Game Shows that should have had longer runs

[tpirsuperfan99]

There has been so many great game show, but so few of them have had really good long runs like Price, Wheel, and Jeopardy! to name a few. But not many of the greats have had a long run. Here are some that should have lasted much longer.

Card Sharks (NBC) - I have enjoyed watching all of these shows, but this felt too short. It should have lasted much more than the 3 years it lasted. Was it not getting viewers, was it not popular. Luckily a year and a half later, we got to see Jim Perry in another show called $ale of the Century.

Family Feud (Combs) - When Feud came back in 1988, I thought that Ray Combs would have been a bad host. He surprised me as being better than Richard towards the end of his run and he made the show his own. However when the Bullseye game debuted in 1992, it ruined the format of the show. They should have raised the Fast Money to $10,000 instead of keeping the game that got the show canceled. If the Bullseye game hadn’t debuted, this version could have still been on the air today and Ray Combs likely would have been alive.

Match Game ‘90 - I never knew about this version until I found it on YouTube. Ross Shafer was a decent host, and I thought Match-Up was a fun little round in the game. It couldn’t last because of the noon time slot. If it were in a better slot, it may have lasted much longer than it did.

There were so many short lived game shows that were amazing, but these were a few that I really thought should have lasted longer.

What game shows do you wish had longer runs?

[Alfonzo]

Too many to count! Nevertheless, here are some classic examples:

High Rollers with Alex Trebek- Literally got its legs cut off by NBC.

Password Plus- The show had won an Emmy in its final year. NBC KNEW they messed up cancelling it, which is why Super Password debuted two years later.

Break the Bank ('76)- You have the number 2 rated show in all of daytime, and you can't find room on your schedule to keep it?!

You Don't Say (1974)- Forced off the air because ABC acquired the rights to the ailing soap opera The Edge of Night.

The Joker's Wild and Tic-Tac-Dough (1978)- Yeah, maybe CBS should have hung on to these two...

Jackpot!- A classic example of network executives sabotaging an already great show.

[ooboh]

Both “Press Your Luck” and “Whammy!” In the earlier’s case, it was done in by a poor time slot.

“Russian Roulette” was a brilliant game show that should’ve definitely lasted longer than the 375 days it was on air. Same goes for “Greed”. As a matter of fact, it rivaled Millionaire in ratings, before it was randomly cancelled in the summer of 2000 because the current FOX president hated game shows.

[blozier2006]

Password Plus- The show had won an Emmy in its final year. NBC KNEW they messed up cancelling it, which is why Super Password debuted two years later.

Can't recall where I'd read this, but it seems that NBC had no confidence in either this or Blockbusters by 1982, since from what I'd heard, by that point both shows were only getting renewed two weeks at a time, which I've never heard of any other shows doing, either before or since.

Then again, this I think is when Fred Silverman was at NBC, so that may have been a factor (his anti-game show stance is well-noted over the years).

[bigblue999]

Same goes for “Greed”. As a matter of fact, it rivaled Millionaire in ratings, before it was randomly cancelled in the summer of 2000 because the current FOX president hated game shows.

Agreed. Greed was the best million-dollar game show during the million-dollar craze.

[Superballer]

As others here have noted, there are many examples.  Among some of my own: 

-Scrabble was still going strong in the spring of 1990, and had NBC and Reg Grundy Productions negotiated a better deal, perhaps they could have squeezed 2 or 3 more years out of it 

-as has been noted, Press Your Luck could have lasted much longer--perhaps up to 6 years or so given by how popular the USA reruns proved--with better time slots and less board tampering 

-if NBC hadn't been phasing out game shows in 1994, Caesar's Challenge might have been able to go another 2-3 years even with a less liked bonus game in place at the end (who knows, perhaps a longer run could have allowed for fan complaints that might have forced them back to the squirrel cage) 

-Wink's High Rollers could easily have gone another 2-3 years; everything was in place for a longer run, especially given it ran in syndication and thus was not dependent on network ratings 

-similarly, Jim Lange's Name That Tune could have squeezed out another year or two in syndication 

-if Wordplay hadn't been the weak link in a stacked 1987 NBC daytime lineup--and had reworked its main game scoring system into something more tangible, it might have gone another year or so 

[GSNSmashFan3]

Both “Press Your Luck” and “Whammy!” In the earlier’s case, it was done in by a poor time slot.

