The Dude’s High 5s: Game Shows

Game shows have radically changed over my life time.  When I was a kid, daytime TV was littered with them.  Today game shows have been replaced with “reality” shows that give away money to people who are willing to whore for the camera.

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5. Family Feud

I’m not a huge fan of the Family Feud, but it gets the nod at 5 for two reasons.  One, longevity; this show has died, been resurrected, committed suicide, and brought back again.  And two; because of the dumb shits you can find on the show.  Its hilarious to see how awful some of the answers the people give, and then even more of a hoot watching the family members yell “good answer” while thinking what a mistake they made asking this person on.

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4. Concentration

This is a pretty obscure one, but I loved the game.  It involved solving a rebus (or picture puzzle) for cash and prizes.  All attempts to bring the show back have failed.  Sadly this show will remain dead.

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3. Press Your Luck

 

I hope everyone knows this show.  It’s the one where you press a button and hope a monkey doesn’t steal all your swag.  The game became extremely controversial when a man by the name of Michael Larson won $110,237 in one day.  He managed this feat by watching the show over and over and memorized both the pattern of the board, and the delay in when the cursor would stop.   Larson ended up losing most of the money in a Ponzi scheme.

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2. The Price is Right

Chicken soup, bed rest, and the Price is Right.  This was the typical sick day for me when I was in school.  I haven’t watched the show in a while, but it’s a fond memory.  It was also Aaron Paul’s big debut.

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1. Jeopardy

For my money, it doesn’t get better than Jeopardy.  Its embedded itself in our culture.  Even the most vapid of teenage girls will smarmily answer in the form of a question, mocking the game’s format (and their target of scorn).  Going on right now, and tomorrow, is the online Jeopardy contestant test.  Do you have what it takes to be a contestant?

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So what game shows do you folks like?  Are they old ones or newer ones?  Let’s hear it.