \"heart-to-heart\" which was similar to Love Connection that was out at about the time.  When I saw the opening sequence, it turned out to be a husband & wife crime-fighting team.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: J.R. on May 11, 2013, 07:47:21 AM

I thought NBC\'s Deal or No Deal was a game show. Turned out to be a giant circus.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Vahan_Nisanian on May 11, 2013, 08:42:44 AM
I thought NBC\'s Deal or No Deal was a game show. Turned out to be a giant circus.

Best post ever from you.

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: BrandonFG on May 11, 2013, 08:55:38 AM
I thought NBC\'s Deal or No Deal was a game show. Turned out to be a giant circus.

Well played.


 


I have a few more other than Money Wheel on the other thread, which was actually a CNBC financial news or advice show. Sometime in the early-90s, one of the cable networks aired a show called Dream House, which had nothing to do with Mike Darrow or Bob Eubanks.


 


Others that fooled me:


-Bulls Eye (note the two-word spelling)...it was a recap show about the Chicago Bulls that aired on WGN in the 90s


-The aforementioned Crossfire


-That Girl...I thought it was a Queen For a Day-type show when I saw the listing...the TV magazine also said it would come on USA around the same time that their game show reruns traditionally aired.

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: TimK2003 on May 11, 2013, 12:13:52 PM

There was also a celebrity-driven NBC mid-morning show blip in the 70\'s called \"Take My Advice\", with KNBC personality Kelly Lange. 


 


I was thinking it was going to be a game show as it briefly replaced the \"Magnificent Marble Machine\". 


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Adam Nedeff on May 11, 2013, 12:19:46 PM
10 years later, the opposite would happen - VH1 had a music video show called \"Body Language\", which TVG incorrectly listed as the game show..

Similar experience. I was once channel-surfing and came to a listing for \"High Rollers\" on E!, and the cable guide summary even had a summary for the game show. Turned out to be a documentary about gamblers.

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: jjman920 on May 11, 2013, 12:36:38 PM

I thought the movie Double Jeopardy was going to be a documentary about Jeopardy! and I couldn\'t for the life of me (those eight years of life) understand why it was rated R.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: gamed121683 on May 11, 2013, 01:35:56 PM
I remember about 10-15 years ago flipping through the TV Guide and stumbling across this listing:


3:30AM (Channel 7) 3\'s A Crowd--Game.


My curiosity piqued, I taped the show & watched it the next day. Turns out it was reruns of the short-lived John Ritter sitcom of the same name.
Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: carlisle96 on May 11, 2013, 02:26:54 PM

The Maxine Fabe game show book lists the 1940s radio series \"Two on a Clue\" as a game. It\'s not. It\'s a soap opera about husband and wife detectives.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: alfonzos on May 11, 2013, 02:53:37 PM

I remember looking through a reference book about daytime television and coming across the title Hidden Faces only to find out it was a short-lived soap opera.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: PYLdude on May 11, 2013, 07:42:40 PM
For years as a kid I thought \"Crossfire\" was a game show. Why I don\'t know.

 


Probably because of Milton Bradley.


I said I didn\'t know, not that I wanted it theorized for me. Sorry for the callout but still.

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: rjaguar3 on May 11, 2013, 08:26:32 PM

There was one time in France that I was watching something that appeared to be a game show but instead was not (I was told this by my father, with whom I was traveling).  It was in the late evening, and unfortunately I don\'t remember any other details or a title.


 


On the reverse (and lighter) side, I thought Talk to Molly Hale was not a game show, but the trailer indicates it is.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: BrandonFG on May 11, 2013, 08:56:37 PM
*Your
Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: aaron sica on May 11, 2013, 09:17:06 PM
Turned out to be a giant circus.

 


Like you\'re life.


 


Yeah that\'s right, let\'s play this game.


You have absolutely no room to call out *anyone* on this board at this point....Go back to your silly little high school-type blog with your multiple personalities.


 


Oh, and if you\'re going to start a fight with someone,


 


1) Try doing it IN THE ACTUAL THREAD and


2) Spell YOUR words right (see what I did there?)


 


Congratulations....You\'ve officially dropped from village imbecile to village idiot.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: J.R. on May 11, 2013, 10:59:36 PM
Turned out to be a giant circus.

 

Like your life.

 

Yeah that\'s right, let\'s play this game.

Oh snap. Wow, you really got me there. I\'m so wounded.


