GSN Removes “High Stakes Poker” and “Chain Reaction” in January; Adds “Jeopardy!”
GSN issued their schedules for January as we drift closer to 2012, unbelievably. The network will be taking away two shows and shuffling a few things around because of it. First, GSN will be removing High Stakes Poker from the lineup effectively January 2nd, 2012. High Stakes Poker has been on the network since January 2006 but it’s lost a vast majority of its audience recently, especially when new host Norm Macdonald took over. Catch 21 and Chuck Woolery’s Lingo will be taking its place in its sole 3:00AM Saturday slot.
Somewhat shockingly, though, GSN is also removing Chain Reaction. It still remains highly rated and actually rates the same in many-year-old reruns as it did when it was new. Not sure why it’s going away, but it is. In its place is Chuck Woolery’s Lingo at 3:30PM weekdays. Its 10:00AM weekend slot goes to Whammy!.
The classic game show The $25,000 Pyramid will also only lose its weekday 10:30AM and 2:00AM slots. Taking its place at 10:30AM is The $100,000 Pyramid and at 2:00AM is the return of Jeopardy!. Pyramid‘s slot on Flashback Fridays (7:00PM every Friday) remains.
No word just yet on the debut date of Dancing With the Stars, GSN’s newest and very big game show acquisition, but it’s they also sent us schedules through the week of January 9th so the week of January 15th looks like it could be something. We’ll keep you posted.
Will B&W overnight end as well?
Alex, why are you calling Dancing with the Stars a game show? Surely you must agree with the rest of us in that it’s more of a reality competition show than anything else. There’s no actual game being played. Just dancing. And no rewards or prizes either.
Back on topic, it’s good to see Chuck getting back into the 3 pm hour, like he used to be. I’m not sure why High Stakes Poker got pushed to the 3 am slot in the first place – good to see it’s finally gone for good.
Removing Chain Reaction though… it’s not one of my favorite game shows on the network, but here’s the problem. GSN is essentially trading off one program for another. Chain Reaction leaves, Dancing with the Stars appears. So we’re still ultimately stuck with only 18 programs throughout the entire schedule.
Again, let me reiterate. The problem with GSN is NOT with the programs on their schedule. The problem IS that there are NOT ENOUGH DIFFERENT programs on a 7-day network. With 18 programs in total even after Dancing with the Stars arrives in January (and assuming Black & White is temporary) and only 7 of those 18 programs being 1-hour programs, this is why the schedule LACKS VARIETY.
People want to see more variety in the schedule. GSN should have AT LEAST 30 DIFFERENT PROGRAMS on the network to prevent re-run abuse and tiring of watching the same shows over and over again.
People are competing in a tournament dance competition to earn points and playing for a prize at the end. I don’t see how it’s not a game show. Take out dancing and add trivia questions and you have Mastermind or 2 Minute Drill. You’ve never heard anyone scream those aren’t game shows. People are competing in a scored competition for a prize. It’s splitting hairs to a ridiculous degree to say its not, and it just looks silly. Nif the distinction is between the type of game being played inside, then wow. I don’t even like the show but it’s clearly a game show.
I, respectfully, agree with Scott. It’s not competing in a “game” show. Yes, it’s a competition show…but, not a “game” show. The competition is not a game like “Jeopardy” or “The $XXX,000 Pyramid”. In those two instances, there’s a game involved. To me, dancing isn’t a game.
Scott and Jay, you’re both right – “DWTS” is a talent competition, just as Arsenio Hall’s version of “Star Search” was when it aired on the network years ago. If you call the dancing done in “DWTS” a ‘game’ to get the judges ‘score’, I see your way of thinking Alex, but that’s still splitting hairs by calling the art of dancing a ‘game show’ , to say the least.
And isn’t that kind of semantic debate largely irrelevant to the general population–outside of hard-core fan forums? When is a game a competition, and when is a competition a game?
These people perform a physical act to win a prize–maybe not a particularly big prize, but a prize nonetheless. The physical stunts of Beat the Clock or Minute to Win It are “games” but not “competition?”
GSN is no different than most networks–there comes a point where you need to branch out, push the borders. You launch with a gimmick, and the novelty factor gets you only so far when that gimmick is heavily predicated on the cheese factor of shows not seen in years. But the novelty wears off–few people are actually going to sit around and watch yet another cycle of the same old shows for a long enough period to be a financial success. Those shows may remain a part of the overall strategy, but by necessity becomse part of a bigger picture.
