This fall is not just the 40th anniversary of the premiere of "Blockbusters," but also the 55th anniversary of the end of "Call My Bluff," license fee-funded British television notwithstanding. The former show is on Buzzr weekdays at 10:30, and I catch it then. The latter will be revisited in the 5th Annual Buzzr Lost and Found, which I'll be sure to watch. My supercharged interest in game shows comes too late to mark a certain other 40th anniversary, but I'm posting this on Blogger in spite of everything.
Both of these shows began and ended alongside fellow game shows. I've found that there were 12 days the number of daytime game shows on the networks experienced a net rise of two or more and 17 others when game shows lost two or more spots. Here, in chronological order, are the days that can be loosely called birthdays and death days, along with an anomaly.
DEATH DAY 1
By July 2, 1954, CBS had a full daytime lineup, including sob-story quiz "Strike it Rich" at 11:30. Half an hour before that show on Fridays came "I'll Buy That," a twelve-month game show that could be described as "What's My Line" with a product for sale. That show ended when "The Garry Moore Show" was given another half-hour on Fridays. The Bert Parks-hosted quiz "Double or Nothing." moved from radio in '52, was on three times a week at 2:00. "The Robert Q. Lewis Show" replaced it and Garry Moore's afternoon slot five days a week. Robert Q. moved from 4:30 to make room for the quiz "On Your Account," which switched from NBC that July.
DEATH DAY 2
As for "On Your Account," that was replaced with the half-hour soap "Edge of Night," with the last episode airing March 30, 1956. Contestants with stories appeared on a quiz show that apparently could not compete with "Queen for a Day," which NBC had just brought to television. Another Proctor and Gamble game show on CBS, a quiz called "Love Story," had been picked up in October '55, and despite being unopposed by the other networks' programs, it was given the axe that spring. P&G put another soap opera in its place: "As the World Turns."
BIRTHDAY 1
CBS replaced "How Do You Rate," a game involving aptitude tests, with "Play Your Hunch," a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production. At 10:30 June 30, 1958, viewers first saw Merv Griffin hosting a show for couples trying to guess if the answer is "X," "Y," or "Z." By 1959-60, it was a ratings hit -- for NBC, that is. The peacock network itself started two game shows of its own that day. "Lucky Partners," given the 2:00 slot, involved serial numbers on currency, and it was taken out of circulation that August, when "Concentration" premiered. Following "Lucky Partners" was "Haggis Baggis," a twelve-month game on which a 25-square board hid the picture of a celebrity, so it was kind of like "Concentration." Jack Linkletter was the first host of "Haggis," a program put up against his father's.
BIRTHDAY 2
To fill a wide swath of what had long been local time before "American Bandstand," ABC stocked its network lineup with several programs Oct. 13, 1958. Three of them were game shows. At 12:30 was "Mother's Day," a Dick Van Dyke-hosted game in which mothers competed in homemaking tasks. The show didn't make it even halfway to Mother's Day, leaving the airwaves in January. "Chance for Romance" was a game of young people looking for friends of the opposite sex. It was pitted against "Truth or Consequences" at 2:00, and it was cut in December for "Music Bingo." Finally, at 3:00, ABC installed a daytime version of "Beat the Clock," recently exiled from CBS in both day and night. That show endured for well over two years.
DEATH DAY 3
Two weeks after NBC kicked "Truth or Consequences" out of its 4:00 slot, ABC dropped a pair of lunchtime games. "Across the Board" had been added in June and "Pantomime Quiz" in May, but both were off the schedule after Oct. 9, 1959. The crossword game only has two sentences in The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows, but the charades game had more of a pedigree, with many short primetime runs on all four networks throughout the '50s. Both shows were dumped in favor of repeats of "Restless Gun" and "The Bob Cummings Show," but the alphabet network still had "Music Bingo," "Beat the Clock," and "Who Do You Trust."
