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Hello everyone!
In the midst of the grand revival of GSN (and my first viewing of Rafferty Card Sharks), a thought about the distributors of syndicated game shows came to mind.
Does anyone know if these distributors still exist in some fashion? (The show(s) in parentheses is the shows that were distributed to the best of my knowledge.)
Genesis Entertainment ($ale of the Century)
Cobert Television Sales (Tic Tac Dough, The Joker's Wild)
The Media Television Group (Card Sharks with Rafferty)
Jim Victory (Match Game (PM))
Thanks in advance for your responses!
The Inquisitive One
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IIRC, Genesis was swallowed by New World which was swallowed by Fox. The others have not been active for a long time. The King brothers worked for Colbert before getting the rights to WOF.
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[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 01:36 AM\']The Media Television Group (Card Sharks with Rafferty)
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I seem to recall Chuck Donnegan reported they went under; and that was a driving factor in why CS didn't see a second year in syndication. It also may have halted progress on the NYSI pilot, and the syndie Price.
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[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 01:36 AM\']
In the midst of the grand revival of GSN (and my first viewing of Rafferty Card Sharks), a thought about the distributors of syndicated game shows came to mind.
The Media Television Group (Card Sharks with Rafferty)
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Wasn't it the Television Program Source that syndicated Kennedy TPIR and Rafferty CS?
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[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 01:36 AM\']
Cobert Television Sales (Tic Tac Dough, The Joker's Wild)
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COlbert went under soon after TJW and TTD ended in 1986.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 03:16 AM\'][quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 01:36 AM\']The Media Television Group (Card Sharks with Rafferty)
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I seem to recall Chuck Donnegan reported they went under; and that was a driving factor in why CS didn't see a second year in syndication. It also may have halted progress on the NYSI pilot, and the syndie Price.
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The downgrading of time slots in NYC mid-season probably didn't help. Rafferty CS was dropped right after Xmas in Philly on WPVI(right after previous season J! reruns, which moved back to 11AM on 1/5/87 when CS was dropped), and moved to 4:30AM in NYC on WABC on 1/5/87 in favor of a little talk show that debuted in 9/86 at 10AM. Both stations had originally aired Rafferty CS at 4:30PM EST. THe little talk show that replaced them was called Oprah. Less-than-stellar ratings and time slots hurt Kennedy TPIR; airing at 2:30AM in NYC really doesn't make a renewal too likely. How Street Smarts has lasted five years in time slots of 11PM or later in many areas is beyond me. NYSI's proposed revival came in a crowded market in 1985, and had a maingame kinda resembling Pyramid, so no one took that one.
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[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 07:14 AM\']Wasn't it the Television Program Source that syndicated Kennedy TPIR and Rafferty CS?
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Kennedy TPIR: Don't know. Rafferty CS: yes.
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[quote name=\'Chief-O\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 08:08 AM\']Kennedy TPIR: Don't know. Rafferty CS: yes.
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TPiR: TPS
Slightly off-topic, upstairs in HU's library is a book that covers syndie programming throughout the years, I think it gets no further than 1990 or '95. It's an interesting read, but it contains a great many factual errors, and one of them stated that Rafferty CS was a Lorimar-Telepictures production. We obviously know that is false, but the discussion triggered that thought.
If I can find the book (and pay off the loan sharks library fines!), I'll post some of the misleading info.
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[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 02:36 AM\']Does anyone know if these distributors still exist in some fashion? (The show(s) in parentheses is the shows that were distributed to the best of my knowledge.)
Jim Victory (Match Game (PM))
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http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=2621 (http://\"http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=2621\")
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 09:06 AM\'][quote name=\'Chief-O\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 08:08 AM\']Kennedy TPIR: Don't know. Rafferty CS: yes.
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TPiR: TPS
Slightly off-topic, upstairs in HU's library is a book that covers syndie programming throughout the years, I think it gets no further than 1990 or '95. It's an interesting read, but it contains a great many factual errors, and one of them stated that Rafferty CS was a Lorimar-Telepictures production. We obviously know that is false, but the discussion triggered that thought.
If I can find the book (and pay off the loan sharks library fines!), I'll post some of the misleading info.
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I think I know this book...didn't they also say that there was s syndie version of the Perry run, syndicated by Firestone...AND (here's the good part) was where the survey questions debuted, "unlike" the NBC run?
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[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 09:41 AM\']I think I know this book...didn't they also say that there was s syndie version of the Perry run, syndicated by Firestone...AND (here's the good part) was where the survey questions debuted, "unlike" the NBC run?
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I know that Alex McNeil's Total Television makes that error with regard to Perry CS' gameplay, as to whether the book Brandon's talking about makes the same mistake I can't speak to.
Doug
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[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 09:41 AM\'][quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 09:06 AM\'][quote name=\'Chief-O\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 08:08 AM\']Kennedy TPIR: Don't know. Rafferty CS: yes.
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TPiR: TPS
Slightly off-topic, upstairs in HU's library is a book that covers syndie programming throughout the years, I think it gets no further than 1990 or '95. It's an interesting read, but it contains a great many factual errors, and one of them stated that Rafferty CS was a Lorimar-Telepictures production. We obviously know that is false, but the discussion triggered that thought.
If I can find the book (and pay off the loan sharks library fines!), I'll post some of the misleading info.