If their research says people who tend to like what the fanboys insist are “pure” games (or whatever passes the utterly subjective test of being worthy) also happen to enjoy Dancing with the Stars, then this is a logical business gamble. Like all moves, there is a risk the gamble won’t pay off. But businesses that want to ultimately succeed need to take those risks if they don’t want to essentially wither and die on the vine.
Is there some sort of leasing or contractual issue involving these two shows? Removing two of your highest rated series for a lesser-rated carbon copy, a show that does mediocre numbers on weekends, and an ancient original that does mediocre numbers in the morning – is ten levels of nonsensical.
As much as I enjoy your blog for the information it provides, I’m disappointed by your belittling of someone’s argument as “splitting hairs”, “ridiculous”, and “silly”. For me, the distinction comes down to two things: 1.) where’s the “game” in DWTS? 2.) what chance does the general public have to be on the show?
Re the former, it’s the difference between objective and subjective. DWTS (or American Idol or Top Chef or Project: Runaway) is a totally subjective talent show where you’re at the mercy of the whims of judges. Contrast them with “The Amazing Race” where there’s an objective: race to checkpoints and ultimately win the game after completing tasks (a very few of which admittedly can be a little subjective).
Re the latter, it’s what killed prime-time “Millionaire” for me, besides oversaturation: over-reliance on “celebrities” to the exclusion of the general public. If there’s no way for someone (setting aside the “game” debate), why should I care?
Anyway, thanks for the forum to split hairs.
I totally agree with Jack…this is nothing but trying to grab ratings with something that doesn’t belong…sounds desperate to me
This is just as much a gameshow as Baggage, Dating Game or any of those type shows. If Alex wants to split hairs over others splitting hairs, this is *his* turf, he can do so.
I don’t find Dancing, American Idol and those type “reality” but they are considered such, as well. Fracking Real World and Jersey Shore are more reality.
I don’t consider The Real World REAL.
A side note as to why DWTS is on GSN-anecdotal evidenc suggest public televsion stations get their biggest rating from ballroom dancing competitions, which is why they tend to air them during pledge drives.
Sounds like I was wise to wait and see the comments. :-D
The examples Stephen gave of shows in the “game show” genre are good examples. You can go back further to some of the Goodson-Todman classics of the 50s as further proof that there’s no finite definition to it. So if Alex calls it a game show, that’s his right. There are enough elements in it to qualify IMO.
And as much as it makes me cringe that DWTS is going to be on GSN, at the end of the day, it’s their decision, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. If (and it’s a big “if”) they manage it well, I can just skip it and watch what I prefer to watch. If they do what they’re known for doing…well, then all bets are off.
Again I ask, Are they also removing B&W Overnight?
I don’t see why they are removing “The $25,000 Pyramid” from the morning schedule just to replace it with “The $100,000 Pyramid”…again! We’ve seen all the tournaments by now. To me, “The $25,000 Pyramid” is a better fit in that slot because it was the “morning version”. Plus, the other version (imho) was all about getting into the tournament. It was less about the game itself…which (done correctly) is a CLASSIC!
Thing is though, if they are replaying the same tired 1985-86 eps that have been aired for the past two plus years, it’s time for it to go! Same with the 1987-88 season of “The $100,000 Pyramid!”
I wish Chain Reaction would stay. It was getting unbelievable number for daytime. Now Whammy has two slots on weekend mornings.
How can you guys be saying GSN’s Chain Reaction was a good show?? Ok, yes Dylan Lane was a superb host in my opinion, and the game in and of itself was excellent. But there was one thing that killed it…ALMOST EVERY SINGLE CONTESTANT THAT APPEARED ON THE SHOW!!! They would fail to guess the most obvious words. Example:
POINT
BL………………….
CHECK
And these genius contestants would fill that blank with such gems as BLOOPER, BLACK, or maybe even BLUBBER. Tip for being a contestant: If you’re not going to try, just shut up. If you don’t know it, “pass” is not a dirty word.
As to DWTS, sorry not a game show, even with Tom Bergeron there. And the thing is, ABC’s got/had plenty of 1-hour shows that DO qualify as such: “Downfall”, “101 Ways”, “Wipeout”, “Mind Game”…hell even “You Deserve It” deserves (no pun intended) that qualification.
J.C….that may have been a producer issue, too (although I have no proof of that). I’ve noticed (from going to contestant searches myself and hearing other reports) that producers want contestants to be more outspoken than they were in the 70′s and 80′s. It almost seems that “pass” IS now a dirty word.
you forgot I Survived A Japanese Game Show, J C.
