Hero or Dick - S.3, Ep. 20 - Game Shows

Welcome to another episode of Hero or Dick! 

This time, we trace the wild history of American game shows — from 1930s radio quizzes like Brooklyn Eagle Quiz and Vox Pop to the TV titans that shaped family routines: Jeopardy!, The Price Is Right, and Wheel of Fortune.
And of course, we stop to salute (or side-eye) the chaos agents like The Gong Show that bent every rule of taste and talent.

Along the way, we unpack the 1950s rigging scandals, the risqué daytime revivals of the ’60s and ’70s, and the high-stakes tension of the ’90s boom with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, and their reality-show cousins.

Enjoying the ride? Follow, rate, and share the show—and email your topic ideas to heroerdic2023@gmail.com

Transcript

Cold Open And Banter

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Are you testing or are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:01

No, we're we're going.

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Doing it.

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Hey everybody.

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Hi. Hey.

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Kate's here. She's sick.

SPEAKER_02 0:08

I'm just getting over being sick, so I'm a little stuffed up. But my voice always sounds funky like that anyway on recordings. What?

SPEAKER_01 0:17

No. Stuffed up. People rave about your voice in the comments.

unknown 0:21

You're lying.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

No, I'm serious. Sometimes when we get an email at hero or dick2023 at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Let me check that.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Yeah, hero or dick at wait2023 at gmail.com. That's a we get all kinds of comments about your voice. Yeah. People enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Well, today it might be coughing. I have a cough truck.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

So Hero or Dick, here we are.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Episode 20.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Season three, episode 20. We're big touch.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

We're coming up on.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

Where's that swag?

SPEAKER_01 0:54

I don't know. Yeah, it's not here yet. Well, I ordered it from Sheen. I don't know. My daughter buys stuff like. Oh my god, that fucker blew up.

Meteor, Bridge Tragedy, Be Kind

SPEAKER_02 1:06

Bad. How weird though. Did you a takeoff? It just was kind of it was taken off and then I. Yeah, that was bad.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

And what about the meteorite?

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Oh, I didn't hear about that. What?

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Everybody saw it around here.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_01 1:21

It was big. Landed in Lake Superior, actually, but people saw it.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

For real?

SPEAKER_01 1:26

That's serious. Big big like greenish blue blasting rock through the sky.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

How did they miss that?

SPEAKER_01 1:34

I don't know. I heard uh I didn't see it.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

I think about the was that somebody jumped off the Mackinon Bridge.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

It's true. Yeah, I saw some. I thought it was a car wreck, but somebody just got out and jumped.

SPEAKER_02 1:47

No, so I think somebody got out and jumped. That's an awful way to go. It doesn't happen very often either. I looked it up.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Yeah, that's too bad.

SPEAKER_02 1:57

Too bad.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

I wonder you never know what's going on.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

No, you don't. So get meteors. Meteor, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Be nice to people.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Always.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Well, because you just don't know.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

No.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

I say that and I'm a dick. But you know. You are a hero. Wait.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

What's our topic?

Setting The Topic: Game Shows

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Is that why we named the show this? You're the hero and I'm the dick. Um the topic is just catching on. Um the topic is um game shows.

Early Radio Roots And First Formats

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Game shows. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Um, they started early.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

They did.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

Based off of radio. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

Radio.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

The 1930s and 40s. Um trivia shows. Some of the early hosts were Ralph Edwards, Jack Bailey, and then later, one man who lasted forever. Bob Barker. Bob Barker. Um but they mixed comedy, talk show, audience participation.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

Yeah. A lot of trivia too.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

I think uh the first one was in 1923 called Brooklyn Eagle Quiz, and it was about current events.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

No kidding.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

Yeah. Well, according to my research.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

Well, yours is usually better and more thorough than mine. I'll take it.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

And then in 1935, there was one called, and I love this name, Voxpop.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Vox pop?

SPEAKER_02 3:20

I like that.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

V-O-X pop. Yeah. What was it about?

