Roy walker back on Catchphrase

I'm in the US, so I wasn't sure if the revival was still on or not. (Producer Marty Pasetta kept trying to bring it back around here-- as Puzzle Roulette in 1987, as The Puzzle Game in 1989, and once more as simply All-New Catch Phrase in 2006), but sadly none of the attempts gained traction. Combine that with the original's swift cancellation, it seems TV execs around here just hate the format or something.)

I wouldn't worry its just there was many formats in the 1980s that were originated and ultimately bombed in the US and were more successful over here. Such as Catchphrase and Strike It Rich for example. There are no doubt many other examples.

Its utter garbage

Yeah, but he kept trying and failing. Twice in the 80s, again in the 2000s. That just makes me wonder.


Hey, this Strike it Rich was way better than the one that ran in the late 50s (which emotionally manipulated everyone for the sake of ratings, and managed to avoid being caught in the quiz show scandals); producer Richard S. Kline feared the 86 one (originally titled Arch Rivals ) wouldn't sell without an established name. (His previous show, the 1985-86 Break the Bank , had sold primarily on the star power of the host, Gene Rayburn, but he left halfway through over disputes he had with Kline.)

He was right it need a name to sell Strike it rich/lucky.

Strike it Lucky/Rich : over here I doubt anyone watched for the game itself - more for Barrymore's entertainment value.

Strike It Rich had been, if I understand the Wikipedia entry correctly, a low value/telethon hybrid sort of show so it wasn't comparatively the same thing as a "quiz show" compared to the likes of $64,000 Question.

No, the quiz show scandal was more about fixing the outcome of the show, as happened on Twenty-One (and $64k Question as well) for the purposes of the ratings than anything else. The knock on effect of Twenty-One's manipulation was felt over here too with prize limits introduced.

The later 1980s Strike It Rich, as above, was probably more successful in the UK thanks partly to Barrymore's entertainment value and the eccentric contestants. It shouldn't have lasted 14 years - played straight to the US format it wouldn't have lasted 14 episodes. Indeed Barrymore decreed the format was crap on many an occasion.

I remember Sky One used to show the US Strike it Rich in a morning slot during the early 90s....although I recall they might have changed the name to "Beat the Bandit" or something like that?

They aired the US versions of other several well known gameshows too. Card Sharks was definitely one.