Game Shows on DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Tony S]

You never know. If Blu-Ray or HD-DVD can hold 4 times the amount of regular dvd's, and they use flippers, they could fit a whole season of a half hour game show on 4 discs. Or 8 discs if they don't use flippers. We may see season sets game shows someday.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Don't hold your breath, though. Game shows are still seen as "disposable" entertainment and most home video execs would question the viability of selling long runs of game shows, which would seem to have little, if any, replay value after you see who won the game.

Don't get me wrong. I love classic games (have plenty of videotapes from GSN to prove it), I just don't think there's much chance of season sets of game shows (or talk shows or soaps) ever getting out there. About the only chance of seeing this stuff is on TV in reruns.

 

[MatthewA]

Eric,

What's the "Dark Period" of GSN? I've heard the term but never an explanation of its meaning.

 

[Eric Paddon]

The Dark Period was our term for the six months of October 1997 to April 1998 when GSN was without the Goodson-Todman library which prior to that date accounted for 80-85% of GSN programming. Then suddenly one night it was gone beacuse they decided not to renew the contract and while some good non-Goodson shows got some exposure we were suddenly inundated with such godawful junk like obscure Chuck Barris shows "Three's A Crowd", six airings daily of "The Newlywed Game" and in other bad shows from other companies the forgettable USA version of "Chain Reaction". The only bright spots were shows that didn't get enough exposure during this time like $20,000 Pyramid, Chain Reaction (original NBC version), Pass The Buck and Break The Bank (76-ABC).

When the announcements came about the Goodson library coming back, there was a lot of jumping for joy though ultimately we never got the GSN we first knew from 94-97 fully back.

 

[paul_austin]

I'd buy The Gong Show in a heartbeat

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Truer words were never written. I'd like to know why so many cable networks (Sci-Fi, Nick At Nite, TVLand, GSN, etc.) start out so great, offering classic shows from the 50s-80s, only to become boring channels with nothing to offer but lame reality shows? Instead of Let's Make a Deal, classic Hollywood Squares, The Gong Show, etc., now we're treated to such garbage as celebrity poker/blackjack, some dumb horse racing reality show, and dodgeball(doesn't this belong on ESPN?). I'd like to know who fired the genius who started this network and decided to replace him with Anna Nicole Smith?

 

[Carlos Garcia]

I too have been watching WML on Black and White Overnight for the last couple of years and have been enjoying the show more than I had dreamed I would. The episode immediately after Dorothy's death was a shocker to me. The audience sounded like they were in a trance and the panel played like they were in shock. I was merely a kid when Dorothy died so I didn't know anything about it until a few weeks before it reran on GSN last year. As for the conspiracy theories over her death, in my heart I feel she didn't kill herself. She had way too much info on JFK's death, and was going to reveal the truth. As mysteriously as she was found dead (still fully clothed, in a sitting position and in a room she normally never slept in) is the fact that her best friend died just a couple of days after her. Co-incidental one might ask? Maybe, if not for the fact that her best friend had all her notes on the JFK article Dorothy was writing, and they all mysteriously vanished as soon as did her best friend. Add to that the fact that no one who worked with her, knew her, or is/was related to her seems to want to discuss Dorothy, today or yesterday (as someone mentioned in an earlier post on this thread, Gil Fates barely mentioned Dorothy in his book), (perhaps for fear of becoming victims themselves) and it sounds to me like Dorothy's fate was no different than those 20+ grassy knoll witnesses who all died mysteriously of "natural causes" before the JFK investigation went to trial.

 

[Eric Paddon]

"She had way too much info on JFK's death,"

Actually, she had zippo in terms of substance and had just been used by Mark Lane to regurgitate the same old nonsense for which he's never been bumped off for publicizing ad nauseum the last 40 years.

As a WML buff of the first order, to me the real tragedy is that this bit of nonsense surrounding Kilgallen, whose real legacy should have been the important role she played in this long-running show, tended to obscure everything else she did in her life.

OTOH though we are on the same wavelength regarding the sad fate of many a good cable channel that started out as a haven for rediscovering hidden gems of the past (and even shows that weren't gems but were nice to see again) and then degenerated into the mindless need for showing trendy original programming.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

In the simplest terms, it's all about chasing the "youth" demographic (like comedian Greg Proops once said, "like (teenagers) really care what's on at 11pm. They're all out going to raves, doing extasy and shagging in cars. What's on TV is not in THEIR world.). TV programmers are obsesses with attracting people under 30, particularly teenagers, who don't have the money, but can often pressure their parents into buying stuff for them.

