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March 18, 2021 9:45 pm  #1


On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

Canadian TV scribe Bill Brioux is on the hunt for something that may no longer exist - long lost full episodes of The Party Game, the old CHCH staple that ran for about 420 years. Or so it seemed. I thought it was one of the most amateur, terrible examples of what I associated with Canadian Content, and it's one of the reasons I tend to have such a low opinion of the rule to this day. 

Things have most certainly improved in quality over the years. But most of the hundreds and hundreds of episodes of Party Game, like the Trouble With Tracy, another Canadian horror, have been erased to reuse the tape. In his story, Brioux laments the loss, noting a real piece of Canadian TV history is gone forever. 

Party Game: the search for lost episodes continues 

 

March 18, 2021 10:54 pm  #2


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

"I thought it was one of the most amateur, terrible examples of what I associate with Canadian Content...blah blah blah blah... ...Who cares what you think?? I actually feel embarrassed for you sometimes.  Why are you always editorializing and giving your opinion on EVERYTHING???  So did you put up this post about Party Game to actually help Bill Brioux find some old shows, or just to give yourself another chance to slam all things Canadian and bring up yet again how much you hate cancon?  Remind us again RA how second rate you feel Canada is about everything.

But hey,  if the show was produced by WBEN, you would be raving what an ambitious show it was for a local TV station in Buffalo to produce a daily game show for over a decade. And you would be all over how great this is to find some lost shows of Buffalo TV history.   But since it was Hamilton, and CHCH, and worst of all cancon....oh well it sucks and I hate cancon and let's bring in something about Trouble With Tracy for good measure ...

Contrary to what you think, Party Game was ahead of it's time, mostly ad lib and it's adult casual format is still used to this day.  By the way, somebody was watching the show since it lasted 11 years and as I recall was popular in the day.  

 

March 18, 2021 11:59 pm  #3


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

We will never agree on this, obviously. Party Game, to me, was an embarrassment. It was everything that was wrong with Can con. I will never forget one of the best laughs I ever got from Michael Magee on his TVO show around the same time (a Canadian show I liked, by the way.) He was doing a takeoff called "Reach for the Bottom" and one of the characters he played blurted out, "This is as stupid as Party Game!"

It was my favourite line in the whole thing, and all these years later, I still remember it. So it must have made an impression and I knew I wasn't the only one who felt that way.

I'm sorry but I feel Party Game was a terrible show, done on the extreme cheap, and the fact it lasted so long doesn't change that. As an independent, CHCH specialized in producing extremely cheap shows, with low budgets and not always the biggest names. This definitely fits that description and I'm sure even you won't deny it had a cheap look about it. That's likely one reason it lasted as long as it did. It satisfied Can con and cost them next to nothing. And it showed.

And I would say that whether it was CHCH, WBEN or NBC who produced it.

Yes, Canadian shows have long since improved in look and quality since those terrible days and I even watch some of them. But the ones that some stations were forced to produce by government fiat were simply awful and ranting about my view doesn't change that.

My issues with Can con go beyond Party Game. I absolutely hate government interference in programming of any kind. It is anathema to me  and the way I feel about broadcasting, which is a precious resource. I don't tell the government what laws to make. They shouldn't tell the professionals what they have to produce. I can't get by that  stance and have never been able to. The fact they're about to stick their grubby fingers into the Internet in the next few months is infuriating and frankly, very scary. But the one thing it isn't is surprising.

As for expressing my opinion, I kind of thought that was part of what this board was all about. You gave - and often give - your views on this and other issues, most of the time unchallenged, at least by me. And while we often disagree, I would never dream of being insulting to you for the way you feel. I'm sad to see l'm apparently alone in that sentiment.

     Thread Starter
 

March 19, 2021 1:32 am  #4


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

paterson1 wrote:

"I thought it was one of the most amateur, terrible examples of what I associate with Canadian Content...blah blah blah blah... ...Who cares what you think?? I actually feel embarrassed for you sometimes.  Why are you always editorializing and giving your opinion on EVERYTHING???  So did you put up this post about Party Game to actually help Bill Brioux find some old shows, or just to give yourself another chance to slam all things Canadian and bring up yet again how much you hate cancon?  Remind us again RA how second rate you feel Canada is about everything.

