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For those of you that have had the good fortune of having a game show locally produced; what are the worst formats that you've seen?
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If lottery shows count, "The Super Money Game".
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[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Mar 19 2005, 11:28 PM\']For those of you that have had the good fortune of having a game show locally produced; what are the worst formats that you've seen?
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If we can count bowling shows which are considered game shows to some degree, Bowling with Bo on the local access station in the Atlantic City area in 1996. It was Bo and his friends playing a round of bowling. No prizes, no contestants, just people playing bowling at a local bowling alley.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Mar 19 2005, 11:28 PM\']For those of you that have had the good fortune of having a game show locally produced; what are the worst formats that you've seen?
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Most of the locally produced game shows I've seen have been limited to academic quiz shows -- including "As Schools Match Wits" on WKEF in Dayton which was hosted by Mike Gallagher (yup, the same MG who's gone on to become a successful radio talk show host). Outside of that, I've seen Steve Beverly's "I've Heard That Song". Pretty decent cross of "Name That Tune" and "Hollywood Squares".
Everything else in terms of "game shows locally produced" I've seen have been limited to game segments inside of newscasts or talk shows.
Back in the mid '70s, the "POW!" segment on WTVK's Metro 26 News in Knoxville, TN, was pretty pathetic. This was played after the weather segment and hosted by its weather guy.
One of the games involved Tic Tac Toe. The lucky caller played X and the computer player was O. A cursor would go around the board (left to right across the top row of the board, then do same for middle and bottom row) until the caller screamed "POW!". The computer would then strategically place an O in an empty space. If the caller made three X's in a row, (s)he won a prize.
Another "POW!" game was bowling. A cursor would move across the bottom of the screen and scream "POW!" to have the cursor roll down the alley. IIRC, they only played about 2 or 3 frames and if the player scored enough points, (s)he won a prize.
I'm somewhat certain an aircheck with "POW!" included exists somewhere in the universe. Check out the British-based TV Ark and you'll find a Metro 26 NewsBrief. (http://\"http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/international/us_cbs_wvlt.html\")
WTVK's been through a good number of changes in owners, call letters and even channel number -- plus cancelled its late night news for a while. Shows you how stable they were. Nowadays, they're known as WVLT Volunteer TV 8.
Finally, check this out. The infamous Game o' Names from my birthplace of Wichita, KS. (http://\"http://www.kake.com/news/features/1/1303767.html\")
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Finally, check this out. The infamous Game o' Names from my birthplace of Wichita, KS.
Wow, when even the HOST doesn't understand the rules of the show, I'd say you've got problems...
--Sam
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[quote name=\'dmota104\' date=\'Mar 20 2005, 07:10 AM\']Back in the mid '70s, the "POW!" segment on WTVK's Metro 26 News in Knoxville, TN, was pretty pathetic. This was played after the weather segment and hosted by its weather guy.
Another "POW!" game was bowling. A cursor would move across the bottom of the screen and scream "POW!" to have the cursor roll down the alley. IIRC, they only played about 2 or 3 frames and if the player scored enough points, (s)he won a prize.
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Hell yeah! In San Francisco this was called TV POWWWW! and was hosted by the ubiquitous Pat McCormick (the San Francisco weatherman and Dialing for Dollars host, not the frequent game-show celebrity) during the afternoon cartoon block on Channel 2 (now the SF Fox affil), which ran from 3:00-4:30.
Same concept...kids would send in postcards to get a phone call to play (I sent in a boatload, being too young to realize they weren't gonna call me LD in Monterey to play a game in SF), and they would play video games on the air by saying "POW!" to fire / roll the ball / spin the slot machine / pass the football / whatever. A minimum score won a small prize and the high score of the day won a bigger, but still nominal, prize. :)
I remember in the early run, the games were player on a modified Fairchild Channel-F system (I remember Shooting Gallery and Bowling), and later they were modified Intellivision games (Football, Slots, and Space Battle, all heavily modified for the TV show).
Good stuff. Far worse ways to spend 90 minutes after school than to watch TV POWWW! and Bugs Bunny cartoons. :)
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[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Mar 20 2005, 08:00 AM\'][quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Mar 19 2005, 11:28 PM\']For those of you that have had the good fortune of having a game show locally produced; what are the worst formats that you've seen?
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If we can count bowling shows which are considered game shows to some degree, Bowling with Bo on the local access station in the Atlantic City area in 1996. It was Bo and his friends playing a round of bowling. No prizes, no contestants, just people playing bowling at a local bowling alley.
