The Game Show Network thinks I'm old and helpless.
While I was home for a few days recovering from my wisdom teeth extraction, I watched some DVDs, but mostly I found I didn't have much focus for anything demanding even a little concentration. So I watched a lot of the Game Show Network. Mindless and way entertaining.
But the commercials during a television show say a lot about who they think watches their shows. (Not that I normally see many commercials, thanks to TiVo. But I was just vegging out and changing my gauze at the time.) In the case of GSN, they think they've got a lot of old fogies watching.
Medic Alert bracelets, power mobility scooters, life insurance, things to help you open jars even with your arthritis, pain relievers for said arthritis... each ad seemed even more squarely aimed at the "watching this in the common room at the home" set than the one before.
The thing is, I've always been a bit of a game show junkie, what with the love of games and all. And I never thought this a pastime I shared with retirees. Don't other people my age enjoy a good game show every now and then?
4 comments:
Remember, "People your age" are getting close to needing to think about things like that ;)
Been on my mind for a while now...
I find most games shows frustrating to watch. the contestants make twice as much as I made last year and I worked 40 hours a week all year and then somebody makes the same amount in a half hour by spinning a wheel or picking a briefcase (or whatever)?
the mole
mole -- Don't even get me started about Deal or No Deal. That's not a game show. It's just idiocy.
I would be surprised if a significant portion of GSN's audience were old enough to justify that advertising. The bulk of the network's value is in nostalgic kitsch. I'd think it more entertaining to those of us who vaguely remember Match Game and its ilk being aired first-run. My wife and I used to watch GSN religiously before we had kids.
"Deal or No Deal" is "This is Your Life" with Endemol set design. The structure of the game is fine, but the way it's presented is excruciating. When I've watched, I've found myself rooting against the contestants. A recent guest appearance by Donald Trump as the Banker made me throw up in my mouth a little. NBC really needs to clean house.
Mole, just remember to calculate taxes on any non-cash prizes and halve the cash prizes. I could only be on a game show that gave away only cash, because I'd kick myself if I won a (likely stupid) car and had no way to pay the taxes.
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