History Horrible / GameShow

** ''La Trituradora'' was based on a 1998 British game show titled ''Beat the Crusher'', featuring Melinda Messenger and Freddie Starr. It's a wonder why they even decided to export it, considering the original version was only very slightly more successful (it aired on Creator/SkyOne for a single season of 10 episodes)

* '''''The Colour of Money''''' (2009) tried to turn those radio contests where the contestant is read off increasing amounts of money and has to stop before they hit the {{Whammy}} and lose everything, into a full show, hosted by [[Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire Chris Tarrant]] (who, appropriately, had conducted contests like this when he was a host on Capital FM's morning show). The goal was to collect a target amount of usually £50,000-£100,000 (and ''[[GameShowWinningsCap no more than that]]'') in this manner from 10 of 20 cash machines. The machines were color-coded (hence the name of the show) and counted in £1,000 intervals, and each contained a maximum value ranging from £1,000 to £20,000. There was only one machine of each amount, however, as gauged by a ''Series/DealOrNoDeal''-style tote board (contestants were urged to "play the gaps" to figure out if there was going to be a certain amount present). The game was tedious and repetitive, lacking something that added unpredictability and personality to the proceedings (such as the Banker of ''Deal''). Making matters worse, it had the [[WhoWantsToBeWhoWantsToBeAMillionaire stereotypical aesthetics of a big-money game show]] (although it was originally pitched with lower stakes) and liberal use of TrailersAlwaysSpoil (to the extent that you could have a Creator/{{Fox}} version just by changing the currency and host, and making Mark Thompson be TheAnnouncer). Rapidly decreasing ratings led ITV to can ''Colour'' right before its finale. Interestingly, the format was brought to Italy, where it became a modest success.

* '''''The One: Making a Music Star''''' (2006) was a U.S. attempt at Endemol's ''Star Academy''[=/=]''Fame Academy'' format, hosted by Canadian radio personality George Stroumboulopoulos, which was a singing competition [[JustForFun/XMeetsY mixed with]] elements of sister franchise ''Series/BigBrother''.[[note]](The contestants lived and interacted in a music academy between performance shows, and out of the bottom three contestants in viewer votes, one was saved by the judges, and the remaining contestants voted to "evict" one of the remaining two)[[/note]] It was quickly derided for its "forced" judges and the lack of talented contestants, if not for being a FollowTheLeader clone of ''Series/AmericanIdol''.[[note]](''Fame Academy'' [[OlderThanTheyThink originally premiered]] at [[DuelingShows around the same time]] as the British version of ''Idol''. By 2006, however, the U.S. version was well-established ''and'' at its peak of its popularity, which was a likely factor in its dismissal)[[/note]] Facing competition from the other reality talent shows airing over the Summer that year,[[note]]{such as ''Series/AmericasGotTalent'', ''Series/SoYouThinkYouCanDance'', and ''Rock Star: Supernova''}[[/note]] as well as ''Big Brother'' itself, viewership of ''The One'' was dismal, and ABC cancelled it after four episodes--leaving the competition CutShort with no winner ever decided. While most of the contestants faded back into obscurity, several of them did end up becoming moderately successful eventually (among them, Syesha Mercado made it onto ''Idol'' in 2009 and finished third, Aubrey Collins briefly joined the country band Trick Pony, and Jadyn Douglas got a supporting role on NBC's short-lived 2016 sitcom ''Series/{{Telenovela|2016}}''). Just over a decade after the network desperately tried to clone it, it was announced in 2017 that ''Idol'' would be revived by ABC.\\

* One of the shows PAX (now [[Creator/{{ION}} Ion Television]]) aired on its first day (August 31, 1998) was '''''The Reel-to-Reel Picture Show''''', a painfully-dull movie trivia Q&A created to sell [[http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13283/the-reel-to-reel-picture-show an equally-dull movie trivia Q&A board game]] with NoBudget. While Peter Marshall was a master on ''Series/TheHollywoodSquares'' and other games, he was a deer in the headlights here--often tripping over questions, forgetting the rules, and making unintentional ''Squares'' references. It's not as if he had old age or health to blame: he seemed perfectly fine as GuestHost on the ''Squares'' revival in 2003 despite pushing 80 at the time. The celebrity guests looked like they would've rather been somewhere else, and some of them were clueless. But the biggest issue was that the production company behind it had financial difficulties and had to pull the plug after only 25 episodes, which is truly bad for a traditional game show and '''far''' below the 200 PAX had ordered. Worst of all, ''nobody ever got paid!'' [[note]](One contestant went as far as to call PAX and demand that they pay for his prize.)[[/note]] The show ran from August 31 to October 2, after which repeats aired for a brief period. Interestingly, this was the second time Marshall hosted a game show where both he and the contestants never got paid, the first being a somewhat better-received adaptation of ''Yahtzee'' in 1988.