SPEAKER_02 3:25

Well, it was regular people like me and you answer questions for prizes. So that's pretty much the whole premise of a game show.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

It really cut is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

From there, though, two main types evolved. So there's like a QA quiz and a celebrity panel. Like an info, please. What? So there's like a um that was the name of one of them. Info please. Gotcha. But there's a celebrity panel.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Yeah. Um, what's my line? It was celebrities of the day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

And they had to guess what the what was the one with the the stars and the boxes on the show?

SPEAKER_02 4:05

Hollywood Square. That was it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

That was pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Yeah. A lot of people like that one. I can remember watching that at my grandma's house in the afternoon.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Is that still on?

SPEAKER_02 4:16

You know, they bring it back every now and then, but I don't think it's still um.

Celebrity Panels And Classics

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Some of the folks, um, some of the stars, actors, musicians, whatever, they actually vied to get on that show. And then some of them were on there long, long time.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

They all live.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Yeah. Oh God, the one-line, he was the one-liner king.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

I loved so snarky. So in the 50s, then it was high-stakes game shows like 64 uh$64,000 question. But then there was scandal.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Yes, they got hit it pretty hard.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

Yeah. There was some cheating going on. There was pretty producers. They were giving answers.

The 1950s Boom And Cheating Scandals

SPEAKER_01 5:00

And the bad thing is a few of the hosts didn't even know. I just watched a little video about that. One of the guys, damn it, he's really famous. Um, he had no idea it was going on. And then the night before two days before uh somebody said, Hey, I want to meet you for dinner, come on over. So they did, and somebody evolved with the producing cast or team or whatever it is. And they said that listen, don't go to work on Monday because the show's getting shut down because there's been scandal cheating. But they did that, and they would also um cast people that were popular that they thought the crowd would like, and then they gave them answers. And but you know, that's that's capitalism for you.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

It's entertainment.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Yeah, it is.

Daytime Revivals: 60s To 70s

SPEAKER_02 5:44

So then in the 60s, they kind of revived game ships during the daytime. So then they had new formats like password. That was a popular one, and the um let's make it another one that was popular that Elaine, my friend Elaine, reminded me about was concentration. It was so hard. It was on in the it was on a daytime one in the 60s, maybe even the 70s. And so you had to answer questions to reveal parts of the puzzle, and then the puzzle wasn't just like the answer. You had to put together like a picture and a letter.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Oh wow. That's too hard.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

I know.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

That's a board game, then, right?

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

A lot of a lot of these turned, sorry, I'm jumping ahead, but turned into board games. Yeah. Did do you like any of them?

SPEAKER_02 6:32

I like password.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

We had an old, old one of Jeopardy. Like you had to pull the um flaps.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Yeah, it was so like a play tab.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

Yeah. But some other uh 60s and 70s game shows were different, like the dating game, the gong show,$1.98 beauty pageant.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

$1.98.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

Yeah, all Chuck Barris ones.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

Oh, Chuck, he was a little eccentric.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

He okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

They said that um we did a show on Chuck. I don't think so. But he had uh um Bob Eubanks, I was just listening to him.

SPEAKER_02 7:12

He's another popular host.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

He um said that he would that Barris was very unique and eccentric. He's like he remembered he walked in his office and he just had like a urinal mounted on the wall in his office.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

I can't even leave.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Yeah, like it was it was pretty funny. But he said he was he was really nice and blah, blah, blah. I didn't know the guy.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

He was quirky for sure, and he he uh wrote some books. Didn't he host it? He hosted the gong show.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

That's who he Yeah, okay, gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Yeah. And he also wrote the song Palestades Park.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Oh, Palestades Park. And we don't know.

Chuck Barris And The Gong Show Lore

SPEAKER_02 7:51

Developed TV shows. He wrote three novels and four memoirs, and he also claimed to be an international assassin for the CIA. And if you don't know that fact, read or watch his uh movie because it's pretty fascinating.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

You watched it?

SPEAKER_02 8:07

Oh, a couple times.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

What is it?

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Huh. I'll have to look at it Oh, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

No shit.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

The book is fascinating, and then George Clooney made the movie. Oh, it's weird. I like the book a lot better. You know, no kidding, but anyway, interesting.

