Not dead

OK, I know, it's been forever since I posted.  I'm not dead.  I got caught up with work, then went to L.A. on vacation for a week, and then caught a virus when I got back.  But I'm here now.  I did two awesome game show related things in L.A.  First, I was in the audience for a taping of The Price is Right, which I'll blog about in the next few days.  Second, I got to visit the L.A. branch of the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills.

The Paley Center rocks.  It's a public broadcasting archive with hundreds of thousands of TV shows that you can pull up and watch, including hundreds of rare game shows.  Somehow if a kinescope or two inch quad escaped NBC's bonfire, it found its way to the Paley Center.  I've been to the one in Manhattan, where I watched original NBC Concentration and H0llywood Squares.  In New York they limit you to an hour.  In L.A., there's no limit except my wife's limited tolerance for television.

For this trip, I selected two more long lost NBC classics.  First, I was treated to a color episode of original The Match Game from 1969.  Guests were Tony Randall and Peggy Cass.  The game was a lot of fun and Gene Rayburn looked and acted much more like himself than in the earlier NBC Match Game episodes I have available in my personal archives (see my website), which are from 1962 and 1964.  Also, the questions were much closer to those to be seen in the more well-known CBS Match Game of the 1970s.  It was great.  Johnny Olsen announced.

The second episode I saw was a kinescope of a "Test Episode" of Art Fleming Jeopardy.  It was really interesting.  It supposedly a pilot-type episode, but they announced one woman as the returning champion.  The set looked the same as the one from the Fleming Jeopardy in my personal archives.  However, the gameplay was slightly different -- they took the question and answer concept much more seriously.  To give an example, one category was "Television."  The $20 answer was "In the 23rd Century."  The players actually had to figure out the question:  "In what century is the series "Buck Rogers" set?"  Whereas the modern show (and even the later Fleming show) would have had a clue that read something like, "This sci-fi hero was transported to the 23rd Century through a black hole".  To give another example, in the category "The Funnies", one answer was "A blanket."  The question was, "What item does Linus carry around with him in 'Peanuts'?"  Very different, but also very fun.

I wonder whether this episode was ever broadcast?  I have read that Jeopardy was only ever broadcast in color.  But the episode did have the NBC chimes at the end, along with a reminder that "This program was reproduced using the kinephoto process."  Who knows?

One other intriguing thing:  The catalog at the Paley Center lists an episode of Jeopardy from June 28, 1975, but also lists it as an NBC ep.  The original series on NBC ended on January 3, 1975.  Is this an episode from the long-lost syndicated series, or is it really the final episode from January 3 with a miscatalouged date?  If anyone goes to the Paley Center and watches it, I'd sure love to know!

Syndicated Fleming Jeopardy

There's been an interesting discussion over at the ipb board about the syndicated version of Art Fleming Jeopardy, which ran in 1974-75.  You may remember that on the last NBC show, Art mentioned that the "nighttime version" of Jeopardy would continue.  That was this syndicated version that they're talking about.  It's not to be confused with NBC "Revival" Jeopardy, which aired on the network in 1979.

I'm not aware that the syndicated version has ever been seen since 1975.  The original NBC version has been apparently been almost totally erased.  There are four episodes on the trading circuit, and a few more in the UCLA archives (and thus inaccessible to everyone), but that's it.  (Revival Jeopardy has two episodes in the trading circuit and the status of the rest is unknown, but it does post-date the supposed great NBC tape wipe of 1978.)

Well, anyway, syndicated shows are more likely to survive than others because so many copies were made an "bicycled" around to the various stations airing them.  And according to game show giant Matt Ottinger (not to be confused with your humble blogger), there were 39 episodes produced of this Fleming syndicated Jeopardy, and they all survive.

On one hand that's good news, because they're not lost to history.  The number of Fleming eps in existence is three times what we might have thought before.  On the other hand, Matt reports that the tapes are in an obsolete format (two inch quads?) and are unlikely to be converted anytime soon.  Which means they might as well be in the UCLA archives.

Oh, well, if the tapes exist, there is always the chance, however remote, that they'll sneak out someday.  I wonder if any of the syndicated version of 70's Sale of the Century are in that same vault?

Today's thoughts (first substantive post)

I've gotten in a lot of classic TPIR lately -- in fact, between Richie and Jay and, soon, Eddie, I've got 20 episodes sitting here to watch.  What do I mean by classic TPIR?  I like the more modern incarnations, but classic TPIR is what I grew up with.  It has certain elements that feel comforting, like eating one of your mother's home cooked dishes.  Classic TPIR has

• Dian, Holly, and Janice
• Announcers shown on camera -- Johnny O or Rod Roddy
• "Stay tuned for more pricing games and the fabulous showcases, all on the second half of The Price is Right", along with the light box and the fading TPIR logo
• Showcase podia with the Goodson-Todman asterisks
• The shot at the big wheel with the contestant in the pointer on the left side of the screen
• "Come on down" shots that focus in on a random audience member, then pull back
• Creative pricing games like Bump, Superball, Hit Me, and Give or Keep
• I can still hum the music -- "Contestants not appearing on stage will receive..."

And there's probably more.  It's the little things.  The show seems more consistent, more lighthearted than the modern versions.  I don't mind watching the later Bob years.  I enjoy Drew, and I'm glad the show is still on.  I'm going to see it later this month.  But oh, do I really like a good OC episode from, say, 1983.

First Post

I never thought I would have a blog, but why not?  This is a place for me to post my random game show thoughts -- what I'm watching, what I think about what's happening, etc.  And generally to beam my game show energies out into the Internet where someone who's interested in them might read and comment, rather than boring my wife or my buddies with them.  (OK, I'll be boring my wife and my buddies with them also, but maybe not as much.)

So, if you have any interest in discussing game shows, check back regularly and see what I'm thinking.  Comment, and tell me what you're thinking.