* Another oft-cited example of a terrible game show revival is the 1990s '''''Series/TicTacDough'''''. The pot reset to '''zero''' after each tie [[note]](doubling the money amount of each box with each tie supposedly helped alleviate that issue, but some players ended up winning ''less than what the previous tie game had gotten up to'')[[/note]], [[AWildRapperAppears the Dragon and Dragonslayer began rapping in the bonus round about six weeks in]], a special week in November had divorced couples playing against each other, and Music/HenryMancini [[ArsonMurderAndJayWalking composed the uncharacteristically kiddie theme music]]. [[TheScrappy Patrick Wayne]] was an all-around terrible host who read the questions in monotone and explained the rules very slowly, but amped everything else up whenever a contestant blocks their opponent or wins the game, [[SuddenlyShouting shouting "YOU BLOCK!" or "YOOUU WIIIIIIINNN!"]] respectively. One must wonder if Dan Enright [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs was high when he produced this version]], as it would be the last game show he would work with before his death in 1992. It didn't even last a full season before getting axed. Website/GameShowGarbage talks about it [[http://gameshowgarbage.com/ind001_patrickwayne.html here]] and [[http://gameshowgarbage.com/ind021_ttd90raps.html here]]. No further attempts at reviving the format were made until 2021, when a new version hosted by Creator/TomBergeron and executive produced by [[Series/{{Jeopardy}} Harry]] [[Series/WheelOfFortune Friedman]] was announced, and even that didn't make it past the pilot stage.

* The 2-hour reality special '''''Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?''''', aired in February 2000, is one of the lowest points in Fox's long run of horrible ideas. The premise was that 50 women competed to marry a "multi-millionaire" named Rick Rockwell. The woman he chose would be married to him on the spot and win $100,000 and various prizes; said winner, Darva Conger, wound up getting a divorce less than two months after the show aired... but not before capitalizing on her FifteenMinutesOfFame by almost immediately posing for ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}''. It was revealed not long after the special that not only was Rockwell barely a multi-millionaire (he'd only been worth $2 million, with less than $1,000,000 in liquid assets - pretty well-off, but [[MockMillionaire far from the elite uber-rich dude he'd been promoted as]]), but one of his ex-girlfriends had filed a restraining order against him for DomesticAbuse. ''Literature/WhatWereTheyThinkingThe100DumbestEventsInTelevisionHistory'' has this squarely at #9.

* '''''Series/DontScareTheHare''''' was an utterly pathetic attempt by BBC One to try and make a "family" game show, but instead ended up becoming a notorious flop. Two teams of adults competed in a series of challenges in which the object was to not "scare" (read: wake up) a [[HairRaisingHare giant, robotic hare]]. The winning team played for a top prize of £15,000. It premiered on Easter weekend in 2011 before the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E1TheImpossibleAstronaut Series 6 premiere]] of ''Series/DoctorWho'' and ended up with spectacularly low ratings (1.93 million); the producers attempted to blame the heat wave rolling through England at the time, but this backfired when the ratings for ''Doctor Who'' ended up being its highest yet. Worse yet, audiences were surprised to find out that this was not just a one-off for Easter, and that there were still ''eight more episodes''; the ratings got so bad that BBC One pulled it after six episodes, and burned off the remainder in a mid-afternoon graveyard slot. Critics and audiences lambasted the show mercilessly: many mentioned that its concept would've fit better on Creator/CBeebies rather than a network meant for mainstream viewers (in an interview, its host had even described the show as "[[SubvertedKidsShow fantasy-based toddler telly with an adult twist]]"), and the games themselves were also criticized for being either too easy or embarrassing to watch.

* The 2012 revival of '''''Series/ThePriceIsRight''''' had a glitzy look and feel based on the then-recent French revival, and longtime Aussie ''Price'' host Larry Emdur, but not much else. For one, the show had far lower payouts in comparison to past Aussie versions of ''Price'', or even its lead-out ''Series/DealOrNoDeal'': pricing games were generally played for prizes no more than $2,000 in value, and the Showcase prize package tended to be around $25,000 in total. Given the [[NoBudget compressed budget]], the show was seemingly subsidized by [[EnforcedPlug endless plugs]] for its sponsor, the discount store chain Big W (comparable to stores such as Walmart): they were plugged as the "provider" of its prizes, its logo was plastered all over the pricing game props (practically all of which did not have their names on them either, which made them look bland and, in the case of Cliff Hangers, outright missing the top part of its board), and cash prizes in games such as Plinko were always in the form of "Big W shopping sprees" (read: gift cards). There's even an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2fE7ZKxEOE episode posted on YouTube]] with a running total of all the Big W plugs. One Big W the show ''didn't'' have was the Big Wheel--the show instead used a mix of the already [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks polarizing]] U.S. ''New Price is Right'' (with no Contestants' Row) with the original half-hour format in which the top two winners advanced to the Showcase Playoff (conducted similarly to past Australian runs), but with a One Bid-like round used as a tiebreaker if needed. Last but not least, Emdur's sidekick was the "[[YoungerAndHipper hip]]" and [[LargeHamAnnouncer hammy]] Brodie Young, whose [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFMWBpRTQgE introduction]] in the first episode didn't exactly bode well (he wanted to shorten the signature catchphrase "Come on down!" to "C-O-D!" [[RuleOfCool because it sounded cooler]]). ''Price'' debuted in May, was cancelled in December, and was missed by nobody.

