User:Daniel Benfield

[NOTE: I'm on semi-Wikibreak (explanation, in case you might not know what I'm referring to) until further notice, as I think I've been editing my own userspace stuff way too much.]

Daniel Benfield (that would be me :) is a Co-Administrator of and infrequent contributor to the Wheel of Fortune History Wiki who was born on August 23, 1988 and lives in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

My main thing on this Wiki is fixing info where needed, removing needless redundancies, and adding links (mostly YouTube) to various pages – usually for unsold pilots or short-lived/rare shows.

Other Game Show Wikis of Note

 * Mark Goodson (including Goodson-Todman)
 * Bob Stewart (including shows produced with his son Sande)
 * Heatter-Quigley (including Merrill's solo efforts)
 * Barry & Enright (including Jack's solo efforts {approx. 1960-75} and Stafford-Enright {1991-94}; not sure if it includes Dan's post-scandal solo work, though)
 * Reg Grundy (both domestic and international productions)


 * Canadian Game Shows
 * Australian Game Shows
 * British Game Shows

I've also contributed a little bit to the Jeopardy! History Wiki (mainly, making the network timeline similar to the Wheel History Wiki), but that place is a bit of a mess (for instance, a spam page sat around for over five months).

Subpages
"Great times are coming your way!" (Ernie Anderson, mid-1981 ABC promos.)

Video Archives
If you've seen my work at the Wheel Video Archive and/or UltimaGanon's Sale of the Century Video Archive, you know that I and the other contributors tend to search on YouTube semi-regularly for game show stuff. I've been surprised time and again at what I've found, including uploaders who don't quite seem to realize just what they have.

Since about 2013, I've made various documents and YouTube playlists for a myriad of games, and with the two exceptions above I've mostly been sitting on them. Given that this is a Wiki for game shows in general, I might as well make use of 'em. :)

Note that the unlinked pages below are planned, generally in-progress on my hard drive. For those pages that are linked, any help or additions are welcome unless otherwise noted. :) For listings labeled "deprecated page", see "The Sony List" for why they're marked as such (and why they've been basically marked as such since November 2015).

#-D
 * 3's A Crowd (1979-80/1999-2000; deprecated page)
 * The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime (1986-87, plus the 1988-91 British version All Clued Up)
 * All-Star Blitz (1985)


 *  Bargain Hunters  (1987)
 * Battlestars (1981-82/1983)
 * Beat the Clock (1950-61, plus the British version {still have some CBS primetime shows to go through})
 * Beat the Clock (1969-74)


 *  Blockbusters  (1987)
 * Break the Bank (1945-57)
 * Break the Bank (1976-77, plus the Greek versions; deprecated page)
 *  Break the Bank  (1985-86, plus the French version)
 * Bullseye (1980-82; deprecated page)


 * Caesars Challenge (1993-94)
 *  Card Sharks  (1986-87, Bill Rafferty)
 * Card Sharks (2001)
 * Catch Phrase (1985-86, plus the Australian version)
 * Chain Reaction (1980/1986-91/2006-07, plus the French-Canadian {Action Réaction} and British {Lucky Ladders} versions; deprecated page)
 * The Challengers (1990-91, plus its predecessor The Who, What, or Where Game {1969-74})
 *  Child's Play  (1982-83, plus the British and Australian versions)
 * Concentration (1958-73/1973-78)
 * The Cross-Wits (1975-80/1986-87, plus the British versions)


 * The Dating Game (1965-74/1978-80; deprecated page)
 * Debt (1996-98)
 * Double Dare (1976-77)
 * Dream House (1968-70/1983-84)

F-J
 * Family Challenge (1995-97)
 * Family Feud Challenge (1992-93)
 * Family Feud (1994-95 season)
 * Family Feud (1999-2002, with Louie Anderson)


 *  Fun House  (1988-91)
 * College Mad House (1989-90 spinoff of the above)
 * Gambit (1972-76/1980-81, plus the British versions)


 * He Said, She Said (1969-70)
 * High Rollers (1974-76/1978-80/1987-88)
 * The Hollywood Squares (1966-81, including the 1968 nighttime show and 1969 Storybook spinoff)
 * Hot Streak (1986, plus at least the Australian version {will probably include other foreign versions if I can figure 'em out})


 *  It's News To Me  (1951-53/1954)
 * It Takes Two (1969-70/1997)
 * I've Got A Secret (1972-73/1976/2000-03)


 * The Joker's Wild (1972-75, plus the 1968-70 pilots; deprecated page)
 * Joker! Joker! Joker! (1979-81; deprecated page)
 *  Judge For Yourself  (1953-54)
 * Just Men! (1983)

