Supermarket Sweep was one of the best that I'm sure that some people have never heard of; the big sweep was always a joy to watch because you could have the most time earned from the quiz half and still get smoked by a team that shopped smarter. One season they even held a tournament series for I think it was two weeks where both members of the winning team in the final won a new car, a huge prize for a show that normally played the bonus game for a measly (by comparison) $5,000.

Here's another along those lines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o1kueHKO14

This is a generic episode from early in the run of Rock 'n Roll Jeopardy!, as aired on VH1. Host Jeff Probst is no Alex Trebek by any means, but he did quite well (I think) considering. Notice the Super Jeopardy-esque rule set on this episode (1 match for $5K), later in the run the match was played for cash.

I can't believe no one has mentioned to all-time best game show - The Hollywood Squares. Even as a kid, I knew there was something exciting and almost "naughty" about the show - and I didn't even understand 1/4 of the innuendo and jokes.

Oh my gosh ScarletAngel, I can't believe I didn't come up with that either...while which game show was the all-time best is a debatable topic and I will not enter into that here, Hollywood Squares -- the original version with Peter Marshall -- could get very wacky, especially by today's standards, for its time.

Marshall later wrote a book (Tic Tac Tell) about his time on the NBC daytime version which ran for nearly a decade and a half, and he won five Emmy Awards (I think that's the number) for his work on the show.

Here's an episode of the original Hollywood Squares -- with the chronically cranky Paul Lynde in the center square -- from 1972:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXab62ZfH0s

Journeyman, I did enjoy Rock n Roll Jeopardy! in spite of Probst being the host (he kinda bugs me, to be honest)...there's an online version you can play which is pretty fun. I wish they would consider bringing it back...VH-1 and MTV should seriously think about reviving that one and Remote Control, they'd make for nice departures from their reality heavy lineups and at least they are related to music unlike most all of those reality shows they've both got.

You know, Hollywood Squares was good...but it's memory is slightly tainted by the more recent incarnations (the only thing good about the last version was Tom Bergeron hosting, otherwise if felt tired and stale...and that silly knock off Hip Hop Squares? Not even worth getting into is it!). I don't really remember the Peter Marshall era so much but I grew up watching the John Davidson era in the '80s.

It seems safe to say that the '70s were the best era for game shows, since there seemed to be a lot more you could get away with back in those days...a lot of the innuendo that played through all the game shows of the era could never happen now, and those are the bits that still make those old shows fun to watch in reruns on GSN.

Agreed about the Hollywood Squares TES, really the show was meant to be conducted as it was for the first eight or so years of the Marshall era: Best of three games, winner plays against a new opponent immediately, no bonus game.

And yeah, it did seem like the celebrity panel could get away with a lot more in the seventies than they could now...was it Charles Nelson Reilly who always had a stogie with him during the Rayburn era of Match Game? I forget...

Everyone smoked on Match Game it seemed...but it wasn't just smoking they were getting away with...the banter was filled with innuendo, the questions were suggestive, and sometimes contestants and stars would give answers that would probably not get past censors so easily now. And of course there was a lot of kissing of contestants which would never be permitted these days (and not just by Richard Dawson). Half the female contestants on game shows back in the '70s could consider sexual harassment lawsuits if the same stuff was being said to them now on tv...

It's just such a different era of tv in general...but with regard to game shows, you comepare the way they conducted a game show in the '70s to any revivals of the show since that decade and you will find that the '70s version will most likely be infinitely better than the remake, which will be lacking that same looseness because everything started to get so politically correct and they couldn't get away with the same stuff they did back then.

Then there are the game show concepts for which intriguing doesn't seem to begin to describe it. Here's one that aired on Lifetime for two seasons called "Debt", hosted by Wink Martindale (who turned 79 last week):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WeNQXC5kWI

At its heart, this basically amounted to as close to a straight-up quiz game as you can come without being a Jeopardy clone...but I don't know how else I can explain this. Take a peek at this full episode and see for yourself.

