CBS
Back in the days before videotape recordings, color TV and high definition, networks routinely aired programs live, from one-hour dramas to prime time game shows. Many of these live programs have been lost to time (and technology), but many were also preserved by something called a Kinescope. The process involved filming a live television broadcast from a TV monitor — basically poipnting a movie camera at a television.
Thanks to this early recording process, many television shows from the early 1950s survive to this day, while some of the Kinescopes have gone missing, either through wear and tear, general deterioration, or disappearing into private collections. The earliest episodes of one of the longest running game shows on television survive to this day because of this process, but there are still plenty missing episodes.
So it was with some surprise and joy when the long lost eighteenth episode of What’s My Line? (currently listed on TV.com as “Lost to history”), originally broadcast on October 1, 1950, turned up for sale on eBay. Through the efforts of an online fan community, the 16mm film was purchased and film preservationist Stan Taffel (who handled the actual bidding process) has meticulously restored the film.
Episodes of What’s My Line? were a mainstay on Game Show Network before it became GSN and jettisoned the classic black and white shows, and are now airing on the recently launched Buzzr network. What’s My Line? originally aired on CBS Sunday nights at 10:30 PM and, appropriately, this “new” episode will become available through the What’s My Line? YouTube channel Sunday, January 24 at 10:30 PM Eastern time.
CBS
Watching What’s My Line? was like being party of a classy cocktail party (the panelists were always dressed in their finest) with the witty and urbane host John Charles Daly. The panelists simply had to guess the occupation of the guest by asking “Yes” or “No” questions, often leading to much hilarity with unintentionally risqué, yet innocent, questions being asked. The formerly lost episode features long-time panelists Dorothy Kilgallen and Arlene Francis (who continued with the show into the 1970s) and the awkward “Walk of Shame” in which the guests had to stand before the panel so they could get a good look, sometimes touch, and make sometimes sexist wisecracks (but it was 1950). That part of the game was eventually dropped because it slowed down the show and … it was just weird. There was also a celebrity Mystery Guest each week which required the panel to be blindfolded and the guest would often speak in a funny voice.
CBS
If you’re a fan of one of the best TV game shows ever, or are just interested in seeing a piece of television history long thought lost to the ages, catch this episode of What’s My Line? starting January 24. And be sure to check out the other episodes available on the show’s YouTube channel too. With ABC reviving this show’s original Sunday companion To Tell the Truth, it may not be long before we see a reboot of this classic as well … but it will never be as classy as the original.
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