The Mega Brands That Built America Recap for The Game Makers
This week’s episode of The Mega Brands That Built America is titled The Game Makers and does a deep dive into the game show industry.
Mark Goodson began producing game shows….and soon wanted to take them to television. Together with Bill Todman, they took the franchise by storm.
Before they became household names, they did small shows with even smaller prizes…..but before long, viewership went up for The $64,000 Question, even beating out I Love Lucy in ratings.
Mark began working with Bob Stewart and thanks to Bob seeing an auction at a store, a new idea for a show was born….The Price is Right! He tested the idea on Bob and a waitress in a diner by making them guess the price of his watch. Since she was closer without going over, he gifted her the watch.
The show was pitched and given a test run in the morning. It became a hit daytime show and appealed to the everyman and woman who felt they can be contestants.
Around the same time, a contestant on Twenty-One claimed the show was rigged and that he was given answers in advance. Several other shows, including The $64,000 Question, were accused of the same and game shows were being cancelled left and right.
Luckily, Mark was an innocent bystander and not impacted by the scandal. He ends up meeting Merv Griffin, who would host Play Your Hunch, another huge hit in the industry.
Mark has seven shows on the air by 1962 and is the king of the game show industry. At the same time, Merv Griffin leaves Play Your Hunch for a talk show opportunity. He fails at this but quickly decides to produce his own game shows. With the help of his wife, they come up with the idea of an answer and question show…..the one we know and love…..as Jeopardy.
It took some trial and error, but finally came up with the idea of adding elements of gambling into the show…giving it the drama the producers wanting….and the JEOPARDY the viewers would want to see.
Art Fleming became the host and the show was a hit.
Monty Hall is now in on the action thanks to Let’s Make a Deal…the first show to add color.
Mark sees the competition rising and The Price is Right getting cancelled. This is only the beginning of game shows falling on the wayside for more colorful, risqué shows. This, along with the fact that Bob was no longer working with him, made Mark more determined than ever to go back to the top.
He decides to revamp The Price is Right, making it into what we now know and love…fun, exciting moments, models and the perfect sick day show…..all in color. Oh, and PUPPIES!!!!
There were mini games where members of the audience got to play. It is a huge his and at the top of the ratings. Match Game is also revived and another hit for Mark.
Meanwhile, Jeopardy is in trouble and is cancelled.
However, Merv is still under contract, so he pitches a new show….Wheel of Fortune! After some touch and go moments, Chuck Woolrey and Susan Stafford co-host, making the show a hit.
Match Game was also a hit at the time, so wanting a leg up in the competition and syndication popularity, Mark came up with the idea for Family Feud.
Not to be outdone, Merv replaces Chuck and Susan with Pat Sajak and Vanna White and brings Wheel of Fortune into syndication while also having a deal with the network to keep it as a daytime show.
Jeopardy is also brought back with Alex Trebek as host.
Coca-Cola would obtain Merv’s production company for millions, making Merv worth billions.
Mark remains the pioneer for game shows.
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