When Game SHOWS Were at Their Peak

[TheInquisitiveOne]

Good evening.

Heavily inspired by the thread about game show hosts being at their peak, I wanted to ask the folks here when you thought the game shows themselves were at their peak.

It can be considered a little complex, so it’s up to you how you qualify it. If you want to treat different versions as one whole entity or as separate entries, you’re more than welcome to do so.

If you want to use the hosts as part of your reasoning, or just use the game itself as part of your point, go for it.

I’ll offer my takes:

Pyramid: While the 70s versions made for great television, the 80s editions were absolute peak. Between Dick Clark overseeing the proceedings, smooth gameplay under tight rules, and the Winner’s Circle (especially during the $100,000 tournaments) being tension that could be cut with a knife, this was a Bob Stewart gem.

Wheel of Fortune: while Chuck and Pat were the essences of the show, the peak for me was October 1987. The nighttime version ascended into the juggernaut that still exists today, and by doing so, separated from the daytime version and basically all but upended the daytime game show structure.

Feel free to post what you think. I appreciate the responses in advance!

The Inquisitive One

[Chief-O]

Pyramid: While the 70s versions made for great television, the 80s editions were absolute peak. Between Dick Clark overseeing the proceedings, smooth gameplay under tight rules, and the Winner’s Circle (especially during the $100,000 tournaments) being tension that could be cut with a knife, this was a Bob Stewart gem.

Will not argue this one bit; 80s "Pyramid" was just a masterclass in game show production bar none. With that said, I could pigeonhole the Strahan run and say that the earlier, the better......the show seemed to lose a bit by heading back west.

As for my takes----(and I'm sure I'd come up with more over time)

SOTC: I'd say mid-80s, as exhibited by some of the syndie run. I'll let others argue the "Shopping Round vs. Winners Board" subject. The WBMG period just seemed like the show was running out of gas.
Supermarket Sweep: ~1992-93.
Double Dare: I've personally felt 88-89 was peak; the show had proven itself by then, I'm sure production budgets had improved, but they were still largely true to their roots. I guess I just didn't care when they went full-on "Family" in 1990 or so.
STYD: Probably a couple seasons in. Didn't care when Dee started doing more of the characters, and the transition to the discount big-box motif just was too much of a change
WOF: I'd say 1989-~1993 or so (the TV City years), but that might just be childhood nostalgia talking (peak "li'l game show nerd" period for me; and yes, I was a little bit of a Wheel Watcher then). But Pat and Vanna were still on top, Charlie O. was back at the announce mic (sorry, Jack Clark), and they had the best incarnation of "Changing Keys" in the show's history. I have, however, seen several of Ryan's shows (syndie and ABC primetime), and I feel he's been a breath of fresh air for the show.
LMAD: Must be honest, I prefer the 84-86 run over any other version, but there was a definite decline in production quality, and *perhaps* prize budget, with the 85-86 shows. A lot of the early-mid 70s run (e.g. what we've all seen in the cable reruns) could be up there too. Can't say I've had much sample of Wayne's run, but he's gotta be doing something right to have had the run he's had.
J!: For being such a fan these days, I *should* have an opinion here......with that said, I personally wouldn't mind seeing some of the late-80s to mid-90s shows for comparison purposes. I do like how the show is at the moment with Ken, but they could cut back on the whatever-many tournaments.

[BrandonFG]

Like you two, I've said that 80s Pyramid is hands down the best-oiled machine in the genre. I think it peaks around 1985, especially if you get a Shelley Smith/Charlie Siebert-type* matchup.

I've said similar things about 80s $ale, but I can't find an end game that totally satisfies Middle Aged BFG. More desirable lower-level prizes improve the shopping era (say $5-10K in 1983 dollars?); the Winner's Board was fine because it guaranteed a win even if it was a grandfather clock; the Winner's Big Money Game works much better on a different show.

TPiR: is it possible to have more than one peak era? The late-70s are unhinged (complimentary) and it's fun seeing how they experimented with the extra 20+ minutes of content. Wolpert still gave us his weed trip (allegedly) Showcases, and it was just a fun time. However, the Barker era and Kennedy reruns gave me a new love for 1982-86 shows. They'd settled down a lot but it was still exciting. I know Happy Gilmore gets most of the credit for re-introducing Bob Barker to the younger crowd, but watch an episode from about 1991 and it's still a palpable level of energy. I remember being caught off guard hearing Arsenio Hall barks in one episode.

Wheel: I think the show lost something with getting rid of shopping and subsequently being able to select a bonus round prize. Even though you had the occasional contestant play for jewelery or furniture in the 80s, in the 90s you could see the disappointment on a contestant's face when Pat reveals they picked the Precious Metals envelope instead of the 25K.

*I have no idea if they actually played each other, just an example of two badasses. Easily replace with Richard Kline, Teresa Ganzel, Nathan Cook, etc.

[jage]

Generally, I liked watching shows more once they got past the part of needing to overexplain the rules, and the game could just naturally flow.

