When I was in college in the mid 1990s, CBS did a "special" series of prime-time installments of "The Price is Right." The only difference between the nighttime show and the usual version were slightly bigger showcases, and Bob Barker wore a tuxedo. No celebrities... no false sense of tension... just a fun show. For many of my college friends and I, it was appointment TV. For that matter, so was "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?"... one of my roommates and I used to schedule our classes and our work schedule so we could watch Carmen on our lunchbreaks.
One of my favorite shows of all time continues to be "The Match Game," reruns of which I continue to watch regularly. The problem is that gameshows got too elaborate. Even a simple premise like "WWTBAM?" contained so many melodramatic lighting and music cues that it was unwatchable. Two years ago when I started teaching game-design students the basics of the industry, I began by asking them what the most profitable game of 2011 was. Some would list the latest Grand Theft, others WoW or Arkham Asylum, then I'd reveal it was Angry Birds. Angry Birds was developed for less than $100k and made over $300 million in its debut year. Other games made that much, but their development costs were prohibitively more, and their licensing and marketing budgets through the roof. A simple premise that is fun CAN work. But network brass really likes the idea of overly glitzed, overly complex showpieces that make their network a bright shiny object they can stare at. Mandel's latest show, based on a UK series, was doomed from the start because, to succeed, you have to exhibit the very worst aspects of humanity. And viewers want to root for people to win on game shows. The show might as well have been hosted by that mentally defective jackass who hosts "The Apprentice." I would like to see fun game shows rise again; they are certainly better than reality TV, and most are genuinely family friendly. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
