5 Game Shows From the 1990s We Remember Fondly (& 5 We Dont)

5 Game Shows From the 1990s We Remember Fondly (& 5 We Don’t)

The nineties featured plenty of fan-favorite game shows, but, for every quality one, the decade also featured a less-memorable dud.

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The Price is Right, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune continue to entertain viewers today, but just because they are lasting doesn’t mean that they are best. The 1990s were a decade of some of the best and most original game show programming ever.

It was the golden age of kids competing on camera and the heyday of Nickelodeon live-action shows. Due to the popularity of 90s game shows, there were also some very out-there duds, as well. Forget the drama of today’s reality show programs and, instead, let’s remember the high stakes and intense triumphs and failures of real on-screen competition.

10 Fondly: Double Dare

Our list, of course, begins with one of Nickelodeon’s many hits, Double Dare. The show saw two teams—sometimes two kids on each, sometimes featuring family teams—compete in physical challenges for control of the trivia rounds. Each win and correct answer got a team some money. If a team missed a question, the other team had a chance to chime in. Whoever had the most money at the end got to compete in an obstacle course that often included a giant nose that needed picking or a human-sized hamster wheel. What’s not to love?

9 Not So Fondly: Scrabble

Nothing against the board game, but it’s not exactly thrilling or easy to watch people try and spell things correctly. Thus, the Hasbro classic didn’t exactly translate well to television. The show ran on NBC, and there was, obviously, a lot of spelling involved.

There was a round where contestants had to guess words from clues, and a crossword round that included an early 90s computer-generated Scrabble board. For the Scrabble Sprint, contestants had to, once again, spell increasingly long words as fast as possible. Not exactly totally engaging for the audience.

8 Fondly: Supermarket Sweep

There will always be something endearing about the colorful sweatshirts and giant name tags contestants wore on the show that sent screaming players running down supermarket aisles to collect the most costly cart of groceries they could possibly find. The 90s version ran on Lifetime for five years and was both original as well as heartwarming.

It was hard to hate anyone who got excited over pulling Fred Flintstone-sized ribs from the butcher counter, even if they didn’t end up winning it all in the end.

7 Not So Fondly: Rumor Has It

Rumor Has It only lasted one season, and there were a lot of reasons for that. The show is remembered for being the first game show to ever air on VH1, but that’s about all it’s remembered for.

Otherwise, it was just a program that saw contestants compete over how much they knew about the celebrity gossip of the day. Two contestants made it to the next round where they were shown music video clips and asked to identify the artist—it wasn’t exactly groundbreaking. Winners also got a chance at a bonus round for a grand prize.

6 Fondly: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

The show was based on the popular computer games and was an excellent addition to the genre of children’s game shows making the rounds, mostly on Nickelodeon. Carmen Sandiego ran, instead, on PBS and featured an in-house a cappella group.

The show had its own cast of characters including “The Chief” of ACME Crimenet who contestants were helping to track down Sandiego, as well as host Greg Lee. To help ACME Crimenet, contestants had to answer different geography-related questions to help determine the location of Carmen Sandiego herself.

5 Not So Fondly: Baby Races

The show wasn’t even appropriately titles since contestants weren’t babies, but rather toddlers. The toddlers came to compete alongside parents in a number of events including tiny tots playing mini gold and an event where they threw sponges covered in paint at their parents. Participants earned points that then allowed each child to pick a toy at the end of the show. The show ran for a total of twenty-six episodes, so, obviously, not a smash hit at the time.

4 Fondly: American Gladiator

The precursor to strength and obstacle based games of today—think American Ninja Warrior and Wipeout—American Gladiator saw contestants work through a series of physical challenges. They didn’t only play against one another, but against costume-wearing athletes or “gladiators” who were there to keep anyone from winning.

The show was never one-and-done, but a competition over thirteen weeks. Early shows determined quarter final competitors until it was time for the finale and the “Grand Championship.”

3 Not So Fondly: The Reel to Reel Picture Show

Like some of the other less than fondly recalled shows, The Reel to Reel Picture Show only ran for one season. The program saw contestants paired up with a celebrity. The team picked a category and a point value, a bit like Jeopardy.

Whichever team earned the most points after two rounds went on to the bonus round. After six more questions, the team had to solve a puzzle, with the chance to win a trip somewhere if they were successful.

2 Fondly: Legends of the Hidden Temple

Nickelodeon, of course, makes the list twice, with one of its other kid-centered game shows. Legends of the Hidden Temple was the perfect combination of trivia, physical challenges, and story. It had characters like Carmen Sandiego in like Olmec, the large talking head, questions just like every game show ever, and a race through a temple to find an artifact at the end including temple guards who could appear and literally kidnap the contestant if they didn’t have a medallion to trade for their life. Perfection in every way.

1 Not So Fondly: The Match Game (1998)

The Match Game of 1998 is remembered as one of the worst game shows ever. This version of the show offered five celebrity panelists instead of six and changed how categories were presented to the audience. The basic premise is always that the celebrities and the contestant wrote their answer to a question on a card.

However many matched the contestant’s answer is how many points the contestant would receive. Without the right rhythm or celebrity guests, there was not much to keep people invested.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/nineties-game-shows-loved-hated/

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