The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: adamjk on August 29, 2004, 10:22:48 PM
-
I am curious, I know it's not a particularly big thing in the grand scheme of things, but nevertheless I am curious as to why, shortly after the show debuted in 73, the celeb "weeks" would stretch from one week into the next. Anyone know why?
-
[quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Aug 29 2004, 10:22 PM\'] I am curious, I know it's not a particularly big thing in the grand scheme of things, but nevertheless I am curious as to why, shortly after the show debuted in 73, the celeb "weeks" would stretch from one week into the next. Anyone know why? [/quote]
I'm not sure what you mean - the only thing I can fathom is that the celebs don't go from Monday-Friday, but like start on Wednesday, and go until the following Tuesday?
If this is not what you mean, please expand on it a little more.
-
What you said is indeed what I meant.
-
Maybe there was a week where only 3 shows aired (a holiday week or something) but 5 shows were still taped for that week, so the other two shows aired on Monday and Tuesday, the first episode from the next set of 5 episodes aired on Wednesday, and then it continued that way for a while?
Just a guess.
-
CBS would sometimes preempt MG for specials like "Daytime 90," sporting events, children's specials and the like. MG would always tape five shows for airing and left the scheduling in CBS' hands.
-
What Jimmy and Co. said, Adam, is right, and what I was going to say if that's what you meant. :)
MG always taped 5 shows with celebs, and due to holidays, and specials (I have an issue of TVG where MG and TT, airing from 3:30-4:30 pm (EST) at the time, was pre-empted for CBS's "Magazine", which was popular during the '70s). So, that would throw things off quite a bit...
-
Sometimes a non-scheduled event (A trial, special news conference, disaster, etc. ) will throw a networks schedule off..
-
And let's not forget that MG premiered in the thick of the Watergate hearings, which threw the whole world of Daytime TV out of orbit.
-
Edited--mystery7 beat me by a few seconds...
-
CBS would sometimes preempt MG for specials like "Daytime 90," sporting events, children's specials and the like. MG would always tape five shows for airing and left the scheduling in CBS' hands.
That's one reason why Gene hardly ever mentioned the date, because they could never be sure if a pre-emption would occur between taping and airing that would throw things off. Gene quite frequently could be heard saying things like "we don't know what day this is" - or something to that effect.
-
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Aug 30 2004, 08:18 AM\']
That's one reason why Gene hardly ever mentioned the date, because they could never be sure if a pre-emption would occur between taping and airing that would throw things off. Gene quite frequently could be heard saying things like "we don't know what day this is" - or something to that effect. [/quote]
It's also why Gene Rayburn closed the show saying, "Join us next time...," instead of tomorrow or Monday.
-
I think I also remember the same thing happening on Tattletales. The same Celebrity panel would sometimes stretch into the following week. Forgive me if I'm wrong. I was only a little kid.
John
-
John, you are right about "Tattletales." When it came back in the 80's, though, after a year or so on the air, if CBS had tennis or a holiday special or "Afternoon Playhouse" (CBS's answer to ABC's "Afterschool Special") or something else knocking out one or two days of a week, "Tattletales" would have a repeat week for the three or four days of that week. There were a couple of repeat weeks on "Body Language" as well.
-
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Aug 30 2004, 02:55 PM\'] John, you are right about "Tattletales." When it came back in the 80's, though, after a year or so on the air, if CBS had tennis or a holiday special or "Afternoon Playhouse" (CBS's answer to ABC's "Afterschool Special") or something else knocking out one or two days of a week, "Tattletales" would have a repeat week for the three or four days of that week. There were a couple of repeat weeks on "Body Language" as well. [/quote]
And for the '70s pre-emptions, don't forget about "Razzmatazz"...
-
[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Aug 30 2004, 02:09 PM\'] And for the '70s pre-emptions, don't forget about "Razzmatazz"... [/quote]
That's if you remember the show existed in the first place.
And since its existence is all I remember, can someone enlighten me?
-
[quote name=\'rigsby\' date=\'Aug 30 2004, 04:21 PM\'] And since its existence is all I remember, can someone enlighten me? [/quote]
I can attempt to!
I have very vague memories of the show, except that it was hosted by Barry Bostwick from '77-'78 (you could say he was fresh off "Rocky Horror" at this point)..It was like a newsmagazine show for kids, I believe...Monthly?
-
Brian Tochi of "Space Academy" succeeded Bostwick. The show lasted until '82.
-
And there was that five-week period on "Tattletales" within the first year where they basically had a different group of celebs every day--within a week. Basically, they took five weeks worth of shows and spread them out (Monday you'd have, for example, Stiller & Meara, Bill and Marcy Shatner and Jack Klugman and Brett Somers, Tuesday you'd have Bobby Van and Elaine Joyce, Phyllis Diller and Ward Donovan and Julie Harris and CNR, and so on--once again, examples, not actual lineups). Either it had no effect on ratings or Goodson couldn't guarantee that they'd always have at least five weeks of shows in the can to continue scheduling that way.
-
Similar to what Balderdash did for it's first week on air.
-
And there was that five-week period on "Tattletales" within the first year where they basically had a different group of celebs every day--within a week. Basically, they took five weeks worth of shows and spread them out (Monday you'd have, for example, Stiller & Meara, Bill and Marcy Shatner and Jack Klugman and Brett Somers, Tuesday you'd have Bobby Van and Elaine Joyce, Phyllis Diller and Ward Donovan and Julie Harris and CNR, and so on--once again, examples, not actual lineups). Either it had no effect on ratings or Goodson couldn't guarantee that they'd always have at least five weeks of shows in the can to continue scheduling that way.
You're close...but not quite right. According to written records I kept at the time, my memory, and TVGuide listings (although TVGuide was slow to pick up on this), they alternated two weeks worth of shows and they did this for about six months.
In other words, they'd show a Monday show with one group of celebrities, the next day would be the Monday show with the next group. Then the Tuesday show with the first group, and so on for two weeks. As soon as the two weeks were over, they'd start the whole process again.
CBS aired them in this way from about April 1974 to early December 1974. The first week when they went back to airing the episodes consecutively was the week where Gene Rayburn and Gary Burghoff were making their first appearances. CBS must have let GT know they were going to stop this practice, because on a "Match Game" from December 1974, Gene says to watch him on "Tattletales" starting "this Friday". If they had continued alternating, his first episode would have aired on a different day.
I'm not sure why the shows were ever aired this way and I've never been able to get an explanation after all these years. I'm wondering if Goodson might have complained to CBS about the way the shows were being aired(?)