Old time revival

The news that Nickelodeon is bringing back Figure It Out and that Fremantle has bought the rights to Name That Tune means revival time has come for game shows again.

Not that there's anything wrong with reviving a successful format. Alex Trebek has made a nice living off that revival of a certain original hosted by Art Fleming.

The two formats in question aren't personal favorites, but they're hardly obnoxious or doomed to failure. Both shows did pretty well for themselves. In fact, Name That Tune stretched over three decades in one version or the other. Recent tries at a revival never made it to air, but Fremantle may be more determined than anybody else to bring the show back.

Nickelodeon is already committed to forty episodes of Figure It Out, the literally slimy combo of I've Got a Secret and Double Dare, with Jeff Sutphen as the new host. I can't say I enjoyed the goop all that much, but somebody out there liked it. The show lasted for four seasons and over a hundred and fifty episodes.

The revival news has set off speculation about other old game shows staging a comeback. I know I'm getting to be a bore about this...but PYRAMID!!