Totaly agree with PERFECT MATCH. We were really digging on CATCH PHRASE, then one Monday, Lorimar pulled the switch on us. I'm gonna defend WORDPLAY. My whole family loved the whole dynamic and the playalong factor. My dad liked the dictionary element, having taught 6th grade. We taped it and SUPER PASSWORD, then watch both every night. I also loved STRIKE IT RICH with Joe Garagiola. Joe reminded me of my high school vice principal
I just watched everything back then (when I was 9). I barely remember Perfect Match quality-wise. Funny note...at this time I started watching the WWF, and pro wrestling in general... it was around the time WrestleMania 2 was being hyped. Some months later, they were talking about the WWF's Australian tour, and said they'd have clips of Paul Roma on the show Perfect Match. I was shocked/confused that it was nothing like the Goen show.
1986 I also feel was the year Daytime game shows began their slow decline, starting with the end of Press Your Luck, and the network, CBS, relinquishing the 4:00 p.m. timeslot. Although it's been said that the time change was its demise, Brad Francini said that its numbers began to slip with daytime viewers declining in general (meaning, according to Brad, it wouldn't have made a difference).
@pannoni4875And in the very early Winter of 1986 thru the Spring of 1986 abc also had Bruce Forsyth’s Hot Streak, which also didn’t fare too well against TPiR and Wheel of Fortune. If that show would’ve went to NBC and kept Gene Rayburn since he hosted the 1984 pilot called Party Line and increased the stakes better it probably would’ve lasted a bit longer than the mere 3 months is lasted.
About that Perfect Match of '86-- sampled an episode of that bomb, and there wasn't all that much of an opening for it either (just six smaller copies of the Perfect Match title coming together into the one main version of the title, and Johnny Gilbert's billing of Bob Goen wasn't really all that either ["It's Perfect Match! And now here is your host: Bob Goen!"], let alone how the set doors opened up as wide as can be and stayed open the duration of the show).
1986 was the year the original “My Little Pony: The Movie” came out, and game shows were big on the big three networks and syndication back in 1986. “Card Sharks” with Bob Eubanks was one of the best revivals ever, and “Scrabble” was still excellent along with “$ale of the Century” was on both NBC and syndication at the time, and “The Price Is Right” with Bob Barker was king.
I agree. That show and Wordplay were my original first choices for Blandest of 1986 til Crosswits 1986 eclipsed them both. Double Talk is just basically a copy and paste show where they heavily borrowed the set aesthetics and gameplay structure (2 maingames and 2 bonus rounds per show, high scorer from the bonus round returns the next show) from its sister show Pyramid (on CBS and Syndication), combine it with the fun but unsustainable gameplay from a failed 1977 Bob Stewart series Shoot for the Stars and a rather pedestrian host in Henry Polic II and you have the ingredients to make Double Talk. Not even changing the series to Celebrity Double Talk helped much either, despite the fact that they still used the celeb/civvie contestant pairings.
Double Dare had more impact on television than any other gameshow in 86 -- certainly more than any other debuting gameshow show in 86. I probably never make my gameshow things without it, but that's a tiny consideration here
Yeah 1986 was a strong game show year. I can see the honorable mentions for the best being a very long list. Oh yeah...Perfect Match was the show that knocked out the better Catch Phrase (or bluntly the syndicators used an insurance policy and that's no longer an option thes days).
Another good video. I agree that “Pyramid” in the ‘80’s was the best. As far as “Wordplay” was concerned, I too found it slow and mostly uninteresting. I wonder if the fact that they changed the host and announcer after the pilot and before they went on the air had anything to do with it also. I also think the best thing that came out of “Perfect Match” was the host, Bob Goen. He could host the worst show and make it better, in my opinion. Maybe you can do another video like this for 1981, since there were good, bad, and “meh” shows throughout that year.
1986 was not kind to "Press Your Luck". In January, the show got moved from 10:30 AM ET to 4:00 PM ET to make room for Bob Eubanks' "Card Sharks". Not many CBS affiliates were airing network programming in that time slot, and more and more affiliates began preempting PYL for whatever other shows they wanted to air. The dollar values on the Round 2 board got slashed in June, CBS began rerunning certain episodes in August, and the show was canceled in September. I know GSN has rerun quite a few 1986 episodes of PYL up to May of that year; I wish they would have finished rerunning PYL all the way to the bitter end. Hopefully BUZZR will give us the complete run of PYL.
