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Sunday, April 10, 2011

Family Feud

In 1976 a very interesting gameshow came to television called Family Feud.  The first host of this show was Richard Jefferson who some might know from the show Hogan's Heroes or a panelist on Match Game.  This game was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman.   There were two teams of five family members four in some versions and they had to answer questions that were surveyed by 100 people and to try and give the highest answers on the board.  When the game would start two teams one family member from each team would faceoff and give a handshake before the host read the question.  Whoever gave the higher answer had the option of passing or playing with the exception of Ray Combs version where the top answer played.  Whoever played had to come up with all the rest of the answers on the board.  If a team member gave a wrong answer or took too long they were given a strike.  If a team got three strike then the other team could steal the board with just one correct answer.  Generally if a team got to 300 points they won the game and had the chance to play for fast money where they could add more money to there total.  Some versions was $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 or more.  Richard Dawson hosted Family Feud from 1976-1985.  In 1988 Family Feud was revived again and was hosted by Comedian Ray Combs.  This version of Family Feud is my favorite to date.  I loved how just like Dawson he would poke fun at a contestant's answer.  In 1992 Family Feud tried something new called the Bullseye round.  This wasn't really a success but I may be a loner here I was one of the few that I know who really enjoyed the Bullseye Round.  I liked the mystery of not necessarily knowing the exact amount a team was going to play for.  In the Bullseye round the only way to add any more money was to get the number one answer.  1994 Ray Combs was fired and a few months later  Family Feud was brought back with Richard Dawson.  The new version with Richard Dawson only had four family members and had a thing called Bank Roll with three questions.  This new version with Dawson didn't last very long though and wasn't as good as the classic version that currently runs on Game Show Network (GSN) .  1999 Family Feud was brought back again with new host Louie Anderson.  He was ok but wasn't as good as Dawson or Combs.  This version was different in the last round you only got one strike which made things crazy.  I didn't like this version as much and was wishing for the classic version back really quick.  In 2002 Richard Karn the guy known as Al from Home Improvement took over and hosted.  His version was better than Anderson's but he wasn't as good as a gameshow host compared to a sitcom actor.  2006 Family Feud to me got good again just like the Richard Dawson, Ray Combs days.  A new host was brought on named John O Hurley who was on Seinfeld and hosted a revival of To Tell The Truth. I liked John O Hurley's better than Anderson's or Karns version.   O Hurley stayed until 2010.  In 2010 another host was brought on to host the Family Feud.  This host is comedian Steve Harvey.  I haven't got to watch this version on TV but I seen some highlights of it on youtube.  I couldn't stop laughing and it has the Dawson, Combs feel again when the host would bust on the contestants for giving a really dumb answer.  If you want to hear some really dumb answers from Family Feud I really recommend going on youtube and watching some videos of it.  You won't be able to stop laughing for a while.  Family Feud to me is one of the most exciting gameshows because you have to guess how people think and answer on a survey question.  You never know what people will come up with for answer.  Family Feud will always be a great gameshow classic and there is enough episodes out there to have a Family Feud channel.  Not sure if one person could sit and watch Family Feud all day all the time in spite it's a fun gameshow. 

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