DEATH DAY 4
A week after ABC let go of two games (Oct. 16, 1959), CBS dispatched the same amount, leaving the eye network with no game shows at all. Repeats of "December Bride" took the place of word game "Top Dollar," which is most notable as the sudden replacement for "Dotto." It was a word game based at first on the Ghost parlor game, then Hangman. The daytime version ran for over a year. Reruns of "The Millionaire" surfaced where "The Big Payoff" had been, that fashion-quiz hybrid that moved from NBC in '53 and stuck around. The peacock network was also busy that fall; having decided "Tic Tac Dough" was tic-tac-done, NBC brought back "Truth or Consequences."
BIRTHDAY 3
"Video Village" was the only daytime game show on CBS for eight months, but that changed March 13, 1961. "Double Exposure," a jigsaw puzzle game with celebrity pictures, began a six-month run that day, followed by "Your Surprise Package," in which players had to guess what was in a box. "Package" ran for eleven months. Those shows were in the 11:00 hour, and "Face the Facts" was on at 2:00. This game of guessing the outcomes of court cases had the staying power of "Double Exposure." NBC was having all the luck with game shows in '61. "Say When," "Play Your Hunch," "The Price is Right," "Concentration," and "Truth or Consequences" is a lineup to be envied.
DEATH DAY 5
We fast forward to Christmas Day 1964, when two game shows gave viewers their last presents. ABC's "Get the Message" and "Missing Links," two Goodson-Todman games that followed "The Price is Right," were not replaced that Monday, and "Price" moved to an hour later. They came to the ABC daytime lineup together March 30, and they bore resemblances to more popular Goodson-Todman shows. "Message" was similar to "Password," and "Links," which started on NBC the previous fall, was an attempt to do something new with the contestant vs. panel format. Sometimes you just get in a rut. See you on Lost and Found!
BIRTHDAY 4
For four years, NBC ran "Say When," which was more than just the show with the peanut butter blooper. Another Goodson-Todman game took its place at noon March 29, 1965, and a Ralph Andrews show completed the hour. Bill Leyden hosted "Call My Bluff," in which celebrities would give the correct definition of a word you've probably never seen and two wrong ones. Jack Narz was emcee for "I'll Bet," which had celebrity couples wager on how much one member of the family knew. Meanwhile, ABC introduced "The Rebus Game," which involved drawing syllables of a rebus and proved "Concentration" didn't own that kind of puzzle. All three were finished after Sept. 24, 1965, with two soaps breaking up the "Concentration"-"Jeopardy" hour before being replaced with more game shows.
DEATH DAY 6
"The Rebus Game," a six-month show, was taken off ABC after Sept. 24, 1965, and replaced with repeats of "Ben Casey." NBC made more moves, bringing in soaps "Morning Star" and "Paradise Bay" for the 11:00 hour. "Concentration" and "Jeopardy" were pulled to opposite sides of the schedule. "Fractured Phrases" and "Let's Play Post Office" were introduced, but four game shows fell for a net loss of two. "Call My Bluff" and "I'll Bet" started on the same day as "The Rebus Game," "What's This Song" had been on for eleven months, and the long-running "Truth or Consequences" was off the network. Did you get all of that?
BIRTHDAY 5
Back when 11:00 wasn't the hour CBS reserved for the highest-rated game show of all, ABC canceled its previous form and used the hour for discussion show "The Young Set." It was a matter of months later, Dec. 20, 1965, that the alphabet network introduced a pair of games in that time. "Supermarket Sweep" had the ladies earn time for the men to take their carts through actual grocery stores. Although it ran for a year and a half, we wouldn't have a nearly-innate sense of what this was if not for the Lifetime version. Following "Sweep" at 11:30 was "The Dating Game," which would become a cultural icon and stay in the ABC daytime schedule for three-fourths of a decade.
BIRTHDAY?
What should have been the birthday of two game shows was instead one show's debut. Despite the actors' strike, ABC's "One in a Million" premiered on time April 10, 1967, pushing "The Dating Game" into the afternoon. Merv Griffin's panel game, which copied stale Goodson-Todman offerings, went two months before Chuck Barris's "Family Game" replaced it. The strike ended the next day, and NBC's "Snap Judgment" was ready to be played. Goodson-Todman copied itself, too; the show had civilians and celebrities guessing each other's pre-written word associations. "Password" went off the air in September, but it wasn't until the end of '68 that "Snap" began to copy it more. In total, "Snap Judgment" was a two-year show.
