Shows that hit the ground running

[Jimmy Owen]

What is your choice for a show that was so good from the start that very little on-air tweaking ever happened?  My pick is "Family Feud."

[cmjb13]

Marshall's HS, TPIR, J!

[Matt Ottinger]

Virtually any truly classic show has that quality of being great right out of the box.  Concentration comes to mind for me, but so do any of the great panel shows.

[calliaume]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 08:33 AM\'] What is your choice for a show that was so good from the start that very little on-air tweaking ever happened?  My pick is "Family Feud." [/quote]
 Password (the original) was my first thought -- monster hit from the start.  For that matter, so was Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, although that benefitted from an extended out-of-town tryout.

[chris319]

so was Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, although that benefitted from an extended out-of-town tryout.

Not to mention the success it had in the '50s under the title "The $64,000 Question".

[Mike Tennant]

[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 04:10 PM\']

so was Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, although that benefitted from an extended out-of-town tryout.

Not to mention the success it had in the '50s under the title "The $64,000 Question".[/quote]
Uh-uh.  You mean the "Hal March Jackpot."

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'calliaume\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 03:19 PM\'] [quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 08:33 AM\'] What is your choice for a show that was so good from the start that very little on-air tweaking ever happened?  My pick is "Family Feud." [/quote]
Password (the original) was my first thought -- monster hit from the start. [/quote]
 The show that cut into daytime Password's ratings in 1966-67, thanks in large part to a Bob McNamara speech cutting into Password on the day it debuted, Newlywed Game, also qualifies. Only the scoring system was modified(early on the bonus question was worth 35 points instead of 25), and all else remained the same until the "play for money" format debuted in Fall 1988.

[calliaume]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 06:46 PM\'] The show that cut into daytime Password's ratings in 1966-67, thanks in large part to a Bob McNamara speech cutting into Password on the day it debuted, Newlywed Game, also qualifies. Only the scoring system was modified(early on the bonus question was worth 35 points instead of 25), and all else remained the same until the "play for money" format debuted in Fall 1988. [/quote]
 The show was fine -- but Bob apparently needed a little work (if Chuck Barris is to be believed).

[tommycharles]

[quote name=\'calliaume\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 09:23 PM\'] [quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 06:46 PM\'] The show that cut into daytime Password's ratings in 1966-67, thanks in large part to a Bob McNamara speech cutting into Password on the day it debuted, Newlywed Game, also qualifies. Only the scoring system was modified(early on the bonus question was worth 35 points instead of 25), and all else remained the same until the "play for money" format debuted in Fall 1988. [/quote]
The show was fine -- but Bob apparently needed a little work (if Chuck Barris is to be believed). [/quote]
 I still like Chuck's quote on that "I've never seen anyone go 25 minutes without blinking"

[Jay Temple]

Pyramid

Edit to clarify:  I'm talking about the whole franchise, not specifically the one titled Pyramid.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 04:37 PM\'] [quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 04:10 PM\']

so was Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, although that benefitted from an extended out-of-town tryout.

Not to mention the success it had in the '50s under the title "The $64,000 Question".[/quote]
Uh-uh.  You mean the "Hal March Jackpot." [/quote]
Hey!  You even used a last name!

Jumping back on topic; I think that on the kids side of things, Double Dare worked very well out of the box.  So did Finders Keepers--but then they made those inane changes. [mainly, going to Colorforms].

That could make another thread:  Which shows started out fine; but had changes made to them, that are making them tank?

My vote goes to Wheel of Fortune.

[gameshowguy2000]

What about both versions of 21? The 50's version may have been famous for Stempel vs. Van Doren, but the 2000 version was much better, and lasted longer than its predecessor. They both started out well, but the 2000 version lasted longer. MUCH Longer.

A few things why:

1. Multiple choice questions

2. Bigger payouts

3. Perfect 21 Bonus Round

In addition, I'll add my favorite, Winning Lines. It did VERY well on Night #1, with Catherine Rahm's $500,000 Wonderwall win. But the home-viewer sweepstakes didn't attract viewers, and the show just jumped the shark, when it SHOULDN'T have.

[trainman]

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 10:08 PM\'] What about both versions of 21? The 50's version may have been famous for Stempel vs. Van Doren, but the 2000 version was much better, and lasted longer than its predecessor. They both started out well, but the 2000 version lasted longer. MUCH Longer. [/quote]
 The 1950s version of "Twenty-One" ran from September 1956 to October 1958, and the 2000 version ran with new episodes from January 2000 through April 2000, then was rerun on Pax until September 2000...but even counting the Pax reruns, that still leaves it over a year short of the length of the run of the original version.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 11:08 PM\'] In addition, I'll add my favorite, Winning Lines. It did VERY well on Night #1, with Catherine Rahm's $500,000 Wonderwall win.



 [/quote]
 Did it? Do you have some numbers to back that up?

(a pitstop....she STILL HAD A FREAKIN' PITSTOP...)

But the home-viewer sweepstakes didn't attract viewers, and the show just jumped the shark, when it SHOULDN'T have...

Please kindly visit jumptheshark.com, and review the correct usage of the term before attempting to use it in future communications. Thank you.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 01:27 AM\'] [quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 6 2004, 11:08 PM\'] In addition, I'll add my favorite, Winning Lines. It did VERY well on Night #1, with Catherine Rahm's $500,000 Wonderwall win.



 [/quote]
Did it? Do you have some numbers to back that up?
 [/quote]
 Because I was bored, I decided to find the stats.

It did all right for a Saturday night. (hey that rhymes!)

http://tinyurl.com/yqnbj