SPEAKER_03 8:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

And what he says is if you doubt that I'm that I'm actually uh uh assassin for the CIA, check where some of those uh dating games where their holidays were too. They were like to East Germany. Weird just yeah. It's like, why are we going there? Because they had to have a chaperone and he would go and then kill somebody while he was there.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

Just like Garth Brooks is doing.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

Is that what Garth Brooks does?

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Yeah. Oh that's what it reminds me of. These guys might know each other. Apparently, like everywhere Garth Brooks goes, there's missing there ends up being missing people.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Oh I mean that's like the Lansbury, yeah. Murder through.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Yeah, no, it's just one of those people on a podcast. What do they call that? Confirmation bias. Like they're they're saying, Oh conspiracy.

SPEAKER_02 9:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

That'd be kind of cool if he was killing people. Both of them.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

I mean, I don't want to kill people. It'd be interesting. We don't want people to die, but I mean, if you're gonna die, wouldn't you like Garth Bricks too?

SPEAKER_01 9:33

Yeah, yeah. Sure.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Kind of interesting.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Yeah, or push me off the bridge or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

Okay, so back to the gong show. I just want to mention the unknown comic, more bag over his head, and Jean Jean, the dancing machine, who was a stage fan. And whenever he'd hear a song, a certain song that the band would play, he would start dancing.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Wasn't Klinger on there a lot?

SPEAKER_02 9:57

He was, yeah. He was uh he was one of the judges. God was a weird show.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Smash.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

That clinger was that yeah, he's got a real name too.

90s Resurgence And Reality Hybrids

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Jamie Farp. Damn it, you're right. Yeah, I am. Fuck, you're like a walking encyclopedia. We don't even need ChatGPT. We've got Kate AI here. All right, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

So in the 90s, uh there was another resurgence, this time a big prize format, like Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, those kind of TV shows.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Would you say that a a show like um we'll be back in two and two? Chuck Willary's Love Connection was a game show.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

I think so. Is there a prize? You know, there's kind of a slopey, slippery hill there because is it reality or is it a game show? Same with Survivor. Is it reality or is it a game show?

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Big brother, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

Yeah, they're winning money, they're doing things, game shows, but they're playing games, right? Some money.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

But gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 11:05

I don't know. So the first UK game show was called Spelling Bee. Guess what they did?

SPEAKER_01 11:12

Um, I can't, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

That was in 1938.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Really?

SPEAKER_02 11:18

Yeah, and the first one in um on TV uh was Truth or Consequences, and that was a Bob Barker one. I can remember watching that one at my grandma's house too. I can't. It was a it was a weird show. It was interesting. So they'd have these challenges, and like one of them I remember they um told this lady, you can win a brand new car. It's probably worth$2,000. You can win a brand new car. And then they opened up like the curtain or whatever, and it was all in pieces. Oh, and she had a mechanic with her that told her how to put it together, and she put together this car and she won it.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

What the hell?

SPEAKER_02 12:03

That was cool.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Oh, that is cool.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Yeah, just stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Very unique. Shoot, their consequences, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:10

The oldest one that's still on.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

Price is right?

SPEAKER_02 12:13

Gotta be, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Or Wheel of Four.

SPEAKER_02 12:15

No, Price is right.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Price is right. Yeah, that started in the 50s, right?

Long-Running Giants: Price, Jeopardy, Wheel

SPEAKER_02 12:18

We did. And then, but you're right that um Jeopardy, not far behind it, because it used to be on during the day, hosted by Art Fleming. And um then it moved to nighttime when Merv Griffin bought Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, which in our house is called, you know, at the beginning when they start it and they say Wheel of Fortune. So when Cassidy was young, she claimed it as Wheel of Fortress. So it's still Wheel of Fortress in our house. Why wouldn't it be? That's good. Of course. Hollywood Squares, Concentration, Jeopardy, dating game. Um, let's see. Oh, another one from the 70s, uh, match game. What's my line to tell the truth? Those were both old, older, probably like in the 50s and 60s. And then Password we mentioned too. And then 70s, we talked about the gong show. 80s brought in Family Feud, but with Richard Dawson.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

No.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

The only real Family Feud.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

He really liked smooching.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

He liked to kiss people.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

They finally had to do some memos about hygiene, and that's how coming you had to stop.

