Game Show Moments Gone Bananas is a television series on VH1. The first of five hour-long episodes aired on May 21, 2005 with the last first-run episode airing on June 18. Each episode aired for the first time on Saturday mornings at 11:30 ET, but "officially" premiered at 10:00 PM that night.
The entire series was released on DVD by BCI Home Entertainment on September 23, 2008. The series was later re-released on DVD in 2010 by Mill Creek Entertainment. The series has also been aired on Game Show Network (GSN) in the past.
Ben Stein showed a studio audience classically hilarious game show moments ranging from the 1950s through the present.
"Characters" and Themes
Ben Stein: Host
Mr. Game Show: A puppet tribute to Don Pardo, who introduced the lousy prizes won by audience members. The puppet Mr. Game Show was part of an electronic toy game from the late 1980s. Randy West provided the voice for Mr. Game Show.
Top 5: A countdown of the Top 5 of something in game shows, presented by a television personality that was somehow related to the countdown
Bananas: Seen throughout the show
Games: Members of the studio audience reenacted the classic moments featured on shows such as Family Feud and Beat the Clock to win a low-quality prize (a grocery product) such as a bottle of Phillips' Milk of Magnesia or a box of Little Debbie Honey Buns
Beat the Clock
Blind Date (British and Australian versions [called Perfect Match in Australia])
Blockbusters (American and British versions)
Card Sharks
Child's Play (includes kids from both American and British versions)
Distraction (British version)
Double Dare (CBS version)
Family Feud and its British counterpart, Family Fortunes, plus its Australian counterpart
I'm With Stupid (unsold 2003 ABC pilot hosted by Graham Norton filmed on the Richard Karn-era Family Feud set)
I've Got a Secret
Match Game and its British counterpart, Blankety Blank
The Name's the Same
Password
Password Plus
Press Your Luck
The Price Is Right and its Australian counterpart and Mexican counterpart, Atinale al Precio
Puzzlers (unsold pilot taped March 15, 1980 and hosted by Pat Sajak 18 months prior to Wheel of Fortune)
Sale of the Century (Australian and German versions, called Hopp oder Top in Germany)
Say When!! (a portion of the Peter Pan peanut butter incident)
Scrabble
Showoffs (a clip from the 1975 pilot)
Super Password
Tattletales
To Tell the Truth
Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck
What's My Line?
Your Face or Mine?
Since FremantleMedia produced the series, all clips were from programs that they produced or owned the rights to, including all Mark Goodson-Bill Todman and Reg Grundy productions. Thus, programs like The Newlywed Game and Hollywood Squares, which had been featured on similar game-show retrospectives, were not featured. The Price Is Right, which had been absent from other shows, was featured.
Also notable by their absence were the Jack Narz and Alex Trebek versions of Concentration, despite being produced by Goodson-Todman. This is presumably due to NBC's ownership and the fact that the format was merely licensed to the company.
The specials also featured rare and never-before-seen clips from the FremantleMedia archives, including the 1975 pilot of Showoffs hosted by Larry Blyden, a 1989 pilot of the ABC Match Game hosted by Bert Convy, and the 1972-1977 nighttime syndicated version of The Price Is Right hosted by Dennis James.
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 1 (Top 5 Host Screw-ups, 5/21/05, presented by Chuck Woolery): The number one moment was in 1974 when Match Game emcee Gene Rayburn told a contestant she has pretty nipples, meaning to say "pretty dimples". Other Host Screw-ups involved Bill Cullen on Blockbusters, when a contestant correctly identified the body part a doctor examines with an otoscope as the "ear". Cullen told the contestant he was wrong and the correct answer was "ear". The contestant explained that he had said "ear", and Cullen apologized, saying, "I thought you said 'liver'."
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 2 (Top 5 Blonde Moments, 5/28/05, presented by Kato Kaelin): The number one moment was on Family Feud, when a woman was confused as to why she couldn't use an answer that had already been used.
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 3 (Top 5 Wardrobe Malfunctions, 6/04/05, presented by Jay Manuel): The number one moment was Rip Taylor tearing off his toupee on an episode of Super Password. Other wardrobe malfunctions involved a contestant on Family Feud, Gary Burghoff on Tattletales, Playboy Playmate Tawnni Cable on Family Feud, and a contestant on The Price Is Right.
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 4 (Top 5 Celebrity Moments, 6/11/05, presented by Ed McMahon): The number one moment was Johnny Carson's appearance as a celebrity on Password in 1962. Other celebrity moments involved David Letterman on Password Plus, Kirstie Alley as a contestant on Match Game, Ronald Reagan as a mystery guest on What's My Line?, and Meg Ryan on Tattletales.
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas 5 (Top 5 Brain Freeze Moments, 6/18/05, presented by Cindy Margolis): The number one moment was when a Family Feud contestant gave three questionable answers in a row during Fast Money. Other brain freeze moments involved Brett Somers on Match Game, Norman Fell on Tattletales, and Lily Savage on Blankety Blank.