But hey,  if the show was produced by WBEN, you would be raving what an ambitious show it was for a local TV station in Buffalo to produce a daily game show for over a decade. And you would be all over how great this is to find some lost shows of Buffalo TV history.   But since it was Hamilton, and CHCH, and worst of all cancon....oh well it sucks and I hate cancon and let's bring in something about Trouble With Tracy for good measure ...

Contrary to what you think, Party Game was ahead of it's time, mostly ad lib and it's adult casual format is still used to this day.  By the way, somebody was watching the show since it lasted 11 years and as I recall was popular in the day.  

Party Game was crap, and a good example of a show that would never have aired had it not been for Canadian content rules. BTW, I very much enjoy your well-thought-out postings on the yellow board, and hope you are around here for a long time. But on this we disagree. It was a gawd-awful show.
 


"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
 

March 19, 2021 5:30 am  #5


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

Party Game, from what I could see in the link provided, looks to be the same as Pictionary or any TV game show similar to that. 
I think there was also one called "Acting crazy" or something like that.  
If I were into watching a bunch of people play Pictionary, I suppose I may have liked Party Game, but I've never really been into it myself. 

(Long story short: Those who DO like Pictionary type gameshows might disagree with RA)


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

March 19, 2021 6:52 am  #6


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

Radiowiz wrote:

Party Game, from what I could see in the link provided, looks to be the same as Pictionary or any TV game show similar to that. 
I think there was also one called "Acting crazy" or something like that.  
If I were into watching a bunch of people play Pictionary, I suppose I may have liked Party Game, but I've never really been into it myself. 

(Long story short: Those who DO like Pictionary type gameshows might disagree with RA)

The format of the show wasn't the real problem, it was just the out-and-out cheapness of it. 
 


"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
 

March 19, 2021 9:52 am  #7


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

When I was a kid Saturday morning was appointment viewing. Should I watch Hobby Time with Jane Grey or Mighty Mouse. Hmmm! 

 

March 19, 2021 11:06 am  #8


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

The problem was private broadcasters didn't take Cancon seriously in the 1970s and so did the absolute minimum even though many of them were making a mint. Nevertheless, without Cancon over the past 50 years or TV/film industry today would be more analogous to Wisconsin's. Like it or not, the Cancon mandate is a lot of the reason we have music, film and TV production industries today and in particular why Canada was able to develop film and TV crews who were good enough to work on made-in-Canada Hollywood productions so in the end it's been a win even if there was a lot of crap produced along the way. 

But was Party Game any worse than say, WKBW's Dialling for Dollars or other locally produced shows out of Buffalo and other small centres? I don't think so. It actually was fine content wise, no worse than American game shows and as basically an improv show was often more entertaining despite it's cheapness. 

The FCC previously required stations to produce a certain amount of local content including a certain amount of public affairs and other content. Are we really better off today without that and with local stations in the US (and Canada as well) carrying exclusively syndicated content in their non-network hours with the exception of local newscasts? Locally produced shows may not have been the best TV in the world (though some of it was very good) but it was important for the community. Moreso than syndicated talkshows etc many of which are crap. 
 

 

March 19, 2021 11:39 am  #9


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

I will be the first to admit that the Can con rules worked in many ways, especially in radio. It can certainly be argued it was less successful in TV, although Canadian crews are now among the best in the world. That doesn't mean I like the government intervening in the industry. The principle is what bothers me and it always will, even if it accomplished some of what it was supposed to do.

I grew up in a time when Can con meant awful cringe-worthy shows like "Hymn Sing" on CBC, "The Trouble With Tracy" on CFTO or yes, "Party Game" on CHCH. It was the cheapness of it that perhaps irritated me the most, especially having so much slick programming down south to compare it to. It was unfair, but I was a kid and knew nothing about how TV was financed at the time. All I knew was it looked terrible. 

A perfect example was a game show called "It's A Match," which was produced out of CHCH, and has long since been deservedly forgotten. But it certainly has an interesting history. For one thing, it was hosted by Jack Barry, the American game show host who fled the U.S. after being caught in the game show scandals of the 50s and couldn't find work south of the border. (He did make a comeback in the 70s, but it took being lost in the Canadian media wilderness before he was welcomed back to front "Joker's Wild.") 

