Worst Game Shows

[RicoGregg]

This will be a list of game/quiz shows that I think stank up every joint that they were seen in. I hope nobody gets a bright idea about reviving them.

1. You're in the Picture; This lasted exactly one episode in early 1961. Host Jackie Gleason totally trashed the show and the format the following week. If you've never seen any clips, don't feel like you missed anything. Jackie Gleason's rant the next week was more entertaining than this show was.

2. The Better Sex; Debuted in tandem with Family Feud on ABC in 1976. Teams of men competed against teams of women. The co-hosts were Country singer Bill Anderson and Sarah Purcell. It was one step shy of being brutal.

3. Treasure Isle; Another ABC game turkey. Long story short, husband and wife teams competed against each other on an artificial island located at the Colonnades Beach Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla. The host was John Bartholomew Tucker, accompanied by a constant droning off-camera voice named Sage (who the hell was Sage, anyway?), who half the time said "I have NO idea!" This dud ran less than a year in 67-68.

4. Whew!; CBS, 1979-80. Hold on to your horses. I know that there are plenty of people who fondly remember this game show, and believe it or not, I was a fan. So why am I listing it among the worse? Because, this show managed to do a complete turnaround, and went from being one of the best game shows to absolutely one of the worst. The big shark jump came when they added celebrities. The coffin nails all came at once. The show went from very cool to very brutal in no time.

5. That Game Show; Syndicated, mid-90s, exact year(s) disputed on net resources. This show was hosted by twins John and Greg Rice, the 2 foot 10 inch infomercial kings. It was a convoluted twist of You Bet Your Life, where there was more talking than actual game playing. No duck, secret word, or wheel spin, though. NOTE: John Rice passed away in 2005, but real estate infomercials with both he and Greg in them are still running. Check your local UHF station in the middle of the night.

6. The Magnificent Marble Machine; This show ran just short of a full year on NBC starting in July of 1975. While not unwatchable at first, I list it with the worst for the same reason as Whew!: They added celebrities, and as a result, ratings went down while they passed over the shark, and this once promising show died a needlessly early death. This should have been a great show.

7 & 8. The ill-advised revivals of You Bet Your Life; Both were syndicated, first in 1980 with Buddy Hackett as host, then in 1992, with Bill Cosby. A pilot featuring Richard Dawson was made in 1988, but did not get picked up. Rather than go on a schpiel (sp), let's just say that these newer versions of YBYL were the very reason that George Fenneman always said "The one, the only" when he introduced Groucho Marx. In 1992, a programming executive for the CBS Owned & Operated Stations made the decision to drop Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! from the Company cluster to pick up the Cosby version, and another show, now forgotten. The ABC O&O's have been grateful ever since.

9. The Baby Game; Short-lived ABC game show that ran from Dec. of '67 thru July of 1968. Produced by Bob Stivers Productions, hosted by Richard Hayes. Supposedly the "other side" of The Newlywed Game. Three teams of young married couples with toddlers tried to guess how the spouse would answer questions regarding their infant. Perhaps it would have been better if it had been produced by Chuck Barris. If you blinked, you missed it. If you missed it, you missed nothing.

10. The Fun Factory; NBC, 1976. Hosted by the always affable Bobby Van, I'll save myself the futile effort of trying to write a description of this mish-mash with a burning question that I always had about this show from Day One: What the hell was the point of this show? 33 years later, there is still no answer. What kind of game show ends every episode with the host saying "Let's go give out some suckers!"?

 

[Stanislav]

I'd add Take a Good Look (ABC, 1959-61), Ernie Kovacs' ill-advised game show hosting gig. While an interesting curio, and a must-see (what few episodes survive) for Kovacsphiles, as a game show it was rather bizarre. Panelists had to guess what recent event in the news was being "dramatized" in videotaped skits featuring Ernie and his band of merry makers (basically most of the same folks who accompanied him on his ABC specials: Jolene Brand, Bobby Lauher, etc.). Problem was that the skits were basically just a framework for Ernie's unusual creative talents, and in going for the funny the clues tended to get lost in the manic shuffle. Hans Conried, a frequent panelist, quipped that when Zsa Zsa Gabor was on the show, "she became so confused that she forgot to get married." Some say that Ernie did this and other poorly suited gigs simply because by that time the IRS was garnisheeing his income to pay his massive back taxes, and he would take on any job simply to survive financially. Still, anything with Ernie in it is worthwhile (even some of the real stinker movies he did are worth a watch to to see his performance) and this bizarro game show somehow lasted for 53 prime-time episodes (buried in a 10:30-11:00 pm ET slot on the, at the time, VERY much 3rd rated network).