I’m surprised there is not more talk about the deletion from the schedule of “High Stakes Poker”.
Not so long ago, GSN’s weekend schedule was poker, poker, and nothing but poker! But ever since the Feds got onto the Full Tilt Poker website, and threatened some of the folks behind it with an enforced stay at Club Fed, the bloom has faded from that particular peach. Perhaps this marks the end of the poker fad, and I can’t say I’m sorry to see it end.
As for the “game-versus-reality” argument, our friends across the “pond” regard shows like “Strictly Come Dancing” (their DWTS) as game shows. Perhaps they are game shows by sufferance only. They are not my particular cup of tea, but I have friends who do like them.
By virtue of the fact that nobody has said much about the poker shows, maybe the trend IS actually dying. if the feds got on FTP, then maybe a lot of players got scared.
As for what you said about DWTS, I’ve realized that Americans and English audience find different things entertaining in some cases. As we’ve seen, there are certain shows over there that just wouldn’t work here, or the American translation just didn’t work. For instance, “Million Dollar Drop” did not do well. Plus, the American version of “X-Factor” is not doing as well as the English version. The buzz just isn’t there as much as it was in the beginning.
I did not know that the X-Factor wasn’t doing too well in the ratings. Must be the abuse of singing programs on the air. American Idol, The Voice, The Sing-Off, Smash, Glee, people singing on America’s Got Talent… sheesh… overkill…
I don’t consider Dancing with the Stars a game show. It’s a talent competition with a reality show twist. By no means is it far removed from the idea of a game show, though. More like a half-sister, rather than a I have no problem with it being on GSN, other than it probably took tons of money that they could have spent making new Originals. I was fine with Amazing Race. I’d be fine with Survivor or Big Brother.
*rather than a distant cousin.
Didn’t we at one point have the option of editing our posts?
Where are you seeing these? My schedules show through 12/26. I must need to clear my cache
But hey, at least GSN is keeping a few retros around at night. Jeopardy on that late? Seems a bit out of place. I bet it goes to 230pm in the daytime, once syndie DOND season 2 airs all of its shows
If Jeopardy in the post-2000 era is what GSN considers the new version of the phrase “retro game show”, then I think we’re in trouble.
At this point, anything before 2007 is “retro”. At least it’s something else on the weekday schedule (not that it’s saying that much).
Chain Reaction leaving on a good note is beyond great. Not many shows get that luxury. It does need a well deserved break but maybe GSN will think about reviving the show since it remains a viewer favorite even 4 years after cancellation. Lingo got that chance I don’t see why CR can’t. Whammy getting more timeslots is a very good sign of viewership but whether it was necessary is another story but GSN must have faith in it to add more. High Stakes Poker going is fine by me. Quit caring about it 2 years ago.
Disappointed that B & W Overnight is being removed. I was looking forward to it coming back. I think there is a place for these shows. They are good, fun shows that have stood up over time. As far as “What’s My Line?” its not only notalgic but its like a part of history. And then you have so many other game shows you can rotate through here. Hope the ratings go up so they will bring them back permantly.
GSN should have atleast 30 shows per network to avoid rerun abuse! They can aquire Season 1 of Wayne Brady’s LMAD.
I hate to be another HomerJay, but I doubt they’re interested in dramatically increasing their costs at this point (or at any point in the next year or two at least) just to satisfy hardcore fans’ demands. They probably spent a pretty penny on DWTS, so they’re going to make their bed with it. As I once heard in a basketball game, they’ll simply rotate the tires (the shows they have now) to try and avoid a blowout. The sooner this is realized, the easier it will be to deal with it.
Anyone remember when GSN reran “The Amazing Race”? I have a feeling that “Dancing with the Stars” will suffer the same fate as the afore-mentioned Amazing Race did, as anyone who watched any season of both remembers how each turned out. That is to say, you remember who won when it orriginally aired, so to see the exact same thing again would probably be considered old news to some. I apologize if none of this makes sense.
I miss playing Chain Reaction on the web. Bring it back please!
Please, please, bring back Chain Reaction.
We also liked High Stakes Poker.
i really wish that chain reaction hadn,t been removed. my mom is 87 and that was her favorite game. it helped to stimulate her mind. she could guess the words before i could. instead they keep stupid shows like baggage and newlywed game on. please bring this show back on. thank you
also, please take dancing with the stars off!
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