SPEAKER_02 13:33

For real.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Dead series. Oh, got it right from the producers. Um, what about my personal favorite with the whammy? Oh man, I love that show. Because of the whammies? I don't know. I think I just watched, you know, go around, around, around. Big money. No whammy, no whammy, big money, big whammy.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Stop!

SPEAKER_01 13:52

And then you get one of those little he drives off with your money.

SPEAKER_02 13:58

Absolutely. Oh um, so right around that time, too, was$10,000 Pyramid. Dick Clark posted that one. So, and then we talked about this too, but the 90s brought in the reality game shows like Survivor Amazing Race. Um, there are more physical competitions, not really the same in my book. Um also in the 90s, though, Nickelodeon had a real run with um game shows. So they had Hidden Temple and Double Dare.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

With kids or adults?

SPEAKER_02 14:36

Yeah, kids. Okay. Sometimes they're families too, and they had to do physical challenges.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Um, what about Who Wants to be a Millionaire? That was huge.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

That was huge. I think it's still on.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Is that where you phone a friend?

SPEAKER_02 14:50

I think so.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Lifelines or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

And then deal or no deal.

SPEAKER_02 14:55

Yeah. Weakest link.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

You want the weakest link?

SPEAKER_02 14:58

Yeah, we can't.

Hosts We Remember And Whammy Love

SPEAKER_01 14:59

I don't like that one either. That's like a that's an ego buster.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

How about smarter than a fifth grader?

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

I know that's a boring game. And even now, there is a game show network. They don't show enough old game shows, but you can go on YouTube or anywhere really and watch old game shows, and they're hilarious because, first of all, the fashions that people have on. Yeah. And second of all, all the prices. You can win this brand new cards for$3,400. But now the game show network does still run shows. Um, their popular ones are Bingo Blitz.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

These are new.

SPEAKER_02 15:43

These are new as of right now. I don't know. Bingo Blitz? I think it's an app, though. Probably. Tic Tac Doe, which is an old one, maybe reincarnated. And America says. I watched that one like once.

SPEAKER_01 15:57

What do they say?

SPEAKER_02 15:58

I don't know. It's kind of like kind of like Family Feud, only uh, you know, like they pull people out. Oh you know, how many Americans say Carhartt is the best?

Nickelodeon Era And Big-Prize Formats

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Hey, that's what I got on.

SPEAKER_02 16:10

I know. I'm not reaching out for my ideas here.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

So, you know, well, the I I never was a Carhartt person until I bought the sweatshirt.

SPEAKER_02 16:20

I like the color of it.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

It's very green. Pretty much indestructible. But when did Carhartt get become bougie? It's expensive.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

I went to tractor supply and carhart and area and wrangler. We're talking$120 for fucking shirts.

SPEAKER_02 16:39

Yeah. The shirts that you wouldn't wear when you were a team. Yeah. Because they were cool.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

And I got this one because it fits my chubby frame pretty well. But anyway, back to uh game shows Beat the Bridge. Okay. So this game show channel is just that's all they do.

SPEAKER_02 16:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

Okay. Oh, game show network, yes.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

Okay, network. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

I want to tell you this. Uh, here's my claim to fame because of my Is it on that little piece of paper? No, I just found that. I wonder what that was, too.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

It's a fortune cookie.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

My cousin's uh son was on Jeopardy.

SPEAKER_01 17:19

Really?

Game Show Network And Nostalgia

SPEAKER_02 17:20

Yes, Jeff Brusso. Probably about been a while now, maybe three or four years ago. He was a one-day champion on Jeopardy.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Congratulations, Jeff.

SPEAKER_02 17:32

Yeah, you know how he's for representing Alpina.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Most people don't get on that job.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

No, it's hard.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

So that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Did he ride that out? Uh do the talk show circuit?

SPEAKER_02 17:44

No, he won one day.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

Still.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

He didn't win a lot of money either.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

All right.

SPEAKER_02 17:48

But he was on there anyone. And it was still Alex Trabek. So it really counts.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

It does count.

SPEAKER_02 17:56

Not that Ken. Ken Jennings is fine.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

He's not Alex Trebek.

