Saturday, December 31, 2022

Of Recent Vintage: Lingo (2002)

 Game Show network revived a late 80's game show that few people realize even aired in the first place.

Lingo was originally in syndication back in 1987, and ran for a couple of years, with executive producer Ralph Andrews going in front of the camera to host after his original choice, Michael Reagan (brother of the President), bowed out after a period as MC. In 2002, GSN revived the series, with veteran Chuck Woolery (ex-Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection, Greed) as host. Seven "seasons" over five years (2002-7) would be a pretty healthy run in this day & age.

Here's a sample.


Four years after the series ended, GSN brought it back, with actor-comedian Bill Engvall taking over as host. While Engvall was a decent MC, the series was canned again after 1 season.

We bring this up because CBS has picked up the rights to revive the show again, starting January 10, and thus allowing Lingo to make its broadcast network debut. RuPaul (RuPaul Andre Charles) will be host and executive producer, following the success of RuPaul's Drag Race on Logo & VH1.

Rating, based on the Woolery & Engvall versions: A.

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