* '''''Trasformat''''' was a game based on recognizing the faces of famous celebrities disguised behind heavy photo editing. The concept itself wasn't bad (it even won a prize for "most original concept for a game show" in 2011), but good concepts aren't always well executed and in this case the execution was terrible. Many hints clearly gave away that it was blatantly rigged or played in favor of one of the contestants. Speaking of which, the contestants were always good-looking university students in their mid-twenties (other shows on the same network always had people of any look and age), the prizes [[DisproportionateReward way too big for the relatively easy game]], and winners never emoted, almost like they already knew whether they were going to win or lose. It lasted only seven months from 2010-2011, but in January 2012, out of the blue and with very little promotion, a "second season" was announced. [[OnlyBarelyRenewed Except that, in an act eerily similar to]] ''Series/PeerPressure'', [[OnlyBarelyRenewed it was just reruns,]] with [[ManipulativeEditing minimal edits for the second cycle to make them look new]], such as replacing the {{lovely assistant}}s (Raffaella Fico and Katia Follesa, replaced by Francesca Cipriani mid-season) with its [[UnintentionalUncannyValley creepy-looking CG mascot named Enrichetto]] (a cube-headed chibi version of the show’s creator and main host, Enrico Papi, done in the same style that was used for the equally creepy-looking contestant avatars shown in between each game phase) with a [[WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks Chipmunk]]-like voice (which was just the lines said by the original assistants pitch-shifted, most likely without their permission), the addition of a LaughTrack every time Enrico made a joke or Enrichetto was in the shot dancing or waving around and, most annoyingly, the part after the last commercial break always began from the end and then rewinded to were they left, wasting 40 seconds of the episode. It was finally cancelled for good by June.

* America's 72nd most-watched network America One (which was later acquired by the owners of what is now Youtoo TV, and merged with it to form Youtoo America -- now abbreviated as YTA TV) brings us America's 72nd most-popular big-money game show, '''''The Million-Dollar Word Game''''' (1999). The player must unscramble words (either a single word, or coming up with multiple words of specified length using the letters of one word). A few milestone points award cash and a trip, and getting past all 14 "levels" apparently allows the player to win a prize from the cheap-looking board, such as maybe, just maybe, $1,000,000. It was ostensibly attempting to [[WhoWantsToBeWhoWantsToBeAMillionaire clone]] ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' (and was likely the first U.S. FollowTheLeader clone of it), but had 19'''89'''-level production values, if not worse (they couldn't even afford to show a countdown clock onscreen!), and none of the atmosphere or substance that makes game shows legitimately exciting. The "set" was just a wall with the show's logo and the "prize banks" for the BonusRound on it (the credits contain the plug "Signage by [=Fast Signs=] [sic]"; the joke writes itself), two cheap-looking podiums, and effects lighting borrowed from the local rock and bowl. The host, Ian Jamieson (who you may remember from such shows as ''The Lonely Chef'' and America One's hit variety show ''The Ian & Clare Show'' - whose co-stars are the producers of ''MDWG''), has laid-back mannerisms that contribute to gratuitous {{Padding}}. Overall, the show had a dull, public access atmosphere that makes the aforementioned ''Series/ShoppersCasino'' look like ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' in comparison.

** Matt Vasgersian, formerly of ''Sports Geniuses'', was originally slated to host, but was disgusted by the show's premise and left before it even premiered.

