Timeless Game Shows

on the way to work today i passed a billboard for "the wheel of fortune." i couldn't believe it! is this game show really still on the air? the answer is yes. the game show has been around since 1981. people have been spinning the wheel for 24 years. pat sajak has been the host since episode one, and vanna white has been his sidekick since 1982. i can remember watching “the wheel of fortune” as a youngster and i must admit it was greatness. i can remember my grandma was pretty damn good at guessing the answer before the contestants did.

i started to wonder if this was the longest running game show on the air, or even ever. games shows have come and gone, but i know there are a few that have hung around over the years. so i did a search on yahoo. though i didn't think of the answer myself, it didn't surprise me. how could i forget about "the price is right!" now here is a game show that is timeless. it first aired september 4, 1972. that's 33 years folks! i will admit the show is greatness. it is flashy, it has hot women, and the games are simple. bob barker has been the host for the entire 33 years it has been on the air. obviously the women are changed out on a regular basis, but the announcers are only changed upon death to this point. the show is currently on it third announcer. johnny olson was the first announcer until his death in 1985. at which time the great rod roddy took over. rich fields took rod's place after rod died in 2003. i think rod was the best announcer out of the three, but my opinion might be a bit bias because he is the only one i've heard.

another show worth mentioning is "jeopardy." jeopardy first started way back in 1964. it was hosted by art fleming and aired until 1975 at which point it was canceled due to lack of popularity. the network tried to bring it back late in 1978, but it was canceled again five months later in 1979. which brings us to jeopardy as it is today. jeopardy as we know it has been around since september 17, 1984 and has been hosted by alex trebek. the show has been running for 21 consecutive year and collectively for 32. i must admit that this show is the hardest of them all. unlike "the wheel of fortune" or "the price is right", not just anybody can walk onto this game show and win it big. you have to be friggin smart, or at least be able to memorize a lot of random facts throughout history and current culture. though not my favorite game show out of the big three. it most definitely is the one that i've learned the most from.

in the great words of paul harvey, "that is the rest of the story."