DEATH DAY 7
With the addition of "Treasure Isle" two weeks before the end of '67, ABC briefly had eight daytime game shows. That ended after Dec. 29, 1967; "Everybody's Talking," which is "Child's Play" meets "Street Smarts," was clipped after 11 months for "Bewitched" reruns. "The Family Game," a Chuck Barris show that was "The Newlywed Game" with families of four, saw its slot usurped Jan. 1 by early December pickup "How's Your Mother-in-law." Finally, the beauty pageant tournament "Dream Girl of '67" concluded as the year did, but with the new year came a New Year's Baby. "The Baby Game" was a different game played by parents and their children.
DEATH DAY 8
ABC decided Dick Cavett should be given two hours of TV every weekday -- emphasis on the "two hours" part, not the "Dick Cavett" part -- and two game shows the network picked up on the same December day in 1967 paid for it. "Temptation," a prisoner's dilemma game with three players and three prizes, lasted three months. Also ending March 1, 1968, was "How's Your Mother-in-law," in which celebrities made the case that the woman each one represented would be a better mother-in-law than the others. That sounded more enjoyable than "Temptation," especially with Wink Martindale as host and George Carlin and Richard Dawson as first-episode guests. As for Cavett, his show was dropped in January of 1969. No network would try this sort of thing again, right?
BIRTHDAY 6
Until April 1, 1968, Richard Kimble was still running in network reruns of "The Fugitive." ABC's two new game shows for that date preceded "The Newlywed Game." Into the 1:00 slot went "Dream House," in which couples competed for furniture, and seven-game champions would get to pay taxes on a house. The daytime version made it to the '70s, but just barely. Leading into "Newlywed" was a similar game called "Wedding Party," in which husbands and wives picked prizes and guessed which ones the other selected. Those two and "The Baby Game" made for two hours of couples games. That arrangement ended in July, but "Newlywed" was paired with "The Dating Game" at 2:30. Not too shabby.
DEATH DAY 9
The alphabet network shed two more game shows July 12, 1968. "The Baby Game" was one of them, as the soap "Dark Shadows" bounced "The Dating Game" to a 2:30 time slot, right after "The Newlywed Game." Speaking of which, "Wedding Party" was off the air after three months and replaced with rock show "It's Happening." Twenty years later, "Wedding Party" voice-over man Charlie O'Donnell would be the announcer for the real "Newlywed Game," or whatever the Paul Rodriguez version was.
BIRTHDAY 7
CBS stayed away from game shows for some reason or another, counting on sitcom reruns for mornings and, increasingly, soaps in the afternoons. Then the network went with the motto "out with the old, in with the new" in so many ways, and a trio of games was the result Sept. 4, 1972. Replacing "The Lucy Show" at 10:00 was "The Joker's Wild," the slots quiz that embodied Jack Barry's redemption. Taking the place of "Family Affair" at 11:00 was "Gambit," a couples blackjack quiz that made a star of Wink Martindale. As for the show positioned in between them, where "The Beverly Hillbillies" had been, well, it was a souped-up version of a classic. By the end of the decade, "The New Price is Right" was No. 1 and Bob Barker a household name.
DEATH DAY 10
At several points in the mid-'70s, the three networks combined for 19 daytime game shows. That peak was over after June 27, 1975. ABC replaced the short-lived, Bill Cullen-hosted word game "Blankety Blanks" with another BB: reruns of "The Brady Bunch." After three years, Tom Kennedy's three-part question quiz, "Split Second," was dumped to make room for the soap "Ryan's Hope." A four-year run of "Password" ended, putting Allen Ludden out of work again, and another Goodson-Todman game appeared in the now-dreaded noon slot. "Showoffs," a charades game that is to "Body Language" what "Password" is to "Password Plus," almost made it to the end of the year.