* '''''Trasformat''''' was a game based on recognizing the faces of famous celebrities disguised behind heavy photo editing. The concept itself wasn't bad (it even won a prize for "most original concept for a game show" in 2011), but good concepts aren't always well executed and in this case the execution was terrible. Many hints clearly gave away that it was blatantly fake and/or rigged: the contestants were always good-looking university students in their mid-twenties (other shows on the same network always had people of any look and age), the prizes [[DisproportionateReward way too big for the relatively easy game]], and winners never emoted, almost like they already knew whether they were going to win or lose. It lasted only seven months from 2010-2011, but in January 2012, out of the blue and with very little promotion, a "second season" was announced. [[OnlyBarelyRenewed Except that, in an act eerily similar to]] ''Series/PeerPressure'', [[OnlyBarelyRenewed it was just reruns,]] with [[ManipulativeEditing minimal edits for the second cycle to make them look new]], such as replacing the {{lovely assistant}}s (Raffaella Fico and Katia Follesa, replaced by Francesca Cipriani mid-season) with its [[UnintentionalUncannyValley creepy-looking CG mascot named Enrichetto]] (a cube-headed chibi version of the show’s creator and main host, Enrico Papi, done in the same style that was used for the equally creepy-looking contestant avatars shown in between each game phase) with a [[WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks Chipmunk]]-like voice (which was just the lines said by the original assistants pitch-shifted, most likely without their permission), the addition of a LaughTrack every time Enrico made a joke or Enrichetto was in the shot dancing or waving around and, most annoyingly, the part after the last commercial break always began from the end and then rewinded to were they left, wasting 40 seconds of the episode. It was finally cancelled for good by June.

* America's 72nd most-watched network America One (which was later acquired by the owners of what is now Youtoo TV, and merged with it to form Youtoo America -- now abbreviated as YTA TV) brings us America's 72nd most-popular big-money game show, '''''The Million-Dollar Word Game''''' (1999). The player must unscramble words (either a single word, or coming up with multiple words of specified length using the letters of one word). A few milestone points award cash and a trip, and getting past all 14 "levels" apparently allows the player to win a prize from the cheap-looking board, such as maybe, just maybe, $1,000,000. It was ostensibly attempting to [[WhoWantsToBeWhoWantsToBeAMillionaire clone]] ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' (and was likely the first U.S. FollowTheLeader clone of it), but had 19'''89'''-level production values, if not worse (they couldn't even afford to show a countdown clock onscreen!), and none of the atmosphere or substance that makes game shows legitimately exciting. The "set" was just a wall with the show's logo and the "prize banks" for the BonusRound on it (the credits contain the plug "Signage by [=Fastsigns=]"; the joke writes itself), two cheap-looking podiums, and effects lighting borrowed from the local rock and bowl. The host, Ian Jamieson (who you may remember from such shows as ''The Lonely Chef'' and America One's hit variety show ''The Ian & Clare Show'' - whose co-stars are the producers of ''MDWG''), has laid-back mannerisms that contribute to gratuitous {{Padding}}. Overall, the show had a dull, public access atmosphere that makes the aforementioned ''Series/ShoppersCasino'' look like ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' in comparison.

* '''''The Girlie Show''''' (1996) was a late-night entertainment show attempting to cash in on the {{Ladette}} fad and "girl power" ethos. The show was largely a SpearCounterpart of its predecessor in the post-pub timeslot, ''The Word'' (1990-1995, with a mix of music, feature segments, and stunt/game-based segments), and mainly consisted of a group of female presenters [[RefugeInAudacity childishly daring each other to say rude words on TV]], and featured such exciting regular segments as the "Wanker of the Week" (where celebrities were roasted with an array of poorly-written jokes), "Toilet Talk" (a ConfessionCam segment on sex, filmed in a toilet stall), and the "Naked Apes"--a group of male correspondents who visited places such as nightclubs or sporting events and acted like LowerClassLout stereotypes (think ''Series/TheRealWorld'' but not very good). Critics trashed the show for being amateurish and highly staged, with the hosts' lack of professional TV experience being very apparent. Meanwhile, audiences found it to be offensive and sexist against both men and women. It lost viewers rapidly and was canned after two series. Probably the only notable footnote of the show was that it featured one of the Music/SpiceGirls' first television appearances.

* '''''The Girlie Show''''' (1996) was a late-night entertainment show attempting to cash in on the {{Ladette}} fad and "girl power" ethos. The show was largely a SpearCounterpart of its predecessor in the post-pub timeslot, ''The Word'' (1990-1995, with a mix of music, feature segments, and stunt/game-based segments), and mainly consisted of a group of female presenters [[RefugeInAudacity childishly daring each other to say rude words on TV]], and featured such exciting regular segments as the "Wanker of the Week" (where celebrities were roasted with an array of poorly-written jokes), and "Toilet Talk" (a ConfessionCam segment on sex, filmed in a toilet stall). It also featured a bunch of male correspondents known as the "Naked Apes", who visited places such as nightclubs or sporting events and acted like LowerClassLout stereotypes (think ''Series/TheRealWorld'' but not very good). Critics trashed the show for being amateurish and highly staged, with the hosts' lack of professional TV experience being very apparent. Meanwhile, audiences found it to be offensive and sexist against both men and women. It lost viewers rapidly and was canned after two series. Probably the only notable footnote of the show was that it featured one of the Music/SpiceGirls' first television appearances.