For me with Sale of the Century, it kept getting better between 84-86, but I would go with mid 86 until they switched to the WBMG. The last good touches to me were the flashing lights and the instant cash, and the show had its groove.

Scrabble after the switch to the self-contained format and really through the end of the original run.

Match game 75-77 or so, also Gene's peak.

WBSM seasons 2-4, before Jimmy left.

The Challengers the first couple of months, then they ruined the entire concept and cheaped out.

[Neumms]

The Joker’s Wild was at its best during the CBS years when the Joker’s Jackpot was going and the questions weren’t dumbed down. The jackpot gave a low-stakes show a surprising bit of drama, and needing only three wins meant it came up a lot. Lucky Hundreds was a nice idea to shake things up, which the syndicated run sorely needed.

[Winkfan]

Card Sharks (NBC version): It's peak was in 1980, when they had the "Turnabout" Tournament.
Tic Tac Dough: As I mentioned before, Thom McKee.
Beat The Clock: I'd say about 1953-55; and then Roxanne split.
Family Feud: I'd put this at about 1977-82 for Dawson, 1989-92 for Combs.

Cordially,
Tammy

[TimK2003]

For NBC's Scrabble and Classic Concentration, I would say they peaked in their final years:

Scrabble:  The timed rounds, the Chuck Bucks, Chuck guessing who wrote the clues, the Sprint finalists playing the same words and the 2-wordsnin 10 seconds for the jackpot.

Classic Concentration: The best 2 out of 3 timed rounds, Alex going "business casual", more ribbing and interacting with Marjorie.

Pretty much they were both most laid-back and casual which made for fun viewing.

Also
High Rollers:  The late 70's NBC reboot.
Battlestars: The original version.

[Ian Wallis]

Some takes (I'm sure I'll think of more):

Sale of the Century:  I'll say it peaked once they got to the Winner's Board.  It was a neat concept to keep playing and hope for a bigger prize, but even though they changed the prizes every week, in watching reruns over the years it seemed to same prizes kept getting rotated in and out and some of them just weren't that interesting.  You knew contestants wouldn't take them.

Let's Make a Deal:  I'd say the '70s syndicated run, before they got to the celebrity guests.  Maybe it's just fuzzy childhood memories of watching it during the "checkerboard" days, but there was something about the way Monty handled the show during that time that made it so interesting.  For me, the '84-86 version wasn't quite as good.

Wheel of Fortune:  I have a soft spot for the first couple of syndicated years.  Maybe it's the thrill of seeing the $5000 space and some contestants raking up (for the time) large amounts, or just hearing the Frisco Disco cue, but I rarely missed them when they were on first-run until the later '80s.  I can understand why Pat once said the shopping round was the most boring 2 minutes in television - or something to that effect - but at the time it was interesting to see the more elegant prizes on the nighttime version.

Joker's Wild:  The CBS years 1973-75 and the first syndicated year 1977-78.  It was interesting seeing the beginnings of the show when GSN ran it a couple of decades ago, but I think just three wins for the Joker's Jackpot was too easy.  I remember the original bonus game of spinning three times but once they changed to the money and devils game it was better.  I found that during the second syndicated year (78-79) the set and theme had changed and I wasn't overly fond of the changes.  The first syndicated year seemed to retain most of what the last year or so of the CBS version had.

Price is Right:  I agree with what others have said that it's probably had more than one peak, but for me it's the mid-late '70s.  After the expansion to an hour and the additional pricing games they introduced it was a fun and interesting show.  I was never a big fan of the wheel - I think that's the most uninteresting part of the show - but I can see why it's needed.  Once they had to start cutting back because of more commercials, Barker had less time to interact with contestants and it just seemed rushed.  Maybe I should throw the early '80s in here as well as being at its peak.

Match Game:  1974-76.  I've said before that by mid-late '77 it didn't seem the same anymore.  Maybe that's because you can only talk about Johnny's blank so many times before it becomes routine.  If you look at the shows from around '74-75, and compare them with late '77 there's a big difference.

Family Feud:  I'd say around 1976-78.  Dawson seemed like a nice guy in the beginning but he always had an attitude (remember what I said about being likeable in the other thread?).  His attitude seemed to get much more noticable by the late '70s and instead of kissing the women once per show, he seemed to be constantly doing it.  It got to be a bit much.

