USA's old game show block

[Superballer]

What year did USA starts running the afternoon block of shows, and does anyone have a complete listing of all the shows they ran at one point or another?

[styleguy]

I remember Press Your Luck, Sale of the Century (my ALL time favorite), Scrabble, and Pyramid.  Somebody fill in the rest of the blanks.  Early 90s I think was when it started.  I loved this when I was a kid.  USA's game show block rocked!

[Ccook]

Actually, USA's game show block started in 1984, with repeats of The Gong Show and Make Me Laugh. They gradually expanded, adding Bullseye, Jackpot! (new Mike Darrow-hosted version) and The Joker's Wild in 1985.

Through the 80s, they'd pick up All-Star Blitz, Anything For Money, Love Me Love Me Not (original series), Let's Make A Deal, Play The Percentages, The New Chain Reaction, Bumper Stumpers (original series), Hot Potato, Press Your Luck, Tic Tac Dough, High Rollers, The $25,000 Pyramid, $100,000 Name That Tune, Face The Music and Wipeout, then into the 90s they'd get Couch Potatoes, Hollywood Squares (1986-89 version), Win Lose Or Draw, Scrabble, the 1990 Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough, 1980s Sale Of The Century, $100,000 Pyramid, American Gladiators, Talkabout, Caesars Challenge and original series Free 4 All and Quicksilver.

[vicecityjrod84]

Hi I am looking for a dvd-r compilation of some of the old shows that used to come on usa's block. I am looking for 100,000 Name That Tune, "25,000 Pyramid", "Hollywood Squares (86-89), "Press Your Luck", "Scrabble" and "Let's Make a Deal". Also, I am looking for 80s era "Classic Concentration" "Wheel of Fortune" and "I'm Telling". My e-mail is driverdrummer@hotmail.com if anyone would like to sell a disc of any fo these shows.

Thanks,
Johnathan

[SteveGavazzi]

I think you missed their very last show, Ccook -- Ceasar's Challenge.  That's an incredible list, though.

And Johnathan...no.  We don't sell copies of our shows around here.

[BRB_TheFireball]

You missed another original show:  "The New Chain Reaction", which later became "The $40,000 Chain Reaction".

[Ccook]

Steve and BRB: Both correct; I did miss Caesars Challenge and Chain Reaction (I recall the original replayed on CBN Cable--now ABC Family). My bad--I have amended the list. And even though the Encyclopedia Of TV Game Shows doesn't list it, didn't USA also run the 1976 edition of Liars Club?

[Superballer]

I also remember Wipeout and Now You See It being run on it, I think during the 1989-90 and 1991-92 seasons respectively.  

One thing I always noticed about the 1986-89 Hollywood Squares was their tendency to stick with episodes that had Joan Rivers as the center square, thus leading me to believe at the time they used her in this capacity longer than they actually did.

[Ccook]

^Yes, Wipeout was replayed on USA. Now You See It, however, wasn't, as USA didn't replay anything from the Goodson-Todman stable.

[LiteBulb88]

If you want to be really picky, I believe American Gladiators was actually run in the morning, not as part of the afternoon block.  But overall, that's a great job with the list, Ccook!  I remember the last two...Free 4 All I never liked, but Quiksilver was actually quite a fun twist on words, with questions like: "What day is 9 months after getting pregnant day?"  (Answer:  Labor Day.)

[Vexorg]

I do seem to recall seeing Liar's Club at some point, although I can't be sure if it was on USA or on another network.  I remember that the gameshows came on after the USA Cartoon Dreckspress (er, Cartoon Express, mostly bad 70s Hanna-Barbera stuff) and for some reason, a lot of gameshows I used to watch came from there. I also  believe that the Let's Make a Deal they showed was the 1984 "All New" version.

[Axl]

Vexorg wrote:
I also  believe that the Let's Make a Deal they showed was the 1984 "All New" version.

I do remember them airing the Las Vegas season at the very least.

[jimlange]

USA only had rights to The All New Let's Make A Deal(84-86) version.  CBN had the rights to original syndie version.  USA has never aired original syndie version.

jimlange