But back to It's A Match. In all the years I have watched TV, I've never seen anything like it. It was a memory game that showed a group of spinning wheels. The object of the game, much like Concentration, was to be able to remember what you saw and where it was. 

The top prize you could win? About two bucks. That's right, if you won the game, they gave you two one dollar bills. And it's funny what sticks in your brain. They had a contestant whose name I still remember. Rocky Sankoff was a school teacher with a photographic memory. He stayed on the show for months, easily beating all comers. Every show, Jack would ask him, "Rocky, will you come back tomorrow and defend your title?" and every day, the champ would say yes. 

And then one day, several months in, Barry repeated the question. And I was stunned to hear Rocky say, "No, Jack. I think I'll give someone else a chance." And with that, the reign of the longest running contestant in Canadian TV history was over. 

And how much did Mr. Sankoff walk away with after three or four months on the air? A grand total of $64. Yes, he made 64 bucks for all that time and effort. I've never forgotten the cheapness, especially when fellow Canadian Monty Hall was giving away cars and appliances on Let's Make A Deal on a different channel.

And for better or worse, it was that kind of thing that formed my opinion of Can con, which I can't shake to this day, even though I'm willing to readily admit it's much, much, much better now than it was then. 

I have no idea where Rocky Sankoff is today. But I hope he spent his $64 wisely.

And that the cheque didn't bounce.  

     Thread Starter
 

March 19, 2021 1:19 pm  #10


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

RadioActive wrote:

 

And that the cheque didn't bounce.  

Funny you should say that. There's the rather infamous story of Pitfall! which offered its contestants expensive prizes but not only failed to deliver them but also failed to pay the host, Alex Trebek. 




And if you want to know more about Canadian gameshows there's a very interesting YouTube channel:

Canada's Game Shows

And here's a video about It's a Match and how the John Barry came to Canada in the aftermath of the quiz show scandal.





 

Last edited by Hansa (March 19, 2021 1:19 pm)

 

March 19, 2021 1:58 pm  #11


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

First off RA, my apology for insulting you.  That was not what my rant was intended to be.  What my issue  was about was the general lingering negativity of the comments you post. And it seems whenever it is something Canadian, especially Canadian broadcasting there is often a somewhat condescending  comment added in which is unnecessary and predictable.
 
Even comments that start off positive usually include some snide derogatory remark for some reason.  You don't need to constantly remind how much you dislike cancon and Canadian programming.   Message received.  However, I will always challenge any misleading statements and personal bias with facts. 

Yes, Party Game was cheap and had a fake laugh track, gaudy set and featured B rate Canadian "stars." So what?  That is why the show was cool.  The producers of Party Game and talent knew and understood what the program was about.  It was sort of sketch comedy wrapped up in a game show.  The tackiness of the program was it's charm and what made it fun and interesting.   I guess some didn't see it that way if you compare it to a regular game show, but that was not what Party Game was about. I don't recall, but even SCTV may have done a take off of Party Game in some of their sketches.  That's where the show was coming from.

The fact is that the program was on a shoe string budget, produced five days a week by a local station, and to many viewers was funny and entertaining to me says the show was a success.  It is only too bad that Al Boliska passed away so young and wasn't able to appear in more than one season.  But Bill Walker did an good job hosting for ten years. 

In your response you mentioned that you would be "as critical" if the show had been produced by WBEN or Buffalo TV.  Really?  I don't ever recall you ranting how any low budget vintage Buffalo show was one of the most amateur and terrible examples of local programming, and the reason you avoid local Buffalo programs.  I guess they were all top notch and didn't look cheap then?

In fact whenever anything to do with vintage Buffalo programming comes up, radio or tv, your comments tend to be considerably different with great interest, reverence and a sense of history.  But an honest, unpretentious local Canadian production that was also syndicated, and enjoyed by millions is not treated with the same respect.  Or any respect for that matter.   

Bill Brioux's interesting article gives The Party Game and it's era some good context.  To me many games shows from the 70's looked cheap.  Shag rugs and orange walls were a thing back in the 70's.   His article is in RA's initial post at the top. 

