I used to love game shows as a kid! Of course there are different types of TV game shows. You have the one’s that are almost stunt shows with all kinds of silly things contestants are forced to do to win prizes. “Double Dare” comes to mind, and you can go all the way to “Beat the Clock” for examples of that. Of course we have Reality Shows which function as game shows, where if you do something realistic you get a prize (singing contract on American Idol, a date on The Love Connection, or getting cash for having America’s funniest home video). Quiz shows which sound exactly like it sounds, questions and answered or puzzles are solved. There are a wide range of these from “Name That Tune” to “Sale of the Century”. And of course there were Panel Shows which involved celebrities trying to participate to win money (either for a contestant or a charity). Think “To Tell the Truth”, “Win Lose or Draw” or “The Gong Show”. These are fun thanks to the celebrities who are in the show. Sometimes the contestants are an after thought.
The best part of all these types of shows is being able to play along with the contestants. Some game shows, you can’t really. I mean we can laugh at the stunts on “Ellen’s Game of Games” but we can’t play along so much. Pyramid was like this, the audience is given the word so there is no fun in it to play at home. This doesn’t mean these shows aren’t fun to watch, but I like the one’s where you can actually play along and try to see if you can answer the questions or solve the puzzles.
And so after that long intro, here are the ten best game shows to play along with. Of course, this is all opinion and just for fun.
#10.The Match Game
I’ve said before that I was never a big fan of this show. But it still belongs on the list. There is a panel of celebrities, who kind of dominate the show, and the goal is for the contestants to match the answers that the celebrites had given. While not one of my favotites Richard Dawson, Charles Nelson Riley and Betty White were among the famous panelists.
#9.Classic Concentration
Every game on this list has either been rebooted or is still on the air. Meet the exception. Yeah this little show, known as Alex Trebek’s OTHER show, was on in the 80’s on weekdays mornings. Man, do I miss game shows on weekday mornings! It was basically a puzzle game, you had to match the numbers on the board and when you did it revealed more of the puzzle. It was a nice little game and I love it and the computer version I had for years. I should point out this 80’s show was revival of a much older version called, well, Concentration.
#8.Deal or No Deal
This is such a simple game show, in fact it sounds kinda boring. You get 26 briefcases, and the contestant has to pick the one that has a million dollars in it. So, is that it? Well he show had a few things going for it. Including the models who held the briefcases. But the hook was when a briedcase was opened, the contestant was given an dollar offer. They could walk away with the money, or keep guessing. Howie Mandell hosted this show, and there was some drama waiting to see what the contestant would do and trying to guess where the correct briefcase was.
#7.Hollywood Squares
Need one celebrity one on here. And while a lot of people would think I should have chosen Password, the pacing on that show drove me nuts. Plus the audience knew the word. Hollywood Swuares was a tic tac toe game, the hook being that there celebries in all the squares. Some grew up on the Paul Lynde as center square version back in the days, and other the Whoopi Goldberg version in the 90’s. For me it will always be the 80’s version with Joan Rivers as center square.
#6.Press Your Luck
I’d almost say that this show had been forgotten if this show didn’t just get a revivial on ABC. And yeah, this show is fun to play along with. The first part is the contestants having to answer questions to earn spins. The second part is the contestants spinning the board (spinning always seemed like the wrong word) as they land on prizes and try to avoid the Whammy, a mean little creature who robbed you of anything you had earned. This is a lot of fun.
#5.Wheel of Fortune
This show has a strange reputation. It seems like it’s always old people who gravitate to it. No offense if you love and are not old. Maybe because it’s pretty simple. Solve the puzzle by guessing letters, and win prizes. Pat Sajak and Vanna White are still hosting this show as it continues to run in syndication (Sajak beating Bob Barker as longest running host), probaly for close to forty years now. I remember when the show used a turntable to reveal prizes that the contestants had to pick after they had solved the puzzle. Who hear remembers that??? By the way this is the longest runninbg syndicated game show.
#4.Jeapordy
A long time ago I talked about how this show never really stuck with me because the questons were so hard. Also, this is the most subdued game show. It’s so quiet and, well, simple. But this show is still on the air, amd Alex Trebek is still hosting it, so who am I to judge? While I don’t make a habbit of watching it every night I do like to turn it once in awhile.
Someday, neither of these two shows will be on from 7:00-8:00 and the world simply will mot feel the same
#3.Price is Right
This show does almost everything right. The only thing missing are celebrities, which is fine. It’s not a stunt game show or a quiz show, it’s somewhere in the middle. Guess the price of items shown, and win something awesome. It does feel a lot like “Let’s Make a Deal” but that show actively tries to punish their contestants with awgul prizes. That, and the stupid costumes, always turned me off. This one show where the audience really gets involved, in fact the contestats come right from it, which also adds a special element of excitement. This show is just fun with all their games (I could be hear all day listing them) and random prizes (a new car!!). I’m glad it’s still on the air even if I don’t like Drew Carey. Bob Barker was the best game show host and forgive me if a said it before but if I was home at 11:00 on a weekday morning, The Price is Right was on.
#2.Family Feud
I was not a huge fan of this show in the 70’s because Richard Dawson never appealed to me. Why did girls always have to kiss him again? In the 80’s it was revived with Ray Combs and I just fell in love with it. The cool thing about this show is that it isn’t trivia, but survey questions. Which means you have to guess what 100 average, regular people may say. Over the years it’s had several hosts and I not watched a lot. These days Steve Harvey hosts and watching episodes (because I am home with nothing else to do) has made me remember why I loved this game so much. When I got the computer game I spent an enture Saturday playing it.
#1.Who Wants to be a Millionaire
It was 20 years ago when this little game came along. At this point, game shows were basically a dying fad. Aside from the four listed above. There was a time when game shows were all over the place, I didn’t even mention half of them. Card Sharks, Tic Tac Dough, Scrabble, Blockbusters….
They were all gone by 2000, and then this little English import came over. With such a simple premise. Answer fifteen questions correctly, and you walk away with a million dollars. You get three life lines on the way. Simple right? But there is so much drama watching as these people keep going, and the questions go from crazy easy to are you kidding me diffuclt. Add Regis Philbin as host, and this was’t just a hit. It was a phenomenon. It revived the game show and has lasted in syndication for ages. It was recently returned to network TV with Jimmy Kimmel hosting, and I loved it. This show changed the way game shows were presented (no more relaxd sets we have lasers and dark lights!) and how dangerous the stakes could be. I did a whole article on this show, and the copycats it spawned, awhile back.
I really need to do an article on game show hosts sometime. Did I miss your favorite?
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