Anway, it's really a little more complicated than that. GSN and Sci-Fi are really almost exactly alike:

1. when they started out, they were almost exclusively reruns of old shows.
2. now, they're mostly about original programming or programming that's less than 10 years old.

These stations rely on old reruns in their formative years because, well, old TV is typically the cheapest (least expensive) programming to licence. A lot of independent UHF stations started out exactly the same way (it's much cheaper to buy "Perry Mason" than "Friends")

As these stations became more popular, they decide to branch out into original programming, though I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps it's to seem like a more "important" channel (perhaps in hopes of getting picked up by more cable companies) than just a cheap channel showing reruns all day. The 1-2 original shows they start out give them a brand-new "event" to promote.

Then, when they're carried on a large percentage of cable providers, they feel the need to chase the youth demographic in an attempt to "grow" their audience and get higher ratings (and higher revenue for advertising slots). TV execs almost universally conclude that youth don't want to watch anything more than a 5-10 years old, so anything that LOOKS dated from the '70s, for instance, is out of the question (though I've never seen any evidence that this assumption is true, based on all the teenage Match Game fans who seem hang out at GSN message boards).

In the process, though, these channels alienate the very people who helped keep them on the map in the first place.

I remember when we had a satellite dish in the '80s. It was an exciting time for TV. All the Superstations aired reruns and a good mix of "new" syndicated stuff (they all had a variety of different shows. You never saw the same stuff on WPIX that was on WOR, for instance. Nowadays, all the superstations have the SAME OLD new stuff. I bet there are at least 10 showings per day of "Friends" and "Raymond" on my current satellite subscription, almost all of them from the 7pm-11 block). Everyone seems to want the one or two shows that are deemed "popular" by the young crown. This is also true of local stations. Doesn't matter what city you're in, you're almost guaranteed to see one station with "Friends" at 7, another with "Wheel", etc. All the variety has flown out the window.

Nowadays, I have almost 200 channels and very little that I enjoy on any of them (and the irony was, in the '80s, this stuff was "free", now I'm paying for it!).

 

[MattPeriolat]

It IS a strange thing, is it not? You'd think even though networks become popular that they'd keep what made them popular. I can point to a few networks that started strong but have faded, such as Nick at Night and The Disney Channel, all airing vintage older programs, but no more.

Seriously, why is there not a vintage TV channel that has JUST that as the format and doesn't CHANGE it based on trends? Sure the ratings may fluctuate, but as long as the classic stuff is on, there will always be new generations to discover it.

*sighs* Kinda sad, really.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Well, it's movies, but TCM fits that bill. Back in '97/'98, my VCR was kept warm recording offerings from both TCM and AMC. AMC has, of course, become one of the worst channels around. It probably wouldn't seem that way if they hadn't been so good before.

 

[MattPeriolat]

Ah, the glory days of AMC... how far away they seem now. Sorry, but when was An American Werewolf in Paris EVER a movie clasic?

I actually was getting worried that TCM was headed that way too when Shawshank Redemption was on. Nothing wrong with the movie, just seems too recent.

Back to TV, seems the Hallmark Channel has some good classic TV too, no? BTW, silly question, but have letter writing campaigns been done to try and get GSN to fix this problem? I'm sorry, but I'm offically sick of Millionaire and would rather see Let's Make a Deal or You Bet Your Life.

 

[Mark-N]

I add another AMEN to this sentiment. We keep seeing channels start off as one thing, then water down their programming, then spin off a new channel to get back to their original purpose...which eventually gets watered down again.

Cartoon Network started off with Hanna-Barberra classics, then started slotting newer stuff and originals, then spun off Boomerang.

MTV moved away from music, so MTV2 was born, bringing back a great mix of musical styles, videos, and concerts...only now to devolve into reality-based junk and 90% Hip Hop.

Nick at Nite drifted, so TV Land was created. Now, with 80's re-runs and reality programming, it looks like TV land is slipping as well. Is "TV Land Classic" far behind?

 

[Mark To]

Ah, the ruining of cable channels. As someone with a very bad cable system (Cablevision of Long Island), I suffer more than most because they never pick up any of these networks when they are good, only when they have been on for years and all of the good stuff is gone. It took us about 6 years to get TV Land, long after they stopped showing anything worthwhile or uncommon. Same with GSN, SciFi, etc. Even Animal Planet took off Lassie, Flipper and other shows like that the week after they were added to my system. But its been that way for over 20 years. Remember the mid-80s when the old TV explosion first hit cable? How about some of these airings:

USA - Good Morning World, He and She, Second Hundred Years, Temperatures Rising, Room 222, That Girl, Girl with Something Extra, Bridget Loves Bernie, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, Petrocelli, Griff, Get Christie Love, Shannon, Toma, Eddie Capra Mysteries, Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

Lifetime - Marcus Welby, Lazarus Syndrome, American Girls, Apple's Way, and many more I can't recall at the moment.