SPEAKER_02 18:00

Not Alex Trebek. Nobody will be.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Never.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

So what else do you want to say about um game shows?

SPEAKER_01 18:08

Hosts. Who were some of your favorites? Probably Alex Trebek.

SPEAKER_02 18:11

I'm Alex Treb.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

And you liked Mr. Dawson?

SPEAKER_02 18:13

I do. Was he the no? He was Hogan's Hero.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Hogan's Heroes.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

I'm thinking of Larry Dawson. Never mind. Yeah, I know who he is.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

He was really tan. Wasn't he?

SPEAKER_02 18:26

I think so.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Kind of like a car salesman.

unknown 18:29

No.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

No? No. You were thinking of Steve Harvey. I just remember him smooching on people all the time. Steve Harvey, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

He's funny, but um here's what I found out from my informal poll. The uh your favor I asked people what their favorites and what their shows, hosts? Their their shows and their least favorites were.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Okay.

Favorites And Least Favorites From Listeners

SPEAKER_02 18:56

And um they said that I I think people either love or hate Jeopardy and Family Feud. Because um a lot of people want to ask to what's your favorite. Um many people said um uh Jeopardy. But they also said sometimes it makes me feel inferior.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

But Jeopardy Jay says is consistently good for my entire life. Yeah, yeah. And uh Kathy B likes it, but she did say sometimes it makes me feel dumb. Um uh Jeopardy, Tom likes Jeopardy, consistent. Um my brother Mike likes Jeopardy. Uh uh Lori likes Jeopardy. And so a lot of people like Jeopardy, but then a lot of people said no to Jeopardy for the same reason. Jennifer said no to Jeopardy because it makes me feel dumb. I don't want to watch that show. Or and uh my uh my cousin Kate said, I don't want to think too hard when I'm watching TV, therefore I will not watch Jeopardy.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Gotcha. And yours is the wheel, Wheel of Fortress.

SPEAKER_02 20:21

Uh no, uh, so a lot of people said um wheel of fortune. Actually, a lot of people didn't say wheel of fortune. I think wheel of fortune is one that's just kind of on sometimes and you don't realize you're watching it. Yeah. Um, but Beth said she did like uh Wheel of Fortune.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

By a vowel.

SPEAKER_02 20:39

Uh yeah. Lori said sometimes you get uh oh, she gets sucked into the family feud, too. Um so let's see. Leanne said cash cab, which I like cash cab.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

Is that still on?

SPEAKER_02 20:54

Uh yeah, I think it is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

They get in and they don't know it's they don't know, supposedly.

SPEAKER_02 21:00

Kind of like the kind of taxi cab.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Taxicab confessions.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

Oh that's a different game show. Oh did you see that show?

SPEAKER_01 21:09

Used to be on HBO. Did T D T.

SPEAKER_02 21:13

Um Remote Control is another one that Leanne mentioned that I loved in the late 80s, early 90s.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

What was that about?

SPEAKER_02 21:20

It was on MTV. Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay, it was well videos. Yeah, I would watch that instead of the news every night. And you know what? I was a happier person.

SPEAKER_01 21:29

Yeah, and probably smarter for it.

SPEAKER_02 21:33

Well, the one that she didn't like was Fear Factor. Gotta agree on that too. But is that a game show or is that a reality show? Yes. That's mine.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

It's a hybrid.

SPEAKER_02 21:44

Cassidy says, Oh, here's a good one. Supermarket sweep. Oh shit. That's a real good one. Yeah. I still can't walk by those big pork loins in the in the grocery store without wanting to chuck them all in my cart. Uh, she also said, Press your luck.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Yeah. See? Probably watched it with her when I was a kid.

SPEAKER_02 22:01

Probably. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

Made her sit there and watch it.

SPEAKER_02 22:03

Yeah, I probably was babysitting with her. Probably. Just plunk in front of the TV and watch this.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Good stuff.