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I would count Bowling For Columbine Soup Dollars as a game show. What you just described sounds like a bunch of folks just bowling, and it sounds pretty damn boring too.
Back to the subject, the only local games I can remember are high school competitions like QuizBusters...and from what I remember, they've all been pretty decent.
Anyone who's been through Norfolk pre-1985, has Norfolk ever had a Bowling For $$$ or any such local game show?
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Mar 20 2005, 02:54 PM\']
Hell yeah! In San Francisco this was called TV POWWWW! and was hosted by the ubiquitous Pat McCormick (the San Francisco weatherman and Dialing for Dollars host, not the frequent game-show celebrity) during the afternoon cartoon block on Channel 2 (now the SF Fox affil), which ran from 3:00-4:30.
Same concept...kids would send in postcards to get a phone call to play (I sent in a boatload, being too young to realize they weren't gonna call me LD in Monterey to play a game in SF), and they would play video games on the air by saying "POW!" to fire / roll the ball / spin the slot machine / pass the football / whatever. A minimum score won a small prize and the high score of the day won a bigger, but still nominal, prize. :)
I remember in the early run, the games were player on a modified Fairchild Channel-F system (I remember Shooting Gallery and Bowling), and later they were modified Intellivision games (Football, Slots, and Space Battle, all heavily modified for the TV show).
Good stuff. Far worse ways to spend 90 minutes after school than to watch TV POWWW! and Bugs Bunny cartoons. :)
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WPIX-11 in NYC used to do the same thing. "TV PIX" it was called, with the viewer saying "PIX!". As well, I believe the games were on an Intellivision...
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[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Mar 20 2005, 03:22 PM\']WPIX-11 in NYC used to do the same thing. "TV PIX" it was called, with the viewer saying "PIX!". As well, I believe the games were on an Intellivision...
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I know it also ran as "TV POW" on Channel 33 in Youngstown, Ohio, because a former co-worker of mine was once a contestant. I don't recall what she won (she might not even have remembered).
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[quote name=\'SamJ93\' date=\'Mar 20 2005, 01:42 PM\']
Finally, check this out. The infamous Game o' Names from my birthplace of Wichita, KS.
Wow, when even the HOST doesn't understand the rules of the show, I'd say you've got problems...
--Sam
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John Davidson would beg to disagree.
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[quote name=\'tommycharles\' date=\'Mar 20 2005, 10:19 PM\'][quote name=\'SamJ93\' date=\'Mar 20 2005, 01:42 PM\']
Finally, check this out. The infamous Game o' Names from my birthplace of Wichita, KS.
Wow, when even the HOST doesn't understand the rules of the show, I'd say you've got problems...
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John Davidson would beg to disagree.
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Begging might explain how John got his many hosting assignments.
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[quote name=\'Chief-O\' date=\'Mar 20 2005, 07:18 AM\']If lottery shows count, "The Super Money Game".
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"Hoosier Millionaire" is like watching paint dry...with lotsa hillbillies. :)
ITSBRY
itsbry@juno.com
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Oh, I agree with Chief-O.
Wisconsin has had two lottery games. I've seen laundry lines with better production values.
On one, contestants picked letters from a board with WISCONSIN LOTTERY MONEY GAME and got whatever was behind them. "I'll take the second T in Lottery." For 20 MINUTES. The winner got to spin the wheel with a bunch of $10K spaces and a few $25K.
They jazzed it up with the Super Money Game series, with representatives from two teams playing a version of blackjack. Almost as boring.
The big excite would come when they brought on the lottery mascots, two cows named Moo and La. (Get it? Get it?)
Now, they don't even show the drawings on TV any more.
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On one, contestants picked letters from a board with WISCONSIN LOTTERY MONEY GAME and got whatever was behind them. "I'll take the second T in Lottery." For 20 MINUTES.
Wasn't this on at some obscene time? I believe it was Saturday at 10:30 central, but I could be wrong. I just remember I could hardly stay awake as a kid to watch them spin the wheel (the reason I watched it in the first place).
-Jason
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Darn, I feel sorry for all of you who had the TV POWW concept and had news and weather personalities who hosted.
Here in Cleveland, on the 1st reincarnation of Channel 61 (WKBF went dark around 1976, and returned around 1981 rebranded as WCLQ), our version was known as Video Arcade. I think it was a 2-hour block of games in between cartoons.
Anyhoo, the local Cleveland host was Candi Kramer (sp?). She was the hottest (& youngest) looking TV personality around (had to be around 19-21 years old). There wasnt much of a set -- a light blue wall with a cardboard logo hanging on it.