 

[Braves2005]

The 1998 revival of The Match Game is at the top of my list: It stunk badly especially Judy Tenuta and her awful singing and accordion playing.

Family Feud hosted by Louie Anderson (1999-2002): He acted so bored and obnoxious in that half of the time or all the time for that matter, he wished that he hadn't hosted this. Richard Karn (2002-2006) and John O'Hurley (2006-present) are far better hosts than him but nothing could top Richard Dawson and Ray Combs.

 

[bpatrick]

The Sage on "Treasure Isle" was named Bill Templeton,
although he was never identified by that name. "Treasure
Isle" was a unique idea (an outdoor game show) that, IMO,
became overly repetitious. But I still think JBT is one of the
best voice-over people in the business.

I recall that "The Baby Game" had a lot of races among the
kids, and that the parents had to predict the winners. That
show was so short-lived that my memory may be playing tricks
on me.

I'd pick two others. One is Peter Tomarken's first show, "Hit
Man," which was bogged down by too many rules. However,
he and announcer Rod Roddy (R.I.P. to both of them) clicked
on their next venture: "Press Your Luck." The other is a little
item called "Wedding Party," which aired very briefly on ABC in
1968 and was hosted by Alan Hamel (a/k/a Mr. Suzanne Somers).
The show was really more talk show than game show (the creator,
Art Stark, had produced "Who Do You Trust?" when Johnny Carson
hosted it), with newlywed couples talking about their courtships.
The game, such as it was, showed them a showcase of prizes; they
each secretly selected a prize, and if they matched they won it.
That was it.

As for Gleason and Kovacs, Gleason probably took on "You're In
The Picture" because it required no rehearsal (he was famous for
his refusal to rehearse); that's the same attitude Jerry Lewis took
toward his 1963 Saturday-night variety show, which wasn't much
more successful (13 weeks).

Kovacs and ABC used to get a lot of complaints from viewers that
they couldn't figure out the answers from the obtuse clues Kovacs
and his team of actors provided. Kovacs often said that he didn't
care; this was a show he did for himself. But the person who said
this show is for Kovacs fans is right; he gets to stick a lot of his
off-the-wall comedy into the show, and that's really why anyone
would watch "Take A Good Look" today.

 

[EricStein]

The worst game show in modern history I've seen was "The Reel-to-Reel Picture Show" on PAX TV in 1998. Peter Marshall hosted, D-list celebrities (Abe Vigoda and Michael Winslow were two of them I remember) played with contestants in a game of movie trivia. Awfully low budget, the game play was bad, sets dated, and Marshall didn't feel comfortable hosting. The contestants never got their prizes after the producers went bankrupt and production shut down.

Then there was "Cross-Wits '86" in syndication, "The Home Shopping Game" (1987), "Winning Lines" (CBS, 1999), and the American version of "100 Percent" which had a limited run in '99, as honorable mentions.

 

[WMC2006]

-The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour
-Greed
-last year's Merv Griffin's Crossword

 

[azumanga]

As for the Rice Brothers' "That Game Show", the actual title was "That !@#%% Game Show" (don't know the actual punctuation), and I think it ran in the late-1980s.

Two more shows worth listing:

* "Shopper's Casino" -- think "The Price is Right" really gone Vegas; while the motif is okay, the production values are below par. The Game Show Forum has lots on this travesty.

* "Match Game" 1998 --Questions designed to be censor bait (for example, a new soft drink from the makers of Viagra and 7-Up, called "_____ Up"), five D-list celebrities, a recipe for a "great game show" (instead of "It's time to match the stars") and 1973 money values.

*"Deal or No Deal", the later NBC shows -- has become the "Queen For a Day" for the new millenium, complete with dramatic pauses, corny stunts, nonsensical bickering and spoilers galore. I used to be a fan of this show, but after the last $1 million win, where they spoiled the win every chance they get and crammed the show with filler, I said, "That's it."

