Game Show Network Unofficial Acquisitions List
robair...@bix.com
on "The Game Show Network", America's new home of classic TV game shows.
This listing of shows is based on known TGSN acquisitions and the
libraries, post-1968, of Barry/Enright, Barris, Griffin and Goodson
Productions.
Approximate number of episodes is based on a 260-episode year for a network
show, 195 shows for a weekday syndicated show, 39 episodes for a weekly
syndicated show/network prime time show. Some allowance is made for
possible repeat telecasts on a per-show basis (1980's NBC, TPiR).
TITLE (Packager, Approx # of episodes, Network, Years)
Hosts. Description.
ALL ABOUT FACES (IND, 195 Syn 1971)
Host: Richard Hayes. Two teams predict how strangers would react to staged
hidden-camera situations.
BEAT THE CLOCK (GT, 975 Syn 69-73; 130 CBS 79-80)
Host: Jack Narz, Gene Wood (Syn); Monty Hall (CBS). The classic stunt show
with celebrity guests. Only G-T show ever produced in Canada. Hall's
version was one of many late 1970's-early 1980's games to revert to a
all-star format at the end of its run.
BETTER SEX (GT, 130 ABC 77-78)
Hosts: Bill Anderson and Sarah Purcell. Teams of six men and six-women
competed against themselves and the studio audience in this "Family
Feud"-inspired contest.
BLANK CHECK (BE, 130 NBC 75)
Host: Art James. Six contestants per week use their ESP powers to prevent
each other from writing checks worth thousands of dollars.
BLOCKBUSTERS (GT, 390 NBC 80-82; 85 NBC 87)
Host: Bill Cullen (80-82); Bill Rafferty (87). Hexagonal word game of all
types of trivia.
BODY LANGUAGE (GT, 390 CBS 84-86)
Host: Tom Kennedy. Marriage of "Password Plus" and "Showoffs" as c/c pairs
act out words to fill in puzzles.
BREAK THE BANK (BE, 65 ABC 76; 39 Syn 76; 195 Synd 85)
Host: Tom Kennedy (ABC); Jack Barry (Syn 76); Gene Rayburn, Joe Farago (Syn
85). The 70's version featured nine celebrity players flanking a 20-
square board, in the 80's married couples vied for a chance to open a
bank vault.
BULLSEYE (BE, 390 Synd 80-81)
Host: Jim Lange. Exciting if formulaic B-E late 70's quizzer. Ended its run
as an all-celebrity affair.
BUMPER STUMPERS (BE, 390 Cabl 86-87)
Host: Al Dubois. Remember this head-to head license plate quiz?
CALL MY BLUFF (GT, 130 NBC 65)
Host: Bill Leyden. Not likely to surface, but on this list nonetheless, is
this "Password" distillation with more obscure words.
CAMOUFLAGE (BA, 13 Synd 80)
Host: Tom Campbell. Barris brought this 60's chestnut practically intact to
the 80's, but despite its Cadillac jackpot, it didn't last long.
CARD SHARKS (GT, 910 NBC 78-81; 845 CBS 86-89; 195 Synd 86)
Host: Jim Perry (NBC), Bob Eubanks (CBS), Bill Rafferty (Syn), Janice
Baker (NBC), Lois Areno (NBC), Melinda Hunter (NBC), Markie Post (NBC),
Ann Pennington (NBC), Lacey Pemberton (CBS/Syn), Susannah Williams
(CBS/Syn), guest models including Cynthia Gouw, Barbara Bond, Theresa
Ring, Teresa Eubanks, Meg Register, Shirley Williams, Pia Reyes. "Higher!
Lower! I'll have to freeze, Bob!" A gem of a game.
CHILD'S PLAY (GT, 260 CBS 82-83)
Host: Bill Cullen. Mark Goodson's last great game show. Head-to-head compe-
tition guessing words described by kids.
CLASSIC CONCENTRATION (GT, 780 NBC, 87-90)
Hosts: Alex Trebek, Diana Taylor, Marjorie Goodson Cutt. Computerized remake
of the rebus classic.
CONCENTRATION (GT, 975 Syn, 73-78)
Host: Jack Narz. Continuing the success of its network daytime counterpart,
this version was glitzed up to include a car endgame, synthesized theme
music, and color puzzles.
DATING GAME (BA, 1950 ABC 65-73, 130 ABC (N) 66-70, 390 Syn 78-80; 390 Syn
86-87)
Hosts: Jim Lange (to 1980), Elaine Joyce (86), Jeff MacGregor (87). Tom
Selleck, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pee-wee Herman, Farrah Fawcett, and
other unknowns vie for blind dates.
DEALER'S CHOICE (FF, 390 Syn 74-75)
Hosts: Bob Hastings (replaced by Jack Clark), Jane Nelson. Las Vegas based
(later Burbank) gambling game.
