Upcoming GSN Schedule Changes... and a Gripe

GSN will be modifying their schedule in the afternoons, starting August 16th.

Here are the changes:

4:00 PM Family Feud (Richard Karn, SYN 2002-06)
4:30 PM Deal or No Deal
5:30 PM Catch 21 (new episodes)

While it’s no big loss to trim a version of Karn Feud as it airs a lot anyway, to me it would make more sense to just move Deal to 4 PM and just have Karn Feud and Catch 21 in the 5 PM hour. The 4:30 Deal slot just looks awkward. Oh well, I guess it could be a lot worse. At least it’s not like the early days on NBC when Deal would end literally at 9:02. Such a pain for people that wanted to change the channel at 9:00 and watch something else by that point.

Not really a schedule change, but in looking at the specifics for the other shows, I see that it’s also a pretty big disappointment that we’ll be seeing both versions of Card Sharks rewind back to episode one. If they only leased about 200 episodes per run, then it really made no sense to air the show four times a day. I expected cycle backs from Sony shows, like Pyramid, but when even the Goodson shows do this then it just goes to show how sad things have gotten. If they have to only do 200 shows for each show at a time, why not just lease 200, air those, then when that’s done, lease the next 200 and show these, and continue on down the line?

Online Pick of the Week (5/14): Card Sharks

Often times in game shows there are rules that aren’t often liked by many of the fans or the contestants on the show. Match Game for a while had a rule in 1975 where you couldn’t pick the same celebrity over and over for the SuperMatch round. Password Plus in 1981 changed the main game from a $300 maximum to a $500 one, and while there was more money involved, it made for an intensely dragging game. Scrabble had a rule for a few months earlier in the run where you had to spell the words correctly before scoring.

Card Sharks had one of these unfavorable rules as well. For the first two years of the original Perry run, in the money cards, if you played the round and got duplicate cards, it’d count against you. For instance, if you were dealt an ace and bet lower on the next card, seeing as on the show the ace is the highest card possible, and you turned up another ace; you’d lose however much you just bet. This changed late in 1980, when double cards would be considered “pushes” and didn’t count for or against you and carried onto the next card. I will admit originally that the initial rule did add to the suspense a bit. Norma Brown could have easily busted instead of going all the way for $28,800. But the change instilled a much fairer round of play for the contestants. This push rule would also be carried onto the two later versions with Bob Eubanks and Bill Rafferty.

Doubles were bad enough for the first two years, but imagine if you managed to find ALL FOUR 3’s at once? Talk about your bad luck.

Card Sharks, my online pick of the week!

Online Pick of the Week (11/13): Play Your Cards Right

I’m sure most game show fans are familiar with the game show Card Sharks, which ran in 3 incarnations (NBC 1978-81, with Jim Perry), (CBS 1986-89, with Bob Eubanks), (SYN 1986-87, with Bill Rafferty). There’s also the dreaded 2001 version, but I won’t go on about that. What some fans of this show may not know is that this is also a popular show in Britain. That’s right, a big hit called Play Your Cards Right, with none other than Bruce Forsyth as the host.

Bruce Forsyth is a great host of this series. Great interaction with the contestants; great chemistry with the models, over there known as the “Dolly Dealers.” Also he does a really great job with the handling of the cards. And of course, there’s one thing that I love a lot on this show: the questions. The interesting questions are one of the things that really have always made Card Sharks so much fun, at least for me. And here there are plenty of interesting ones to be had. Word has it that he was originally slated to host the CBS version. If they picked him, I'm sure he could have done really nicely.

There are a few distinct differences with Bruce’s show. For instance, the later episodes feature couples as contestants, usually married ones. Also, there is a car game featured in this version, however it is incorporated in with the money cards. And another difference: some people may be a little taken aback at the first 5 minutes or so because of the lengthy interview portions at the beginning. But in thinking about it more, I see why this happens. On our versions with Perry, Eubanks, and Rafferty, they all straddled. In other words, games would play continuously into the next show. On Play Your Cards Right, every game ends perfectly at the end with the Money Cards. The first five or so minutes must be done the way they are to keep it that way.

Play Your Cards Right, my online pick of the week!

GSN: More About The March Schedule Change

More details have come about March 30th’s schedule change thanks to the PDF files at Buzzer, and wow, I could not be more excited!