I didn't really care about playing the game, I sent in post cards in the hopes that the blond bombshell would call! Of course the day I got called, Candi was out sick was stuck with a last minute station staffperson filling in that day.
On the flip side, I was the days top player & I won a transistor radio & a Video Arcade T- Shirt.
<BEN STEIN> "wow." </BS>
The cheesiest show was not too long ago on the local Cleveland/Akron low power sister stations Channels 29 & 35/The Cat. It was a 2-hour show every Wednesday evening called "The Son of Ghouls House of Fun & Games".
4 callers would play, the host would read general trivia questions, and the person with the highest score at the end of the 3 rounds won. A wheel would be spun, and whatever number came up, you would win whatever was in the corresponding numbered bag. Anything from tickets to Cedar Point all the way down to such klunks as a roll of toilet paper, a can of Beanie Weenie, or a *NEW (Hot Wheels) CAR!!*.
What killed the show was that it was live until Janet Jackson came along, then they tried to play using a 7 second delay, but the contestans got too confused. And the show has been off for nearly a year.
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We had "Bowling For Dollars" twice (once with Verne Lundquist in the 70s before "PM Magazine" premiered, and once the 80s with Terry Dorsey, who's still active in country music radio.)
We've also had "Whiz Quiz" in the 80s which became the basis for the "Texaco Academic Star Challenge".
ObGS: WQ host, Charles "Chip" Beal was a three time J! champion in 1991.
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In Chicago, "TV POWWWW!" was on WGN during "Bozo" and "Ray Rayner." They only played the Channel F Shooting Gallery game, for simplicity's sake, no doubt. Instead of running the animation at the top of the segment, they just ran a freeze frame of the title.
Seems like I'd seen somewhere that *Jack Clark* hosted the LA incarnation of "TV POWWW!"
In Chicago, you had "It's Academic" on WMAQ with Ed Grennan as quizmaster for years and years, until it moved to WBBM and John Coughlin replaced Grennan. When WFLD was owned by Field Enterprises, who included the World Book as one of their properties, they had "Prep Quiz Bowl," which was the "College Bowl" format for high schools.
PBS station WTTW did a local Jewish religion panel quiz called "Toss Up," which was hosted by Paul Barnes, who had played "Captain Midnight" in the old days of radio. There was also another high school quiz show (where they recycled the desks from "Toss Up"), but I don't remember the title. They also did a pilot for PBS called "The Fictionary Game," which was supposedly based on BBC Radio's "My Word!" and had Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert as panelists (when they were dong "Sneak Previews" for WTTW) along with the veteran Chicago radio host Eddie Schwartz, with WTTW chief announcer/pledge drive noodge Marty Robinson hosting. Have never seen the pilot, didn't make it to network.
Back in 1967, WBKB (now WLS) aired a show that was produced by Ralph Edwards and was hosted by Bill Leyden. It was called "Let's Face It" and was similar to "The Face is Familiar" but a little different. Don't remember a lot about the show, other than it was probably the first Ralph Edwards show not to have any live music of any kind, band or organist. I assume they were competing with other ABC O&Os for eventual national syndication and didn't get it (KGO won with "Anniversary Game").
And whenever Black History Month comes around in February, you can bet that the high school quiz "Know Your Heritage" will be popping up somewhere in unsold Saturday or Sunday time periods. WLS has aired it in recent years, with news anchor Hosea Sanders the very sharp-dressed host (not a putdown--he is).
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[quote name=\'JasonA1\' date=\'Mar 21 2005, 08:22 AM\']Wasn't this on at some obscene time? I believe it was Saturday at 10:30 central, but I could be wrong. I just remember I could hardly stay awake as a kid to watch them spin the wheel (the reason I watched it in the first place).
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Depended on the city. It was taped Fridays at WISN-TV in Milwaukee and then sent around the state - in Green Bay it usually aired at 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon, but if sports ran long, it would get delayed.
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Begging might explain how John got his many hosting assignments.
But it certainly made for some "great entertainment!" :-)
Back on topic...how about the original Illinois Lottery GS, $100K Fortune Hunt? Just the contestants picking numbers over and over again, w/the top scorer getting their total bumped up to $100K, although the board's containing both positive and negative $$$ amounts made it a little more interesting than the similarly-formatted Cash Explosion Double Play (though the latter gets the edge for me, since its board does have such little kicks as new car and $25K bonus spaces).