 

March 19, 2021 2:36 pm  #12


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

As noted, we will never agree on this, and that's OK. You have as much right to your opinion as I do to mine. That's healthy for the board to not be one sided and I appreciate it. Since I've pretty well said my piece on this, I'll only take issue with one thing:

paterson1 wrote:

In your response you mentioned that you would be "as critical" if the show had been produced by WBEN or Buffalo TV.  Really?  I don't ever recall you ranting how any low budget vintage Buffalo show was one of the most amateur and terrible examples of local programming, and the reason you avoid local Buffalo programs.  I guess they were all top notch and didn't look cheap then?

I don't really recall any local Buffalo shows, beyond Commander Tom or Rocketship 7 on WKBW, which I only watched as a very young kid and would not have made any distinction about quality or otherwise. I suppose there was also "Meet the Millers" on WBEN, but again, I was barely aware of anything back then and didn't give any thought to its production values or lack of them. 

I was much older when Party Game came along. It was cheesy and cheap, and yes, admittedly, they did not have a lot of money to work with. To me it was also one other thing that was less forgivable - it was deadly dull. I could barely make it through a single episode. As Dale Patterson noted in his post, "Party Game was crap, and a good example of a show that would never have aired had it not been for Canadian content rules."

He's right, of course. It was there because they had a commitment to fill not because it was good television. And sadly, that was what a lot of early Can con looked like. - turn out what we can for as little money as possible to keep the feds satisfied.

I don't entirely blame CHCH. In fact, the Hamilton station was legendary for turning out so much local product after it disaffiliated with the CBC. (See some examples below. ) They tried with what they had and they deserve praise for that. But the poorness of the production of this "Party" meant it was "Game" over before it started. 

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the Brioux article. Party Game fan or not, I thought it was interesting enough to post here.   

---------------------------------

From Jan. 1954:











        

     Thread Starter
 

March 19, 2021 2:38 pm  #13


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

Hansa wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

 

And that the cheque didn't bounce.  

Funny you should say that. There's the rather infamous story of Pitfall! which offered its contestants expensive prizes but not only failed to deliver them but also failed to pay the host, Alex Trebek. 




And if you want to know more about Canadian gameshows there's a very interesting YouTube channel:

Canada's Game Shows

And here's a video about It's a Match and how the John Barry came to Canada in the aftermath of the quiz show scandal.


 

Wow, these look fascinating. Thanks for posting. As you know, I love TV history. I'll try to watch them this weekend. And here I thought I was the only one who remembered "It's A Match." Pretty amazing the stuff you can find online. 

     Thread Starter
 

March 19, 2021 3:42 pm  #14


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

From the book TV North, here is their take on Party Game. "This long running game of charades relied heavily on sexual innuendo from the celebrity panelists. Seen in a suppertime slot [premiere was Sept 7, 1970 at 6:30] and repeated at bedtime [11:30pm] the program became a guilty pleasure for a large, anonymous, late-night audience" According to the publication, Party Game ceased production sometime in 1981.

 

March 19, 2021 6:26 pm  #15


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

RA, one problem with many of your comments regarding cancon and criticism of Canadian programming is that you don't separate the programming from the government and regulations.  This is a big flaw in your thesis and makes your arguments suspect.  To say that shows like Party Game were only on because of regulation is an assumption and not based on facts, it's seems to be based on your problems and dislike with regulation and government.

 CHCH TV, and all local television stations had a lot of local programming regardless.  Regulation or not, they would have been producing local shows back in 1970 anyway.  They likely were doing even more in the 50's and 60's mostly out of necessity.

Your attitude seems to be that none of these shows would have happened if the regs. were not in place.    In the case of CHCH they usually went beyond what local stations would do and actually syndicated much of their programming.  Many of these "regulated, amateurish, crappy" shows likely made some money for the station. And these shows are remembered by viewers, and shows like the Party Game by as many that liked the show as those that didn't. 

To say Party Game was on for 11 years simply because it was cheap and filled a quota again is an assumption and generalization.  You have no idea if that was the case or not. I am not saying it couldn't have been but you are letting your anti government, personal bias and dislike for regulations be your only guide. 

While we are chatting, every government regulates broadcasting, and protects local media and territory.  Most countries also have content regulations for domestic productions.  The fact that the US may not need these regs is irrelevant not a reason for Canada to do the same.

