It Was a Thing on TV: An Anthology on Forgotten Television

Our second and last entry into our annual foray into shows that were lost in translation takes us to this Japanese import, where a show that started with almost 1000 competitors whittled the competition until one person survived, all while traveling around the world.  Sounds sort of like contemporary shows Beast Games or Squid Game?  Nope.  Over 4 decades ago, Ultra Quiz was the biggest game in Japan.  Naturally, an American version followed.  After one attempt and two shows, the extravagant American version was grounded.

It's hard to keep a good format down.  A decade after the Robin Ward-helmed version of To Tell the Truth (see episode 139 for more), the show returned with a mix of old and new panelists, the tried-and-true format, but also a total of five hosts, including the pilots.  A formidable reboot lasted 3/4 of a year in a time when game shows as a whole were a dying breed.

Today, January 14, marks 45 years since the premiere of the original Chain Reaction on NBC.  In honor of this anniversary, we look at the many (three) bonus rounds from this series which ran 5 months, where Fred Grandy once declared, "Ten bucks!"

In our previous episode, episode 528, we covered one of the first shows on a new network, The WB.  This time, we're covering one of the first shows on PAX in 1998, an adaptation of a Canadian board game about movies.  The whole production had one major issue, one which led to the show's demise just over a month after its premiere.

Daytime games in the 80s were a strength of NBC.  CBS had a stable roster of shows, though the block was only two hours compared to three at NBC.  For some reason, CBS canceled the venerable $25,000 Pyramid for this show.  This show did not live up to expectations, so much so that its replacement was the same show it replaced.

Thursday, October 3rd marked the 41st Anniversary of the premiere of the short-lived 1983-84 NBC game show "Go" from Bob Stewart Productions. To mark the occasion this edition of "The Best of It Was a Thing on TV" goes back to Episode 72 when we discussed it back in the Summer of 2020.

Tomorrow (August 16th) marks the 25th anniversary of the premiere episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? on ABC. The gang shares their memories and expectations leading up to the first episode while looking at some of the questions from the premiere.

Some of the questions in the premiere seemed easy in 1999 while some questions that looked hard in 1999 would be considered easy in 2024.

As we continue our Deadpool and Wolverine month, we cover a recent show which rewarded participants for not doing stuff, though they really were doing stuff in a backwards way.  Despite a well-known actor hosting and a certain superhero narrating, the viewers followed in a way consistent with the premise of this show--don't watch.

Mike shared a little nugget with the other guys earlier this week.  That message became the seed of this Delayed Reaction, reacting to events which happened close to a decade ago.  Dynasty?  Really?

The Brits seem to try just about anything when it comes to game shows.  Case in point, this entry from just over a decade ago, a primetime endeavor which combined game show elements with Henson Alternative puppets.  The end result was That Puppet Game Show, which ran for only 8 episodes.  Even though it aired overseas, listeners on the other side of "the pond" can watch it on a semi-frequent basis.