I vaguely recall Debt...wasn't the prize that they paid down your debts rather than give trips or cars or what have you (hence the title)?

Yeah, it was like that. And some of the contestants on that show were actually in debt for legitimate reasons (meaning something other than spending beyond their means)...sorry, part of me is on a cynical streak today. :( The show ran for two seasons.

Another '90s game that Wink Martindale hosted was Trivial Pursuit, on what was then the Family Channel (now ABC Family). This show was unique when it aired because during the commercial breaks viewers were invited to participate in an interactive mini-game via telephone for a small prize (I can't remember what it is, could have been some pocket money), the winners of which played again after the closing credits of the Friday show for a bigger prize.

Here's a complete episode from that series, minus the Playbreaks in between:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLbORt2EA94

In my opinion, this is one of the games that needs to come back; Wink did very well with what he had on this show.

I love Wink Martindale - one of the best game show hosts, in my opinion. He could make even a crappy game show seem like a good one. And really, is there a better name for a game show host than "Wink Martindale"?

I love Wink Martindale - one of the best game show hosts, in my opinion. He could make even a crappy game show seem like a good one. And really, is there a better name for a game show host than "Wink Martindale"?

Hey - just saw this press release and thought I'd pass it along to any Match Game fans:

This Christmas, GSN will honor the 50th anniversary of one of the most enduring and memorable classic shows, MATCH GAME, by airing a marathon on Tuesday, December 25th from 8:00am ET to 5:00pm ET that includes two episodes that have never been seen on television.

GSN will kick off the marathon with two MATCH GAME episodes that have never aired on television until now – beginning at 8:00am ET with the oldest MATCH GAME episode ever: the pilot of the original NBC series hosted by Gene Rayburn and featuring celebrity guests Peggy Cass and Peter Lind Hayes. Then at 9:00am ET, GSN will air the CBS pilot for the daytime series, hosted by Rayburn and featuring celebrity panelists Betty White, Richard Dawson, Bert Convy, Arlene Francis, Jack Klugman, and JoAnn Pflug.

The MATCH GAME marathon will feature classic celebrity panelists who remain beloved icons to game show fans everywhere including: Charles Nelson Reilly, Vicki Lawrence, Jaye P. Morgan, Brett Somers, Fannie Flagg, Lee Meriwether and Marcia Wallace. The marathon also features an episode with the first non-human panelists in the show’s history – Kukla and Ollie!

GSN’s MATCH GAME marathon includes episodes from several versions of the show and will feature two different formats. In the original 1960’s version of MATCH GAME, two teams, each composed of a celebrity guest and two contestants, compete to match answers to questions. When the show was revived in 1973, it consisted of two contestants and a panel of six celebrities. Each contestant attempts to fill in the blank and match their responses to as many of the six celebrities as possible.

I thought I would bring this topic back now that I've straightened out miscellaneous things with the holidays and taking care of IP (in progress) issues I had with a fall course...long story.

Anyway, on to programs that had memorable moments in some fashion. It's one thing to host a game show; it's another to PLAY the show that you're hosting. In 1989, Marc Summers got to do just that on the Super Sloppy incarnation of Double Dare...against his announcer Harvey!

J.J. Bullock -- who was a regular on the Davidson version of Hollywood Squares -- guest-hosts this episode. Part 1 can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_meDbrnMwC0

And here's part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjJIkaYzpf4

Something very freaky happens in the obstacle course here. Can you spot it?

I love me some Jim J. Bullock! I vaguely recall seeing that episode - I was a big Double Dare watcher as a kid - but I'm going to have to rewatch those when I have some time to....

This next episode is a memorable one from a blooper standpoint. It's an episode of Super Password from January 1988 that starts as a generic episode but quickly turns into one of the most memorable moments from that series when a clue to one of the puzzles goes horribly wrong.

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVAGpFPTmVM

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J97uV0O4R90

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxZgR108df0

Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiFjorxogE4

Part 5: (conclusion)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Fl74aG_fQ