Item of note: Celebrity Ding-Dang-Dong, the fictitious game show seen briefly in Home Alone 2, used the $100KFH set.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Mar 21 2005, 08:04 PM\']Back on topic...how about the original Illinois Lottery GS, $100K Fortune Hunt? Just the contestants picking numbers over and over again, w/the top scorer getting their total bumped up to $100K, although the board's containing both positive and negative $$$ amounts made it a little more interesting than the similarly-formatted Cash Explosion Double Play (though the latter gets the edge for me, since its board does have such little kicks as new car and $25K bonus spaces).
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Minor nit: Fortune Hunt did have a car space, usually a Ford Thunderbird. IIRC, you could take the car and leave, or keep playing.
Also, did runners-up keep their cash for consolation?
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Minor nit: Fortune Hunt did have a car space, usually a Ford Thunderbird. IIRC, you could take the car and leave, or keep playing.
(slaps forehead) Yeah, my bad...in fact, I think a contestant hit the car, then opted to take it and leave on one of the eps that's on the circuit.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Mar 22 2005, 08:47 PM\']
Minor nit: Fortune Hunt did have a car space, usually a Ford Thunderbird. IIRC, you could take the car and leave, or keep playing.
(slaps forehead) Yeah, my bad...in fact, I think a contestant hit the car, then opted to take it and leave on one of the eps that's on the circuit.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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Ah, yes! The first host of that (I forget his name) at least twice botched that part of the show up. Instead of telling the player who selected that space what his/her options were, he went to the announcer and asked, "Bill Barber, what does this mean for our Fortune Hunter?" and both times Bill said, "Itttttttttt means our contestant has to make a choice". This memory came back to me later while watching Beat The Clock when Sonny Fox asked Bern Bennett to "introduce the next two contestants" who were the same couple who had just competed sixty full seconds ago--good ol' short term memory.
Worst of the local shows I've seen on Cleveland TV: The original format to Cash Explosion--up the ladder, down the ladder, up the ladder, down the ladder. Yawn!! The best? Hmmmmm. Can't beat the Prize Movie (1975-93; 1994). Here's a mini-clip (the one featuring two kids looking at a tree and saying "Is that the tree?" comes to mind)--identify the movie.
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When I was in upstate New York in the early 1980's, there were 2 high school quiz shows on. One of them was on a PBS station from Watertown. It was called Quiz Whiz(or something like that). Each school fielded 4-member teams. It was basically a straight Q&A game divided into 3 rounds, one of which was for captains only I think. Each correct answer earns points, however, an incorrect answer subtracts points ala J!. The other one was Scholars For Dollars shot from an NBC affiliate in Plattsburgh(WPTZ-TV 5). It too was a straight Q&A game consisting of either 3 or 4 rounds. Correct answers earned points, but NO penalties for wrong answers. That one had a faster pace to it than Quiz Whiz & often yield very high scores at times. Needless to say, my high school's academic teams appeared on BOTH shows. It fared better on Scholars than on Quiz because the rules were simpler than Quiz & because there was no penalty factored inro it. That made me prefer Scholars over Quiz by a considerable margain.
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 05:03 AM\']Needless to say, my high school's academic teams appeared on BOTH shows.
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They must not have had very high standards, then.
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Wow...been ages since I've even thought of Fortune Hunt in any capacity besides, "gee, the name 'Fortune Hunter' sounds a lot like that." I loved that show when I was a kid...wouldn't mind seeing it again, even though I have no memory of how half of it worked. :-)
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 05:03 AM\']Needless to say, my high school's academic teams appeared on BOTH shows.
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Were you on the teams Karlberg?
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[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 08:40 AM\'][quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 05:03 AM\']Needless to say, my high school's academic teams appeared on BOTH shows.
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Were you on the teams Karlberg?
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Wow...Zach has a LINE OF THE DAY!
Zach, for your sake and mine, please just take the title and shut up.
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[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 08:40 AM\'][quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 05:03 AM\']Needless to say, my high school's academic teams appeared on BOTH shows.
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Were you on the teams Karlberg?
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I say take away the Line of the Day, lock the two of them in a basement, throw away the key, and let them fight to the death.
Okay...now back to the topic.
I remember that one of the local colleges in my area has a show revolving around quiz bowl teams. It's called In The Know, and only airs on the campus TV station. The only reason I know is because my HS quiz bowl team was on the show back in 1998. As far as I know, it's still around, but I don't remember the rules or anything.
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We had a sustaining show in the sixties called "Science Quiz" that was produced at the NBC affil and aired on the NBC station on Sunday morning and the Public station on a weekday evening. The set was just a curtain and desk, but I did enjoy watching it.
According to old TV Guide listings from the New York area, WPIX ran a show in the swinging '60's called "Guess My Sign." Anybody remember seeing that one?
