TV Guide Spotlight: Game Shows

My wife and I grew up in homes where these "game shows" were a daily part of the cultural landscape. As a boy, I remember my Mom tuning in "Queen for a Day" as she worked around the house. I still recall the moment when a teary-eyed woman was declared "queen," showered with gifts and bedecked with a royal cape and crown.That's just one of the game shows featured in this set, but the same could be said of others: For Americans of a certain age, these are vivid black and white memories of childhood. What's fascinating, to my wife and me, in viewing these episodes today is that we had no memory of the real nature of these shows. "Queen for a Day" was basically a continuous series of TV commercials for all of the products the "queen" later would receive. I'm not saying that my recent viewing of these game shows has made me cynical. In fact, the "Queen" shows in this set really share some moving stories voiced by the "real life women" who appeared on the show telling tales of woe in their homes, hoping the crowd would clap for them and make their dreams come true.What I'm trying to convey is: There's a touching slice of American life in each of these episodes. You'll think about American culture in that era a bit differently if you watch most of these shows. It's like watching "Mad Men" but without the sophisticated 21st Century polish on that earlier era.NOTE: If you buy this set, you should now that it is not a "digitally remastered," cleaned-up set of shows. These are pretty much down-and-dirty copies of the original shows. So, they are a bit snowy and there are some glitches if you watch these on a bigger TV screen today. You'll have to squint your eyes and remember that half a century ago, or so, most of us were watching these shows on tiny-screen black-and-white TV sets that, by today's standards, had pretty poor picture quality.If my description sparks an intriguing, nostalgic memory, then I can say -- go ahead and order this set. You'll enjoy it.

I got onto watching old 50s gameshows on the gameshow channel a couple of years ago, and found them to be much more than some old stale reruns. They are actually timecapsules, reflecting the simpler times and values of our society back in the 50s and 60s. People were infinitely more gracious and polite to strangers then, shows didn't have to resort to cheap potty humor to be funny, and you see amazingly few people acting greedy for their gameshow winnings. I am so sad that the channel hasn't shown any for awhile, so was happy to find this, although leery that it would be some cheesy, cheap compilation. It does lean too heavy on the Lucy/Desi appearances (as if you are automatic in Lucy mania-mode just because the mere 50s decade is mentioned, which I am not) but despite it I found some of the old game-show fix. Bonus, I discovered a few retro TV commercials too, which was pretty fun to find. Here is the breakdown of content:Price is RightBeat the clock (2 episodes)Play your HunchDollar a SecondTwenty OneDo you trust your wife? (2 episodes)Queen for a Day (2 episodes)Place the FaceTo tell the TruthThe names the SameI've got a Secret (2 episodes)What's my Line? (2 episodes)Tic Tac DoughPass the Line

If you're a game show geek like I am,this DVD set is a must!I've Got A Secret,To Tell the Truth,What's My Line all the classics are here!There are also rare treasureThis set has hours of wholesome family fun!s to find-I watched one show because I'd never heard of it.I was delighted to discover I was VERY familiar with its host-none other than Bill Cullen!

Great shows from the past which bring back a lot of great memories. Thank you.

Great CD for those who like game shows!!

I remember well many of these old game shows. It nice to see episodes of them again. We need more out on DVD.

love all the Gm show especailly whats my line with John daly from 1950 1968 favortie guest myresty people Ronald reagan Robert Morse John wayne

Not all of these were "great" but most were very good. There were a few "clinkers" however. Pass The Line was horrible!! What was the point. I will have to admit however the episodes of You Bet Your Life with Groucho were very entertainig.

Delighted with product

These episodes are very old. I was expecting probably that they may be from the 70's, but they are way older than that. They have been restored and are black and white. I'm very disappointed with this TV guide collection.