Game Show Moments Gone Bananas

"Game Show Moments Gone Bananas" was a television series on VH1. The first of five hour-long episodes aired on May 21, 2005, with the last first-run episode airing on June 18. Each episode aired for the first time on Saturday mornings at 11:30 ET, but "officially" premiered at 10 p.m. ET that night.

Basic Idea

Ben Stein showed a studio audience classically hilarious game show moments ranging from the 1950s through the present.

"Characters" and Themes

*Ben Stein- host
*Mr. Game Show- A puppet tribute to Don Pardo, who introduced the lousy prizes won by audience members. The puppet Mr. Game Show was part of an electronic toy game from the late 1980s. Randy West provided the voice for Mr. Game Show.
*Top 5- a countdown of the Top 5 of something in game shows, presented by a television personality that was somehow related to the countdown
*Bananas- seen throughout the show
*Moment Re-enactments- Members of the studio audience reenacted the classic moments featured on shows such as "Family Feud" and "Beat the Clock" to win a low-quality prize (a grocery product) such as a bottle of Phillips' Milk of Magnesia or a box of Little Debbie Honey Buns.

hows Featured

*"Beat the Clock"
*"Blind Date" (British and Australian versions (called "Perfect Match" in Australia))
*"Blockbusters" (American and British versions)
*"Card Sharks"
*"Child's Play" - includes kids from both American and British versions
*"Distraction" (British version)
*"Double Dare" (CBS version)
*"Family Feud" and its British counterpart, "Family Fortunes", plus its Australian counterpart
*"I'm With Stupid", an unsold 2003 ABC pilot hosted by Graham Norton that took place on the Richard Karn-era "Family Feud" set
*"I've Got a Secret"
*"Match Game" and its British counterpart, "Blankety Blank"
*"The Name's the Same"
*"Password"
*"Password Plus"
*"Press Your Luck"
*"The Price is Right" and its Australian counterpart and Mexican counterpart, "Atinale al Precio"
*"Puzzlers" (unsold pilot hosted by Pat Sajak before he hosted "Wheel of Fortune")
*"Sale of the Century" (Australian and German versions)
*"Scrabble"
*"Showoffs"
*"Super Password"
*"Tattletales"
*"To Tell the Truth"
*"Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck"
*"What's My Line?"
*"Your Face or Mine?"

Since FremantleMedia produced the show, all clips were from programs that they produced or owned the rights to, including all Mark Goodson-Bill Todman and Reg Grundy productions. Thus, programs like "The Newlywed Game" and "Hollywood Squares", which had been featured on similar game show retrospectives, were not featured. "The Price Is Right", which had been absent from other shows, was featured. The special also featured rare and never-before seen clips from the FremantleMedia archives, including a pilot of "Match Game 1990" hosted by Bert Convy and early 1970s episodes of "The Price Is Right" hosted by Dennis James.

Episode List/ Top 5

#"Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 1" (Top 5 Host Screw-ups, 05/21/05, presented by Chuck Woolery) The number one host screw-up was in 1974 when "Match Game" emcee Gene Rayburn told a contestant she has pretty nipples, meaning to say "pretty dimples."
#"Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 2" (Top 5 Blonde Moments, 05/28/05, presented by Kato Kaelin) The number one blonde moment appeared on "Family Feud", when a woman was confused as to why she couldn't use an answer that had already been used.
#"Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 3" (Top 5 Wardrobe Malfunctions, 06/04/05, presented by Jay Manuel) The number one moment in this countdown: Rip Taylor tears off his toupee during an episode of "Super Password".
#"Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 4" (Top 5 Celebrity Moments, 06/11/05, presented by Ed McMahon) The number one celebrity moment was Johnny Carson's appearance as a celebrity on "Password" in 1962. Other celebrity moments involved David Letterman on "Password Plus", Kirstie Alley as a contestant on "Match Game", Ronald Reagan as a mystery guest on "What's My Line?", and Meg Ryan on "Tattletales".
#"Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 5" (Top 5 Brain Freeze Moments, 06/18/05, presented by Cindy Margolis) The number one moment was when a "Family Feud" contestant gave three questionable answers in a row during the Fast Money bonus round.

External link

* [http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/game_show_moments_gone_bananas/series.jhtml "Game Show Moments Gone Bananas" on VH1.com]