Bryce, did you see #697 on June 4 on Buzzr? Contestants were Joe/Mark/Leslie. I even saw some photos on Getty Images of PYL during the final three months, including the return of Trish Boyer.
@@newstarcadefan Indeed-- Catch Phrase at least had a game to it (try to figure out what the artists are saying, and translate it into plain English [sort of like Mad Gab, IINM]).
1986 was a strong and a great year for game shows,they got so many game shows in network syndication and cable,mine is Double Dare,it's one of my all time favorites,second is The $100,000 Pyramid one of syndicated's highest rated game shows,honorable mention Card Sharks (CBS/First Run Syndication),Hollywood Squares (Davidson),Chain Reaction (USA Network),etc.1986 was a great year for game shows.
Differing opinions I guess….I loved Wordplay but never really cared for Double Dare. I was 10 years old when DD premiered and I couldn’t even get into it back then. I totally agree on Perfect Match though.
I liked wordplay but I do like word association games. I'd give the blandest vote to the all-new crosswits. The original was so good, this revival was kinda disappointing, David Sparks was pretty much sleepwalking through it. The celebs often looked bored. The clues weren't that clever unlike the original. Just a lackluster effort.
I would vote The New Cross-Wits for blandest of ‘86. David didn’t feel like the interviews was worth his time and that’s part of the problem that the game was taking so long that they didn’t have time to complete a 3rd round
Totally agree with you. Wordplay was interesting and at least made me laugh a few times. Cross-Wits '86 was dull to the point of being sleep-inducing, especially compared to the wonderful Cross-Wits from the '70s. David Sparks hosted like he was waiting for his paycheck to clear.
My best five: Feud, Price, Wheel, TTD and High Rollers. Blandest: If it counts, The Love Experts. If not, You Don't Say! Worst: Jeopardy! '78. Only truly "bad" show that came out that year. Lots of great ones, a few mediocre.
@LittleRockElevators LOTS of bad game shows to choose from that year including Off the Wall, You're On!, Outrageous!, Jep! Pat Bullard's Love Connection and The Reel to Reel Picture Show. I'd include Inquizition but I'm sure that one would be voted blandest.
Reel to Reel Picture Show was beyond bad. Peter looked more lost than a deer in highlights, there were even times where it looks like he’s reaching for the wrong questions. The biggest crime of all: it is one of at least a half dozen game shows where it ended because the production company that produced it went belly up during production and absolutely nobody got paid. Not host Peter Marshall, not the announcer, not even the contestants or celebrities or the other staff. Not to mention most of the episodes didn’t even air because of the bankruptcy.
Best: Double Dare. Why? It really put Nickelodeon on the map for a very good reason. Honorable Mention: Card Sharks. I was gonna put Card Sharks in the best but Double Dare was a far more impactful show than the CS revival. Blandest: The All-New Crosswits. The original 1975-80 version with Jack Clark was good stuff. Here, everything that was so good with the original was severely watered down here. David Sparks is arguably one of the absolute worst hosts of all-time, right up there with the Pat Bullards and the Patrick Waynes. Bland, dull and uninspiring whatsoever. Worst of all were the clues and the puzzles were boring and uninspired as well. Music package just never really did it either. Unless you won the Crossfire bonus round, they never really properly stated how you can win a car either. Dishonorable Mention: Wordplay. I was stammering between this and Double Talk since the latter blatantly copied the set and gameplay aesthetics (red, orange and brown and blue set scheme and the 2 main games and 2 bonus rounds per show) from its sister show Pyramid and while the puzzles were fun to play along with, the game as a whole (especially the bonus round) isn’t a long-term sustainable format and Henry Polic II’s hosting was far from great as well. But since Wordplay’s game aesthetics were weaker than Double Talk’s is, it gets my dishonorable mention. A lot of the time the gameplay on Wordplay comes down to whoever doesn’t make the big mistake first. Also the celebs’ collaborations are far too hit or miss. This show wasn’t exactly Tom Kennedy’s best show whatsoever. Worst: Perfect Match. Bad ripoff of The Newlywed Game which just returned earlier that September in 1985 (1984 with a blink and you miss trial version with Jim Lange). Chuck Barris sued the production company for ripping off his creation and rightfully so. Not even Bob Goen’s underrated hosting could save this Turkey. Truly Dishonorable Mention: Not much here.