DIAMOND HEAD GAME (FF, 130 Synd 75)
Hosts: Bob Eubanks, Jane Nelson. Bob describes this game as the lowest point
of his career. This may be the closest TGSN comes to camp game shows.
In case you missed it, four players eliminate each other to win the right
to stuff their jumpsuit full of dollar bills in a wind tunnel.
$1.98 BEAUTY SHOW (BA, 39 Syn 78)
Host: Rip Taylor. Six gals of dubious beauty strut their stuff for three
celebrity judges (Unknown Comic and Gene Gene were frequent guests).
Rhonda Shear made one of her first national appearances here.
DOUBLE DARE (GT, 80 CBS 77)
Host: Alex Trebek. Contestants indentify a subject in a question round, then
double-dare their opponents to answer the same subject using more clues.
Featured the infamous "Spoilers" endgame. Not associated in any way with
Nickelodeon's game.
DREAM GIRL OF '67 (BA, 260 ABC 67)
Hosts: Paul Petersen, Wink Martindale, Dick "Boy Howdy" Curtis. Weekly
runoffs to elect a national beauty queen. Resuscitated in the mid-80's
as "Dream Girl", but not by Barris.
FAMILY FEUD (GT, 2320 ABC 76-85, 1560 Synd 77-86, 6 ABC (N) 77-79, 1200
CBS 88-93 {some hrs}, 1365+ Synd 88- )
Host: Richard Dawson (76-85, 94- ), Ray Combs (88-93). "Survey SAID!"
FAMILY GAME (BA, 130 ABC 67)
Host: Bob Barker. Not likely to exist, but with Barris you never know.
FUN FACTORY (FF, 100 NBC 76)
Host: Bobby Van. Variety/game/stunt extravaganza. Repertory company included
future stars Betty Thomas and Deborah Harmon.
GAME GAME (BA, 39 Synd 69)
Host: Jim McKrell.
GONG SHOW (BA, 500 NBC 76-78, 1 NBC (N) 77, 236 Synd 76-79, 195 Synd 88)
Host: John Barbour (unaired pilot), Chuck Barris, Gary Owens, Don Bleu.
HE SAID, SHE SAID (GT, 195 Synd 69)
Host: Joe Garagiola. Prototype of "Tattletales" with four celebrity couples
rather than three.
HEADLINE CHASERS (MG, 195 Synd 85)
Host: Wink Martindale. Married couples race to complete headlines from
historical events.
HOLLYWOOD CONNECTION (BE, 195 Synd 77)
Host: Jim Lange. "Match Game" ripoff with six celebrity stars.
HOLLYWOOD'S TALKING (BE, 65 CBS 73)
Host: Geoff Edwards. Three contestants determine what celebrities are
discussing. Many top Hollywood stars featured in each episode.
HOT POTATO (BE, 130 NBC 84)
Host: Bill Cullen. Two three-member teams dare each other to supply answers
to multipart questions. Changed to a celebrity format midway.
HOW'S YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW? (BA, 65 ABC 67-68)
Host: Wink Martindale. Barris now picks on inlaws.
I'VE GOT A SECRET (GT, 39 Synd 72; 4 CBS (N) 76)
Hosts: Steve Allen (72), Bill Cullen (76). Panel game of outrageous secrets.
JEOPARDY! (MG, 39 Synd 74; 2300+ Synd 84- )
Hosts: Art Fleming (74), Alex Trebek (since 84). America's Favorite Answer
and Question Game. 'Nuff said!
JOE GARAGIOLA'S MEMORY GAME (GT, 105 NBC 66)
Host: I forget.
JOKER'S WILD (BE, 725 CBS 72-75, 1755 Synd 75-86, 195 Synd 90)
Hosts: Jack Barry (to 85), Bill Cullen (85-86), Jim Peck (sub), Pat Finn
(90). Spin the slot machine and answer questions.
JOKER! JOKER!! JOKER!!! (39 Synd 80)
Host: Jack Barry. Spin the slot machine and answer questions, kid.
MATCH GAME (GT, 1495 CBS 73-79, 130 ABC 89-90)
Hosts: Gene Rayburn (to 1979), Ross Shafer (89-90). This game is just so
much BLANK.
MATCH GAME PM (GT, 145 Synd 73-79)
Host: Gene Rayburn. Doubled the stakes of its daytime cousin.
MATCH GAME/HOLLYWOOD SQUARES HOUR (GT/Orion, 195 NBC 83-84)
Hosts: Gene Rayburn, Jon Baumann. Wedded two classic formats. May not appear
on TGSN because of possible rights conflict with "Hollywood Squares".
MINDREADERS (GT, 100 NBC 79-80)
Host: Dick Martin. Star-headed teams discern answers to personality
questions.