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Although now I realize that it was probably meant more as an educational show to find out more about Pennsylvania, than it was as a game show, I remember watching "The Pennsylvania Game" when I was about 11 and being absolutely horrified at the structure (a la no prizes or bonus round)
The game itself didn't really change, IIRC, but cosmetically it did over the years...The game was simple: The host would ask a multiple-choice question about something in Pennsylvania, and the "celebrity guests" (3 of them, could be a TV or radio personality, newspaper columnist, just someone in PA) would answer, and whoever had the most right at the end of the show was crowned the winner. A la the "Password Puzzle" or "Super Password", they also did a "Mystery Pennsylvanian" in which they would give clues throughout the program. The panel wrote down who they thought it was after each guess.
It was produced in State College (home of Penn State) in the WPSX studios, which is PSU's PBS station.
You can find out more about the show here -> http://pagame.psu.edu/default.html (http://\"http://pagame.psu.edu/default.html\")
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Now that I see public and campus TV shows getting listed, well, here's my entry...
Our local campus TV station, Titan TV (http://\"http://www.uwosh.edu/titantv/frames/frameset.html\"), has had a few game shows over the years, but IMO, the best was "Sports Trivia Challenge", which can be thought of simply as a sports version of Jeopardy!. 3 contestants played, whoever got the most points got to take on the host in a WBSM-esque bonus round [only 5 questions, IIRC].
I actually saw 2 tapings of the show, and have some pics of the set---
Main set (http://\"http://chiefospage.robertsearcy.info/photos/temp/stcset.jpg\")
Contestant desk (http://\"http://chiefospage.robertsearcy.info/photos/temp/contestantdesk.jpg\")
The big board (http://\"http://chiefospage.robertsearcy.info/photos/temp/bigboard.jpg\")
They've also done "Hollywood Trivia Challenge" [same concept, no bonus round, and just plain boring], and a version of "Match Game" [which used the '7x theme!]
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[quote name=\'Chief-O\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 02:10 PM\']Contestant desk (http://\"http://chiefospage.robertsearcy.info/photos/temp/contestantdesk.jpg\")
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OK, I must know. Who or what is the guy on the right in the photograph shown in this link?
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 02:49 PM\']OK, I must know. Who or what is the guy on the right in the photograph shown in this link?
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One of the contestants from that episode.
BTW, the aforementioned "Titan TV Match Game", as it was officially called, used the Chain Reaction theme for the contestant plug, and had a [IMO, poor] imitation of Gene Wood as its announcer. Otherwise, those are about the only reasons to watch an ep. of this show [if you can even find ANYONE in Oshkosh who taped it!!]
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 02:06 AM\'][quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Mar 22 2005, 08:47 PM\']
Minor nit: Fortune Hunt did have a car space, usually a Ford Thunderbird. IIRC, you could take the car and leave, or keep playing.
(slaps forehead) Yeah, my bad...in fact, I think a contestant hit the car, then opted to take it and leave on one of the eps that's on the circuit.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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Ah, yes! The first host of that (I forget his name) at least twice botched that part of the show up. Instead of telling the player who selected that space what his/her options were, he went to the announcer and asked, "Bill Barber, what does this mean for our Fortune Hunter?" and both times Bill said, "Itttttttttt means our contestant has to make a choice". This memory came back to me later while watching Beat The Clock when Sonny Fox asked Bern Bennett to "introduce the next two contestants" who were the same couple who had just competed sixty full seconds ago--good ol' short term memory.
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Jeff Coopwood, who was rather incompetent. Replaced by the much more competent (if bland) Mike Liederman. Along with Barber, Linda Kollmeyer was the common thread (along with the husband/wife/son producers the Riveras) in all of the Illinois lottery shows (yes, I know MGP/JG were *technically* the producers of "Illinois Instant Riches" and "Illinois' Luckiest," but the Riveras were kept on by Goodson as the in-city showrunners while Goodson, Steve Ryan and Rob Fiedler [?] developed new games in LA).
The best? Hmmmmm. Can't beat the Prize Movie (1975-93; 1994). Here's a mini-clip (the one featuring two kids looking at a tree and saying "Is that the tree?" comes to mind)--identify the movie.
Different "Prize Movie" in Chicago (WLS, 60s and 70s). Identify the tune of the day and get a chance at the mystery song for the jackpot. Host Ione Rolnick, who went by her first name alone on the air, in the later years would do exercises to the tune of the day, making her the only game show host I know who wore a leotard on the air. (Ione, who had a rather--uh--distinctive voice [think a slightly higher-pitched Fran Drescher], did voice-overs in Chicago and the female characters on "Amazon Ace," Dick Orkin's less successful followup to "Chickenman" on WCFL here.)