The $25,000 Pyramid episodes will be 1985-86, new to GSN and haven’t been run in well over a decade since USA had game shows as apart of its schedule. I looked at the episode guide and there are some really interesting and fun celebs. Markie Post, Nipsey Russell, Melody Thomas-Scott, Bill Cullen, Florence Henderson, and even Bronson Pinchot. And there are some pretty memorable moments; the 1968 Chevrolet Chevette blooper, and Tom Poston and his contestant partner getting $0 in the winner’s circle (apparently contrary to popular belief is not the first time that occurred, but still, can’t wait to see it in even better quality). Can’t wait! I’ve always preferred daytime Pyramid, and while I was hoping for the earlier episodes, this is still a great surprise and I’m ever so excited about it! Good job, GSN!

The $100,000 Pyramid episodes are from season 3. I’m actually a tad disappointed because I was hoping for season 1, but still, this season in particular hasn’t been seen on GSN in quite a while, and I know many people at this point would rather see this than season 2, which first resurfaced back in ‘05.

Hollywood Squares episodes are all Bergeron, from season 1, which apparently haven’t been seen on GSN in years. I am really eager about this too, as I love this version of the show and I haven’t seen much of the early years of the show since they originally aired. This will always be my favorite version of the show. Tom and the gang had me rolling from start to finish.

Password in the overnight are daytime color episodes from 1966-67, which haven‘t been seen since 2002. I’ve always wanted to see more of this era of the show! However, Super Password on the weekends starts from the beginning. Eh, not too thrilled about this. I guess another opportunity to catch any episodes that may have been missed.

Chain Reaction on the weekends will still be Lane's. Blah.

I’ve never had GSN when they showed any of color Password, first season Bergeron Squares, or $25,000 Pyramid on a regular basis. I’m still disappointed that Press Your Luck, Card Sharks, and the black and white hour are leaving, but these latest acquisitions from Sony make for some GREAT consolation. Only less than 3 weeks away!

GSN: Upcoming Things From The Vault

Card Sharks this weekend on GSN will have a couple of episodes that are definitely VCR/DVR/TiVo worthy. One being Mark Goodson’s cameo appearance on Bob Eubanks’ version, at 9:00 am on Saturday. Sunday at 9:30 will be the last episode of the Bill Rafferty version. As much as I love it to death, it has had a really nice healthy run on GSN throughout the past nearly 4 years and could use a bit of a rest. And the following weekend on the 31st it will be replaced with the Jim Perry version. So if you’re in need to see the early episodes from 1978, here’s your opportunity.

As a disco lover, I’m personally really excited about next week on Pyramid at 6 PM. We’ll be seeing a couple of episodes of the Disco Week of the show, featuring Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Freda Payne, and Joni Sledge!

On February 2, we’ll be seeing the ‘70’s version of Let’s Make A Deal again on weekdays after season 1 of the ‘80’s All-New Let’s Make A Deal has finished. I’m disappointed in this because I’ve really gotten into this version and it’s become a favorite in the Deal franchise and I‘d really like to see the second season, especially the finale with appearances by Joanna Gleason and Jay Stewart; but I do like watching the early 1970’s episodes and it’ll be nice to see some of those again.

February 5 marks the showing of the Password Plus episodes with Jack Narz and from The Young and the Restless, Steven Ford. This last aired around Jack Narz's passing, but if you want to see this week again, there is your chance. It’s a really good one!

GSN: January Schedule Changes

Beginning the week of January 5th. Changes listed only:

WEEKDAYS:
9:30 am Card Sharks (CBS 1986-89; replaces Tic Tac Dough)
12:00 am Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (ABC 1999-2002; replaces Millionaire, Syndie (2002- Present))
1:00 am Wheel of Fortune (syndie 1994-95 season, replaces That’s The Question)
1:30 am Jeopardy! (syndie 2004-05 season, replaces Camouflage)
2:00 am Family Feud (syndie 2006-present version with O’Hurley, replaces Beat the Clock (CBS 1979-80))
2:30 am Match Game (CBS 1973-79, replaces Now You See It (CBS 1974-75))

WEEKENDS:
10:00 am Blockbusters (NBC 1987, replaces the 1980-82 version)

I’m not really that disappointed about Tic Tac Dough leaving because at least they ran through all the episodes they leased. And I do think Card Sharks with Bob Eubanks does deserve a spot on the weekday schedule, but I’m not liking it too much that they’re starting over with episode 1. That will make it the third time already that they’re in some form rewinding the show back to the beginning after not getting at least half-way through with another cycle of the show.
As much as I prefer Cullen’s Blockbusters over the Bill Rafferty version, Cullen’s version has aired a lot over the past few years and I think it deserves a bit of a break from the schedule. The Rafferty era hasn’t been seen in a while and a weekend timeslot is perfect for it considering the amount of episodes it had.