* '''''Series/{{Shafted}}''''' (2001) appeared to be ITV's answer to ''Series/TheWeakestLink'' (i.e. a dark, elimination-based quiz show with an antagonizing host, played between contestants with clashing personalities). After having six contestants choose how much money they wanted to begin with (and the contestant with the highest starting amount [[EjectTheLoser getting eliminated off the bat]]), five contestants wagered on whether they could answer a question, given the first few words (meaning it could be a BaitAndSwitch about a completely different topic). The contestant who bet highest then answered the fully-revealed question. After each round, the contestant in the lead eliminates an opponent, and everyone else's bank is raised up to the leader's total. When the game is down to two contestants, it goes to a PrisonersDilemma finale (see ''Series/FriendOrFoe'', ''Series/GoldenBalls'', etc.) where the contestants secretly chose if they wanted to share the final pot, or take it for themselves (in other words, Share or Shaft). If both choose to Shaft, they lose everything. The problems? Its [[WhoWantsToBeWhoWantsToBeAMillionaire Who Wants To Be]] ''The Weakest Link'' aesthetic and premise felt derivative and cliché (and this was coming from the network that premiered ''[[Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire Millionaire]]'' in the first place), and only exacerbated the moral issues of the game itself. The hosting of Robert Kilroy-Silk (a former Labor Party MP) was also stiff and lacking personality. While ratings started off good, they began to see significant losses by the fourth episode, prompting ITV to give the eight remaining episodes the shaft themselves.

* After losing the rights to veteran game show ''Pasapalabra'' in October 2019 as a result of a legal dispute with ITV Studios, Telecinco enlisted its legal team to work on its replacement format. You read that right. The network decided to devise a new game show with the same host as ''Pasapalabra'', Christian Gálvez, and a roster of former ''Pasapalabra'' champions as contestants, working around the court sentence that prevented them from airing ''Pasapalabra''. The result was '''''El Tirón''''', a short-format game show whose gameplay tried and failed to recreate the tension of ''Pasapalabra'''s iconic final round by challenging contestants to answer twelve consecutive questions correctly. It showed that it was rushed into production, premiering less than three weeks after the court order that forced Telecinco to stop airing ''Pasapalabra'' was released, and being filmed on the set of a different show with barely any additional dressing. The unexciting gameplay, dirt-poor production values, and the advent of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic ended up knocking ''El Tirón'' off Telecinco's lineup in March 2020, two months before ''Pasapalabra'' finally returned... on rival network Antena 3.

* '''''The Girlie Show''''' (1996) was a late-night entertainment show attempting to cash in on the {{Ladette}} fad and "girl power" ethos. The show was largely a SpearCounterpart of its predecessor in the post-pub timeslot, ''The Word'' (1990-1995, with a mix of music, feature segments, and stunt/game-based segments), and mainly consisted of a group of female presenters [[RefugeInAudacity childishly daring each other to say rude words on TV]], and featured such exciting regular segments as the "Wanker of the Week" (where celebrities were roasted with an array of poorly-written jokes), and "Toilet Talk" (a ConfessionCam segment on sex, filmed in a toilet stall). It also featured a bunch of male correspondents known as the "Naked Apes", who visited places such as nightclubs or sporting events and acted like LowerClassLout stereotypes (think ''Series/TheRealWorld'' but somehow worse). Critics trashed the show for being amateurish and highly staged, with the hosts' lack of professional TV experience being very apparent. Meanwhile, audiences found it to be offensive and sexist against both men and women. It lost viewers rapidly and was canned after two series. Probably the only notable footnote of the show was that it featured one of the Music/SpiceGirls' first television appearances.

* '''''Cheap Cheap Cheap''''' (2017) was intended by Creator/{{Channel 4}} as a vehicle for Noel Edmonds post-''Series/DealOrNoDeal''; set in a general store, the contestants were presented with three grocery items, and asked to guess which of them was the cheapest. Each correct answer moved them up a money ladder towards a top prize of £25,000. There were three "[[{{Lifelines}} tools]]", which could be used to reveal one of the prices, reveal the most-expensive item, or preview the items for the next round before choosing to go on. The format was shallow, it was difficult enough that the payouts were quite low, and its 45-minute timeslot was padded out by a ''Series/NoelsHouseParty''-esque ShowWithinAShow involving the store's employees came off as flat and surreal. Channel 4 was seemingly lacking confidence for the show, burying it in a daytime graveyard slot over the summer with little promotion (and, in turn, little viewership).

