Posted by Trey Baird. Follow me on Twitter!

My Guilty Pleasure…

I don’t have Game Show Network on my cable package, but as of this moment, I am strongly considering upgrading so that I can get it.  Game shows are a strong, guilty pleasure for me, and when I start watching them, I can’t get enough!  On the surface, it seems weird to want to watch a show where OTHER people are playing to win prizes, but there’s just so much more to these shows than meets the eye.  For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to refer to these shows as “Game Shows” in this article, but I’m well aware that they’re called “Quiz Shows” in some other countries.

Fun To Play Along With:

Game shows are just fun to play along with!  It’s hard to accuse television of being an activity for dumb people when these shows are around to stimulate your brain, and dig into your memory, answering questions regarding topics you may not have thought about since High School!  A regular helping of Jeopardy! or Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is often a good way to keep your brain active, and if you’re taking notes on what you need to study up on, you’ve got a powerful way to keep your mind active!

I remember back in the day when the Game Show Network started running interactive games on their website.  You could play along with the show, in an online version of whatever game show was airing at the time.  They would even up the ante, and ask questions regarding the show itself.  Often times, this was a flawed concept, because most of the shows were reruns, and people who had seen them previously had an advantage.  I still remember thinking, however, that there was a lot of potential in the bridging of the TV screen and computer screen, because during commercial breaks, GSN would broadcast the current top scores for the online game.

Also Fun To Watch:

However, sometimes Game Shows are just fun to watch.  My mom used to tell me how much she hates game shows, because she’s no good when it comes to playing along.  I explained to her that with game shows, you have a compelling story line.  You get to meet the characters, learn a little bit about them, and either cheer for their victory or their demise.  And unlike most of television, the good guys don’t always win.  You never know whether or not they’re going to accomplish their goals, so it’s unpredictable.  So you get to see an entire story play out in the span of about 30 minutes, or less depending on the format.  When I explained this to her, she simply stated that she had never thought of it that way.

Staying Power

You gotta hand it to a show that can stay on the air for 37 years, like The Price Is Right, 26 years like Wheel of Fortune, or even Jeopardy, which has been on the air for the majority of the past 45 years.  These are all KILLER runs for any show, and I’d venture a guess that these shows aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.  Shows that have long runs usually fizzle out because they don’t speak to multiple generations, but there’s something about a good game show that can bring together people of all ages and types.

It’s been said that the mark of a great game show is simplicity, and I have trouble arguing with that!  Shows like 1 vs. 100 come along all the time, which may be fun to watch, but just aren’t simple in their approach or design.  With the more successful game shows, you can very easily explain to someone what the show is about in a sentence or two.  Shows like Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and The Price is Right have changed very little over the years, and remain as popular as ever.  These shows all have solid, simple foundations beneath them, with few bells and whistles added to them.

Like I said, I just don’t see Game Shows going out of style any time soon.  They’ve been around since the days of the radio, and are as old as mass media itself!  They’ll continue to be around as a way for people to seek their 15 minutes of fame, and as a way to keep the average television viewer’s brain from completely going squishy.  I truly hope that they’re around forever, because to me, they are a good thing to have around.