Thursday, June 16, 2016

TTTT

ABC has a To Tell the Truth revival going for a few weeks in the summer.

To get you up to speed, TTTT premiered in 1956.  Three contestants all pretend to be the same person.  Four celebrities fire questions at them.  The job is to weed out the impostors.

It has been one of television's most durable game shows.  There were night time and day time versions, networks and syndication.

The legendary Mark Goodson didn't invent, but his company produced it well into the 1990's.  It is said TTTT was one of his favorites, and that's quite a statement.  Goodson's company produced dozens of game shows over the years, including Match Game, Family Feud, and The Price is Right.

TTTT was always one of my favorites, as well.

Until now.

The new producers have taken a page out of Family Feud's book.  Dumb it down.  Dirty it up.  Betty White was fed a bunch of bawdy old lady lines.  She deserves better.

The game play is essentially the same, but so much of it seems scripted, rehearsed, un-spontaneous...

Anthony Anderson has "good host" potential, but it's really tough to tell here.  The new TTTT is heavily edited and slapped together.

I realize I'm not in the target demographic, and a new generation of viewers probably finds the new TTTT very entertaining.  If you were a fan of Bud Collyer, Garry Moore, Bill Cullen, Joe Garagiola, Robin Ward, Lynn Swann, Gordon Elliot, Alex Trebek and John O'Hurley, you probably won't like what's on your TV's now.

There are a bunch of old clips and episodes on YouTube.  Check them out and watch TTTT done the right way.