TNT - Mr. Novak, The Lieutenant, Cain's Hundred, Shaft, National Velvet, Man Called Shenandoah, Hondo, Maya, Northwest Passage, The Rounders, Logan's Run, Dr. Kildare, Thin Man, Travels of Jamie McPheeters, Jericho.

Fox Net - Judd for the Defense, Felony Squad, Roll Out, Karen, James at 15, Cade's County, Arnie.

HA - Captain Nice, Quark, CPO Sharkey, Occasional Wife, Tabitha, Bridget Loves Bernie, Candid Camera, You Bet Your Life, Betty White Show, Steve Allen Show, Your Show of Shows.

Nick at Nite - Donna Reed Show, Route 66, I Spy, Dennis the Menace, Dobie Gillis, Make Room for Daddy, Smothers Brothers Show, My Three Sons, Car 54

CBN - My Little Margie, Love That Bob, Farmer's Daughter, Patty Duke Show, Bill Dana Show, Rifleman, Wagon Train, Bachelor Father, Bill Cosby Show, Blondie.

I'm sure there are lots more that I can think of. Not to mention WOR, outside of NY, with Run for Your Life, Mod Squad, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Owen Marshall, My World and Welcome to It.

And all of them got rid of the good shows and replaced them with new crap. And the worst thing ever, Original Programming. Why can't we get a network devoted to old shows, not the common stuff but shows that maybe haven't been on forever?

 

[Eric Paddon]

You sum up GSN in a nutshell. Those of us who remember the days of wall to wall classics from the 50s to mid-80s (with NO episodes duplicated in the same day) 24 straight hours still can't believe what's happened since.

 

[MatthewA]

If the networks were that good, what would you do if you had to leave the house?

Heck, even with the more recent (read-post 1980) shows, there is no variety to the ones that get shown.

Then there's Noggin, which used to show old Sesame Street, but now that I get them all they show is Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Moesha.

 

[Bert Greene]

I got a big kick out of "Game Show Network," back when it was added on DirecTV. Particularly liked the 1967 daytime "To Tell the Truth" episodes, with Bud Collyer. I used to watch the station quite a bit. But, boy did it go downhill. Haven't even turned the station on in at least two years. Maybe longer.

In the 80s, CBN also used to run "Ben Casey," "Wackiest Ship in the Army," "Sky King," "Bat Masterson," "Life of Riley," "Man from UNCLE," "The Iron Horse," "I Married Joan," "Rin Tin Tin," "Stoney Burke," "Empire," and undoubtedly a few more I can't recall at this moment.

Also, the Nostalgia Channel, back in the late-80s/early-90s used to run "Dick Powell Show," "The Rogues," "The People's Choice," "Waterfront," "Date with the Angels," "Boston Blackie," "Dr. Christian," "Advs. of Jim Bowie," "Public Defender," among others. By the mid-90s, they aired "Stagecoach West," "Dante," "The Law and Mr. Jones," and several other Four-Star Productions.

The Sci-Fi Channel apparently ran "The Invaders" early on (I remember viewing an episode in a motel room, before I had access to the channel). Later, about ten years ago, they ran "Men Into Space," "Thriller," "(Kraft) Suspense Theater," and "Science Fiction Theater," all late at night.

But, indeed, all that has long dried up. The supply of vintage tv-shows has dwindled to pathetic proportions. Here I seem to have over a hundred channels on a dish, yet my supply of old shows is hardly any better than I had decades ago, when I only had access to 3 local channels. It's really disheartening. I keep hoping dvd's are going to make up for all this lost ground, but I'm not 100% convinced as of yet!

 

[paul_austin]

I'll tell ya what I really hate about modern television...infomercials...it used to be you could catch old horror movies and stuff at night but now they all go to infomercial....it blows goats

 

[Eric Paddon]

Sci-Fi Channel also in its early days had the short-lived "Invisible Man" (David McCallum) and "The Prisoner" among other things.

Early 90s A+E introduced me to the magnificent "Ellery Queen" (Jim Hutton and David Wayne) which aired in rotation with other short-lived 70s detective shows "City Of Angels", "Delvecchio" and "Mrs. Columbo" (that one should have stayed hidden!).

 

[MatthewA]

Don't trust Viacom to any TV station, they make it generic. Nick at Nite, TV Land, MTV, VH1, TNN (now Spike TV) Noggin (they bought the half owned by Sesame Workshop).

Infomercials wouldn't be on the air if stations weren't paid to show them.