“Russian Roulette” was a brilliant game show that should’ve definitely lasted longer than the 375 days it was on air.

While we’re on the subject of GSN originals: Hollywood Showdown. It’s been over 18 years since its premiere, and it still looks and sounds great by today’s standards.

[someguy23475]

The Big Showdown. Rock solid game and great bonus round. Only thing I would have changed is the random money for hitting each point. I would have it at a solid $100 (which it was in the final 90 seconds).

[Alfonzo]

I would also like to add Split Second and Whew! to the list. Tom Kennedy might have been the most versatile game show host of all time!

Gambit could be added as well.

[penncentral]

Bumper Stumpers
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[danderson400]

As others here have noted, there are many examples.  Among some of my own: 

-Scrabble was still going strong in the spring of 1990, and had NBC and Reg Grundy Productions negotiated a better deal, perhaps they could have squeezed 2 or 3 more years out of it 

-as has been noted, Press Your Luck could have lasted much longer--perhaps up to 6 years or so given by how popular the USA reruns proved--with better time slots and less board tampering

 

-if NBC hadn't been phasing out game shows in 1994, Caesar's Challenge might have been able to go another 2-3 years even with a less liked bonus game in place at the end (who knows, perhaps a longer run could have allowed for fan complaints that might have forced them back to the squirrel cage) 

-Wink's High Rollers could easily have gone another 2-3 years; everything was in place for a longer run, especially given it ran in syndication and thus was not dependent on network ratings 

-similarly, Jim Lange's Name That Tune could have squeezed out another year or two in syndication 

-if Wordplay hadn't been the weak link in a stacked 1987 NBC daytime lineup--and had reworked its main game scoring system into something more tangible, it might have gone another year or so
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[danderson400]

If PYL doesn't get the dreaded 4pm timeslot, when most stations air syndicated programming, maybe into the mid to late 90s? Maybe between The Young and the Restless and As The World Turns at 1:30.
 

[Chief-O]

"Now You See It". In my opinion, this was one of G-T's most clever formats, but I suppose it was a bit too cerebral for the CBS audiences of the day.

-Scrabble was still going strong in the spring of 1990, and had NBC and Reg Grundy Productions negotiated a better deal, perhaps they could have squeezed 2 or 3 more years out of it 

I can't speak for NBC, but Grundy certainly thought so: They redid the set and graphics, and brought in Steve Edwards later that year for a pilot. It's probably a good thing they didn't chuck (see what I did there?) that set.

[goldroadfanatic]

The original Double Dare on Nickelodeon could have lasted at least another year. From what I read online, the show was apparently renewed for another season after 1993, but the network decided to reruns as long as they could instead. Also, Marc Summers wanted to spend more time with his family and focus on other projects, which was another factor in the show ending. Still, the show was still popular enough that the live tour continued through 1995, and apparently, a pilot was made for a return in 1995, per TVTropes (although I question the validity of this claim), but the show didn't get picked up.

The $25,000 Pyramid/The $100,000 Pyramid could have lasted until at least 1990. Viewers mail-bombed CBS early in 1988 and demanded that The $25,000 Pyramid return. However, it lasted only 13 weeks before Family Feud replaced it on July 4th. If CBS replaced Card Sharks with Family Feud instead, perhaps Pyramid could have stuck around in daytime and syndication. I think I read on here years back Dick Clark was under contract to host the show until 1990, too, so he would have stuck around.

[JayC]

A lot of great choices brought up already, I'll add both versions of Weakest Link as well. The NBC version just had too many celebrity specials later on and the syndicated version was either not on or in a terrible timeslot in the second season in most markets.