However, I am disappointed about Beat the Clock and Now You See It leaving. All I wanted to see were 4 more episodes of Beat the Clock from the finale week, and Now You See It would have gotten up to the series finale next month anyway. Couldn’t they have just waited until all the available episodes were shown at least once before pulling both shows, or at least move Now You See It to 2 am?

And what’s replacing these shows at night I find to be pretty disappointing. I was never a big fan of That’s The Question or Camouflage, and I love seeing Wheel of Fortune, but with it and Jeopardy!, seriously, I thought we were through with this repeating of the same episodes of shows a day. I realize that people can’t see/record these shows on GSN during the day, but I like the idea of having a bit of a bigger variety of shows. And the Match Game replacement for Now You See It I also find to be kind of a letdown since it’ll be late ‘74-’75 episodes again. This would have been a great time to get out something like PM or the 1990 version, which we haven’t seen in a while. And I could do without an extra Feud airing.

Happy 30th Anniversary, Card Sharks!

On Monday, April 24th, 1978 at 10:00 am ET, Card Sharks, the tension-filled big money game show where a contestant could win up to $28,800 on a single card, debuted on NBC. My fourth favorite game show of all-time is celebrating its 30th anniversary this very week!

There are several different things that I enjoy with this show. For one, the opening poems aspect is definitely a favorite of mine on Perry’s version. There’s the original “Ace is high, deuce is low, call it right and win the dough” to “Shuffle, cut, deal, and play, someone’s going to win today!”

The survey questions I am always entertained by. You know the ones, the ones that test your ability to judge human nature. The subjects really got your opinions going too. Questions about politics, birth control, child rearing, marijuana… there are also ones like “How many Playboy bunnies went to church last Sunday?” and out there questions like “Would you want to see a nude centerfold of The Fonz?” I always find it fun to see what the contestants think and see whether or not I agree with their logic. There’s also one I loved involving the dealers Lacey Pemberton and Susanna Williams that dealt with their age. Their reactions were priceless!

The Money Cards is one of my favorite bonus rounds on a game show. It has the perfect amount of tension to me, and the perfect amount of thrill. There’s no unnecessary fluff to be had. It’s all about the cards and how much you can win. Up to $28,800! And then the 1980’s versions with Bob Eubanks and Bill Rafferty upped the stakes a bit higher by making the round worth $32,000. That never happened but there have been several instances where a contestant has come very close. They also added to this tension by bringing on the car game, and when kids played, the game would be played for a trip to Hawaii. The first car game with the actual cards is definitely my favorite. The one that resembled Mindreaders… eh, didn’t care for it very much.

It’s always been tough for me to decide what my favorite version of the show is… since 2005, it’s been a tie for me with Jim Perry and Bill Rafferty’s versions. I liked that Jim Perry really knew the rules and how he really seemed to enjoy himself on the show. Jim was also so great with suspense. Here’s an example from 1978, as where the contestant Norma Brown herself would say, shot it to the works, and won $28,800 in the Money Cards.

Bill Rafferty I found had a really good sense of humor and I loved how he’d like to play along with the survey questions. I also found Bill to be a very personable emcee, not just on Card Sharks but also on Blockbusters and Every Second Counts, as the kind of host that wants the contestants to win, and have fun doing it.

Bob Eubanks is not a favorite host of mine on this show. I don’t disfavor him as much on this show as other people, but I was never much of a fan of his jokes and sometimes I didn’t care for the way he handled himself on the show. But I know in spite of those nitpicks, that he still had a good time on the show and cared about it deeply. I mean, all the proof you need is to see the either episode where he mentions staff member Carole Costello’s death or the finale. And overtime I’ve come to still definitely find his version watchable. The game play is still good and there is still Lacey Pemberton and Susanna Williams and all the other good things about the show.

I even like the British version. I’ve only gotten to see two episodes so far, but I love Play Your Cards Right. Bruce Forsyth is such a very energetic host with just the right amount of energy and it makes me think how fun it’d be to see him host an American version. I thought it was interesting on the later versions that they had married couples play against each other.

The only version I don’t like is the ill-fated one from 2001. I mean, talk about complete bastardization of the game play with the Candid Camera scenarios, and Pat Bullard just didn’t do it for me as a host. He’s much better off in my honest opinion working for sitcoms. As fans, particularly ones who love the previous versions, let’s hope that if this show is ever revived again that the original version stays in mind.

Happy 30th anniversary, Card Sharks!