Game Shows Whose Formats Have Changed Over The Years

[Gregg]

The Price Is Right and host Drew Carey this season have been celebrating the show's 40th Anniversary and have been showing brief clips of a 40-something Bob Barker (all dark hair) awarding prizes to winning contestants from the show's past.

But The Price Is Right is more than 40 years old. I suppose it's been 40 continuous years since CBS has had The Price Is Right on its daytime schedule. The original Price Is Right, which I vaguely remember and clips of which I've seen, was a nighttime show with host Bill Cullen. It may have even been on NBC. A panel of four seated people would be shown a product and they'd try to guess its cost.

There's still that element today for contestants called down from the audience ("C'mon down!") to get on stage but most of the show is entirely different. And it became an hour-long show I suppose about 30 years ago?

I'm also remembering that the Match Game originally had two celebrities, each with a team of two contestants. The teams would try to match the answer of the celebrity. Later the Gene Rayburn version gave us a panal of six celebrities with two contestants. And the revival with Vicky Lawrence, Judy Tenuda and Nell Carter had a panal of five (two guest men) with two contestants trying to match their answers.

In a thread below showing Philadelphia TV listings in 1953, the CBS station WCAU has a weekday listing for a one-hour Wheel of Fortune at 10am. But I don't think this was the early days of the same game show since game shows didn't run for an hour in those days. They were either 30 minutes or in some cases 15 minuites. So I have no idea what this Wheel of Fortune is.


Gregg
[email protected]

 

[tlyle]

LINGO on GSN just changed formats recently when Bill Engvall took over. Moves somewhat quicker than the previous version.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

The best example of this might be the recent "Million Dollar Password" with Regis Philbin, which bears only a passing resemblence to any of the earlier versions of the show.

 

[cd637299]

Speaking of Password....

The NBC game show "Snap Judgment" (1967-69 or so) had a format that I could not describe well here....I saw it, but basically it had to do with a contestant or celeb trying to convey a word or phrase to a partner by giving out the first letter (or letters) of a word.

Then they overhauled the whole thing, and went with the "Password" format, albeit keeping the same title of Snap Judgment. (Instead of "The password is _____", it went, "The word is ______".) According to Wesley Hyatt's "The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television," he said that even having celebs like Bob Hope and Johnny Carson did not save it. (Funny thing: "Password" reruns went into syndication in 1969, and it started a revival, possibly leading to the 1971 ABC return...I think Hyatt said that too.)

Also----

NBC's "Jackpot" with Geoff Edwards had a very elaborate "riddle" format, which many here remember, I am sure. Then inexplicably (to me), they changed from riddles to Hollywood Squares-style true/false questions. I think it was Geoff that said it led to the demise of Jackpot.*

When it returned on USA network & later syndication, they went back to the tried-and-true riddles.

Bob Stewart game shows seem to be notorious, for maybe not overhauls, but constant tweaks.

[*I remember one true/false question....and remember, this was during the height of women's lib: something like "True or false---the reason women have more wrinkles in their necks than men, is that they move their jaws up-and-down more often." Boy did *that* get a round of booing!! I could not believe that I heard it.]

cd

 

[Wright County Guy]

Price was on NBC then ABC from 56-65. The show was essentially today's "contestant's row" with 4 contestants bidding on prizes. The show was noted for more bizarre gifts (i.e. a barbeque grill came with its own steer--for really fresh steaks!)

 

[cd637299]

^...and many are on YouTube. I have one TPIR from Shokus Video that featured the Isetta car (the same one Urkel used on "Family Matters").

cd

 

[cwf1701]

But some game shows are only related in name only. different production companies might use the same name, but different formats. a example is the 1976 G-T version of Double Dare and the the 1986 Nickelodeon Double Dare. Both shows are unrelated format wise to each other.

 

[anotherguyTN]

Weren't there several different game shows called Break the Bank? I've read where there was one in the 50's, and I can remember one in the 70's with Tom Kennedy as the host that seemed like a Hollywood Squares ripoff, and I'd heard about one in the 80's, although I never saw it.

On Password, there were changes over time, with the first major change being the all star version toward the end of its run on ABC, and then Password Plus/Super Password on NBC, which added the passwords being clues to a puzzle and the Alphabetics/Super Password bonus round, and then the Million Dollar version.

Family Feud added the Bullseye round when it went to an hour on CBS.

Pyramid went through several different changes in how a contestant got to play for the top prize as it increased over time, especially with the $100,000 version, with the top prize only being in a tournament.

 

[bpatrick]

The 1953 "Wheel Of Fortune" aired from 10-11 AM on Fridays
on CBS, according to Hyatt (Arthur Godfrey was at his farm in
Virginia on Fridays and did only his radio show). That version
featured people who had done some good deed; the spin of the
wheel determined how many questions they had to answer to win
a stated cash prize ($30-$1000).

The 1985 "Break The Bank" was essentially a word-puzzle game like
the modern "Wheel Of Fortune." Merv Griffin had nothing to do with
the original "Wheel," nor did Ed Wolfe have anything to do with the
'70s or '80s versions of "Break The Bank."