1986 saw a LOT of game shows bite the dust, including The Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough (thanks to the one-two punch that was Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy!), Break The Bank 85-86, syndicated Sale Of The Century, Press Your Luck, Catch Phrase, Perfect Match, Body Language, The All New Let's Make A Deal, and Headline Chasers. Many of them were quite good. Best Game Show that debuted in 1986: Double Dare (Nickelodeon), Blandest Game Show of 1986: Split Second (The 1970s version was much better. Besides, Monty Hall, although a great host, didn't feel comfortable with hosting the show.) Worst Game Show of 1986: Perfect Match (That bad Newlywed Game ripoff).
‘86 was a great year for game shows. If I had a choice for Best game show, cause there were 4 shows that I was thinking of, The Pyramids would be my choice. The Price is Right was a very close 2nd and Double Dare was 3rd. Wheel of Fortune was starting to lose a little momentum on the Daytime, but its Nighttime counterpart made up for it. For Blandest, a tie with WordPlay and maybe All-Star Blitz. Peter Marshall try his best to give a Hollywood Squares reboot of sorts to work, but it was missing that spark. And as much as Perfect Match was bad, my pick for Worst game show of ‘86, and I hate to say it cause it’s one of my favorite game shows, is Press Your Luck. Time change may have done them in, but I felt Peter Tomarken was phoning it in the last few months of the run. It was almost like he didn’t wanted to do the show anymore
1986 was an incredible year for many game shows. $1 Million Chance of a Lifetime, Break the Bank and Strike It Rich were some of my favorites in syndication along with Price Is Right and Card Sharks on CBS. I saw episodes of Wordplay last year and felt it was good and unfortunately short lived. The bonus round was fun but difficult. RIP Tom Kennedy. But I never heard of Perfect Match so I went to watch an episode before this comment as I was a Bob Goen fan and let's not forget his stint on The Home Shopping Game which was also good. But THIS - WHY????????? I can tell he was NOT a good fit for this trainwreck! (neither was Johnny Gilbert announcing!) I can't believe this replaced Catch Phrase.
I didn’t eve. Know the USA had Perfect match it was hit here in Australia might of been a bit corny with a cheesy theme but I loved it but Pyramid with Dick Clark great I love watching the classic American Gameshows on TH-cam when I can ♥️🤍💙🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
Totaly agree with PERFECT MATCH. We were really digging on CATCH PHRASE, then one Monday, Lorimar pulled the switch on us. I'm gonna defend WORDPLAY. My whole family loved the whole dynamic and the playalong factor. My dad liked the dictionary element, having taught 6th grade. We taped it and SUPER PASSWORD, then watch both every night. I also loved STRIKE IT RICH with Joe Garagiola. Joe reminded me of my high school vice principal
I just watched everything back then (when I was 9). I barely remember Perfect Match quality-wise. Funny note...at this time I started watching the WWF, and pro wrestling in general... it was around the time WrestleMania 2 was being hyped. Some months later, they were talking about the WWF's Australian tour, and said they'd have clips of Paul Roma on the show Perfect Match. I was shocked/confused that it was nothing like the Goen show.
It wasn’t that good
When you brought up Catch Phrase, the first thing that came up in my mind was the infamous "Snake Charmer" blooper.
Best one: Double Dare. Blandest one: Can't think of any. Worst one: Perfect Match. Want to see 1983 covered next.
1986 I also feel was the year Daytime game shows began their slow decline, starting with the end of Press Your Luck, and the network, CBS, relinquishing the 4:00 p.m. timeslot. Although it's been said that the time change was its demise, Brad Francini said that its numbers began to slip with daytime viewers declining in general (meaning, according to Brad, it wouldn't have made a difference).