K-M
 * Keynotes (1986/1989 US pilots, plus the British and Australian versions)
 * The Krypton Factor (1981/1990-91; may also include the New Zealand version and select British episodes)


 * The Last Word (1989)
 * Let's Go Back (1991-93)
 * Let's Make A Deal (1963-77/1980-81/1984-86/1990-91/1996/2003, plus the Australian and {if I can figure it out} Univision versions {still have 1970s syndicated episodes to go through})
 * Liars Club (1969/1974-75/1976-79/1988-89, plus the Canadian reworking The Next Line)
 * Lingo (1987-88, plus the British version)


 * Match Game (1998-99)
 * The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (1983-84)

N-P
 *  The Name's the Same  (1951-54/1954-55)
 * Name That Tune (1952-59/1974-81/1984-85, plus the 2001 revamp Name That Video; will likely include the British versions, plus possibly a couple of other foreign adaptations)
 * The Neighbors (1975-76)
 * The Newlywed Game (1966-74/1977-80/1984-89/1996-99; deprecated page)
 * Now You See It (1974-75/1989, plus the British and Australian versions)
 * Oh My Word/Take My Word For It! (1965-67/1982-83)


 * Pass the Buck (1978, plus the British and Australian versions; deprecated page)
 * Pay Cards! (1968-69/1981-82, plus the 1973-75 Canadian version)
 * Pitfall (1981-82)
 * Play the Percentages (1980; deprecated page)


 * The Price Is Right (1956-65 daytime/1957-64 nighttime {still have a lot of episodes to go through})
 * The Price Is Right (1972-75 half-hour daytime shows, plus the occasional 30-minute episodes done between then and 1994)
 * The Price Is Right (1972-80/1985-86/1994-95 syndicated versions)


 * The $10,000/$20,000/$50,000 Pyramid (1973-81, daytime; deprecated page)
 * The $25,000 Pyramid (1974-79, nighttime; deprecated page)

Q-S
 * Relatively Speaking (1988-89)
 * Rodeo Drive (1990)
 * Scattergories (1993)
 * Scrabble (1984-90 {still have a lot of episodes to go through})
 * Scrabble (1993)


 * Second Chance (1977)
 * Press Your Luck (1983, plus select episodes from the January 2, 1984-November 15, 1985 period)
 * Press Your Luck (1985-86, from GSN's current lease {starts at 11/18/85} onward)


 * Seven Keys (1960-65)
 * Shopping Spree (1996-97)
 * Shop 'Til You Drop (1991-94/1996-97/2000-02/2003-05)
 * Split Second (1972-75/1986-87, plus the British version)
 *  Strike It Rich  (1947-58/1986-87)
 * Supermarket Sweep (1965-67/1990-95/2000-03, plus the Australian, British, and Canadian versions among others)

T-V
 *  Talk About  (1989-90)
 * Tic-Tac-Dough (1985-86 season; deprecated page)
 * Tic-Tac-Dough (1990-91; deprecated page)
 * Time Machine (1985)
 *  To Say The Least  (1977-78)


 * To Tell The Truth (1962-68, daytime)
 * To Tell The Truth (1980-81, plus the British versions)
 *  To Tell The Truth  (1990-91)
 * To Tell The Truth (2000-02)


 * Triple Threat (1988-89/1992-93)
 * Trivial Pursuit (1993, plus the British version {still have British episodes to go through})
 * Trump Card (1990-91, plus the German and Finnish versions)


 * Video Power (1990-92; while Season 1 didn't use the game show format, there's plenty of it around to make fun of and besides that...it's my namespace, so why not? :P)

W-Z
 * The Weakest Link (2001-02, NBC {still have episodes to go through})
 * The Weakest Link (2002-03, Syndication {still have a lot of episodes to go through})


 *  Whew!  (1979-80)
 *  Win, Lose or Draw  (1987-89, daytime)
 *  Win, Lose or Draw  (Robb Weller {1989-90 syndicated} and Teen {1989-90 Disney})


 * Winning Lines (2000, plus the British and French {Le Numéro Gagnant} versions; by request of Gameshowguy2000)
 * Wipeout (1988-89, plus the British, Australian, and German versions)
 * Wordplay (1986-87)


 * You Don't Say! (1962-69/1975/1978-79)
 * Your Number's Up! (1985; deprecated page)

Channel-Specific
 * Buzzr Broadcasts (various episodes from Buzzr airings; won't include promos or "shaky-cam" uploads, unless otherwise noted {still have a lot of episodes to go through})