We sit next door to the biggest most popular and successful media and entertainment machine in the world and this has been great for us and a benefit in many ways.  But to have any English domestic  broadcasting system requires some safeguards.  And that's what the regulations are for.  Nothing else. Also it is worth noting that you almost never hear any American producers or those involved in the entertainment business stateside complain about our regulations, cancon or simsub. 

US networks and production companies like simsub because they can charge more for exclusive rights.  Even the NFL is totally on board and that's why they went to the Supreme Court with Bell to get simulcasting substitution back for the Super Bowl.  Even the US government supposedly was involved with that one to overturn the CRTC ruling on the Super Bowl.

 

 

March 19, 2021 7:38 pm  #16


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

pattersonf.  Now don't you go knocking Fun To Learn, Captain Mike with Buttons the Cabin Boy and of course it wouldn't be Sunday morning; without Uncle Jerry's Club.  : >)

 

March 19, 2021 8:36 pm  #17


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

John D wrote:

pattersonf.  Now don't you go knocking Fun To Learn, Captain Mike with Buttons the Cabin Boy and of course it wouldn't be Sunday morning; without Uncle Jerry's Club.  : >)

And we can't leave out the short lived Randy Dandy Show...

 

March 20, 2021 11:09 am  #18


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

According to wiki The Party Game was syndicated to 32 channels plus CHCH at it's peak, so maybe some of those stations may have some dusty old tapes of the program.  Hopefully Bill Brioux will find some of this classic show.  If you go to Youtube they have some clips from the show.  And not a negative comment to be found.  One thing you notice is how good the home team-Dinah Christie, Jack Duffy and Billy Van were at charades.  They were pretty good and very quick.  

 

March 20, 2021 3:35 pm  #19


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

paterson1 wrote:

According to wiki The Party Game was syndicated to 32 channels plus CHCH at it's peak, so maybe some of those stations may have some dusty old tapes of the program.  Hopefully Bill Brioux will find some of this classic show.  If you go to Youtube they have some clips from the show.  And not a negative comment to be found.  One thing you notice is how good the home team-Dinah Christie, Jack Duffy and Billy Van were at charades.  They were pretty good and very quick.  

You could have had the exact same content, put it on a snazzy set, tape it in front of a live audience and add a live band and no one would complain that it was an embarrassment. (And you don't even need expensive prizes since the format was really more akin to a BBC style panel quiz show which doesn't have prizes and on which no one really cares who won - if you're not familiar with BBC quiz shows think of Whose Line Is It Anyway? which is a US version of a BBC show and similarly has no prizes or real winner)
 

Last edited by Hansa (March 20, 2021 10:30 pm)

 

March 20, 2021 5:26 pm  #20


Re: On The Hunt For Lost "Party Game" Episodes

Hansa wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

According to wiki The Party Game was syndicated to 32 channels plus CHCH at it's peak, so maybe some of those stations may have some dusty old tapes of the program.  Hopefully Bill Brioux will find some of this classic show.  If you go to Youtube they have some clips from the show.  And not a negative comment to be found.  One thing you notice is how good the home team-Dinah Christie, Jack Duffy and Billy Van were at charades.  They were pretty good and very quick.  

You could have had the exact same content, put it on a snazzy set, tape it in front of a live audience and add a live band and no one would complain that it was an embarrassment. (And you don't even need expensive prizes since the format was really more akin to a BBC style panel quiz show which doesn't have prizes and on which no one really cares who won - if you're not familiar with BBC quiz shows think of Whose Line Is It Anyway? which is a US version of a BBC show and similarly has no prizes or real winner)
 

Exactly Hansa.  Looking at network game shows from the same era, many of those look cheap as well.  People that understood and appreciate Party Game knew that it was tongue in cheek, and not to be taken too seriously.  As mentioned previously it's format and general cheezyness was part of the charm.  Even the theme song Bond Street by Burt Bacharach was classic, and Gardiner Westbound was the voice over announcer.  

This show would be on Game TV in a heartbeat if more episodes had survived. Sort like of Hilarious House of Frightenstein, Party Game had a loyal  following.   Regardless what the some think, Party Game was a classic, memorable show.  And I think it was well done for a local independent station producing a fun show like this.