The Game Show Show is a four-part docuseries about the history of game shows. Yes, it’s pretty much that simple. How does a network cover 80 years of game show history, stretching back to the days when radio ruled and TV was just experimental? By talking to as many current and former game show hosts and producers as possible, for one. But the producers of the series have also decided to make each episode adhere to a theme, grouping the shows covered by type.
Opening Shot: As we see a clip from an old episode of The Price Is Right, we hear Howie Mandel say, “I don’t think there’s anyone alive who hasn’t watched a game show.”
The Gist: The first episode, “The Answer Is…”, centers on quiz shows. The second episode centers on shows like TPIR, Let’s Make A Deal and others that have contestants play games or perform stunts for money. A third episode goes over reality shows like Survivor or Fear Factor, and the final episode discusses dating shows.
The quiz show episode starts with the beginnings of the genre, from radio shows like The $64 Question to the quiz shows like The $64,000 Question and Twenty-One, that became massive hits in TV’s early days. Of course, the quiz show scandals are discussed, with Herb Stempel blowing the whistle on how shows like Twenty-One were fixed to amp up drama.
We get an extended segment on Jeopardy! with a tribute to Alex Trebek, and a segment on Mark Goodson and Bill Todman’s game show juggernaut, including Match Game and Family Feud. From there, this transitions to a look at how Charles Nelson Reilly and Paul Lynde could be their queer selves on shows like MG and Hollywood Squares, even if being openly gay was frowned upon at the time. Tom Bergeron talks about his time on Squares and how good Gilbert Gottfried was. Finally, there’s a discussion of how Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? brought game shows back in a big way in 1999.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? ABC News specializes in these talking-head pop culture series, like The Year and others. The format also feels a lot like CNN’s pop-culture docuseries, like The History Of Comedy.
Our Take: The Game Show Show is definitely designed for the more casual TV or pop culture fan who doesn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of game shows. It definitely covers the highlights of game show history, and in a way that doesn’t dumb things down for the audience.
If you are a game show nut like we are, the show isn’t going to tell you anything you don’t already know. In fact, it may skip over some shows or gloss over some details that you may think are important.
For instance, in a talk with Dick DeBartolo, who wrote for both the ’60s and the ’70s-’80s versions of Match Game, the interview was edited to make it seem like the old New York-based version was on for two years before it was moved to Los Angeles and evolved into the ribald version that’s rerun incessantly on BUZZR. In fact, the more staid ’60s version was on for seven years, and there was a four year gap between the original and the more famous revival. Again, the more anally-retentive game show fans (raises hand) will note this kind of stuff right away, but it’ll likely go unnoticed by the causal fan.
What we did appreciate was the fact that they not only talked to game show historians like Adam Nedeff and Bob Boden but that more often than not, the producers got their facts straight and hit the right highlights. There are enough esoteric tidbits about the history of the genre to tell us that the producers know it well and aren’t merely throwing talking heads up there to react to the fact that Richard Dawson kissed every female contestant on Family Feud.
Sex and Skin: Other than some answers from the ’70s Match Game and a typically bawdy Steve Harvey-era Family Feud answer given by Sherri Shepherd, it’s all pretty clean.
Parting Shot: Jeopardy! super champion Amy Schneider closes things out by saying that “whether or not you get on a quiz show, [the genre] will make you a happier person, I think.”
Sleeper Star: While the number of hosts and writers from the ’60s and ’70s heyday of the genre is tiny at this point, we were very glad to see interviews with people like DeBartolo, Bob Eubanks and other game show legends.
Most Pilot-y Line: That being said, we were disappointed that Peter Marshall, still around and sharp as a tack at 97, wasn’t interviewed about Hollywood Squares. Sure, Tom Bergeron is a pretty good representative of the show’s history, but a few soundbites from Marshall would have been welcome.
Our Call: STREAM IT. While The Game Show Show won’t give game show nuts any new information, it’s definitely more informative for the casual fan than similar shows, and the producers talk to more than enough current and past hosts to legitimize the show’s perspective.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.