* '''''Cheap Cheap Cheap''''' (2017) was intended by Creator/{{Channel 4}} as a vehicle for Noel Edmonds post-''Series/DealOrNoDeal''; the contestants were presented with three grocery items, and asked to guess which of them was the cheapest. Each correct answer moved them up a money ladder towards a top prize of £25,000. There were three "[[{{Lifelines}} tools]]", which could be used to reveal one of the prices, reveal the most-expensive item, or preview the items for the next round before choosing to go on. Somehow, it was difficult enough that the payouts were quite low, and to make up for the shallow format (what more can you do when you're stretching a single [[Series/ThePriceIsRight pricing game]] into a 45-minute show?) it tried to do a ''Series/NoelsHouseParty''-esque ShowWithinAShow with the employees of the general store where the game took place, which came off as flat and surreal. Channel 4 was seemingly lacking confidence for the show, burying it in a daytime graveyard slot over the summer with little promotion (and, in turn, little viewership).

* '''''Cheap Cheap Cheap''''' (2017) was intended by Creator/{{Channel 4}} as a vehicle for Noel Edmonds post-''Series/DealOrNoDeal''; the contestants were presented with three grocery items, and asked to guess which of them was the cheapest. Each correct answer moved them up a money ladder towards a top prize of £25,000. There were three "[[{{Lifeline}} tools]]", which could be used to reveal one of the prices, reveal the most-expensive item, or preview the items for the next round before choosing to go on. Somehow, it was difficult enough that the payouts were quite low, and to make up for the shallow format (what more can you do when you're stretching a single [[Series/ThePriceIsRight pricing game]] into a 45-minute show?) it tried to do a ''Series/NoelsHouseParty''-esque ShowWithinAShow with the employees of the general store where the game took place, which came off as flat and surreal. Channel 4 was seemingly lacking confidence for the show, burying it in a daytime graveyard slot over the summer with little promotion (and, in turn, little viewership).

** Now complete with a [[http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2013/02/fox-brings-back-the-swan-with-celebrities-bad-idea-or-worst-idea.html Celebrity Edition]]...which seemingly (but unsurprisingly) failed to make it to the air.

* '''''Utopia''''' [[note]](no relation to [[Series/{{Utopia}} the British conspiracy thriller of the same name]])[[/note]], an ambitious $50 million program that Fox premiered in Fall 2014, and which quickly went down as one of the biggest bombs in TV history. Based on a Dutch reality show, 15 people from all walks of life were sent to live on a compound in southern California in the hopes of building a new society, with a working farm, a lake stocked with fish, and a 24/7 live camera feed that anybody could watch online. While the original Dutch show it was based on was a success, the American version completely botched the execution, as the cast was composed of {{Jerkass}}es and exaggerated stereotypes picked out specifically to cause tension with each other (a minister and an atheist, a hunter and an animal rights activist, etc.), defeating the whole point of the show right from the start. [[http://communityvoices.post-gazette.com/arts-entertainment-living/tuned-in/item/38334-fox-s-folly-utopia One critic]] called it nothing but non-stop "farming, fighting, and fornicating - but mostly fighting", few of the people involved (in either the cast or the production) seemed to have any idea what they were doing or what the point of the show was, and some cast members were overtly saying on-camera that they couldn't wait to get voted off so they could [[MoneyDearBoy collect their paychecks]]. The show's swift cancellation after only one month strained the network and deepened its slump in the mid-'10s, and sparked much discussion about whether RealityTV, at least on the broadcast networks, was wearing out its welcome.

* '''''The Girlie Show''''' (1996) was a late-night entertainment show attempting to cash in on the {{Ladette}} fad and "girl power" ethos. The show was largely a SpearCounterpart of its predecessor in the post-pub timeslot, ''The Word'' (1990-1995, with a mix of music, feature segments, and stunt/game-based segments), and mainly consisted of a group of female presenters [[RefugeInAudacity childishly daring each other to say rude words on TV]], and featured such exciting regular segments as the "Wanker of the Week" (where celebrities were roasted with an array of poorly-written jokes), and "Toilet Talk" (where members of the public gave their thoughts on sex-related topics). It also featured a bunch of male correspondents known as the "Naked Apes", who visited places such as nightclubs or sporting events and acted like LowerClassLout stereotypes (think ''Series/TheRealWorld'' but somehow worse). Critics trashed the show for being amateurish and highly staged, with the hosts' lack of professional TV experience being very apparent. Meanwhile, audiences found it to be offensive and sexist against both men and women. It lost viewers rapidly and was canned after two series. Probably the only notable footnote of the show was that it featured one of the Music/SpiceGirls' first television appearances.