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I think I know this book...didn't they also say that there was s syndie version of the Perry run, syndicated by Firestone...AND (here's the good part) was where the survey questions debuted, "unlike" the NBC run?
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Firestone did offer a first run strip with Jim Perry that would have run concurrently with the NBC version, but it never got off the ground. In the fall of 82, Firestone distributed the off-network reruns. WABC had them in NYC (spring-summer 83 at 10:30am, opposite $ale), WJBK in Detroit from 82-84, among others. I've found over the years that general TV researchers are not as concerned with accuracy when it comes to the game show genre.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 09:06 AM\'][quote name=\'Chief-O\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 08:08 AM\']Kennedy TPIR: Don't know. Rafferty CS: yes.
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TPiR: TPS
Slightly off-topic, upstairs in HU's library is a book that covers syndie programming throughout the years, I think it gets no further than 1990 or '95. It's an interesting read, but it contains a great many factual errors, and one of them stated that Rafferty CS was a Lorimar-Telepictures production. We obviously know that is false, but the discussion triggered that thought.
If I can find the book (and pay off the loan sharks library fines!), I'll post some of the misleading info.
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The book in question is Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987 by Hal Erickson. I think the only thing right from the entry in the book for Card Sharks is the punctuation:
[font=\"Times\"]Card Sharks (1982; 1986). Jonathan M. Goodsom, scion of a famous game-producing family, created this game show for CBS daytime in 1978, wherein contestants tried to guess if a card was of higher or lower value than the card preceding it. The 1982 syndie version, a Mark Goodson/Firestone release, was hosted by Jim Perry and retained the network format. The 1986 non-network revival, hosted by Bill Rafferty and distributed by Lormiar-Telepictures, added the "Family Feud" angle of allowing contestants to play the card game only after correctly determining how a group of 100 people would answer specific questions.[/font]
Disclosure: Hal Erickson and I work for the same company. Otherwise, I would be much more snarkier.
--Mike
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Hal seemed to have a general disdain for game shows in that book. On the BTB 85 entry he mentioned the "gloriously named Joe Farago" as if the show was a farrago (which perhaps it was in retrospect.)
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IIRC, Television Program Source was the creation of Coca-Cola, then owner of Columbia Pictures and Merv Griffin Enterprises (no doubt unhappy that its two biggest syndication properties were syndicated by another company, as they remain today). They actually hired away one of the King brothers (Michael, IIRC) to run the company. Two strikes and he didn't get a chance at a third.
After the two main reasons for Colbert Sales' being went off the air and B&E seemed to still be feeling the effect of the unexpected departure of one of its founders, Colbert landed as U.S. syndication head at ITC, charged by Polygram to make the company a playa again after the Independent Broadcasting Authority in the UK had for all practical purposes forced Lord Lew Grade out of the television business. Colbert got together with his old boss Dan Enright and--well, you know what happened. Clue for those who don't: Rapping dragon.
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[quote name=\'mmb5\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 12:34 PM\']The book in question is Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987 by Hal Erickson. I think the only thing right from the entry in the book for Card Sharks is the punctuation:
[font=\"Times\"]Card Sharks (1982; 1986). Jonathan M. Goodsom, scion of a famous game-producing family, created this game show for CBS daytime in 1978, wherein contestants tried to guess if a card was of higher or lower value than the card preceding it. The 1982 syndie version, a Mark Goodson/Firestone release, was hosted by Jim Perry and retained the network format. The 1986 non-network revival, hosted by Bill Rafferty and distributed by Lormiar-Telepictures, added the "Family Feud" angle of allowing contestants to play the card game only after correctly determining how a group of 100 people would answer specific questions.[/font]
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That's the one...thanks! :-)
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Hal seemed to have a general disdain for game shows in that book. On the BTB 85 entry he mentioned the "gloriously named Joe Farago" as if the show was a farrago (which perhaps it was in retrospect.)
I could discern an anti-GS bias in Erickson's writings, myself:
- A section on 70s entries in the genre is preceded by the warning "If you think PTAR (the Prime Time Access Rule) fostered diversity, skip this section...the game shows will only depress you."
- He sarcastically remarks that producing early 70s syndie entries like nighttime HS and LMaD, all based on daytime network shows, was "so original".
- He claims the most exciting thing that happened in Bullseye's run was an ep where the board malfunctioned and spun out of control.
Pity our guy Hal didn't do another update during the trash-talk era of the mid-90s...he would've had a field day, LOL.
And many of Erickson's writings in other areas were not updated for future editions...for ex, an entry on the Old Time Gospel Hour claims that, following a 1976 interview in which Rev. Jerry Falwell was overly critical of then-Pres. Jimmy Carter, he basically stayed out of politics...wouldn't those who missed the book in an earlier publishing have appreciated some details about the formation of the Moral Majority and its rise to power in the early 80s?
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Apr 5 2005, 07:27 PM\']- He claims the most exciting thing that happened in Bullseye's run was an ep where the board malfunctioned and spun out of control.[/quote]
So did this really happen?
Back on the topic of Erickson, didn't he also have a similar encyclopedia for cartoon series? If so, then another infamous "strike" in a ballgame full of them would be when he discussed The Raccoons, and misidentified Cyril Sneer as a "pink wolf."