 


/This made my evening.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: PYLdude on May 11, 2013, 11:02:37 PM
Turned out to be a giant circus.

 

Like your life.

 

Yeah that\'s right, let\'s play this game.

 


Will someone PLEASE do something about this halfwit identity thief? I\'m tired of reading his crap.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: narzo on May 11, 2013, 11:10:46 PM

HGTV, or one of it\'s similar networks, had \"Dream House\" which made me do a double take for years when I would stumble upon it, while scrolling through the EPG.  


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: That Don Guy on May 12, 2013, 06:11:32 PM
For years as a kid I thought \"Crossfire\" was a game show. Why I don\'t know.



Maybe you associated it with the Crossfire round from Cross-Wits?


The only time I thought a non-game show was a game show was when somebody in Northern California aired a show called Salty; I had seen the title in a TV Guide Fall Preview and thought it was Richard Dawson\'s new game show (which turned out to be Masquerade Party - and which, IIRC, never aired in the San Francisco area).

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: aaron sica on May 12, 2013, 06:27:20 PM

Another one I saw listed in the TVG, but I was too young to stay up that late to check.......WCBS-2 in NYC used to run \"The Name of the Game\".....

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Greggo on May 13, 2013, 01:47:20 AM

The first time I saw \"post-game show\" after a football broadcast as a 5-year old made me sad.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Jimmy Owen on May 13, 2013, 08:32:02 AM
Another late night TVG listing I would see is from Channel 2 in Detroit.  Circa 1974 they would show WML after their late movie on Thursday and Friday.  On Saturdays they would show a program called \"Dollar Decision\" and on Sunday it would be a show called \"Capture.\"  No details beyond that.  I was out of range of the station, so I never determined what these shows were.
Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: aaron sica on May 13, 2013, 11:21:58 AM

Jimmy, off topic a bit, but was Channel 2 in Detroit one of those \"late night only\" listings in your TVG? IIRC, the Pittsburgh edition showed WCBS-2 in NY\'s late night listings for the movies..

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: JMFabiano on May 13, 2013, 07:39:04 PM
I thought the movie Double Jeopardy was going to be a documentary about Jeopardy! and I couldn\'t for the life of me (those eight years of life) understand why it was rated R.

 


Maybe it was the episode where Alex does this? 


 


(Ignore the title of the video please, don\'t want to start That Urban Legend again...)


 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU2w72KAkQQ


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Jimmy Owen on May 13, 2013, 08:52:08 PM
Jimmy, off topic a bit, but was Channel 2 in Detroit one of those \"late night only\" listings in your TVG? IIRC, the Pittsburgh edition showed WCBS-2 in NY\'s late night listings for the movies..



In my area, we got what was called the Michigan State Edition. The Detroit channels covered were 2, 4, 7 and 50, along with 9 from Windsor. They were listed full time. When WTBS went superstation we started getting those listings \"late night only\" for a couple years.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Ian Wallis on May 14, 2013, 04:35:09 PM

I never understood the \"late night only\" listings.  I\'ve got a Pittsburgh edition from 1977 that includes Ch. 2 New York as \"late night only\" (listings from around 11:30 PM onwards).  Does that mean that the cable company picked up that station after another they carried signed off the air?  Does that mean the station was powerful enough to be received via antenna but only at night?  Never could figure it out.


Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Jimmy Owen on May 14, 2013, 05:03:16 PM
I never understood the \"late night only\" listings.  I\'ve got a Pittsburgh edition from 1977 that includes Ch. 2 New York as \"late night only\" (listings from around 11:30 PM onwards).  Does that mean that the cable company picked up that station after another they carried signed off the air?  Does that mean the station was powerful enough to be received via antenna but only at night?  Never could figure it out.

I\'m pretty sure it was for cable companies that wanted to provide 24 hour programming on at least one channel. Circa 1979 at around 3 in the morning, our cable company used to switch their local origination station to WGPR Channel 62, which was the first station to go all night in Detroit.  Saw some pretty good movies on that station.

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Jamey Greek on May 14, 2013, 07:00:49 PM
The first time I saw \"post-game show\" after a football broadcast as a 5-year old made me sad.

 


 


Same goes with me and a pre game show

Title: Shows You Thought Were Game Shows...But Weren't
Post by: Marc412 on May 15, 2013, 07:12:29 PM
I suppose a younger version of myself might have mistaken \"Game of Thrones\" for a game show.

There is a technology news show on the BBC called \"Click\" that I almost mistook for a British version of the 90s teen game show.