* While shopping has proven a fine basis for a game show, '''''Series/SaveToWin''''' failed to deliver since it was trying to be an ad for Family Dollar more than an entertaining show. Despite the tagline "smart shopping leads to money in your pocket", [[NeverTrustATitle the gameplay has nothing to do with saving money]]. It's played by two teams in three very basic rounds: trivia questions related to products, which fluctuate wildly from obvious to obscure with no attempt at scaling difficulty; identifying products via taste, touch, or smell after being blindfolded; and memorizing items that rolled down a conveyor belt, which [[GoldenSnitch offers way more points than the rounds]] despite being the easiest. The BonusRound is a complete LuckBasedMission, which was never won even though the grand prize [[NoBudget was only $5,000]]. Celebrity chef Pat Neely is incredibly awkward as host, under-explaining the rules, stumbling over words even after lots of LoopingLines, and bellowing "[[BigNo OH NOOOOOO]]!" at every incorrect response. The show lasted only 17 episodes, the last two of which don't even have gameplay: instead being a clip show with a staged $5,000 win and a behind-the-scenes featurette. Website/GameShowGarbage has the rundown [[http://www.gameshowgarbage.com/ind226_savetowin.html here]], and WebVideo/LadyEmily also covers it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwulEe3Tmz4 here]].

* '''''Series/SaveToWin''''': Hosted by celebrity chef Pat Neely and LovelyAssistant Mariana Cardenas, and airing in The CW's EdutainmentShow block ''One Magnificent Morning'', the show was effectively a 30-minute commercial for the variety store chain Family Dollar. While shopping has constantly proven a fine basis for a game show, ''Save to Win'' has very little to offer. Three slow rounds are played, with an "[[CallAHitPointASmeerp item in your cart]]" for each correct response. These involve answering toss-up questions related to products (one such question being whether Creator/SherriShepherd said that her house smelled like "wet dog" or "feet" before she sprayed it with Glade); identifying products via taste, touch, or smell after being blindfolded; and the two teams alternating naming items from shopping lists after watching items roll down a conveyor belt (which itself is also a GoldenSnitch by offering way more points than any other round, especially when only 15 is needed to win). The BonusRound is a LuckBasedMission (pick two of twenty items with cash prizes attached to them; if the prizes match, you win $5,000, or else you win the sum of both amounts), which was never even remotely close to being won. Worse, the format turns even the show's ''title'' into BlatantLies: despite Neely's promises that "smart shopping leads to money in your pocket", no actual shopping element is involved, nor do the concepts of saving money or pricing items come up at any point.\\
Neely is incredibly awkward as host, under-explaining the rules (one contestant in the first episode got disqualified during the "taste/touch/smell" round with Neely [[NowYouTellMe belatedly saying she isn't allowed to talk to her partner]]), stumbling over or mispronouncing words even ''after'' lots of LoopingLines, and bellowing "[[BigNo OH NOOOOOO]]!" at every incorrect response. (Why did they pick a chef to host, you might ask? Originally, the commercial wraparounds [[WhatCouldHaveBeen were supposed to feature him making recipes with items from Family Dollar]], but this was axed late in development.) The only saving grace is some [[SceneryPorn surprisingly decent setwork]]: shelves filled with actual merchandise, retro-style eggcrate scoreboards, a color-changing background, and a moving wall to reveal the bonus round. The show lasted only a scant 17 episodes, the last two of which ''don't even have gameplay'': #16 is a clip show replete with an obviously staged $5,000 win and #17 is a behind-the-scenes featurette. The CW reran it for a few months, although all of the episodes can be found on Family Dollar's [=YouTube=] account. As usual, Website/GameShowGarbage has the rundown [[http://www.gameshowgarbage.com/ind226_savetowin.html here]]. WebVideo/SarahZ's co-writer, WebVideo/LadyEmily, also covers it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwulEe3Tmz4 here]].

** The British version (''For the Rest of Your Life'') handled this part differently, by instead having an opening round where white sticks increased the pot (based on an amount chosen by the contestants), and picking one of the three red sticks subtracted from it; the couple could stop at any time after finding four white sticks, but finding all three reds ended the game. Unfortunately, they did not remove the Guardian Angel gimmick.