Anyone remember the 1978-79 version of "Jeopardy!", where the contestant
in third place at the end of the "Jeopardy!" round was eliminated, and the
contestant who was ahead at the end of "Double Jeopardy!" then tried to
"question five answers" and complete a row across, up and down, or diagonally,
without missing three?

And since somebody brought up "Lingo," for those of you who watch that show,
whose version do you like better--Chuck Woolery's or Bill Engvall's? I have to
admit that Engvall's is growing on me the more I watch and I have to agree it
moves faster than Woolery's.

 

[cd637299]

Yes I sure remember that 78-79 Jeopardy!, and some are on YouTube. Horrible format.....glad that they returned Final J! for the Trebek version....and see how long it has lasted!

"Break the Bank" was the same titile of 3 different shows in 3 different runs----in fact, I'd say that the final syndie run, 1985-86, was two different shows. Gene Rayburn hosted the show for maybe 13 weeks, then Joe "Infomercial" Farago took over, and they totally changed the format.

Fun thread. As they come to me, I will try to post more "changes". How could I have forgotten All Star Password?

Oh! By the way, the title "Strike It Rich" was also two different shows, and I believe the 80s version was produced by the same folk as the Rayburn/Farago BTB! Remember this? "No Bandit! No Bandit! No Bandit!"

cd

 

[anotherguyTN]

The "No Bandit!" comment reminded me of "No Whammy!" on Press Your Luck, which went through a major change in adding the Whammy. The original version, Second Chance on ABC, was basically the same game, but instead of the Whammy there were stop signs. The ABC version was pretty boring compared to PYL on CBS. GSN took it even further on Whammy with the Double Whammy, where the contestant lost their prizes and had things dropped on them like some kid's game shows.

 

[LKellerIII]

I'm not a big game show fan - so somebody can confirm in my memory is correct. I remember seeing Wheel of Fortune (Pat and Vanna version) a few times in the early days. As I remember, there were a lot more gift-prizes and the announcer (Jack Clark?) spent a lot of air-time talking about the gifts with pretty models on stage - much in the style of Price is Right or Let's Make A Deal[./i]

I didn't like the show for that reason - too much promotional garbage, not enough game. I personally can't get into TPIR and 'Deal' for that reason. Assuming my memory is correct - the move to "cash prizes" (except for the car at the end) was a good one, IMO.

 

[cd637299]

I'm not a big game show fan - so somebody can confirm in my memory is correct. I remember seeing Wheel of Fortune (Pat and Vanna version) a few times in the early days. As I remember, there were a lot more gift-prizes and the announcer (Jack Clark?) spent a lot of air-time talking about the gifts with pretty models on stage - much in the style of Price is Right or Let's Make A Deal[./i]

I didn't like the show for that reason - too much promotional garbage, not enough game. I personally can't get into TPIR and 'Deal' for that reason. Assuming my memory is correct - the move to "cash prizes" (except for the car at the end) was a good one, IMO.

Indeed it was, and likely it turned the show into the juggernaut that it is today.

From 1975's debut with Chuck Woolery to about 1983-ish w/ Sajak, contestants did not win cash, but rather a bank to buy prizes. And ooh were the prizes horrible, and/or overpriced! There was always the running gag about the ceramic Dalmatian (WoF lovers know about it).

If a player won a round and decided to shop, they had to buy what was left available to them, and that meant the Dalmatian or maybe a meat smoker.

"60 Minutes" did a possible "hit piece" on WoF in the early 80s as Sajak began, something like:

Interviewer: "$185 for a meat smoker?!?!"
Sajak: "It's a very nice meat smoker."

That may have had the brass to decide to make WoF an all-cash show. I think it was said that viewers wanted more puzzles, and that was the way to do it.

The rest is history.

Again, I missed out on one----a very important one!

cd

 

[johnnya2k6]

Oh! By the way, the title "Strike It Rich" was also two different shows, and I believe the 80s version was produced by the same folk as the Rayburn/Farago BTB!

That would be Kline & Friends, started up by Richard Kline and his fellow ex-Barry & Enright staffers shortly after they left the company following Jack Barry's death in the mid-'80s. They also did Win, Lose, or Draw (but not the teen version; it was by another company), the 1990 Joker's Wild revival, Masters of the Maze (with JD Roth and later Mario Lopez), and Pictionary, and even Marsha Warfield's short-lived NBC daytime talk show.

 

[LKellerIII]

I'm not a big game show fan - so somebody can confirm in my memory is correct. I remember seeing Wheel of Fortune (Pat and Vanna version) a few times in the early days. As I remember, there were a lot more gift-prizes and the announcer (Jack Clark?) spent a lot of air-time talking about the gifts with pretty models on stage - much in the style of Price is Right or Let's Make A Deal[./i]

I didn't like the show for that reason - too much promotional garbage, not enough game. I personally can't get into TPIR and 'Deal' for that reason. Assuming my memory is correct - the move to "cash prizes" (except for the car at the end) was a good one, IMO.