 * Family Channel Interactive Games (Boggle, Jumble, and Shuffle {all 1994})
 * TNN Game Shows (Fandango {1983-89}, Money Mania {1986}, Top Card {1989-93}, 10 Seconds {1993-94}, Rockin' Bowl {2000}, and Taboo {2002-03})

Hodgepodges
 * Lottery Game Shows (because boy, there's a lot of them; includes The Big Spin, Flamingo Fortune, Monopoly Millionaires' Club, and a few international shows {still have a lot of episodes to go through})
 * Quiz Bowls (high schools, colleges, universities, etc.; will include G.E. College Bowl, It's Academic {the Washington DC one that's been going since 1961!}, and Quizbusters)


 * Singles and Doubles Collection (various shows that, for one reason or another, have very few episodes existing/circulating; inspired by the Internet Archive's like-named section for radio shows)


 * Greggo's Game Shows (1999-present, because I like his work; arranged by show, then year {still have a lot of episodes to go through, being an ongoing page and all; if you've found anything that's not uploaded by him, especially if it's from before 2015 and not listed here, let me know on my talk page or the discussion tab for this subpage})

Theatres
 * Sold Pilot Theatre (sold pilots, including those that aired as part of their respective series)
 * Unsold Pilot Theatre (unsold pilots, including shows where only the pilot was aired)
 * "Not-For-Broadcast" Theatre (various bits of footage that weren't meant to air)

And more...
 * William Sydnor has Video Archives for shows including Beat the Clock (1979-80), Classic Concentration, and Hit Man.
 * John Lee has a Video Archive for the CBS Card Sharks, which was created after I opted not to do one (reasons below).

Other Stuff
Episode Guides

Small things I wrote for a few shows. Nothing too big.


 * Chain Reaction (2006-07, mostly per Game Show News Net {GSNN} recaps)
 *  Family Feud  (1994-95 season, partly from alt.tv.game-shows {ATGS} recaps)
 * The Joker's Wild (1990-91, partly from Ryan Rinkerman's collection)
 * Sale of the Century (1985-86, syndicated)
 * Temptation (2007-08, primarily per GSNN recaps)


 *  Shop 'Til You Drop  (1996-97, Seasons 5-6)
 * Shop 'Til You Drop (2000-02, Seasons 7-8)
 * Shop 'Til You Drop (2003-05, primarily Season 10 per GSNN recaps)
 * Split Second (1986-87)

Odds and Ends
 * Catalog Covers (those catalogs you've probably seen plugged on game shows in the 1960s and {primarily} '70s, mainly Spiegel)

Archives I'll Probably Never Make
Ideas that I've considered, or which have been suggested to me, but I likely won't do for various reasons. The Video Archives I do and plan to do are because I want to do them, whether because I like/love the show or for sentimental/memory-related reasons; in a few cases, I've done pages for short-lived and/or rare shows, sometimes because they had changes that aren't generally noted on trading websites.

Obviously, anything is possible; these are more in the "improbable at this time" section.

Generic examples
 * [insert rare and/or short-lived show] – either there's not too many episodes/clips out there, or I simply don't like the show.
 * [insert well-known, long-running show] – usually way too much out there, and in some cases the show's already been well-documented. Even so, I'll usually try to come up with a "compromise" page for a particular part of the run that's notable for one reason or another (music, host, set, rule change, scarcity despite long run, etc.).

Specific Examples
 * Card Sharks (1986-89, Eubanks) – while as noted above John has decided to step in and do a Video Archive, for me the daunting thing was that there's way too much out there, even if the run's basically broken up into several "sections" (pre-Audience Questions; Audience Questions pre-Car Game; first Car Game pre-light frame; first Car Game with light frame; second Car Game). I definitely want to do a page on the Bill Rafferty version, though.
 * Love Connection (1983-94/1998-99) – good lord, no. Not only is the show's placement in the genre disputed (despite having a lot of top-notch genre connections on both sides of the camera), but I already have one Pat Bullard show represented and that's one more than I probably should have. :P