@pannoni4875And in the very early Winter of 1986 thru the Spring of 1986 abc also had Bruce Forsyth’s Hot Streak, which also didn’t fare too well against TPiR and Wheel of Fortune.
If that show would’ve went to NBC and kept Gene Rayburn since he hosted the 1984 pilot called Party Line and increased the stakes better it probably would’ve lasted a bit longer than the mere 3 months is lasted.
About that Perfect Match of '86-- sampled an episode of that bomb, and there wasn't all that much of an opening for it either (just six smaller copies of the Perfect Match title coming together into the one main version of the title, and Johnny Gilbert's billing of Bob Goen wasn't really all that either ["It's Perfect Match! And now here is your host: Bob Goen!"], let alone how the set doors opened up as wide as can be and stayed open the duration of the show).
I miss that crown on the original Pyramid.
1986 was the year the original “My Little Pony: The Movie” came out, and game shows were big on the big three networks and syndication back in 1986. “Card Sharks” with Bob Eubanks was one of the best revivals ever, and “Scrabble” was still excellent along with “$ale of the Century” was on both NBC and syndication at the time, and “The Price Is Right” with Bob Barker was king.
"Perfect Match" really makes you wish they could've just imported the Australian show instead.
Blandest: Double Talk (replaced by reruns of Webster which featured host Henry Polic II)
I agree. That show and Wordplay were my original first choices for Blandest of 1986 til Crosswits 1986 eclipsed them both.
Double Talk is just basically a copy and paste show where they heavily borrowed the set aesthetics and gameplay structure (2 maingames and 2 bonus rounds per show, high scorer from the bonus round returns the next show) from its sister show Pyramid (on CBS and Syndication), combine it with the fun but unsustainable gameplay from a failed 1977 Bob Stewart series Shoot for the Stars and a rather pedestrian host in Henry Polic II and you have the ingredients to make Double Talk. Not even changing the series to Celebrity Double Talk helped much either, despite the fact that they still used the celeb/civvie contestant pairings.
The only thing missing in 1986 is the very thing that made 1976 such a watershed year: Family Feud.
Double Dare was the first game show that I would get to see the live touring version of the show
Hey! 1986 was the year of my birth, too!
Double Dare had more impact on television than any other gameshow in 86 -- certainly more than any other debuting gameshow show in 86. I probably never make my gameshow things without it, but that's a tiny consideration here
86 was an interesting time
Yeah 1986 was a strong game show year. I can see the honorable mentions for the best being a very long list. Oh yeah...Perfect Match was the show that knocked out the better Catch Phrase (or bluntly the syndicators used an insurance policy and that's no longer an option thes days).
I think the show that you are thinking of in the UK was 'Call my Bluff'. Just a Minute is about talking non stop about a subject for a minute
Another good video. I agree that “Pyramid” in the ‘80’s was the best. As far as “Wordplay” was concerned, I too found it slow and mostly uninteresting. I wonder if the fact that they changed the host and announcer after the pilot and before they went on the air had anything to do with it also. I also think the best thing that came out of “Perfect Match” was the host, Bob Goen. He could host the worst show and make it better, in my opinion. Maybe you can do another video like this for 1981, since there were good, bad, and “meh” shows throughout that year.
Ah Yes I Too Was Born In 1986 And Most Of Those Shows I Grew Up Watching In Reruns
Best worst and blandest of 1993 or 1998
1986 was not kind to "Press Your Luck". In January, the show got moved from 10:30 AM ET to 4:00 PM ET to make room for Bob Eubanks' "Card Sharks". Not many CBS affiliates were airing network programming in that time slot, and more and more affiliates began preempting PYL for whatever other shows they wanted to air. The dollar values on the Round 2 board got slashed in June, CBS began rerunning certain episodes in August, and the show was canceled in September.
I know GSN has rerun quite a few 1986 episodes of PYL up to May of that year; I wish they would have finished rerunning PYL all the way to the bitter end. Hopefully BUZZR will give us the complete run of PYL.
Bryce, did you see #697 on June 4 on Buzzr? Contestants were Joe/Mark/Leslie. I even saw some photos on Getty Images of PYL during the final three months, including the return of Trish Boyer.
Did barris productions tried to sue the producers of perfect match?