 

[LKellerIII]

A contender in this category would have to be Showdown - in the mid 60s for one season on NBC. It was hosted by Joe Pyne, a sharp-tongued Los Angeles radio and TV talk host that was famous for insulting his crackpot guests and people who disagreed with him. Think Morton Downey Jr. or Wally George. Among his other catch-phrases: "Go gargle with razor blades!" He skipped the insults on the game show, but was very stiff, surly, and rarely cracked a smile.

I don't remember the game itself, except that it was quite forgettable. When a contestant lost a round, there was some kind of "trap-door" device below his seat that made him drop out of sight behind the contestant desk.

Instead of a pre-recorded theme, the show featured a small live rock band that played and sang the theme: "Showdown, showdown, showdown - let's have a showdown..."

 

[mleach]

10. The Fun Factory; NBC, 1976. Hosted by the always affable Bobby Van, I'll save myself the futile effort of trying to write a description of this mish-mash with a burning question that I always had about this show from Day One: What the hell was the point of this show? 33 years later, there is still no answer. What kind of game show ends every episode with the host saying "Let's go give out some suckers!"?

I remember reading someplace years ago where the purpose of The Fun Factory was only to showcase the talents of the late Bobby Van ( one reason why he sang on the show ). Of course it didn't work and it would be a few years until Van "found his hit", when he hosted Make Me Laugh, sadly ( and talk about bad timing ) Bobby Van was actually dying of cancer/brain tumor while doing that show.

Actually the idea of The Fun Factory wasn't a new idea. Baltimore's WBAL channel 11 way back in the early 60's had "The One O'Clock Show" which was pretty much what The Fun Factory did. a mish-mash of songs, dance, jokes, and games with a studio audience of married couples, hosted by two now-forgotten local Baltimore radio announcers ( I would imagine they worked for WBAL Radio..DUH !!!!!!!!! ).

I guess we should count our blessings. The Fun Factory was only a 30 minute show and didn't last very long while the WBAL show aired for a full hour and lasted several years.

 

[Charles1]

The 2001 (?) revival of To Tell the Truth was pretty bad, too. Again, D-list celebrities brought the show down.

 

[azumanga]

...it would be a few years until Van "found his hit", when he hosted Make Me Laugh, sadly ( and talk about bad timing ) Bobby Van was actually dying of cancer/brain tumor while doing that show.

Just as chagrinning is that you wouldn't even have known that he was dying of cancer by watching that show -- as I heard, he hid it really well.

 

[RicoGregg]

I remember reading someplace years ago where the purpose of The Fun Factory was only to showcase the talents of the late Bobby Van ( one reason why he sang on the show ). Of course it didn't work and it would be a few years until Van "found his hit", when he hosted Make Me Laugh, sadly ( and talk about bad timing ) Bobby Van was actually dying of cancer/brain tumor while doing that show.

Bobby Van was an incredible, underrated, underappreciated talent. He could sing, dance, and tell jokes with the best of them. His "pogo stick dance" in 1953's Small Town Girl is still one of the most incredible things I've ever seen on film. Let's see Fred Astaire pull that one off. It has to be seen to be believed.

Maybe he was a victim of bad timing. He arrived on the scene in the early 50s, right when a big downturn in movie production began, and the beginning of the end of the so-called studio system. If Bobby Van had started say, in the early 40s, he might have become a major star. He had what it took.

You know, it occurs to me, I used to work with someone who was a writer on The Fun Factory. I should have thought to ask him about that show, but I didn't. (shoulder shrug) Oh, well...

 

[Markxxx]

The Diamonhead Game, (Syndicated) I remember our TV critic Gary Deep (The Chicago Tribune) called it "an insult to the world stupid.

 

[RadioMan203]

I've gotta vote for the GSN version of "I've Got A Secret". I suppose if you really wanted to stretch it it may have been considered ok, but nothing like its predecessors.

 

[RicoGregg]

As for the Rice Brothers' "That Game Show", the actual title was "That !@#%% Game Show" (don't know the actual punctuation), and I think it ran in the late-1980s.

Thanks for the clarification. I'm sure your punctuation is fine.

*bpatrick, thanks for clearing up the Sage mystery. Now, I can sleep easier.

