Worst Game Shows

[firepoint525]

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.

The worst aspect of "Whew!" was the very name itself!  You didn't "pronounce" (or say) the name of the game show; you just let out a deep breath!  In other words, instead of saying something like "woo" (or even "who") you just exhaled by making a "swishing" sound.  No vocal chords used at all in the pronunciation of this particular game show's name!  Just breathe!

[bpatrick]

It seems that a lot of game shows jump the shark when
they add celebrities; look at the Anne Robinson version
of "The Weakest Link" as an example.

Also, for one of the people who posted about "The Diamond
Head Game," the "hula girl" was named Jane Nelson, and she
seemed to be all over the place in the '70s; she was also on
"The New Treasure Hunt," "Dealer's Choice," and "The Fun
Factory."  With the exception of "Treasure Hunt," which Chuck
Barris produced, all were produced by Ed Fishman and Randall
Freer, and I guess Jane was their "go-to girl," just as Jim
Thompson was their go-to announcer.  I don't know whatever
happened to Jane, Jim, Ed, or Randall.

[Ultimajock]

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.

...Frank DeCaro sho' ain't no Henry Morgan  ...

[Ultimajock]

...my choice, aside from the various revivals of To Tell the Truth (after Garry Moore's retirement) and the most recent versions of I've Got a Secret (sorry, but Stephanie Miller is a much better radio talker than she ever was a game show emcee) would probably be Extreme Gong, GSN's short-lived revival of The Gong Show. As soon as they dropped the "Babe of the Day" feature, there was absolutely nothing left for me to tune in for  ...

[charlestondxman]

Actually, "Mall Masters" was a pretty interesting show. Chris Harrison, who now hosts "The Bachelor," was a decent host, and it was a fun show, as many of the games were related to stores in the mall.

However, I'd have to say the worst game show I've ever seen was the 2003 revival of Let's Make a Deal with Billy Bush. You knew it was going to be really bad when on the first "stunt" on the very first show, you had to go through a girl's one piece bathing suit to find what they were looking for. Not only that, some of the stunts were poor taste, the contestants were average, and the prizes were chintzy.

One time, someone won a trip to Iraq (really, that was a prize) (remember, this is just before the Iraq War started), and I don't believe he got to take the trip.

[azumanga]

...I'd have to say the worst game show I've ever seen was the 2003 revival of Let's Make a Deal with Billy Bush.

One time, someone won a trip to Iraq (really, that was a prize) (remember, this is just before the Iraq War started), and I don't believe he got to take the trip.

Even before the war, the prize, in my opinion, was probably in bad taste, due to bad sentiments between Iraq and the US. I recall one of the hotels there had a picture of George Bush Sr. in mosaic, on the floor, right at the entrance, so that guests would walk on his face (such a gesture is considered an insult to the trampee in Islam).

Back on subject, this was one of the reasons the last two (or three?) episodes were never seen again.

[Tim L]

One of the worst shows I've ever seen might be Goodson-Todman's "What's Going On?..Aired in November-December 1954 on ABC-TV.  The idea wasnt bad as far as gameplay goes..Three panelists on the "Inside" of the studio have to guess what one of the other panelists are doing "outside" of the studio whether in filmed or live segments..There were two major problems with this show..The technology was very primitive for doing live remotes, especially outside New York City..There were a number of audio/video glitches in some shows..And host Lee Bowman..Basically a movie-TV actor, he had never hosted a game show before (and he didnt after this)..He seemed very stilted and uncomfortable as host..In one show he actually timed out the show wrong and the network was left with 3 minutes to fill..

The only reason we would know of this show is that Game Show Network has shown the 4 episodes available of "What's Going On?" several times..

[bpatrick]

Lee Bowman couldn't stay away from game shows,
however; he was a panelist on "Masquerade Party"
in the late '50s.  Don't know if he was any good at
the game.

Johnny Carson had the same problem of how to fill
when the show ran short; when he first took over
"Who Do You Trust?" he was prone to walk off and
let the organist play for the remaining time.  But
Johnny became the king of the ad-libbers, so I guess
he learned how to "stretch."

[Tim L]

Lee Bowman couldn't stay away from game shows,
however; he was a panelist on "Masquerade Party"
in the late '50s.  Don't know if he was any good at
the game.

Johnny Carson had the same problem of how to fill
when the show ran short; when he first took over
"Who Do You Trust?" he was prone to walk off and
let the organist play for the remaining time.  But
Johnny became the king of the ad-libbers, so I guess
he learned how to "stretch."

I've never seen Masquerade Party..but my guess would be that Bowman might be better at interacting with other celebrites and not having to be the focus or responsible for the show..

[bpatrick]

I've seen the 1974-75 revival of "Masquerade Party,"
with Richard Dawson as host, and Bill Bixby, Lee Meriwether,
and Nipsey Russell as panelists. I vaguely recall the Bert Parks
version around 1960, when I think Lee Bowman was a panelist,
but can't tell you how good a panelist he was.

I would also pick a very obscure 1967 ABC show called
"One In A Million," hosted by Danny O'Neill (who?).  This
was one of Merv's disasters; contestants were given clues
to help them figure out which of five guests was "one in a
million," with some unusual claim to fame.  Stick to "To Tell
The Truth."

And I'm surprised no one has mentioned two board games
which have failed to make the move to television: "Monopoly"
(ABC, 1980).  Mike Reilly might have been a great "Jeopardy!"
contestant but he was badly out of his element as a host.
Besides, you can't play Monopoly in 30 minutes, and trying
to simplify it for television takes all of the fun out of it.

The other is "Trivial Pursuit."  The Winker's version is better
left forgotten, and I don't understand the current version's
pitting a studio contestant against the whole country.  This
is a game that could be simplified for television: have three
players, "Jeopardy!"-style; one picks a category, first player
to buzz in with a correct answer gets a wedge, six wedges
wins the game.  If you want to know how a board game can
work on television, just look at Chuck Woolery's version of
"Scrabble" that lasted six years (1984-90).