Goodson-Todman Productions
Two game shows, a children’s series,two competition shows, one travel series and four shows about motorcycles, cars and auctions mark this Fourth of July week in the US. Of the game shows, only one of them went on to become a hit, itself a revival of an earlier hit version, that has spawned several revivals since it ended, most recently in 2016. The other was revamped for its second season, but even the addition of celebrities didn’t improve its fortunes. The kids show began in Canada but was imported into the US by PBS and ran for several years. Of the rest of the new series that premiered this week, only one of them lasted for three seasons, and one went for two. The rest had very short runs and are mostly forgotten today, even though they premiered just ten years ago.
1953
- July 2 – Place the Face (CBS, Two seasons, 42 episodes)
Place the Face began with Jack Smith as host for 15 episodes with everyday people as contestants. The show was revamped with Bill Cullen as host for 27 episodes, featuring celebrity contestants.
1963
- No new series debuted this week in 1963.
1973
- July 2 – Match Game (CBS, Nine seasons, 1,980 episodes)
The 1973 version of Match Game was a reboot of a 1962-1969 version of the show which aired on NBC and was also hosted by Gene Rayburn. Richard Dawson was the first regular panelist on the show. The original version featured rather bland, fill-in-the-blank questions and the first few weeks of the new show had a similar question structure, but with more celebrities. The double entendre in the question ‘Johnny always put butter on his _____’ marked a turning point with more risqué questions becoming the norm for the rest of the series’ run, and doubling ratings from those of the NBC version, drawing more viewers than some primetime shows. The series had a peak viewership of 11 million in the 1974-1975 season, a daytime record until the marriage of Luke & Laura on General Hospital. The success of the daytime show led to production of a weekly nighttime version from 1975-1981, and after the CBS run ended, a new daily daytime syndicated version premiered in 1979 and ran until 1982. The show was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show in 1976 and 1977.
Guest Jack Klugman requested his wife Brett Somers guest on the show, and her chemistry with guest Charles Nelson Reilly led to the decision to hire them as regulars. Somers remained with the show until 1982, while Reilly continued to appear on various versions of the show through 1991. He did take a brief break during the 1974-1975 season with Gary Burghoff, Nipsey Russell, and Rip Taylor substituting for him. Dawson was hired to host Family Feud in 1976 but remained with Match Game until 1978, leaving due to a combination of the introduction of the Star Wheel which limited his chances of being picked in the head-to-head bonus round, and burnout from appearing on both shows.
1983
- No new series debuted this week in 1983.
1993
Cochran Entertainment
- July 5 – Theodore Tugboat (CBC, 130 episodes)
Theodore Tugboat premiered on PBS in the US on October 20, 1996 and aired until September 6, 1999. The show was moved to PBS Kids from September 6, 1999 to October 12, 2001. Production on the series ended in 2001, with the last episode airing on October 12, 2001.
2003
- No new series debuted this week in 2003.
2013
One Potato Two Potato
- July 5 – Warlocks Rising (Discovery Channel, One season, 4 episodes)
- July 5 – Philly Throttle (Discovery Channel, One season, 3 episodes)
- July 7 – Bikinis & Boardwalks (Travel Channel, Three seasons, 20 episodes)
- July 7 – Food Court Wars (Food Network, Two seasons, 13 episodes)
- July 8 – Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls (NBC, One season, 8 episodes)
- July 8 – Kentucky Bidders (truTV, One season, 6 episodes)
- July 8 – God, Guns & Automobiles (History, One season, 14 episodes)
Warlocks Rising went inside The Warlocks motorcycle club, known as a 1% club due to its outlaw status. Philly Throttle was centered around the Liberty Vintage Cycles shop in Philadelphia where vintage bike builder Adam Cramer and his motley crew of mechanics restore, repair and resell motorcycles.
Food Court Wars was hosted by Tyler Florence and pitted two teams of food entrepreneurs against one another for the chance to win a spot in a mall food court for one year, rent free. Each episode took place in a different state. The show’s pilot episode was broadcast on December 29, 2012 and re-aired as the first season finale on August 18, 2013. The winners of the fifth episode of the second season, Full Circle Sliders, announced that they would not be opening a location at the Vista Ridge Mall where the competition was set.
Kentucky Bidders was set at Sammie’s Auction House in Corbin, Texas.
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