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 02:06 AM\']Worst of the local shows I've seen on Cleveland TV: The original format to Cash Explosion--up the ladder, down the ladder, up the ladder, down the ladder. Yawn!! The best? Hmmmmm. Can't beat the Prize Movie (1975-93; 1994). Here's a mini-clip (the one featuring two kids looking at a tree and saying "Is that the tree?" comes to mind)--identify the movie.[/quote]
I'd say the best was Academic Challenge in the 1980s, before the PYL-esque board. Don Webster could run laps around any of the hosts which have followed him.
The Prize Movie is not far behind. John Lanigan was a decent host. My favorite moments from Prize Movie usually involved elderly people getting a kid's show character on the celebrity wheel. There's something about Gertie from Lakewood not knowing Optimus Prime or Transformers which made me, a pre-teen or young teen at the time, laugh out loud. I was a little jackass in the 1980s.
The worst show? The current Cash Explosion since Paul and Sharon were relieved of their duties. It's one of the few shows which have three thumbs down on my TiVo. At least the original ladder/pyramid game was tolerable.
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I had almost forgotten in the late 60s, we also had a high school college-bowl type game. It was probably no better or worse than any of the others, but it aired on Channel 5 locally, and had probably the worst name of the bunch:
"5 High"
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This memory came back to me later while watching Beat The Clock when Sonny Fox asked Bern Bennett to "introduce the next two contestants" who were the same couple who had just competed sixty full seconds ago--good ol' short term memory.
And people wonder why EPG wasted little time in firing Sonny from the $64K Challenge (an ep where he accidentally gave away an answer was supposedly the final straw)...
ChucK Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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I remember watching "The Pennsylvania Game" when I was about 11 and being absolutely horrified at the structure (a la no prizes or bonus round)
Actually, at least later in the run, they began offering a small prize to the winner (ex: a gift basket, an assortment of toys inspired by PBS kids' shows), not to mention giving contestants PA Lottery scratch-offs when all 3 of them chose the same answer. :-)
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 10:34 PM\']
This memory came back to me later while watching Beat The Clock when Sonny Fox asked Bern Bennett to "introduce the next two contestants" who were the same couple who had just competed sixty full seconds ago--good ol' short term memory.
And people wonder why EPG wasted little time in firing Sonny from the $64K Challenge (an ep where he accidentally gave away an answer was supposedly the final straw)...
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Seeing how the answer he gave away was on a $32000 question, I can't say as I blame them.
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Mike, I must agree with you on Cash Explosion current... Those 2 weiners are just God awful... Paul and Sharn, yeah, they were fake, but not as fake as these two clowns they've got on now. Although, the one chick is kinda hot in her own special way...
And wow, funny you mention the uber old pyramid ladder setup. That was even before Sharon and Paul... That was actually better than this song and dance they've got going now. That was actually fun to watch in many aspects!
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[quote name=\'TunaHead\' date=\'Mar 24 2005, 01:47 AM\']Mike, I must agree with you on Cash Explosion current... Those 2 weiners are just God awful...
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True that. Leilani ("how lowwwwwwwwwwww can my voice goooooooooo") is from hunger and Michelle only serves a purpose in my fantasies with whipped cream and a baggie.
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[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 04:14 PM\']I was a little jackass in the 1980s.
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Just in the 1980s? :D
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[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Mar 24 2005, 04:17 AM\'][quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 04:14 PM\']I was a little jackass in the 1980s.
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Just in the 1980s? :D[/quote]
OK, OK. And for the first week of January 1990.
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The only local game show we have here in Portland is "The High Five Challenge," hosted by former news personality Wayne Faligowski.
It's a simple high school/college bowl, except teams started with 2,000, there were five categories chosen at random, and questions were at 10, 20 and 40 points, respectively.
And there was apparently a "Wild Card" on each team that could steal the opponent's buzzin. The second set of categories was about the same, except one was a mystery category (and in the past few episodes I've seen recently, it's always chosen last.) And I think towards the last three categories, point values doubled.
It's gotten slightly cheaper ever since they relied more on computer monitors. It's a pretty decent quiz show, however.
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[quote name=\'TonicBH\' date=\'Mar 24 2005, 09:45 AM\']The only local game show we have here in Portland is "The High Five Challenge," hosted by former news personality Wayne Faligowski.
It's a simple high school/college bowl, except teams started with 2,000, there were five categories chosen at random, and questions were at 10, 20 and 40 points, respectively.[/quote]
The teams are given 2000 points to start and the highest question in the first round is 40 points? Sounds like Mo' Points Syndrome.