Yes, also this show was what replaced the better Catch Phrase because the syndicators couldn't be patient to let it be profitable.
@@newstarcadefan Indeed-- Catch Phrase at least had a game to it (try to figure out what the artists are saying, and translate it into plain English [sort of like Mad Gab, IINM]).
@@bmasters1981 yes, and it's the reason why Catch Phrase is still popular in the UK. It's easy to play along with, even with a three-player qualifer.
Wordplay was after Kennedy's stint on TPIR?
Yes.
My best five would be 100,000 pyramid, scrabble, super password, wheel of fortune, and jeopardy
The Hollywood Game was Goen's most short lived
1986 was a strong and a great year for game shows,they got so many game shows in network syndication and cable,mine is Double Dare,it's one of my all time favorites,second is The $100,000 Pyramid one of syndicated's highest rated game shows,honorable mention Card Sharks
(CBS/First Run Syndication),Hollywood Squares (Davidson),Chain Reaction (USA Network),etc.1986 was a great year for game shows.
Do you think they could ever bring Scrabble back
Differing opinions I guess….I loved Wordplay but never really cared for Double Dare. I was 10 years old when DD premiered and I couldn’t even get into it back then. I totally agree on Perfect Match though.
Wordplay was funny, I liked it!!
I disagree with you on Wordplay, Sid. Wordplay was funny and educational.
It helped us learn some words we never knew of before, and definitions too.
Break The Bank was also a ripoff of Super Password/Password Plus with the puzzles.
Double Dare kick ass in 1986.😀👍
I liked wordplay but I do like word association games. I'd give the blandest vote to the all-new crosswits. The original was so good, this revival was kinda disappointing, David Sparks was pretty much sleepwalking through it. The celebs often looked bored. The clues weren't that clever unlike the original. Just a lackluster effort.
I would vote The New Cross-Wits for blandest of ‘86. David didn’t feel like the interviews was worth his time and that’s part of the problem that the game was taking so long that they didn’t have time to complete a 3rd round
Totally agree with you. Wordplay was interesting and at least made me laugh a few times. Cross-Wits '86 was dull to the point of being sleep-inducing, especially compared to the wonderful Cross-Wits from the '70s. David Sparks hosted like he was waiting for his paycheck to clear.
I'd love to see a best, worst and blandest from 1978. Huge selection of games to choose from!
My best five from that year would be family feud, match Game, price is right, wheel of fortune, and Hollywood squares.
@@jamesklatt Mine would be different-- Feud, TTD, TPIR, WOF and Card Sharks.
My best five: Feud, Price, Wheel, TTD and High Rollers.
Blandest: If it counts, The Love Experts. If not, You Don't Say!
Worst: Jeopardy! '78. Only truly "bad" show that came out that year. Lots of great ones, a few mediocre.
Get ready I plan to make a video shortly and have it up tonight or tomorrow morning.
I uploaded my video yesterday morning. Got one view lasting just 12 seconds .
Don’t forget the Home Shopping Game as a show hosted by Goen.
Can you do 1998?
@LittleRockElevators LOTS of bad game shows to choose from that year including Off the Wall, You're On!, Outrageous!, Jep! Pat Bullard's Love Connection and The Reel to Reel Picture Show. I'd include Inquizition but I'm sure that one would be voted blandest.
@LittleRockElevatorsCindy's not going to put that show up for worst she's said multiple times that Match Game 98 was a guilty pleasure show.
Reel to Reel Picture Show was beyond bad. Peter looked more lost than a deer in highlights, there were even times where it looks like he’s reaching for the wrong questions. The biggest crime of all: it is one of at least a half dozen game shows where it ended because the production company that produced it went belly up during production and absolutely nobody got paid. Not host Peter Marshall, not the announcer, not even the contestants or celebrities or the other staff. Not to mention most of the episodes didn’t even air because of the bankruptcy.
1986 was the year I was born
Um....it was when I discovered pro wrestling?
Best: Double Dare. Why? It really put Nickelodeon on the map for a very good reason.
Honorable Mention: Card Sharks. I was gonna put Card Sharks in the best but Double Dare was a far more impactful show than the CS revival.
