For The Love of a Game Show

Human history has demonstrated our love of games of chance. Historians have estimated that, as far as recorded history goes, we can trace back the idea of board games back to ancient Mesopotamia, or about 5,000 years ago. It would make sense that once civilizations began to sprout up, leisure time would become more common than before. After all, since we were not as required to follow the food, it makes sense that we would play with rocks and other fascinating bits of whatever was around us. As civilizations grew, so did the tradition of play. 

As a species, as we learned to trade and create lines of communication, the miracle (and curse) of cultural diffusion spread gaming slowly throughout the globe. Regardless of the culture, it would seem that the main objective was the total domination of the board. Think about the ones that have survived, such as chess, checkers, pente, moj jong, and backgammon. The whole objective is to humiliate your opponent by dominating the board.

So, we can fast-forward to the introduction of a communication device so revolutionary; it would change the face of gaming, the radio. Being able to communicate using voices over vast differences would help shorten the time of how diffusion would spread. Sure, there were real reasons for the radio, such as news and finding out where the enemy was hiding. However, since I am talking about leisure time, imagine the impact the radio had on entertainment. The airwaves were soon filled with music and drama shows. More importantly, it was the reality of having contestants compete against each other in quiz shows and the like.

When television swept the globe, many of the dramas did not make the transition to the visual. Game shows, however, quickly moved from the audio to the visual. The international audience went from Spelling Bee to Truth or Consequences. Audiences entertained by gems such as, To Tell the Truth, What's My Line, and, 8 Out of 10 Cats. As the novelty of television became a household must, there was also the noticeable transition of game shows going from the intellectual to comedic. 

As we went from the 60s to the 70s, game shows such as The Newlywed Game and the Dating Game become the front-runners of sexy talk combined with front-runners of reality television. However, it was in the 70s did we witness the birth and explosion of classic television game shows, many of which have been recreated over and over again or still are running. I am talking about The Price is Right, Password, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Match Game, $10,000 Dollar Pyramid, Hollywood Squares, and Family Feud. They were so popular that these shows, including the many ones not mentioned, ran daytime and evening programming. It was amazing to me, and I loved every single one of them!

To me, the recurring stars on these shows I knew more about than historical figures and who was hot on the movie screen. I remember trying to name a tune in two notes and valuing the phrase, "No Whammies!" As with all things, time passed, and game shows faded in the 80s and 90s. I had hope when I heard many of these were being revived, mostly for summer programming to vill the void of when the regularly televised shows were on hiatus. Here is my problem, the lack of originality troubles me. Sure, we have megastars doing the latest breed of shows, but most of them pale in comparison. Instead of wonder, we mostly get contestants dipped in whipped cream or jettisoned down a tube. We get answers such as, "Hungary? Is that a country? I've heard of Turkey."

I guess the point of all of this is I feel that for those who are passionate about the game show have been shoveled recycled manure filled with more flash than entertainment. However, I supposed that as time passes, it is more entertaining to watch someone get hit in the crotch than actually to solve a puzzle. Thank goodness for the Game Show Channel and YouTube.