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[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Mar 24 2005, 11:08 AM\']The teams are given 2000 points to start and the highest question in the first round is 40 points? Sounds like Mo' Points Syndrome.
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Well, you see this way, Mike, no team leaves empty handed.
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[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Mar 24 2005, 09:08 AM\'][quote name=\'TonicBH\' date=\'Mar 24 2005, 09:45 AM\']The only local game show we have here in Portland is "The High Five Challenge," hosted by former news personality Wayne Faligowski.
It's a simple high school/college bowl, except teams started with 2,000, there were five categories chosen at random, and questions were at 10, 20 and 40 points, respectively.[/quote]
The teams are given 2000 points to start and the highest question in the first round is 40 points? Sounds like Mo' Points Syndrome.
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There are ten categories, nine with 10-10-20-20-40 (shuffled around) and the tenth category has those amounts doubled.
Merely speculation, but I wonder if the "High Five" scoreboards are incapable of displaying a blank. (no points would read '0000' or whatever). The 2,000 means that it would be nearly impossible to lose enough points to go below 1,000, and similarly that the teams won't go into a negative situation. They might have started with 200 points back in the test runs, but there have been some teams that are so trigger happy that they lose more than that. (They have a rule where you can steal the opposing team's answer, but if your team is wrong, you lose double the value.)
From the shows I've seen, 2,500 is an excellent score, and after a while I just mentally drop the 2,000.
As one of only two high school quiz shows I've seen, I can't say how it ranks with the rest, but QB is certainly a more interesting game- High Five is like "Jeopardy Lite".
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'79123\' date=\'Mar 23 2005, 02:06 AM\']
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Mar 22 2005, 08:47 PM\']Minor nit: Fortune Hunt did have a car space, usually a Ford Thunderbird. IIRC, you could take the car and leave, or keep playing.
(slaps forehead) Yeah, my bad...in fact, I think a contestant hit the car, then opted to take it and leave on one of the eps that's on the circuit.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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Ah, yes! The first host of that (I forget his name) at least twice botched that part of the show up. Instead of telling the player who selected that space what his/her options were, he went to the announcer and asked, "Bill Barber, what does this mean for our Fortune Hunter?" and both times Bill said, "Itttttttttt means our contestant has to make a choice". This memory came back to me later while watching Beat The Clock when Sonny Fox asked Bern Bennett to "introduce the next two contestants" who were the same couple who had just competed sixty full seconds ago--good ol' short term memory.
Worst of the local shows I've seen on Cleveland TV: The original format to Cash Explosion--up the ladder, down the ladder, up the ladder, down the ladder. Yawn!! The best? Hmmmmm. Can't beat the Prize Movie (1975-93; 1994). Here's a mini-clip (the one featuring two kids looking at a tree and saying "Is that the tree?" comes to mind)--identify the movie.
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Oh I remember that show! "The $100,000 Fortune Hunt". And yup you're right, it was a dreary concept, but then again, since it was a lottery game show and you only needed a dollar (the cost of the scratcher), some luck, and the IQ of room temperature to be on it, stands to reason the format couldn't be all that complicated.
And I also remember the original host. His name was Jeff Coopwood. And frankly, he was the only reason to watch the show. He actually made it fun. His ad libs with the contestants, and good sense of timing and pacing actually made the thing fun. I remember his co-host was Linda Kollmeyer, who was a kewpie doll, Vanna-type who had a voice like sandpaper. She is still drawing balls for their Lotto contests! Wow! Talk about a career move! And I also remember that chick that ran the lottery back then. Her name was Sharon Sharpe, and she was a total camera hog. She couldn't read the teleprompter for squat and always had that "deer caught in the headlights" look! Too funny, and too sad. But yeah, as I recall, Coopwood bailed after the first year and they replaced him with some dude named Mike Jackson, who had been a local tv news guy, and he was so boring he made watching weeds grow more entertaining! Besides, I remember some news story that he got the job because his wife was some state government honcho! Too funny, and too lame! As I recall, another news report said that the ratings for the show nose-dived after Coopwood left -they were actually higher than "Wheel of Fortune" in Chicago when he was there, (and Pat Sajak is FROM Chicago!) - and they just died after Coopwood left. So apparently I'm not the only person who really liked him on that show.
