70s gameshows sucked so hard it ain't even funny...

[Blue_Tires]

Last edited Fri Oct 30, 2015, 08:19 AM - Edit history (1)

EDIT: I wasn't trying to say the Gong Show was bad; clearly some here let my double meaning of "SUCK" fly right over their heads...

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[sharp_stick]

1. I'd love to know

what those two are doing now.

[Brother Buzz]

4. I understand they manage a successful restaurant down at the mall food court

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[cyberswede]

2. I loved The Gong Show!

I was a kid, though.

I also liked Match Game a lot.

[gratuitous]

7. I had a friend who was unemployed for a while

He watched Match Game reruns all day long on the Game Show Network. Running back-to-back like that, he could tell when the day's taping had run a little long (the usual procedure was to tape a week's worth of shows with the same guests in one day). During breaks the guests would spend their time nibbling and drinking, and by the time of the taping for the Friday show, they were often pretty well schnockered, including Gene Rayburn. The humor got bawdier, the banter got coarser, and it probably took about an hour and a half to get 22 usable minutes for the episode.

Yeah, not something the networks would be real anxious to let happen nowadays.

[onehandle]

3. Not a chance that scene would get on TV today. nt

[cyberswede]

5. I think Chuck Barris was higher than a kite.

And the girl on the (viewers') right clearly understood the skit better than the one on the left.

[BlueJazz]

6. I think the worst one was the second "Password". The prizes after the rounds were usually ..

...under 200 dollars. Chicken feed.

[Art_from_Ark]

8. And then there was Tattletales

The game show for horny teenagers

[Art_from_Ark]

9. There were some pretty nifty game shows in the '60s

There was the original Jeopardy, with Art Fleming.

Eye Guess, where contestants would try to match pairs of prizes in a kind of Memory Match game, and then try to solve a rebus puzzle, which was gradually revealed bit by bit when a contestant made a match.

The Who, What, or Where Game, where contestants would be given a theme and would make a wager on a who, what or where question based on that theme.

Let's Make a Deal, with Monty Hall. Contestants would dress up in strange costumes to get Monty's attention. Lucky contestants who were picked by Monty would be given the chance to make a deal, which sometimes involved large sums of money. However, sometimes a contestant would get a "zonk" prize like a goat.

Hollywood Squares-- 9 celebrities arranged in a tic-tac-toe formation, answering questions from contestants who would try to get three O's or three X's in a row.

Treasure Island-- contestants (a married couple) would dig for clues on a beach in Palm Beach, Florida, then use those clues to look for "treasure".

Sale of the Century-- contestants would answer questions to win small amounts of money, which could be applied to the purchase of prizes that were offered at far below suggested retail price.

The Newlywed Game-- 4 sets of married couples would try to guess how their spouses would answer questions posed by the host, Bob Eubanks.

The Dating Game-- a female contestant would try to set up a blind date with one of 3 male contestants. Kind of boring, but it did feature some nifty music by Herb Alpert.

[Mendocino]

11. Hollywood Squares,

more has-beens than The Loveboat.

[gratuitous]

13. I caught a rerun of Let's Make A Deal not too long ago

Wow, could Monty Hall talk! I was just floored by how nimbly and quickly he went through his patter, from introducing something behind the curtain where the lovely Carol Merrill was standing, to the box over on the stage, to maybe you wanted to trade for the case that Jay is bringing down the aisle. He moved flawlessly and seamlessly from one prize to the next, never stuttering, never losing his place.

[Art_from_Ark]

16. My eyes always bulged out when he would hold up a handful of hundreds

In those days, a hundred dollar bill would be like $700 today. And I'd always shout "Take the money!!!!"

[jmowreader]

17. And sometimes you'd trade a refrigerator for a gorilla

[WinkyDink]

10. The Gong Show was AWESOME! Maybe one had to be there.

[AngryOldDem]

12. I knew someone who got on the Gong Show.

Played a kazoo.

And not all '70s game shows sucked -- Match Game and Hollywood Squares come to mind.

[malthaussen]

14. There was a celebrity charades game in the '70s that was funny as hell...

... I think it was on PBS, of all places. Roger C. Carmel was one of the regulars. Which is kind of fitting, since he was regularly on "Stump the Stars" in the '50s.

-- Mal

[Snobblevitch]

15. I remember an episode of the Gong Show

that had a ventriloquist perform while searing a surgeon's mask. You could see his lips moving through the fabric.

I met Gary Owens years ago. He hated Chuck Barris