On her blog Carrie Grosvenor chatted with Todd Newton about his adventures in game show hosting. The final question asked what classic game show Todd would revive.Not surprisingly, Newton said Press Your Luck, since he actually did revive the show with GSN's Whammy. For most PYL fans Whammy was an okay revival because it stuck closely to the original's format.
Revivals are always a dicey proposition because you risk ticking off the original's fans without getting any new viewers. See Improv-a-Ganza for a nasty example of failure. But sometimes lightning strikes twice. GSN's remake of Dating Game with Jerry Springer's Baggage still does pretty good business.
Jerry's kids offer an interesting example, because the show also borrowed the suitcase gimmick from Deal or No Deal. The result was a nice blend of two familiar formats. Add Springer's sardonic if toned-down comments, and the show clicked.
Another okay combo - though game shows' usual old demos killed it on CBS - was Million Dollar Password. The show mixed classic Password and its offshoot Pyramid, with one-word clues but in a closely timed format. The median viewer age brought a quick ax from CBS, though the show got more than respectable total viewer numbers. Regis still survives on GSN and gets decent ratings.
All in all, I don't mind a clever revival of a format worth reviving. But possible disaster always lurks. Remember Extreme Gong? Few people want to remember it.
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