Tag Archives: Game Show

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The Bootleg Files: The Gong Show Pilot Episode

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BOOTLEG FILES 916: “The Gong Show Pilot Episode” (unaired taping of the initial concept for the popular game show).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the proverbial cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Maya Angelou once wrote, “I believe that every person is born with talent.” However, the celebrated poet may have offered that observation without having been exposed to “The Gong Show,” a crazed bundle of anarchy that ran on NBC as a daytime program from 1976-78 and as an evening syndication offering from 1976-80.
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The Bootleg Files: West Virginia Squares

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BOOTLEG FILES 911: “West Virginia Squares” (2014 public television special offering a Mountain State version of “Hollywood Squares”).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Obscure one-shot riff on the classic game show.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.

Have you seen the new CBS reboot of “Hollywood Squares,” with Nate Burleson as the host and Drew Barrymore as the center square? If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky – nary a crumb of entertainment value can be located in that tacky, over-caffeinated, significantly unfunny attempt to update the classic game show. But for sheer strangeness, that new version pales in comparison to the 2014 version of “Hollywood Squares” that was made for West Virginia Public Television.
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The Bootleg Files: Groucho

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BOOTLEG FILES 867: “Groucho” (1965 British television series starring Groucho Marx).

LAST SEEN: One episode is on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It was never released in the U.S.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely, considering 11 of the 13 episodes are considered lost.

One of the most popular American game shows of all time was “You Bet Your Life,” which appeared on radio from 1947 to 1960 and on television from 1950 to 1961. The program’s popularity had little to do with the game, which was a rather tame question-and-answer endeavor, but with the show’s witty host Groucho Marx. The heart of the show would involve Groucho interviewing and having fun with the contestants, punctuating the conversation with one-liners and gentle wisecracks.
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The Bootleg Files: To Tell the Truth

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BOOTLEG FILES 713: “To Tell the Truth” (long-running television game show).

LAST SEEN: Plenty of old episodes are on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: A few of the older episodes are on DVD from a highly dubious label.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Never properly repackaged for home entertainment channels.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely at all.

Liars are the most fascinating people. After all, they can give you a spiel that could be utterly convincing and compelling, but it is only later when you realize their smoke-and-mirror act played you for a fool. And it takes a certain brand of talent to sell a falsehood in a manner that it is happily embraced as a fact and its seller is welcomed as an all-around good sort.
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The Bootleg Files: Talking Pictures

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BOOTLEG FILES 703: “Talking Pictures” (unsold 1968 pilot for a TV game show).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: No commercial value for a single episode of a failed production.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

For every television show that gets on the air, there are an infinite number of projects that get proposed but fail to find a slot on the broadcast schedule. Many of these projects never advance beyond the concept stage, but often these endeavors find their way to a level known as a pilot, which serves as a test of what the program would look like if it received the okay to become a full-fledged addition to the channel line-up.
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The Bootleg Files: Storybook Squares

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BOOTLEG FILES 689: “Storybook Squares” (TV game show that aired in the 1969 and 1976-77 seasons).

LAST SEEN: Three episodes are on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A mostly-lost series.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely unless the lost shows are recovered.

One of the most popular game shows in U.S. television history was “Hollywood Squares,” which placed nine celebrities in an oversized tic-tac-toe set for a game that mixed trivia questions with laughs. The series ran from 1966 to 1981 and appeared in a daytime show that aired on weekdays and a syndicated nighttime version that initially aired once a week and was later made into a twice-a-week offering.
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The Next Food Network Star: Season 4, Episode One

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Next_Food_Network_Star_4_GrYou’re allowed to call me a hypocrite, a phony, and a two face because: I saw the entire season three of “The Next Food Network Star.” And I watched it religiously. And I liked it. And voted for the finalists after that obnoxious Hispanic dude bowed out. Go ahead, chuck your insults at me. I’ll wait. I deserve, but damn I love the Food Network. And, in my defense, there was one contestant named Rory Schepisi who was hot as bloody hell, and lost out to a less talented and charismatic woman, but whaddya gonna do? No offense to Amy, of course. “The Next Food Network Star” season four now begins, and I’m hooked yet again. For those interested, yes, episode one begins with a bang a la artificial melodrama. Yes, I’m one of you now, the people I judge and look down on.

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