 

[mleach]

...it would be a few years until Van "found his hit", when he hosted Make Me Laugh, sadly ( and talk about bad timing ) Bobby Van was actually dying of cancer/brain tumor while doing that show.

Just as chagrinning is that you wouldn't even have known that he was dying of cancer by watching that show -- as I heard, he hid it really well.

He really did hid it well, however I wonder if those on the set of Make Me Laugh knew how sick Van was? The reason I bring this up is that in order to be an emcee/star of a show, one has to get insurance. I believe this even applies to guest stars too but I am not totally sure about that nor how it works when it comes to game shows. In his bio I believe Peter Marshall hired film great Betty Grable to do a number of guest appearences on The Hollywood Squares just so Betty could get that insurance as she was suffering from lung cancer at the time ( she would die in 1973 ). But Bobby Van was the star of Make Me Laugh...wonder if the studio/producers knew?

When Van died in 1980, I remember actually reading his obit in the paper FOUR times...I had no idea he was even sick, so it was quite a shock to read that he had died.

Going back to this topic....The 1985 NBC game show "Time Machine" with John Davidson was pretty bad. The show was one of those trivia shows ( like ABC's Trivia Trap ). The idea was good but I remember quite a few times the "answers" to the questions asked were wrong. Somebody wasn't doing their homework.

Also from 1985 there was Wink Martindale's Headline Chasers. Very boring !!!

Does anyone remember the mid 80's game show "Guilty Or Innocent" ?? I have never seen the show but I do remember listening to a broadcast late one night on Boston's WBZ radio ( Ken Myer ?? ). They made the claim that was the worst game show of the year. Wonder if WBZ was right about that? At the time no station in either Baltimore or Washington carried it.

 

[ixnay]

The Diamonhead Game, (Syndicated) I remember our TV critic Gary Deep (The Chicago Tribune) called it "an insult to the world stupid.

Bob Eubanks hosted this Honolulu-based show, perhaps swallowing his pride as the job unfolded. Read all about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Head_Game . I turned 14 in 1975 and all I remember is the "money volcano" (and the hula girl ). Paid no attention to the show's quality (I believe it aired in Philly on KYW-3).

ixnay

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

Two GSN originals from 2000-2001 come to mind for the "worst game show" category--that is, if you want to call them "game shows":

--DJ Games: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Games)

--Mall Masters

In addition, I would add the 1994 Doug Davidson version of "The New Price is Right" (although I did enjoy seeing the old ads in their "The Price Was Right" "showcase showdown"):

http://www.tpir.tv/newprice/newprice.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Price_Is_Right_(1994)

Also I have found the premiere episode of TnPIR '94 on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv9gy-oxCS4 (Part 1 of 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNzCUPwJKIg&feature=related (Part 2 of 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFHqrgTZmvU&feature=related (Part 3 of 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzsbEGRmeK4&feature=related (Part 4 of 4--was, for me, VERY slow to load)

 

[Corky Marlowe]

Does anyone remember the mid 80's game show "Guilty Or Innocent" ??

Gaaaahhhh!!!! It was hosted by Melvin Belli, one of the first "celebrity" trial lawyers, who came off as kind of a cross between Barney Frank and Calvert DeForest.

Also, the GSN version of "I've Got A Secret" was pretty horrible.

The first post mentioned "The Better Sex"...The only thing I remember about this show was the theme song. It was sort of a scat song, with alternate lines sung by a female and male chorus, and dangit, it's gonna be earwigging me like the dickens now, thank you very much!

 

[johnnya2k6]

What about "The Family Game", produced by Chuck Barris (hot off the heels of The Newlywed/Dating Games), hosted by Bob Barker (yes, Bob Barker!!), and ran for a few months on ABC in 1967?

During a Price is Right taping one time, somebody asked Bob about that show; his only response? "I put that show out of my mind YEARS ago!!"

Another short-lived game show that was put out of somebody's mind years ago was "The Neighbors" with Regis Philbin.

And I brought up "Pitfall" with Alex Trebek before, and how he couldn't cash his check from hosting the show because the production company went bankrupt!

But the latest entry in the "Worst Game Shows" category is ABC's "Opportunity Knocks" (hosted by J.D. Roth on the 20th anniversary of "Fun House", his first gig), which lasted only three episodes before it got canned.