Random Roar: Looking For More Answers

“These are three of my current favourite British game shows, and although I might not always know the answer, the point of watching them is to have fun, even if you can’t answer everything. I do wish that… actually, this is getting a bit long. I’ll save it for a Random Roar.” -from Quarantine Control #8

 

On Thursday I briefly mentioned three of my favourite British game shows, but I don’t currently have full access to these shows.  Most notable is Tenable, the relative newcomer of the three, and for which about a quarter or so of the episodes have been uploaded to YouTube.

Well, the solution I was about to propose before I cut myself off was that perhaps more game shows could go the route that Jeopardy! does and start uploading episodes to Netflix.  I don’t know whether there are extra legal hoops for a game show to put their episodes on a streaming service than there are for scripted shows, but I believe there would be an audience.

Netflix currently does not contain very many game shows in its library.  Aside from Jeopardy!, the sound made when you read this list I found from 2019 out loud is remarkably similar to the sound of scraping at the bottom of a barrel.  Some of the shows listed stretch the definition of game show in order to pad out the list and make it seem like there’s a lot of selection on Netflix when there really isn’t.  Not even Jeopardy! is represented very well, either.  There are currently three “collections” of episodes available in Canada, a Seth Wilson collection featuring all the games from his winning streak, a Cindy Stowell collection featuring all of the games from her run and a 25 episode “Celebrate Alex Collection” featuring episodes curated from the most recent two decades of the show.

Aside from Jeopardy!, the sheer number of quiz shows that have aired over the years is staggering.  Many of them didn’t last, but many did.  Family Feud continues to be popular to this day, running nearly continuous from its debut in 1976.  There are currently zero episodes of Family Feud on Netflix.  The Price Is Right actually has been continuously running since 1972, but there are currently zero episodes on Netflix.  Not counting one interruption between 1981 and 1983, Wheel of Fortune has been running continuously since 1975.  Despite being produced by the same company that produces Jeopardy! and often being syndicated together, there are currently zero episodes on Netflix.

Although prime time shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? can air without its fans fearing pre-emption for sports, fans of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune can sometimes find their favourite shows aren’t the top priority during March Madness.  With the cancellation of many sports seasons due to Covid-19, it looked like these shows would air in peace, but when the NFL Draft was still held despite no other sporting event taking place and the future of sports being uncertain, it frustrated game show fans who had to either watch their episodes later or in the case of certain stations like KOMO in Seattle, not watch at all.

This is the biggest issue with syndication, especially when talking about a show with a strong day to day continuity like Jeopardy! has.  Not only are you behind if you miss a day, but you can’t even catch up because no one legally streams current episodes of the show the way a network will stream episodes of The Rookie or 9-1-1 that you may have missed.

Not only that, but reruns of Jeopardy! are almost never aired outside of the short summer hiatus the series takes every year to rerun some of the tournaments.  Fans can sometimes catch older episodes on networks like GSN but those episodes are sold in smaller syndication packages, so there isn’t always a strict continuity upheld.

I’m thinking, what if Netflix were able to secure syndication rights to the show, as well as secure the rights to the entire archive of episodes?  I’m sure there’d be some hoops to jump through regarding who could sponsor it, but with more people cutting their cable subscriptions and most binge watching guides looking exclusively at what’s available online, it might be high time for Netflix (or some other streaming service if Netflix is unwilling) to look into acquiring syndication rights of more than just select packages of episodes.

We’re also entering a more globally focused market, with television shows like Law & Order, Life On Mars, Being Human and The Office not only being exported around the world, but having multiple versions available, requiring a (UK) and (US) addition to the end of the title.  Game shows are no exception and are incredibly prolific.  One of my favourite examples was Deal or No Deal.  When that show was popular, many countries had their own versions, and even Canada created a separate version, with the host of the American version pulling double duty and hosting ours, too.  Even Jeopardy! has versions airing throughout the world, and in the spirit of friendly international competition, the American version hosted several International tournaments.  These were quietly discontinued after the second and third tournaments were won by a Canadian and an American, both representing the American version of the show.

There’s also a growing international audience for shows that people might not otherwise be able to see if they weren’t uploaded to YouTube with regional locks off.  In past Quarantine Control columns, I’ve recommended shows from Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada, none of which air in the United States but which all exist in some form on YouTube.  These shows wouldn’t be passed around like they are if not for the international audience they’ve picked up.

Of course, not all of the information presented in these shows pertain to a worldwide audience.  Canada’s Worst Driver covers driving laws in only one country, and The Checkout generally covers consumer laws in only one country.  However, there is entertainment value in how each show presents its information.

Likewise, game shows are usually written with a tighter focus than entertaining a worldwide audience.  Jeopardy! is written with an American audience in mind and caters to trivia that the typical American can be reasonably expected to know.  A British trivia show like The Chase is going to be written using trivia that someone from the United Kingdom can be reasonably expected to know.

But  some questions are universal.  I watched an episode of The Chase on Thursday that mentioned three different people named James, all of which were Presidents of the United States, but I don’t remember what the question was.  That evening I watched an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? that asked what was the most common first name among US Presidents.  Given the three James names I had from earlier, plus two more I was able to come up with, I knew the answer was James.

There are six, by the way: Carter (“Jimmy”), Garfield, Buchanan (the one I didn’t remember), Polk, Monroe and Madison.

If there’s one common sentiment among viewers of game shows, it’s “Now who the hell would know that?” whenever something’s asked that is so far out of their wheelhouse that it might as well have been asked in Japanese.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t matter if the question was about nuclear physics or the German skier Fanny Chmelar.  And often, the entertainment value of these shows is in whether or not the contestants are able to get the answer.  (Exceptions exist, of course, for contestants like Dr. Phil, who are so dull and boring to watch that I can’t believe he even agreed to go on a game show, let alone that anyone was willing to invite him.)  Plus, you can learn something new every day.

So with all that said, I think it’s about time more game and quiz shows appear on Netflix.  Or Amazon Prime, or Crave or whoever is willing to host them.  I think there would also be an audience for foreign game shows, even if they were only available outside of the home country on a streaming service.  It would be nice to have more of a choice than just a small handful of Jeopardy! episodes and the random scrapings from the bottom of the barrel.

 

Due to unexpected Random Roar, the Final Fantasy III article will be up on Monday June 1.