I rarely write about game shows here at Tuned In, and yet it’s possible that I watched more of them in my childhood than any other kind of TV. Risk-taking, odds-taking, the frequency of consonants in English-language words, the efficacy and morality of bidding exactly one dollar over the previous bidder—I learned all of these and more from game shows.
I once wrote a column arguing for the value of The Price Is Right compared with pointy-headed trivia game shows like Jeopardy!, but to be honest, my pointy head and heart lie closest to Jeopardy! I’m just a nerd like that. Do you have a favorite classic game show, and why?
For that matter—since I tend to think of game shows, like newspaper comic strips, as a genre that’s been essentially frozen for decades—if there are any newer game shows you think are worth watching, tell us about them. Cash Cab?