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The Gong Show: Difference between revisions
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Nominally a [[Game Show]] and talent search, the idea was that an act was given one minute and had one rule: Don't Suck. Even that was too much to ask for most of the contestants, who would be gonged offstage if the judges found them particularly awful. The contestants all got a minimum of 30 seconds (or 20, or 45, depending on Chuck's mood) to perform no matter what; the judges would sometimes watch the clock, mallet in hand, waiting for the time to pass. Those who weren't gonged were scored by the panel from 0-10, with the highest score receiving a trophy and $516.32 ($712.05, then $716.32, on the nighttime version).
In truth, it was a ''parody'' of talent shows like ''Ted Mack's Amateur Hour'', with its anarchic rules, wildly-varying quality level, and random-number prize check (which was supposedly based on the minimum daily pay from the [[Screen Actors Guild]]). But none of the acts seemed to ''notice''.
Barris was simultaneously the best and worst host possible. He was the worst because he
The risqué stuff was all intentional; in fact, Barris often [[Censor Decoy|threw in acts he knew would be cut]] in order to [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|get the borderline stuff past the censors]]. Of course it occasionally [[Springtime for Hitler|backfired]] — [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDxDYIQL6Nc one memorable sketch] featured a pair of 17-year-old girls [[Erotic Eating|sucking on Popsicles]] with no accompaniment. Phyllis Diller gave it a zero, Jamie Farr gave it a two, and Jaye P. Morgan not only gave it a ten, but physically prevented the other two from gonging it. Why? [[Casting Couch|"That's how I got my start in show business!"]]
Almost as famous as the awful acts were the recurring characters. The most famous was the Unknown Comic (Murray Langston), who performed with a paper bag over his head. Others included the aforementioned Scarlett and Rhett, Gene
The show lasted only four years before the last episode aired, but in that time became something of a cultural phenomenon, even showing up in other programs, including, most famously, an episode of ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]''. Given the popularity of the ''[[American Idol]]'' "losers" shows, perhaps it was ahead of its time. Barris, meanwhile, became the subject of the movie ''[[Confessions of a Dangerous Mind]]'', whose title should tell you all you need to know about ''him''.
Surprisingly (or perhaps not), a number of performers who would later have considerable success made their TV premieres on ''The Gong Show'', including
The show has had several [[Revival|revivals]], each
▲The show has had several [[Revival|revivals]], each in ten-year intervals. The first was in 1988 with Don Bleu as host, a version which lasted for only one season. Game Show Network revived it as ''[[Extreme Gong]]'' in 1998 with George Gray at the helm, and kept it going for two seasons. The most recent revival was in 2008 on [[Comedy Central]], also lasting for only a season with Dave Attell as host.
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{{gameshowtropes}}
* [[All or Nothing]]: Only the highest-scoring act won the $516.32 prize.
* [[Confetti Drop]]: Balloons (and later [[Subverted Trope|trash]]) were dropped when a winner was announced, while a little person ran around throwing confetti on everyone.
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** [[Studio Audience]]
* [[Whammy]]: Unsurprisingly, the Gong. Also zero scores, to an extent.
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{{tropelist}}
* ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]'': In a "Family" sketch, Eunice appeared on the show and got Gang-Gonged by Jamie Farr, Jaye P. Morgan, and '''[[Password|Allen Ludden]]'''.
* [[Catch Phrase]]:
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** "We'll be right back with more-uh...'''stuff'''...right after this!"
** From the Comedy Central version:
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* [[Censor Decoy]]: The popsicle twins. Ended up airing anyway.
* [[Drop the Cow]]: The Gong.
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[[Category:Game Show]]
[[Category:The Gong Show]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gong Show, The}}
[[Category:TV Series]]
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