Game shows owe much of their success to their predictability. When turning on Jeopardy! each night or spending a Saturday morning watching the classics on the Game Show Network, one knows exactly what to expect: some kind of gimmick, a big winner. A show with a winning formula can be on the air for decades, and all that really changes are the hairstyles. Still, it's the moments that take viewers (and, often, those involved) completely off-guard that can immortalize a show. From big wins to host flubs to plain old dumb answers, we now explore these unexpected gems:
10. Match Game- Sammy the Songwriter
A decade before Pat Sajak and Vanna White went for cheap margaritas on their meal breaks,Match Game viewers were often left wondering what exactly Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly were sipping from their mugs. There are countless examples of host Gene Rayburn, and his panel of B-list celebrities, blurting out responses that ranged from off-base to completely offensive. The show was, in many ways, more about the regular guest stars than the contestants' winnings, and after a while, it becomes difficult to be shocked by the panelists' antics. But then, something happens. A contestant, a blonde woman with a painfully sincere demeanor graces your presence. The prompt she's meant to answer:
"Sammy the songwriter said, 'Every song I write just misses being a big hit. Remember the song "Home on the Range"? Well, I wrote one called "Home on the BLANK.""
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She mishears it as "Sandy the songwriter", which leads her to the response of "Home on the Beach". After hearing the question correctly, she takes her time deliberating out loud before proudly announcing her new, completely off-the-wall answer (Sarah Kennedy's response is also pretty great, but considering that, as Kennedy acknowledges, she is in the seat often reserved for the ditziest panelists, it isn't quite as surprising).