DEATH DAY 11
All three networks had stuffed themselves with game shows, and they picked the week of Thanksgiving to cook some of their turkeys. ABC's four-month-old revival of "You Don't Say," based on a long-running "Password" clone, ended Nov. 26, 1975, to be replaced with the soap opera "Edge of Night." CBS's hour-long "Price is Right" displaced "Give-N-Take," the merchandise game with the huge, spinning arrow. NBC's quiz "Three for the Money" returned for Friday, but not Monday, as "Wheel of Fortune" also expanded to an hour in December. "Wheel" lost the holiday weight in January.
BIRTHDAY 8
Seven game shows in a row: That's what NBC offered starting Jan. 8, 1979. The talk show "America Alive" was dropped, and the strong lineup of "Card Sharks," "Jeopardy," "The New High Rollers," "Wheel of Fortune," and "The Hollywood Squares" was bolstered with two more games. One of them was "All Star Secrets," a Bob Eubanks show that had players guessing which secrets belonged to which stars. It was off the air that summer, but "Password Plus" endured for three years. An enhanced version of the classic game, with Password Puzzle and Alphabetics bonus round features, brought back Allen Ludden and his closing password of the show.
DEATH DAY 12
Adam Nedeff refers to this date and this one alone as Game Show Death Day: June 20, 1980. That day, "The Hollywood Squares" was finished on NBC after 14 years, but not before the puppet Madame dropped some F-bombs. Alex Trebek gave us an unforgettable finale on "High Rollers," and "Chain Reaction" was in the 12:00 slot "Card Sharks" would occupy starting June 23. "Wheel of Fortune" and "Password Plus" were spared from the 90-minute David Letterman fiasco. Even "Wheel" thought it was on the way out, but forty years later, there's still such a show despite a gap-toothed Hoosier and a man named Fred.
BIRTHDAY 9
In June 1980, NBC cut three game shows of the six it had, but the peacock network tried to atone for that Oct. 27, 1980, with two in the 10:00 hour. "Las Vegas Gambit" brought back Wink Martindale and his blackjack game, at some point adding the bonus round from sibling show "High Rollers" to be played for a dazzling jackpot of prizes. Leading into "Wheel of Fortune" was the quiz show "Blockbusters," with all-time great host Bill Cullen. The game with the unique hexagon board pitted two against one, offering up to $60,000 (later doubled). The short-lived* "Regis Philbin Show" replaced "Gambit" after a year, and "Blockbusters" didn't hang on for two.
*But not because of you, Reege. We're sure of it. RIP.
DEATH DAY 13
What "B" is a game show NBC canceled so the soap opera "Texas" could move to 11:00? Both "Battlestars" and "Blockbusters" are correct answers, as each show aired its last episode April 23, 1982. Each one would return to the peacock network in some form eventually, but not for long. "Wheel of Fortune" was the only game remaining on that network, with "The Price is Right" and "Tattletales" on CBS and "Family Feud" on ABC representing the game show time on their respective schedules. In the summer of '82, you could watch them all without missing one.
BIRTHDAY 10
CBS got the ball rolling again Sept. 20, 1982. The eye network dumped reruns of "One Day at a Time" and "Alice," and the 10:30 spot, before "The Price is Right," went to a fellow Mark Goodson show. "Child's Play," picking Cullen up from "Blockbusters," had adults trying to guess what children were describing. It was off the air after 12 months, but the game that preceded it needs no introduction. "The New $25,000 Pyramid" was an update of the popular '70s show in looks and music, but what worked was kept intact and supplemented. Five good years followed.
BIRTHDAY 11
Following CBS's introduction of two new game shows, NBC injected three more to surround "Wheel of Fortune." Jan. 3, 1983, was the beginning of a new version of "Sale of the Century," the game of rapid-fire questions, Instant Bargains, and shopping to finish (well, until the guaranteed prizes were introduced; maybe it was the network's doing). Following "Wheel" at 11:30 was "Hit Man," an arcade-influenced son of a gun that asked questions about a story contestants were just told. In the noon slot was "Just Men," which saw women guessing the answers of male celebrities. Betty White won an Emmy for hosting, but both shows after "Wheel" lasted just three months, to be replaced by other game shows. "Sale" would enjoy six years.