NEW PRICE IS RIGHT (195 Synd 94)
Hosts: Doug Davidson, Julie Lynn Cialini, Ferrari Farris, Lisa Stahl. Up-
scale half-hour version of daytime warhorse, probably will not appear on
TGSN schedule until 1996.
NEWLYWED GAME (BA, 2190 ABC 66-74; 176 ABC (N) 67-71; 585 Synd 77-80; 5 ABC
84; 975 Synd 85-89)
Hosts: Bob Eubanks (all but last season), Paul Rodriguez. The game of
happily married couples and whoopee.
NOW YOU SEE IT (GT, 325 CBS 74-75; 65 CBS 90)
Hosts: Jack Narz (74-75), Chuck Henry (90). Game of hidden words.
PARENT GAME (BA, 39 Synd 72)
Host: Clark Race. Parents and kids try to match answers in the mode of the
Newlyweds.
PASSWORD (GT, 157 CBS (N) 62-67; 1560 CBS 61-67; 1105 ABC 71-75)
Host: Allen Ludden. Word association. The classic c-c team format with the
original Lightning Round. (This version of "Password" includes the short-
lived "Password All-Stars", which pitted stars against each other for
charity.)
PASSWORD PLUS (GT, 780 NBC 79-82)
Hosts: Allen Ludden, Bill Cullen, Tom Kennedy. The original "Password"
format expands to include a new endgame, "Alphabetics", for a growing cash
jackpot. Look for a contestant named Kirstie Alley on one episode.
PERFECT MATCH (39 Synd 67)
Host: Dick Enberg. Computer dating in the 1960's.
PLAY THE PERCENTAGES (BE, 130 Synd 80)
Host: Geoff Edwards. Short-lived game show which had a variety of formats
dealing with what % of people answered a question correctly.
PRICE IS RIGHT (GT, 5000+ CBS 72-on, 312 Synd 72-80, 195 Synd 85, 6 CBS (N)
86)
Hosts: Bob Barker, Dennis James, Tom Kennedy, Janice Pennington, Anitra
Ford, Dian Parkinson, Holly Hallstrom, Kathleen Bradley, Gena Lee Nolin,
Johnny Olson, Rod Roddy. The classic.
QUIZ KIDS CHALLENGE (BA, 195 Synd 89)
Host: Jonathan Prince. Three brainy tykes compete in a team challenge vs.
three adults.
REEL GAME (BE, 17 ABC (N) 71)
Host: Jack Barry. Stars and contestants answer film trivia questions.
RUCKUS (MG, 65 Synd 90)
Host: The Amazing Jonathan. Magician drinks Windex and hosts audience
participation games.
SHOWOFFS (GT, 130 ABC 75)
Host: Bobby Van. Early version of "Body Language" used teams of two stars
and one contestant.
SNAP JUDGMENT (GT, 520 NBC 67-69)
Host: Ed McMahon. Variant of "Password".
STRIKE IT RICH (BE, 195 Synd 86)
Host: Joe Garagiola. Two married couples cross a bandit-laden bridge for
cash and luxury prizes. (Disclaimer: "Strike It Rich" is not a welfare
agency.)
SUPER PASSWORD (GT, 1560 NBC 84-89)
Host: Bert Convy. Same format as "Password Plus", plus a new challenge word.
TATTLETALES (GT, 1070 CBS 74-78, 39 Synd 77, 650 CBS 82-84)
Host: Bert Convy. Three famous married pairs win money for their third of
the studio audience. Convy won his Emmy here.
THAT'S MY LINE (GT, 6 CBS 80)
Hosts: Bob Barker, Tiiu Leek. Not a game show, but G-T's abortive attempt to
cash in on the then-hot "reality" shows like "Real People". One episode had
TPiR producer Roger Dobkowitz in the boxing ring.
3'S A CROWD (BA, 130 Synd 79-80)
Host: Jim Peck. Who knows a man better? His wife or his secretary?
TIC TAC DOUGH (BE, 40 CBS 78, 1560 Synd 78-85, 195 Synd 90)
Hosts: Wink Martindale (to '84), Jim Caldwell (84-85), Patrick Wayne (90).
Revision of the scandal-era X-and-O trivia game. You block!
TO TELL THE TRUTH (GT, 1755 Synd 69-77; 195 Synd 80; 260 NBC 89-90)
Hosts: Garry Moore, Joe Garagiola, Robin Ward, Gordon Elliott, Lynn Swann,
Alex Trebek. Will the real (...) please stand up?
TREASURE HUNT (BE, 156 Synd 73-76; 195 Synd 81)
Host: Geoff Edwards. Sadistic show featuring 30 (later 66) boxes, one of
which houses $25000. Look for Barris and his henchmen throughout the show's
run, especially bonded security agent Emile Autouri.