SNL Parodies And Classic Price Is Right

SPEAKER_02 22:10

Uh Jennifer says, match game with the 70s drunk vibe. You could tell when they went to the bar in between in between um shows.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

Because they they tape like five shows a day or however many, and they'd tape a couple and go to the bar, come back, and they're all smoking, smoking, drinking, saying body things. Harley says, Let's make a deal. Oh. Because she loves it when a tiny envelope is better than the big curtain. Then you get, you know, you like they open it up. There's a donkey there. You get a donk.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

And her grandma show be like that too. Um let's see. Julie says family feud with Steve Harvey because he's so funny. And Hollywood Squares with Paul in and Charles Nelson Riley.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Charles Nelson Riley.

Side Story: Small Concert, Big Win

SPEAKER_02 23:06

I think he was magic, but he was probably on Hollywood Square. Snarky. Snarky. Big glasses. Jay had said Jeopardy. Oh, he also said deal or no deal and it's heyday.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

And it's heyday.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

That was the way they build the suspense, and then what you know, and then you'd watch it. But he did not does not like family feud because it's too frustrating to watch people give those bad answers. No, they're bad. No. No. Uh tire isn't a taco topping.

SPEAKER_01 23:41

Or is it?

SPEAKER_02 23:43

No. Okay. It's not. Doug says classic prices right.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

What's classic?

SPEAKER_02 23:50

Like the old, old old ones, because that reminds him, and I am with you on this one, reminds you of being homesick from school.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

And you, you know, laying on the couch watching prices right.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Right before Young and Restless started.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

For the nostalgia reason. Sure. I think everybody's been there. Um no whammies, Thompson. Press your luck. See. Everybody loves pressure luck. Um, my friend Diane says cash cab, because they're everyday folks that I can relate to trying to win just a modest amount of money, so it's believable and real. Um, she doesn't like Wheel of Fortune. Isn't that Vanna thing outdated?

SPEAKER_01 24:38

She's still on there, isn't she?

SPEAKER_02 24:39

She is.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

She's 207.

SPEAKER_02 24:41

She looks like she's about 50 now, and she's probably, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

104. But she makes like three million bucks a year just for flipping letters. Not kidding.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

Here's Diane's idea for Wheel of Fortress. Lock someone in a tower and have them solve a riddle to get out. That's a game show right there. I I told her I'd watch it.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Escape room on steroids there.

Fast Five: Price Is Right Edition

SPEAKER_02 25:06

Suzanne is going with Hollywood Squares classic and the gong show. Um, and uh I think I covered everyone except oh Emily says Wheel of Fortune. And she said, but she doesn't like prices right. She said, I just don't get it. Yeah. Uh this is here's my favorite answer. Laney said she doesn't watch game shows. However, she said, but I love the game show skits on SNL.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

That's her favorite. Oh god, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:40

That's her favorite.

SPEAKER_00 25:43

Trevor Burrus, I'll take the rapist for$2.50.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

Uh Mercy's with Doug on the classic prices, right? The old prices, right?

SPEAKER_01 25:56

Well, thanks for everybody for contributing. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 26:00

I'd love to hear what everybody thinks of everything.

SPEAKER_01 26:03

Yeah. So from now on, just let's just do that.

SPEAKER_02 26:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

Like this, like pick a topic and people give us information.

SPEAKER_02 26:13

Well, if you have a topic, you can email us at 2023 at Gmail. Do we have a fast five?

SPEAKER_01 26:22

We have a fast five.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

A fast five or five fast fives?

SPEAKER_01 26:26

What? Five of them? Five of them in the wait, that'd be 25 then. You like this? I started using it. You got it for me. Okay. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

Oh, wait, I want to say one more thing um before we get into fast fives and before I forget, and this has nothing to do with game shows, but I want to tell you that a couple weeks ago, well, about a week ago on Saturday, I went to um uh concert at the Apex.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

And was it Jackal?

SPEAKER_02 26:57

No, but it was um shoot, you said that. No, I lost.

SPEAKER_00 27:02

Oh god, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 27:03

It was Bullet Boys and and oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

Judas Priest. No, oh, that was a different concert you went to.

unknown 27:12

Be quiet.

SPEAKER_02 27:15

Lynch mob.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Oh god.

SPEAKER_02 27:18

I went there with some trepidation thinking some friends of ours gave us free tickets. We're like, yeah, sure, we'll go.