Blandest: The All-New Crosswits. The original 1975-80 version with Jack Clark was good stuff. Here, everything that was so good with the original was severely watered down here. David Sparks is arguably one of the absolute worst hosts of all-time, right up there with the Pat Bullards and the Patrick Waynes. Bland, dull and uninspiring whatsoever. Worst of all were the clues and the puzzles were boring and uninspired as well. Music package just never really did it either. Unless you won the Crossfire bonus round, they never really properly stated how you can win a car either.
Dishonorable Mention: Wordplay. I was stammering between this and Double Talk since the latter blatantly copied the set and gameplay aesthetics (red, orange and brown and blue set scheme and the 2 main games and 2 bonus rounds per show) from its sister show Pyramid and while the puzzles were fun to play along with, the game as a whole (especially the bonus round) isn’t a long-term sustainable format and Henry Polic II’s hosting was far from great as well. But since Wordplay’s game aesthetics were weaker than Double Talk’s is, it gets my dishonorable mention. A lot of the time the gameplay on Wordplay comes down to whoever doesn’t make the big mistake first. Also the celebs’ collaborations are far too hit or miss. This show wasn’t exactly Tom Kennedy’s best show whatsoever.
Worst: Perfect Match. Bad ripoff of The Newlywed Game which just returned earlier that September in 1985 (1984 with a blink and you miss trial version with Jim Lange). Chuck Barris sued the production company for ripping off his creation and rightfully so. Not even Bob Goen’s underrated hosting could save this Turkey.
Truly Dishonorable Mention: Not much here.
Wasn’t the radio show “My Word!”
1986 saw a LOT of game shows bite the dust, including The Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough (thanks to the one-two punch that was Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy!), Break The Bank 85-86, syndicated Sale Of The Century, Press Your Luck, Catch Phrase, Perfect Match, Body Language, The All New Let's Make A Deal, and Headline Chasers. Many of them were quite good. Best Game Show that debuted in 1986: Double Dare (Nickelodeon), Blandest Game Show of 1986: Split Second (The 1970s version was much better. Besides, Monty Hall, although a great host, didn't feel comfortable with hosting the show.) Worst Game Show of 1986: Perfect Match (That bad Newlywed Game ripoff).
‘86 was a great year for game shows. If I had a choice for Best game show, cause there were 4 shows that I was thinking of, The Pyramids would be my choice. The Price is Right was a very close 2nd and Double Dare was 3rd. Wheel of Fortune was starting to lose a little momentum on the Daytime, but its Nighttime counterpart made up for it. For Blandest, a tie with WordPlay and maybe All-Star Blitz. Peter Marshall try his best to give a Hollywood Squares reboot of sorts to work, but it was missing that spark. And as much as Perfect Match was bad, my pick for Worst game show of ‘86, and I hate to say it cause it’s one of my favorite game shows, is Press Your Luck. Time change may have done them in, but I felt Peter Tomarken was phoning it in the last few months of the run. It was almost like he didn’t wanted to do the show anymore
1986 was an incredible year for many game shows. $1 Million Chance of a Lifetime, Break the Bank and Strike It Rich were some of my favorites in syndication along with Price Is Right and Card Sharks on CBS.
I saw episodes of Wordplay last year and felt it was good and unfortunately short lived. The bonus round was fun but difficult. RIP Tom Kennedy.
But I never heard of Perfect Match so I went to watch an episode before this comment as I was a Bob Goen fan and let's not forget his stint on The Home Shopping Game which was also good. But THIS - WHY????????? I can tell he was NOT a good fit for this trainwreck! (neither was Johnny Gilbert announcing!) I can't believe this replaced Catch Phrase.
Ah, yes! 1986, the year yours truly was born!
Do one on the year that I was born 1984.😀👍
I’d say do 1984 or even 1987.
Best, Blandest and Worst of 2008 or 2009
The "Pyramid" shows are bad. Any game show that removes the opportunity for the audience to guess is a bad game show.
@@Superlad945 I meant home audience.
I didn’t eve. Know the USA had Perfect match it was hit here in Australia might of been a bit corny with a cheesy theme but I loved it but Pyramid with Dick Clark great I love watching the classic American Gameshows on TH-cam when I can ♥️🤍💙🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