TRIVIA TRAP (GT, 130 ABC 84-85)
Host: Bob Eubanks. Teams of old vs. young contestants eliminate wrong
answers from a board of choices.
WAY OUT GAMES (BE, 17 CBS (Sat) 76)
Host: Sonny Fox. SatAM stunt competition set up at an amusement park.
WHAT'S MY LINE? (GT, 1365 Synd 68-74)
Hosts: Wally Bruner, Larry Blyden. Goodson and Todman's masterpiece, now
in a five-a-week color version. Sign in, please...
WHEEL OF FORTUNE (MG, 4000 Day 75-90 {some hrs}; 2145+ Synd 83-on)
Hosts: Chuck Woolery, Susan Stafford, Pat Sajak, Vanna White, Rolf
Benirschke, Bob Goen. "Hangman" on TV. What a concept!
And as before, if your system doesn't have TGSN, they seriously need a
beating. So ASK THEM TO ADD TGSN! Then beat them. :-)
--Robair
Chris Lemon
: CARD SHARKS (GT, 910 NBC 78-81; 845 CBS 86-89; 195 Synd 86)
: Host: Jim Perry (NBC), Bob Eubanks (CBS), Bill Rafferty (Syn), Janice
: Baker (NBC), Lois Areno (NBC), Melinda Hunter (NBC), Markie Post (NBC),
Really? I did NOT know this. Was she a contestant or a dealer?
: DOUBLE DARE (GT, 80 CBS 77)
: Featured the infamous "Spoilers" endgame. Not associated in any way with
: Nickelodeon's game.
Why so imfamous? I remember it, but only because of the smarmy PhD's
that were involved with it.
--
===================================================================
<If I had any artistic ability, this is | Chris Lemon
where the really cute ANSI would go.> | cle...@netcom.com
===================================================================
robair...@bix.com
Markie Post was the third dealer hired by the show, to replace an]
eminently forgettable dealer named Bettina. Lois Areno, in turn,
replaced Markie. And Melinda Hunter replaced Lois. Oops, forgot
Ann Pennington: she was between Bettina and Markie!
The reason the Spoilers were infamous is BECAUSE oif those
stupid PH.D.'s. Especially Dr. Ralph Doty, who as you will see was
just like Siskel and Ebert put together. When he knew the answer
and knew you chose a bad clue to stump him with, he'd be as in-your-
face a man in an isolation booth can be.
--Robair
Chris Lemon
: "Password Plus" always had a $5000 jackpot, didn't it? ("Super Password"
: had the growing one.)
This is true.
: It's also the only endgame I can think of where a
: "foul" doesn't totally disqualify a player, but just reduces the size of the
: jackpot if they win.
This is not. If they got buzzed, that letter was blanked out, and they
could only win the consolatory $100 an answer...
: Unfortunately, my cable company was given an ultimatum by ABC: if the
: next opening you have doesn't go to ESPN2, we are withdrawing the local ABC
: station (it's ABC-owned, not just an affiliate).
Ooh! Ooh! This is a GOOD idea! (My cable system doesn't so much as carry
ESPN 2, and I WANT my hockey when they play again...)
JOE CAPITANO
otherwise - being stuffed into a purse as they were snatched up, and then
randomly drawn out one at a time (maximum of ten) by Eubanks. You lost
your stash if a one dollar bill was pulled.
..and I wonder how Jane felt about this gem? (Heh! It's a living!)
David Hammett
>Don Del Grande (ddel...@nyx.cs.du.edu) wrote:
>: "Password Plus" always had a $5000 jackpot, didn't it? ("Super Password"
>: had the growing one.)
>: "foul" doesn't totally disqualify a player, but just reduces the size of the
>: jackpot if they win.
>This is not. If they got buzzed, that letter was blanked out, and they
>could only win the consolatory $100 an answer...
I gotta go with Don on this one. On PP, each bad clue which was given in the
Alphabetics round lowered the big prize by $1000. On SP, the letter probably
just blanked out (we never got SP in Atlanta, and what few times I saw it
out-of-town that never happened).
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Hammett It's nice to be impressed by a good brain,
dham...@netcom.com but you don't want to have to eat it.
-- Alex Trebek on "Pitfall"
hatp...@gmail.com
str8co...@gmail.com
An audience member was brought up on stage to sing a song she had written.
The North Carolina native had written hundreds of songs and played one of her favorites. On the piano she belted out Beetovans 5th, dunt, dunt, dunt, daaah, and sang: I'm gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the ni@@ers I see.
As soon as she said "see", NBC went off the air, coast to coast.
When they came back on air, a red faced Bob Barker continued the game, with no mention of what just happened.
In the 70s, Garrett Morris did a parody of it on SNL, titled Death Row Follies.
Does the original TOC clip still exist.
I saw it on a documentary 20 years ago, but can't find any evidence of it on the web.