* '''''The Girlie Show''''' (1996) was a late-night entertainment show attempting to cash in on the {{Ladette}} fad and "girl power" ethos. The show was largely a SpearCounterpart of its predecessor in the post-pub timeslot, ''The Word'' (1990-1995, with a mix of music, feature segments, and stunt/game-based segments), and mainly consisted of a group of female presenters [[RefugeInAudacity childishly daring each other to say rude words on TV]], and featured such exciting regular segments as the "Wanker of the Week" (where the hosts roast celebrities with an array of poorly-written jokes), and "Toilet Talk" (where members of the public gave their thoughts on sex-related topics). It also featured a bunch of male correspondents known as the "Naked Apes", who visited places such as nightclubs or sporting events and acted like LowerClassLout stereotypes (think ''Series/TheRealWorld'' but somehow worse). Critics trashed the show for being amateurish and highly staged, with the hosts' lack of professional TV experience being very apparent. Meanwhile, audiences found it to be offensive and sexist against both men and women. It lost viewers rapidly and was canned after two series. Probably the only notable footnote of the show was that it featured one of the Music/SpiceGirls' first television appearances.
* '''''Love Thy Neighbour''''' (2011) had families competing for a £300,000 cottage in Grassington -- a picturesque market town in North Yorkshire, with the winner chosen by its residents. The families would perform tasks to gain flavor among the residents (such as organizing events and giving a speech at the pub as a pitch) -- who would then get to vote on which family would advance to the next round (beginning with heats between 6 pairs of two families each, followed by a semi-final and finale). However, there was a major flaw: the show alleged that Grassington's residents were largely conservative and did not take kindly to outsiders. In reality, the townspeople were actually quite kind and accepting towards the newcomers, and VoxPops suggested that Grassington had more "outsiders" than the show suggested there were. As a result, the producers had to rely on ManipulativeEditing to [[PlayedForDrama get their preferred point across]]; for instance, one episode featured a family of Nigerian descent (whose father was an aspiring Conservative politician), and the show attempted to insist that there could be racial tensions. In reality, the only things that happened were people who either mistook them as being {{UsefulNotes/Jamaica}}ns on first glance, or displayed concerns that they could be treated with prejudice by others. Said family would end up winning the episode. In the end, viewership was low and the reviews were bad, so it was unceremoniously burned off on Channel 4's sister digital channel [=More4=] after only 3 episodes.

* '''''The Girlie Show''''' (1996) was a late-night entertainment show attempting to cash in on the {{Ladette}} fad and "girl power" ethos. The show was largely a SpearCounterpart of its predecessor in the timeslot, ''The Word'' (1990-1995, with a mix of music, feature segments, and stunt/game-based segments), and mainly consisted of a group of female presenters childishly daring each other to say rude words on TV. It also featured a bunch of male correspondents (the "Naked Apes"), who visited places such as clubs or sporting events and acted like LowerClassLout stereotypes. Critics trashed the show for being amateurish and highly staged, with the hosts' lack of professional TV experience being very apparent. Meanwhile, audiences found it to be offensive and sexist against both men and women. It lost viewers rapidly and was canned after two series. Probably the only notable footnote of the show was that it featured one of the Music/SpiceGirls' first television appearances.

* '''''Series/ShoppersCasino''''' was a home shopping {{Infomercial}} disguised as a game show; given that its production values were just as bad as one, it's not hard to see why for years it was claimed to be the worst game show of all time. Jeff Maxwell does a pretty bad job as host (flubbing his lines not once but ''twice'' in the first episode), and the models act like [[MoneyDearBoy they're only there for the paycheck]]. The set is dingy and poorly-constructed, which makes it hard for the cameramen to get good shots of the games, which were just dumbed-down versions of blackjack, roulette, and chuck-a-luck. They attempt to sell "bargain items" to the home viewers that aren't actually bargains at all, and worse, they deceive said home viewers with a "home caller" that sounds like they're actually using the PA system in the studio, thinking the viewers wouldn't know the difference. Website/GameShowGarbage has a review [[http://www.gameshowgarbage.com/ind135_shopperscasino.html here]]... but if you ''really'' want to see for yourself how bad it really was, it's present in all its glory [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiX0y7yHiBA here.]]

** One wonders if the show could even afford to give away $10,000, let alone $1,000,000, given that it clearly has NoBudget. Though, according to a post discussing the show on newsgroup [=alt.tv.game-shows=], contestants rarely made it to the higher levels to begin with, and one contestant made it to Level 14 but lost. In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yn1HxqqXSo the episode posted on YouTube]], Ian boasts at the top of the show that the next round of tapings would add a top prize of '''$5,000,000!''' Later on, he announces a planned tournament between the United States and Canada as a contestant plug. Oh yeah, and the number to call to be a contestant is a 1-900 number. Once again, the joke writes itself.

* In 1993, International Family Entertainment had announced plans to launch a game show-oriented channel known as The Game Channel, which would feature classic game shows and interactive features. However, it already faced competition out of the gate from the impending launch of Creator/GameShowNetwork. As part of the lead-up to its (aborted) launch, [[Creator/{{Freeform}} The Family Channel]] began to air several game shows with interactive segments, all of which were produced and hosted by Wink Martindale, beginning with ''TabletopGame/TrivialPursuit''. The hour-long show was [[InsistentTerminology treated on-air as two distinct shows]] (right down to having separate credits); ''Trivial Pursuit: The Interactive Game'' was a qualifier, where 12 (later 9) players competed to answer multiple-choice questions on keypads as quickly as possible, with the top three players advancing to the main show, ''Trivial Pursuit: The Classic Game''. The first half of the show was a tutorial for the "Playbreak" segments in commercial breaks throughout the remainder of the network's game show block (outside of ''The Classic Game'', however), where viewers could call a 1-900 number on a touch-tone phone to answer questions in a similar format (only $4.98 per call!).\\