You Don't Say!: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 03:46, 20 February 2007

Revision as of 03:32, 3 March 2007

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'''''You Don't Say!''''' was an American television game show that had three separate runs on television. The first version aired on [[NBC]] daytime from [[April 1]], [[1963 in television|1963]] to [[September 26]], [[1969 in television|1969]] (with a nighttime run in 1963-64). Years later, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] ran a revival from [[July 7]] to [[November 28]], [[1975 in television|1975]] (replacing ''[[Money Maze|The Money Maze]]''). A final version appeared in [[television syndication|syndication]] during [[1978 in television|1978]]-[[1979 in television|79]], but did not last the entire season.

[[Ralph Andrews Productions]] produced all three versions of ''You Don't Say!'', with [[Desilu Productions]] co-producing the original NBC run.

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NBC's answer to [[CBS]]' hit game ''[[Password (game show)|Password]]'' (see "Notes" below), ''YDS!'' joined the network's afternoon lineup in spring [[1963]] at 3:30 Eastern/2:30 Central. Its nemesis throughout most of its run was the popular CBS [[soap opera|soap]] ''[[The Edge of Night]],'' which led it in the ratings. However, weak competition from numerous ABC soaps helped keep ''YDS!'' afloat for a solid five years. This changed, however, when ABC scored a surprising success at 3:30/2:30 with ''[[One Life to Live]],'' which premiered in [[July]] [[1968 in television|1968]]. The new, youth-oriented, intrigue-driven soap stole quite a portion of the ''YDS!'' audience; furthermore, games featuring celebrities were increasingly going out of style, in favor of hard quizzes such as ''[[Jeopardy]].'' In what may have been the largest housecleaning of its daytime schedule ever, NBC dropped ''YDS!'' and three other games, ''[[Personality (game show)|Personality]]'', ''[[Eye Guess]],'' and the original ''[[Match Game]]'' before the begininng of the [[1969 in television|1969]]-[[1970 in television|70]] season. Taking its place on the lineup was a soap titled ''[[Bright Promise]],'' which ran until [[1972 in television|1972]].

Six years later, with CBS' revival of ''Match Game'' bringing celebrity games back into vogue, Andrews managed to interest ABC in a similar revival of ''YDS!'' Kennedy, ten days after ending a three-year stint helming ABC's ''[[Split Second]],'' once again stepped up to the podium on [[July 7]]. However, the 4 p.m./3 Central timeslot, at which many affiliates either tape-delayed the network feed until the next morning or preempted entirely (despite the success of the likes of ''[[Dark Shadows]],'' ''Password,'' and ''[[The $10,000 Pyramid]]'' there), proved to render the revival stillborn, despite facing NBC's fast-fading soap opera ''[[Somerset (TV series)|Somerset]]'' and two low-rated CBS games, ''[[Musical Chairs (game show)|Musical Chairs]]'' and ''[[Give-n-Take]].''

Meanwhile, an old problem would prove to drive the nail in the ABC ''YDS!'' coffin. ''Edge of Night'' had been CBS' lowest-rated soap since its 1972 move to 2:30 Eastern/1:30 Central. With ''[[As the World Turns]]'' set to expand to a full hour, CBS decided to get rid of the 19-year-old show (which debuted on the same day in [[1956 in television|1956]], and was packaged by the same company, [[Procter and Gamble Productions]], as ''ATWT''). In the first instance of a daytime serial moving to another network, P&G agreed to CBS' terms, and sold ''Edge'' to ABC, who decided that the only viable slot for that show, given its long history of attracting audiences other than housewives, was 4/3. Desparate to get some affiliates back on board, ABC banked on the show's instant familiarity. Therefore, on [[November 28]], ''YDS!'' ended its five-month run, giving way to its old enemy ''Edge'' the next Monday.