 * Press Your Luck (1984-85 period) – I have pages on 1983 and the 11/18/85 to 9/26/86 part of the run (including the entirety of GSN's 2014-15 lease), but the rest...? Aside from original broadcasts (preferably with commercials), USA repeats with commercials, or master copies as a "select" package in the 1983 Video Archive...no, sorry. The main problem is that GSN has aired nearly every episode between 1/2/84 and 11/15/85, so it'd take up at least two huge pages since it's just over 480 shows. That, plus most of said period has been aired tons of times since 2001 – not to mention the USA airings, Buzzr's airings, and whatever might be out there from the early-'87 syndicated repeats (also the first shows aired by USA)...ugh.
 * Whammy! (2002-03) – while feasible due to its short run (130 episodes + two pilots), easily-distinguishable two seasons (namely, Season 2 having the Big Bank, a better Big Board layout, and a much better car to give away instead of that golf-cart lookalike from Season 1), and a full knowledge of its taping order (plus GSN finally stopped airing the frickin' thing)...I don't really like it. I did back then, and still have an episode on tape, but looking back it really was a pale imitation with an overemphasis on prizes (over 100 were worth $300 or less!) and dumping stuff on people (the Double Whammy). That, and the fact that GSN's aired the episodes tons of times since 2002 means there's multiple copies of a bunch of episodes online.


 * Strike It Lucky/Rich (UK, 1986-94/1996-99) – way too much out there, plus I just haven't found it as fun to watch as the American series.
 * You Bet Your Life (1947-61) – way too much out there. A page for the revivals (1980-81, 1988, 1992-93) is possible, especially since I've tracked down a bunch of Cosby-era footage, but for the moment the original series is just too daunting a task.

The Sony List
Basically, any shows produced by Bob Stewart, Chuck Barris, Jack Barry (including Barry-Enright), and Merv Griffin. Sony, which owns most if not all of the shows done by said companies, does video takedowns on YouTube something like once or twice a year. It's legally their right since it's their shows, and I'm not arguing that; I just don't think it's worth the hassle and headache for me to prune links and/or find alternative sources, and I end up losing interest in doing said pages as a result.

The below six Sony-owned shows were planned to have Video Archives at some point, and were once listed above:
 * Camouflage (1961-62/1980/2007)
 * Hot Potato (1984; might do an episode guide, though)
 * Jeopardy! (one page for the Fleming era {1964-75/1978-79}, another for the spinoffs: Super {1990}, Jep! {1998-99}, Rock & Roll {1998-2001}, and Sports {2014-})
 * The Joker's Wild (1990-91) – while Sony probably can't do anything about this version because they don't own it (technically, NBCUniversal does; the original distributor, Orbis Communications, was sold by Carolco Pictures to Multimedia Entertainment in 1992, with Multimedia subsequently acquired by Universal in '96), I doubt they'd come to an agreement over it. Even then, I'm not really a fan of this version.
 * The $100,000 Pyramid (1991) – mostly the same reasons as above, but I did like this version.
 * Tic-Tac-Dough (1978-79) – was to cover the CBS series and the first part of Season 1, through the first episode with "shuffle after every question" rather than "shuffle after every two questions".

Related to this, any Video Archives that I have made which fall under the above are pretty much defunct.

Similarly, these used to be in the above "Specific Examples" list, but I'm not gonna do these either:
 * The Dating Game (1986-89/1996-99) – while the page on the Lange era was fun to put together because I was finding so much stuff all over YouTube and trying to figure everything out, it does get a bit difficult to date this kind of stuff, and I'm not really a fan of the franchise anyway. The Woolery era (1997-99) might have been fun to do, but I feel like it's a lost cause.


 * The Gong Show (1976-80/1988-89) – my main hurdle was that as far as I know, there's no episode guides out there that list the airdates, panelists, and acts.
 * Extreme Gong (1998-99) – the fact they bashed ATGS for no real reason other than trolling them live on a national cable network, anyone? I mean, after the first time the producer said "Hey, it's all in jest. We love you guys, really.", but then the next night they did heavy-duty trolling by bashing classic Gong Show and all but outright calling ATGS a bunch of fat humorless virgins who do nothing but sit at their computer all day and will never get laid. And when the show got renewed, said producer gloated about it on ATGS in the most jerkish way. Yeah, no, I wouldn't touch this even if there was enough out there to justify a page.


 * The Joker's Wild (1977-86) – the Cullen era (1984-86) would've been somewhat feasible, as would Season 1 since it was the only one to use "Joker's Jive" (the 1974-75 main theme).
 * Pyramid (2002-04) – while I'd have taken "no returning champs" as a challenge (see the Louie Anderson Family Feud archive), the taping sessions were shuffled up for broadcast (see Ryan Rinkerman's collection for some great examples, especially the Tournament shows) and the format was changed for no real reason. While the two seasons were distinguishable from one another (and early Season 1 discernible by the lack of score displays on the desks), the show had so much wrong with it that I wouldn't have touched it regardless.
 * Tic-Tac-Dough (1979-85 period, Martindale) – I probably could've done Seasons 2-3 and 7 since they seem to be pretty well-documented, though I think the page would've eventually gotten too big for its own good.

Thend
...What, you expected links? :P