SPEAKER_03 27:26

Yeah.

Are Game Shows Heroic Or Dickish

SPEAKER_02 27:27

And we went there. What a great show. There should have, first of all, it was very uh un uh populated. Like more people should have been there. They could, they were shy. So there wasn't a lot of people there, which was good if you were a people there, but it wasn't good for the bands, you know. You were a big crowd. Um, but both bands were great. Well, they've been around forever. Oh my gosh, gotta be. They were really, really good. And um and yeah, I it was just not what I was expecting at all. And there was a bunch of fun people there, and um, we bought a ticket for the guitar that they were raffling off. Uh, it was signed by George Lynch. It was in Lynch Mob, who ended the their set with uh um a funky guitar version, and then we all saying, Thank you for letting me be myself. And that was kind of weird because it was a metal band, and then they went into fire, and it was just a fun yeah, it was really fun. So they finished and then they raffled off the guitar, and I won.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Nice job. Uh you don't live a real life. I don't get it. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 28:45

That was so much fun. But I just wanted to give those bands a shout out because, and I I wish I could remember the name of the guy who does this every year. I'll have to look it up. But he was really cool, and all the money went to charity, so it was really a good time, and more people should go.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

That's really cool.

SPEAKER_02 29:03

Yeah. Okay, so game shows fast five.

Future Topics And Listener Emails

SPEAKER_01 29:06

Boom. Um, it's from my favorite, my second favorite. Price is right. Five things from the oh five. I like pressure luck, but I like I've always liked.

SPEAKER_02 29:18

So you're gonna give me games.

SPEAKER_01 29:20

No, just wait. Okay, I'm gonna just give you I'm gonna say something, and you just say hero or dick.

SPEAKER_02 29:27

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

Ready?

SPEAKER_02 29:28

I'm usually on the other end. I know how it works. Ready?

SPEAKER_01 29:31

Okay, come on down.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

Yeah, that's a hero sound.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Is it? Yeah, is it really though?

SPEAKER_02 29:36

Yeah, unless they don't call your name.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Yeah, that's true. Okay. Um, and then the big wheel.

SPEAKER_02 29:41

The big wheel. You know, I'm always kind of bored with the big wheel. Are you?

SPEAKER_01 29:45

I think it's dangerous.

SPEAKER_02 29:47

I think one time it did come off of its rigging.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

You've seen people get chucked.

SPEAKER_02 29:53

I usually turn the channel when the big wheel comes on because wait a second.

SPEAKER_01 29:58

Wait a second. You turn the channel. Channel when it's getting close, they can hit a dollar. No shit. Okay. Um Bob's sign-off. Help control the pet population.

SPEAKER_02 30:15

Well, good for you, Bob. I say that's a hero. And I had mentioned that. Um, or I had it in my notes and I didn't get to mention it. So thank you for bringing that up. I think of how many animals he has saved our planet from being. True. I that's not true. The right wording, but yeah. Do people do that now? Get their pets spade and neutered?

SPEAKER_01 30:36

No. Do game shows say things like that? What does Drew Perry say?

SPEAKER_02 30:43

See your phone? Yeah, maybe maybe he still says that.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

Perhaps he does. I bet you he does. Why wouldn't you? That'd be like giving a paying homage and doing something nice.

SPEAKER_02 30:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

Um, how about wait, you said hero?

SPEAKER_02 30:59

Uh yeah, I say hero. And how about Bob Barker on Happy Gilmore? Oh, hero.

SPEAKER_01 31:04

Yep. The price was wrong. Um when people bid over by a dollar. Oh that's a dick move. It really is. Really, really is. Yeah. Some old ladies next to you, uh$425. And then out of$426. See, sorry, grandma. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:28

That's how you win a prize, I guess. And it is okay, though, to bid a dollar if you think everybody has overbid. Then it's okay to bid a dollar.

SPEAKER_01 31:38

Oh man, the showcase showdowns. Um at the end when they bid, you know? Yeah. That's not on my list. Um, the last thing is uh Bob's Beauties.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

Uh got some males now. There's male models on the show. I don't have anything against them. I mean, they're making a living, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 31:58

My favorite was Holly.

