Pioneers of Television

Game Shows (1x4)

: 23, 2008

This episode traces one of broadcasting's strongest genres, from its nascent beginnings in radio through its heyday in the late '60s. Bob Barker talks about his earliest work, and Merv Griffin details the "eureka" moments that led to the creation of ‘Jeopardy’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’: "The family took us on these long, boring vacations that we didn't want to go on. We'd rather stay home in the summer and play with the kids on the block. They would take us to see the bats fly out of some caves or something. I didn't want to see that. So we would sit in the back of the car and play Hangman. And years later, I remembered it, and I thought, I wonder if that could be a game show." Monty Hall recounts his compelling rags-to-riches story, and Betty White remembers her role as the first female emcee. In addition, this episode features rare backstage footage of ‘The Price is Right’ filmed the very day Bob Barker announced his retirement. Clips for this episode are wide-ranging, and include Phyllis Diller's first TV appearance as a painfully shy contestant on Groucho Marx's ‘You Bet Your Life’.