I'm sure I'll think of more later

[Long live Jeopardy]

Sale of the Century: The 1984-87 Winner's Board era
Scrabble - 1987
Supermarket Sweep: The 1993 and 1994 seasons (The first years seemed a bit awkward, and the 2000-03 PAX version seemed to be a case of "you can have either a second mini sweep or a bonus round, but not both")
Double Dare (Nickelodeon): 1988-89 was indeed the peak (agreed with Chief-O)
Jeopardy: Anywhere in the 1990s
Wheel of Fortune: The 1989-95 CBS Television City era
The Price Is Right: The 1991-96 era
Let's Make a Deal: The 1984-86 version
Pyramid: The 1982-88 versions
American Gladiators: The 1990-93 Mike Adamle/Larry Czonka era
The Challengers: The $10K question at the end of each show worked much better than at the beginning of the show (if someone won three games). Having it at the beginning totally threw the main game off that day.
Family Feud (Dawson): The 1976-78 200 point era
Family Feud (Combs): The Pre-Bullseye era
Family Feud (Karn): The 2003-04 season (the play to 300 format came back, and it was possible for a family to win in just three rounds that year)
Card Sharks (Perry): 1980-81 (when getting a double did not mean a loss of money in the Money Cards, you just stayed where you were)
Card Sharks (Eubanks): Early 1986 (before the 10-person audience questions started)
Hollywood Squares (Bergeron): The 2002-03 season
Match Game (Rayburn): The 1978-82 Star Wheel era
Press Your Luck: The 1985-86 season
Password Plus: 1979-81 (when the original $300 format was used)
Starcade: The Geoff Edwards version
Family Game Night - The first two seasons (2010-12)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Philbin) - 1999-01 (before it seemed like every week was a celebrity week such as "Stars of Aaron Spelling Shows")
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Vieira) - 2004-08 (the Switch the Question lifeline worked much better as a new addition than the clock and shuffle formats did)

[Long live Jeopardy]

STYD: Probably a couple seasons in. Didn't care when Dee started doing more of the characters, and the transition to the discount big-box motif just was too much of a change

Personally, I thought Dee Baker was okay when he started on the last Family Channel season (1997-98), but when the PAX version started in 2000, he did his full costume characters practically every single day to a point where I thought the show was becoming a caricature of itself. Then, when I saw his characters were being included in the prize plugs, I couldn't take it anymore. It became a cartoon parody of a game show at that time. Surprisingly, all of this was still head and shoulders above the bore fest that was the Roberto 2003-05 version (there were a few things that version did right, but not many).

Also, I would say STYD's peak was the 1993 season (when the $2,500 bonus round started).

[carlisle96]

Good evening.

Heavily inspired by the thread about game show hosts being at their peak, I wanted to ask the folks here when you thought the game shows themselves were at their peak.

It can be considered a little complex, so it’s up to you how you qualify it. If you want to treat different versions as one whole entity or as separate entries, you’re more than welcome to do so.

If you want to use the hosts as part of your reasoning, or just use the game itself as part of your point, go for it.

I’ll offer my takes:

Pyramid: While the 70s versions made for great television, the 80s editions were absolute peak. Between Dick Clark overseeing the proceedings, smooth gameplay under tight rules, and the Winner’s Circle (especially during the $100,000 tournaments) being tension that could be cut with a knife, this was a Bob Stewart gem.

Wheel of Fortune: while Chuck and Pat were the essences of the show, the peak for me was October 1987. The nighttime version ascended into the juggernaut that still exists today, and by doing so, separated from the daytime version and basically all but upended the daytime game show structure.

Feel free to post what you think. I appreciate the responses in advance!

The Inquisitive One

I'd say overall, it was 1973-1975 when it was possible to watch one show after another from 10:00am until 4:30pm and just about every classic host was working...some even appearing on more than one show at a time, or saying goodbye on a Friday and turning up on a new show on Monday. It was sometimes tough to decide which show to watch when your favorites were on at the same time.

[Stackertosh]

Match Game: 1974-76. I agree those were the fun years, and Gene and the panel were very funny. I think after Dawson left and the set change, the show got very stale.
Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? - 1999-01 Before the celebrity shows.
Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Syndicated—Before the clock format
Weakest Link (Robinson) The first season before the celebrity shows.
Weakest Link (Gray) before they got rid of the last round, and toward the end of the run, you can tell George was getting bored with the show.
The Price is Right Late 70s and 80s was the golden years of the show. I thought Bob should've hung it up in the 90s.
The Price is Right (Carey): 2011-2012: Drew lost a lot of weight and seem more interested in hosting the show and had great energy and when Roger and Co left Drew got a lot more comfortable. 
Family Feud (Dawson): The 1976-78 200 point era
Family Feud (Combs): The Pre-Bullseye era
Family Feud (O'Hurley): First season, pre-Bullseye, and prerecorded intros era.
Let's Make a Deal: The 1984-86 version

[whewfan]

I don't agree that that the 84-86 LMAD was the peak of its run... Yes it was a lot of fun to watch with a lot of great moments, but I would argue that the original run had many great moments too.   

[Ian Wallis]

Thought of one more I wanted to add:

Tattletales (Feb-June 1974).  I know I'm probably in the minority on this one, but I really enjoyed the story/buzz in format.  Mixed with quickies it made for an interesting half-hour with different types of questions.  Once they moved to "all quickies", I still watched but it became too repetitive and predictable.

[Kevin Prather]

It may just be personal nostalgia, but I think early to mid 90s for Wheel. Watching those episodes now, I notice an appreciable uptick in the quality of gameplay around that time, and this is around the time that more brainy categories like Clue and Megaword came along. It seemed like they were trying to make the game a bit more challenging, not unlike what Pyramid did come $100,000 time.