The Strong National Museum of Play announced earlier this month it has launched a new National Archives of Game Show History, co-founded by producers Howard Blumenthal and Bob Boden. Located in Rochester, New York, The Strong National Museum of Play also runs the National Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, and many other programs devoted to exploring the history of play.
Here’s an excerpt from a press release about The National Archives of Game Show History:
The National Archives of Game Show History will focus on acquiring the records and materials of the many professional producers, performers, directors, designers, writers, executives, and staff members who have been involved in all facets of game show development, production, marketing, and distribution. The materials they provide—scripts, set designs, props, technical plans, marketing materials, creative plans, production plans, and more—will form the heart of the new archives.
“Game shows are a part of American popular culture,” said Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections at The Strong. “Game shows are also a form of play for both the participant and viewer, reaching hundreds of millions of viewers. It’s only natural that the museum at the forefront of preserving play history takes on the challenge of preserving the history of television game shows.”
Here’s a little more information from a list of Frequently Asked Questions:
In its early years, The National Archives of Game Show History will operate as a research facility, not as a display for general guests at The Strong museum. In the future, we may develop a public exhibit. However, donations are shared with a worldwide audience by way of the museum’s online collections, its library catalog, and its archives catalog. These databases serve as entry points for researchers, scholars, students, the media, and the public to locate pertinent material for their interests or projects.
I wonder what a game show script consists of. If contestants are asked questions (or, on Jeopardy, given answers) that would need to be scripted. But I suppose game shows that consist of people acting foolishly have to be planned out so that the producers end up with something that will entertain their fans.
are you kidding? Can you think of anything as INFERNAL AS ENDLESS RERUNS OF TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES ??? ;; which was a METROMEDIA SYNDICATE NIGHTMARE!!.. the GAME CHANNEL PRETTY MUCH SUMS THAT UP………altho the former introduced multi –video overlappings called “chromakeeey” remember??.. of course the best example of that was absorbed with SONNY & CHERS VAMP production numbers…….
A caught a show recently called The Search for Canada’s Game Shows and sadly there’s many classic shows that are almost completely lost including Definition. This should help preserve whatever older game shows that survive. There’s a lot of lesser known shows produced by local stations that many might never have seen. As a matter of policy the broadcasters just weren’t interested in keeping these shows.