When I was growing up, game shows were all 30 minutes long and rewarded skill. Those were the days! Nowadays we are subjected to game shows that spend an hour or more creating imagined and painful suspense over copious commercial breaks, all for a game that is about as simple as flipping a coin. I think the trend began with “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” All of a sudden it was reasonable to spend 60 minutes answering 15 questions. Contestants would spend minute after agonizing minute voicing out loud every thought that came into their heads as they decided on an answer. For some reason this show was popular and the blueprint for the show (a sixty minute game show with a simple concept that drags out every moment and focuses too much on the personal lives of the contestants) became the basis for a long string of primetime game shows that were all flash-in-the-pan sensations. One minute people could not get enough of each of these shows and then suddenly, they no longer watched. The odd thing is that when the shows were no longer popular some of them were relegated to 30 minute versions that no longer aired during primetime. These versions were soooo much better. With only 30 minutes of show, the time was spent on completing the actual game without all of the painful suspense or banter with the contestants. If the show was like that from the start it might never have fizzled out on primetime TV. It’s especially upsetting to me when new game shows come out with what I think are clever concepts but the show itself, in its 60 minute form, is painfully unwatchable. The best game shows, the ones that have survived for decades, have all been 30 minutes long with only a few seconds spent on who the contestants are and no dramatic pauses. Why mess with success? Perhaps because continual flash-in-the-pan sensations yield more profit. I for one do not think it’s OK to sacrifice quality for profit so from now on when you come up with a game show the “game” must be the focus of the show.
Television game shows may only be 30 minutes long and must complete the object of the game within each 30 minute episode.
By the end of the year television will be more awesome than ever. I promise you.
As always I remain your all-powerful and benevolent Queen of the World,
Marisa
Bring back Double Dare
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