SPEAKER_02 32:00

Oh, of course. Holly, Diane, and Janet are the ones that were the era. Yeah. Uh-huh. And Diane slept with Bob.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

They probably all slept with Bob.

SPEAKER_02 32:13

Tommy got the job?

SPEAKER_01 32:14

I don't think Holly did. Do you think? Bob. I think he had dark side. We should have done a show on him.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

Oh, Bob and the dark side of Bob. I think um, well, what happened was um he said, yeah, we slept together, and I was single, and she was single, and she came on to me and I slept with her.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

Why wouldn't? V. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 32:32

Why wouldn't I?

SPEAKER_01 32:33

Yep. Just two people making decisions. Yep. Good or bad.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

All right. So uh overall game shows, what do you say?

SPEAKER_01 32:45

Oh, heroic.

SPEAKER_02 32:47

I say heroic as long as they're not uh reality. Then that's kind of dickish, but dickish.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

Any ideas for this?

SPEAKER_02 32:58

I think they give people, you know, they make people think a lot of them are trivia, uh, or they are just a way to veg out and have some fun and watch TV and you don't. So what if you know and if they're get the answer wrong on Wheel of Fortune? Nobody cares.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

Nobody cares. But a lot of them are engaging because you're yelling at the TV, you're like, come on.

SPEAKER_02 33:21

Come on, dummy. Answers moot. Are you are you yelling out answers on Jeopardy?

SPEAKER_01 33:27

Uh no, I don't know anything on that show. Maybe some of the music, oh literature, but anything else.

SPEAKER_02 33:34

Uh most people know more than they think they know on Jeopardy. And uh if you read the clue right, they usually give you pretty good clues. Lead you to it? Yeah, they lead you to it, yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:47

Any ideas for a game show?

SPEAKER_02 33:49

Uh just the fortress.

SPEAKER_01 33:50

The fortress, the lock them up.

SPEAKER_02 33:53

How about you? We got an idea.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

No. You usually do, so that's why I asked.

SPEAKER_02 34:00

Just the fortress. Well, that's all.

SPEAKER_01 34:03

So um, any ideas for other topics? Um, throw them out there and see if people actually vote.

SPEAKER_02 34:11

Let's see. What can we vote on?

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Um, you always want to do a Meldom, what's her name?

SPEAKER_02 34:18

Uh Ava Perone, aka Iva Perone. Um I'm just trying to find my list. I have a list.

SPEAKER_01 34:26

How about Jah Gabor?

SPEAKER_02 34:28

Okay, you can put her on the list.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

Um Lucille Ball.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

Oh, she's yeah, she'd be interesting. Lucille. I see I sense a theme here.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

Yeah, I'm trying to get talk about a woman. I think we don't talk about guys a lot.

SPEAKER_02 34:45

How it goes.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

But all right.

SPEAKER_02 34:48

All right. I can't find Oh, here. James Chaplin.

SPEAKER_01 34:52

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:52

Uh, Nicole Kidman. Why do we have her on the list? Because she's awesome. Okay. She's never aged. She really doesn't. So is she the Dorian Gray of Channel?

SPEAKER_03 35:04

Maybe.

SPEAKER_02 35:05

I just watched Stefford Wives while I was saying, you know, I just laid out around and watched TV because that's what you do when you think, I should have watched The Price is Right. I did not. No. But I watched Stepher Wives and it was kind of funny. I'd never seen it before. Uh, Janice Chaplin, um, who else? Mary Queen of Scots, aka Bloody Mary. Um, oh. Jane Goodall. Do we do her?

SPEAKER_03 35:35

No.

SPEAKER_02 35:36

Um, so let us know. Vote on vote on some of those and tell us what you want.

Sign-Off And Email Reminder

SPEAKER_01 35:41

Just email what you want. Yeah. We'll do it one more time. Heroerdic2023 at gmail.com. That's the 12th time we dropped it in the episode.

SPEAKER_02 35:49

And so if we don't get an email, I'm gonna be petted.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

We're done.

SPEAKER_02 35:52

We're done.

SPEAKER_01 35:53

All right. All right, thanks everyone.

SPEAKER_02 35:55

Thank you. Bye.