TV Guide’s List Of The 60 Greatest Game Shows Gets #1 Right, Everything Else Is Irrelevant

Look: As far as I’m concerned, there’s only three games in the history of television that are worth a damn: Jeopardy, VH1’s Rock and Roll Jeopardy and MTV’s Remote Control, where Adam Sandler and Colin Quinn got their starts (and where I gained a years-long crush on Kari Wuhrer — dudes in their 30s know what I’m talking about). Since both Rock and Roll Jeopardy and Remote Control were relatively short-lived, there’s really only ONE game show that matters: Jeopardy. Everything else is something you flip by on sick days when you’re looking for something better. Nine out of ten game shows, in fact, have nothing to do with intelligence, talent, or skill, and everything to do with luck. If you can pull a random guy from Pennsyltucky wearing a lame novelty T-shirt out of the audience, and he can walk away with a new car, then you’re game show is worthless. If a guy who drives an ice-cream truck can parse out a pattern using his VCR at home and go on your game show and win over $100,000, then you’re show is meaningless.

That’s why TV Guide’s list of the 60 Greatest Game Shows of All Time should’ve stopped after number one, because no other television game show should be put on any list that includes “Greatest” as an adjective, unless it’s the “Greatest Waste of Your Time.” Every other game show on television is for old people who don’t understand DVRs. Nevertheless, TV Guide put together said list, although by including 60 shows — and 50 unranked and in alphabetical order — they’ve basically destroyed any chance at fostering conversation by including EVERY SINGLE GAME SHOW on their list.

But they got number one right, and honestly, that’s all that matters. Here’s the 10 Greatest, in order, followed by an alphabetical list of the other 50 best game shows of all time.

1. Jeopardy
2. Wheel of Fortune
3. Family Feud
4. Match Game
5. The Price is Right
6. Who Wants to be a Millionaire
7. Hollywood Squares
8. Password
9. What’s My Line
10. The Newlywed Game

I will give The Newlywed Game props, however, for the best blooper in the history of game shows.

Here’s the other 50 “Greatest” game shows of all time.

Almost Anything Goes

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Battle of the Network Stars

Beat the Clock

Blockbusters

Card Sharks

Cash Cab

Concentration

The Dating Game

Deal or No Deal

Don Adams’ Screen Test

Double Dare

Gambit

G.E. College Bowl

The Gong Show

High Rollers

It’s Academic

I’ve Got a Secret

The Joker’s Wild

Let’s Make a Deal

Liars Club

Love Connection

Make Me Laugh

Masquerade Party

Name That Tune

Pantomime Quiz

People Are Funny

Press Your Luck

Pyramid

Queen for a Day

Remote Control

Sale of the Century

Scrabble

The $64,000 Question

Studs

Supermarket Sweep

Tattletales

Tic Tac Dough

To Tell the Truth

Treasure Hunt

Truth or Consequences

Twenty One

Weakest Link

Who Do You Trust?

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Win Ben Stein’s Money

Wipeout

Win, Lose or Draw

You Bet Your Life

You Don’t Say!

(Source: TV Guide)

×