Indeed it was, and likely it turned the show into the juggernaut that it is today.

From 1975's debut with Chuck Woolery to about 1983-ish w/ Sajak, contestants did not win cash, but rather a bank to buy prizes. And ooh were the prizes horrible, and/or overpriced! There was always the running gag about the ceramic Dalmatian (WoF lovers know about it).

If a player won a round and decided to shop, they had to buy what was left available to them, and that meant the Dalmatian or maybe a meat smoker.

"60 Minutes" did a possible "hit piece" on WoF in the early 80s as Sajak began, something like:

Interviewer: "$185 for a meat smoker?!?!"
Sajak: "It's a very nice meat smoker."

That may have had the brass to decide to make WoF an all-cash show. I think it was said that viewers wanted more puzzles, and that was the way to do it.

The rest is history.

Again, I missed out on one----a very important one!

cd

That's right! Thanks for the memory jog. I remember you'd see...for example, a Panasonic VCR, and the announcer would intone: "Retail price $999.95!" But you could get the same VCR at Crazy Eddie's (or wherever) for about half that price.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

I'm not a big game show fan - so somebody can confirm in my memory is correct. I remember seeing Wheel of Fortune (Pat and Vanna version) a few times in the early days. As I remember, there were a lot more gift-prizes and the announcer (Jack Clark?) spent a lot of air-time talking about the gifts with pretty models on stage - much in the style of Price is Right or Let's Make A Deal[./i]

I didn't like the show for that reason - too much promotional garbage, not enough game. I personally can't get into TPIR and 'Deal' for that reason. Assuming my memory is correct - the move to "cash prizes" (except for the car at the end) was a good one, IMO.

Indeed it was, and likely it turned the show into the juggernaut that it is today.

From 1975's debut with Chuck Woolery to about 1983-ish w/ Sajak, contestants did not win cash, but rather a bank to buy prizes. And ooh were the prizes horrible, and/or overpriced! There was always the running gag about the ceramic Dalmatian (WoF lovers know about it).

If a player won a round and decided to shop, they had to buy what was left available to them, and that meant the Dalmatian or maybe a meat smoker.

"60 Minutes" did a possible "hit piece" on WoF in the early 80s as Sajak began, something like:

Interviewer: "$185 for a meat smoker?!?!"
Sajak: "It's a very nice meat smoker."

That may have had the brass to decide to make WoF an all-cash show. I think it was said that viewers wanted more puzzles, and that was the way to do it.

The rest is history.

Again, I missed out on one----a very important one!

cd

That's right! Thanks for the memory jog. I remember you'd see...for example, a Panasonic VCR, and the announcer would intone: "Retail price $999.95!" But you could get the same VCR at Crazy Eddie's (or wherever) for about half that price.

The Cheech and Chong imitator, Dr. Dave, in their "The Letter" parody from 1986, "Vanna, Pick Me a Letter," did joke about the overpriced WOF prizes: "$500 for a [portable] black and white TV?!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1vr2an65Pc

 

[bpatrick]

"Name That Tune": the original with George DeWitt was like the
original "Price Is Right" in that it didn't have the various mini-games;
it was simply two contestants racing each other to ring the bell and
name the tune. DeWitt's version also had the Golden Medley Marathon,
in which contestants working in teams could win $5000 a week to a
maximum of $25,000. Tom Kennedy's version did institute a $100,000
top prize in 1976.

"Twenty-One": a number of differences here. On Maury Povich's version,
all the questions were multiple choice (no multi-part): three choices for
questions worth 1-9 points, four for a 10-point question, five for an 11-point question.
Also, on the original with Jack Barry, a wrong answer deducted the value
of the question from the contestant's score (although the score could never
fall below zero); on Povich's version a contestant received a strike (two if
the contestant had called out a person brought along to help, something else
that wasn't part of the original show) and three strikes eliminated the player.
The original did not have the "Perfect 21" bonus round either.

"To Tell The Truth": the 1980-81 Robin Ward version added the "One On One"
segment, where one of the day's impostors had a story to tell and the panel had
to decide whether or not the story was the truth. There was a variation on that
on the 1990-91 version. Also, the audience's getting to vote for the one they
thought was telling the truth had been in the pilot in 1956 but didn't become part
of the show until the last year on CBS daytime (1967-68) and was used again on
the John O'Hurley version (2000-02).

 

[cd637299]

Also, we cannot forget the Original 1960s Match Game vs the 1970s one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_Game

cd

 

[johnnya2k6]

Speaking of Match Game...aren't y'all forgetting about the 1990 version (don't get me started on '98)?

Or when it returned to its first home on NBC in 1983...as part of the ill-fated "Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour"?

 

[cd637299]

Speaking of Match Game...aren't y'all forgetting about the 1990 version (don't get me started on '98)?

Or when it returned to its first home on NBC in 1983...as part of the ill-fated "Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour"?

Oh I know 'em all....was trying to keep it simple!

All later Match Games had rules based on that of the 70s....but yes they definitely had tweaks to them.

I liked the 60s version, despite the paltry cash payouts!

cd