And I remember that faux pas about him asking the announcer "what does the contestant win", at the wrong time, because that was the format of the show, to throw it to the announcer for a description of the prize. But I also remember that was the show's pilot episode! And they shot live-to-tape without stops, so I suppose only one mistake in the pilot isn't that bad. And he only did that once, not twice. Like I said, Coopwood was the only real reason to watch this dreck. And good for him that he got out when he did, because he might be stuck still drawing lotto balls with Linda Kollmeyer! LOL
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And I also remember the original host. His name was Jeff Coopwood. And frankly, he was the only reason to watch the show. He actually made it fun. His ad libs with the contestants, and good sense of timing and pacing actually made the thing fun.
And for you Seinfeld fans out there (again, a nod to the central PA contingent...LOL), Coopwood also guest-starred in the 1995 "Fusilli Jerry" ep, as well as (ObGameShow) hosting the 1989 series of long-running Chicago HS quiz Know Your Heritage.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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And some years ago, Linda Kollmeyer was in a play in Chicago where she played a vapid yuppie cokehead. Some may say that it was typecasting.
[Angus Deayton] Allegedly. [AD]
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I was up in Oscoda, Michigan a few weeks ago and stumbled onto a local station high school quiz game I think was called "Knowledge Bowl". I swear it was the most painful thing I've ever watched. It made the "Bee" almost look like Masterpiece Theater in comparison. I've been kidded about being no super producer, but brother...I think I filled a whole page with the horrors. Among my favorites were:
The camera doing the host close-ups wasn't balanced, and she had a lovely, glowing green complexion that became more earthly-looking in the occasional wide shot.
In the wide shot, the signs over the teams with the name of the show weren't totally in the shot, making it "owledge Bowl" on one side, and "Knowledge Bo" on the other.
If the hostess couldn't pronounce a word in the question, she's either mangle it or skip it. "Gee, I can't pronounce that one..." She seemed very uncomfortable, and probably was.
And my favorite, each player panel had four players and two microphones - like O m O O m O. The host podium was positioned between the two panels, so all players turned to their left or their right to face her and give their answer. If the player buzzing in was like the first or third player on the team, they were facing away from their nearest mike, so there were many, many questions like:
"Who was the Civil War general famous for burning buildings while marching through Georgia?"
*buzz*
"Tom, Alpena.."
" --silence-- "
"Correct for 10 points! "
Matt, clone yourself and get over there quick!
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It was before my time, but in the city where I was born there was a game show that was pretty much a game of mini-golf (or "putt-putt") on TV
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[quote name=\'CherryPizza\' post=\'122578\' date=\'Jun 26 2006, 07:26 PM\']
It was before my time, but in the city where I was born there was a game show that was pretty much a game of mini-golf (or "putt-putt") on TV
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Has anyone seen the current New Jersey Challenge that airs on News 12 NJ (Long Island has a similar show)? It features local high school academic teams. The show asks some of the most uninteresting questions I have ever seen on a game show, and the host, while doing a decent job, seems very wooden to me.
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Illinois' Luckiest was pretty bad. The show looked like it was taped in a black box theatre, not to mention the 180 degree turn in gameplay.
Know Your Heritage has gone downhill as well. Gameplay is not as serious, and last time I watched, they were playing rap music in the background during the speed round...go figure.
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[quote name=\'The Ol' Guy\' post=\'122566\' date=\'Jun 26 2006, 05:03 PM\']Matt, clone yourself and get over there quick![/quote]
Astonishingly, there are now FOUR high school quiz bowls on various Michigan stations. We're often told that we're the best, but we also realize that it's virtually by default.
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[quote name=\'CherryPizza\' post=\'122578\' date=\'Jun 26 2006, 06:26 PM\']
It was before my time, but in the city where I was born there was a game show that was pretty much a game of mini-golf (or "putt-putt") on TV
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Sounds stupid but Putt-Putt and the Professional Putters Association produced a national show for 15-20 years. A national tournament was taped in the summer at a Carolina Putt-Putt, and the tournament then played out over the season, match play style. Later on, as the "Skins" format proved popular, it was played as a 3 player "hole in one or else". I haven't seen it since around '93. Was probably cancelled at that time.
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[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' post=\'122676\' date=\'Jun 28 2006, 06:11 AM\']
Later on, as the "Skins" format proved popular, it was played as a 3 player "hole in one or else". I haven't seen it since around '93. Was probably cancelled at that time.
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Naw, it's still airing....once in a blue moon I run across it on ESPN.
The problem with Putt-Putt (as opposed to Miniature) golf is that visually it REALLY isn't interesting. It's a skill game rather than a novelty game, so they're not putting around windmills and dragon mouths and the neat stuff like that, usually it's just a dogleg and a couple of block obstacles between you and the hole. Good for serious putting competition, not so good for TV.