DEATH DAY 14
Three years into another game show boom came a pair of finales on the same day. Dec. 20, 1985, was the end of a three-month stay on the NBC schedule for "Your Number's Up," a Nipsey Russell-hosted game involving audience members' telephone numbers. That same day, ABC aired the last episode of Peter Marshall's eight-month attempt to do something Squares-like, "All Star Blitz." The alphabet net waited until the new year to start "Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak." Brucie lasted about as long as Nipsey.
DEATH DAY 15
To some, March 27, 1989, is Game Show Death Day II because two long-running shows were struck down, and things wouldn't be the same again. As the '80s wound down, the landscape changed. A six-year run for "Sale of the Century" was wrapped up before "Scrabble" was to take its 10:00 time. Chuck Woolery's flashy word game was launched into the morning by "Generations," the 12:30 soap. NBC finally gave up noon, and "Super Password" gave up the ghost after half a decade. By the end of the year, the peacock network had made the 11:00 hour time for "Golden Girls" reruns, not game shows. That's how it stood until the fall of 1990.
DEATH DAY 16
With the 10:00 hour becoming territory for the local affiliates, there was once again no room for "Wheel of Fortune" on NBC after Sept. 20, 1991. The daytime version was off the air for two weeks when the peacock net first canceled it in the summer of '89, but the Tiffany network took it in. NBC got Vanna back in January 1991, but the daytime Wheel came to an end nine months later. "Classic Concentration," a revival of NBC's old memory match-rebus puzzle blend with Alex Trebek as emcee, would continue to air in the same 11:00 hour as "One on One with John Tesh," but only in repeats.
BIRTHDAY 12
It seemed to be a lost cause, but NBC tried to bring game shows back to the 12:00 hour Jan. 18, 1993, starting with a revival of the hit word game "Scrabble," which ran for six years, and accompanied by an adaptation of fellow board game "Scattergories." The hangman game with double and triple bonuses was placed at noon, a slot the networks had agreed was news territory. At first it followed "The Faith Daniels Show," which came on after repeats of "Classic Concentration." The game of trying not to match the stars came in at 12:30. Those two shows and the Eubanks-hosted, family-of-three "Newlywed" clone called "Family Secrets" were off the network in June.
DEATH DAY 17
If daytime game shows weren't finished before, they were after June 11, 1993. "Scattergories," an adaptation of the board game with pre-taped celebrity answers, was canned in favor of "Caesars Challenge," a word game from the Vegas Strip. Those repeats of "Classic Concentration" were shifted to noon in place of "Scrabble," which had come back accompanied by its fellow board game in January. "Family Secrets" was given the boot after three months as "John and Leeza from Hollywood" occupied the 11:00 hour. Starting January 17, Leeza Gibbons was all alone against the one game show left standing.
CONCLUSION
It says something about the genre, doesn't it? The nature of game shows is different from that of soap operas, and the way to retain viewers using each genre is different. "Let's Make a Deal" had trouble going to an hour on short notice in the mid-'70s, but competitor "As the World Turns" didn't have the same problem. Syndicated talk shows took over morning and afternoon times, for the most part, and soap operas would hold on for a couple of decades until talk shows mowed them down. So, there we have it: twelve days of multiple new game shows premiering and seventeen of more than one old game show being canceled. Only one, maybe two, can be called Game Show Death Day, and one or two might be called Game Show Revival Day.
Sources
The Daytime TV Schedule Archive. <http://daytimetvarchive.com/index.html>.
Nedeff, Adam. Game Shows FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Pioneers, the Scandals, the Hosts, and the Jackpots. Milwaukee: Applause Books, 2018.
Schwartz, David, Steve Ryan, & Fred Wostbrock. The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows. 3rd ed. New York: Checkmark Books, 1999.
Also, many thanks to what I've picked up from the of Castleman and Podrazik and to the memories I've retained from game show sites over the years.
EDIT 9-29-20: Corrected a spelling error.
