Earlier this week, we talked about the prospect of Fremantle Media reviving To Tell The Truth again in time for that series' 60th anniversary in 2016. Our next subject will be marking 40 years at the same time.
Family Feud debuted on ABC in 1976, and was almost immediately a hit. Sources claim this to be a spin-off from Match Game over on CBS because of 1) audience surveys, which were the most essential part of the game, and 2) host Richard Dawson (ex-Hogan's Heroes), who would remain a regular panelist on Match for 2 more years, since the two shows aired about 90 minutes or so apart.
Originally, as you'll see in the following video, the family teams were posed in a living room setting as the sliding door opened to introduce them to the audience. Cute, but it was discontinued after a few years. ABC discarded Feud after 9 years and a handful of primetime celebrity-driven specials, all of which generated huge ratings. To think that today, ABC's daytime lineup consists of two talk shows and General Hospital. Yeah, there is something wrong with that picture.
In 1988, Feud returned after a 3 year hiatus, but after a falling out between Dawson & Mark Goodson, comic Ray Combs was the new host. 4 years in, CBS expanded Feud to an hour to match stablemate Price is Right. The syndicated Feud, which had also returned in 1988, waited a while before expanding. However, ratings were dropping, due most likely to the expanded format, which only worked for those all-star specials, to be honest with you. Combs was sacked, and new executive producer Jonathan Goodson (Mark's son) extended an olive branch to Dawson to bring him back and out of retirement. Dawson hadn't done anything after appearing with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie, "The Running Man", in 1987. Dawson's return didn't pull the ratings all the way back up, and Feud's second run ended in 1995.
Another few years passed, and the series returned to syndication, restored to a half-hour format, although these days, stations will program the series in hour-long increments, as they do with a lot of off-network reruns of sitcoms. Louie Anderson was the first host in the new era, and lasted three years before giving way to actor Richard Karn (ex-Home Improvement). Karn also lasted three years, and was supplanted by John O'Hurley (ex-To Tell The Truth), who spent four years at the helm. Currently, actor-comic-talk show host Steve Harvey is in the midst of his 4th season as host, and finding time to do a daytime talk show (2nd season) at the same time. Talk about busy.
Matchgameproductions takes us back to the very beginning and the series opener, from July 1976. And, yes, I remember seeing this.
Rating: A.
I grew up watching this when I would come home from school for lunch. It was one of the most fun game shows ever!
ReplyDeleteHow many times did viewers groan when they would see a family member be asked a question with a answer that made no sense? "Name a thing you find in the kitchen. A newspaper!" Naturally, family members would applaud and yell what a good answer that was.
Dawson will always be my favorite host. He and FF went together like peanut butter and jelly! Not to mention he was perfectly cast for his role in "Running Man"! Even now, his role as the host of the Running Man game brings chills.
"How many times did viewers groan when they would see a family member be asked a question with a answer that made no sense? "Name a thing you find in the kitchen. A newspaper!" Naturally, family members would applaud and yell what a good answer that was."
ReplyDeleteI chalk that up to nervousness under the hot lights of the stage. Like, on Honeymooners, even Ralph fumbled an easy question on a game show. It's easy to play the game at home, but not so much when you get to be on it.