Among decades-long classics like Jeopardy and Wheel Of Fortune lie several game shows with stranger rule books. These weird game shows range from the zany, to funny, to outright sadistic. Musical chairs, racing giraffes, and touching trucks are just a few of the odd concepts that TV execs thought were a good idea for public consumption.
These funny game shows will have you trolling YouTube for hours on end, unable to believe they ever made it to air.
Bizarre Game Shows That Were Actually on the Air at One Point,
American Gladiators
Though not fatal, American Gladiators was still a bit barbaric. Mirroring the Roman death matches of long ago, twenty contestants from the United States would meet in an arena and compete in feats of strength and skill to determine who was the best gladiator.
Hollywood Squares
Another show whose great success might have blinded the public to its weirdness, Hollywood Squares was part tic-tac-toe, part trivia, and part comedy forum. The show's writers supplied celebrities with pre-written joke answers, and the celebrities would deliver these before their "real" answers. The rules varied slightly over the years, but most of the show's draw was the celebrity element.
Queen for a Day
On the popular 50s and 60s game show Queen For A Day, female contestants vied for prizes much like contestants do on Wheel of Fortune or The Price Is Right. But rather than guessing letters or prices, the women won based on who had the worst life. That's right—each show consisted of total strangers trying to convince the judge that her life was the worst.
Supermarket Sweep
Part quiz show, part race through a supermarket. The oddest thing is that when it failed on one network (ABC), it was picked up for another five seasons with Lifetime, and then a final three with PAX.
Because who doesn't love watching grown men and women sprint through an abandoned grocery store filling their carts with pricey foodstuffs?
Win Ben Stein's Money
A trivia game with an odd twist: the host pays the contestants out of pocket. Well, no, not really. Some small print during the credits admitted that the producers paid the prize money, not Ben Stein. But the beloved monotone teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off was convincing enough that most contestants and viewers thought they were emptying his bank account. The first half of the show allowed players to win his money, while the second half introduced Stein as an additional competitor who could answer questions correctly to defend his money. If it sounds complicated, it's because it was. It was canceled in 2003.
Remote Control
Back in the late 80s and early 90s, MTV featured a bizarre game show called Remote Control. Contestants would gather in the "basement" of the show's host, Ken Ober, and his sidekick, Colin Quinn. On a cheap-looking television were nine pop culture channels that provided questions for the competitors.
Other wacky features of the show were frequent snack breaks (which often came in the form of the snack simply being poured on top of the contestants' heads) and voice cameos from Ken Ober's mother, who would shout, presumably, from upstairs.
Fear Factor
Perhaps because of its enormous popularity, not many people consider Fear Factor a weird concept. But if you take a step back and consider that a nation tuned in each night to watch strangers eat bugs and dip themselves into tarantula pits, you might reconsider.
Child's Play
Picture beloved home game Taboo mixed with Kids Say The Darndest Things, and you've got Child's Play. On this short-lived game show, contestants would compete for a $5,000 prize by guessing words. Their only clues? Definitions of those words given by children.
Repo Games
Repo Games is a sadistic game show aired by Spike TV that featured two men arriving unexpectedly to repossess a family's car. The catch? If the family could answer a series of trivia questions correctly, they got to keep the car. (Presumably, the network paid off outstanding debts?) But if not - well, tough luck.
Fun fact: one disgruntled contestant ended up facing a charge for attempted murder after shooting at the production van.
Oh Sit!
Nothing indicates high art like a pun in the title. Oh Sit! was a game show that was, essentially, musical chairs. Contestants struggled through an inflatable obstacle course while a live band played accompanying music. Those who made it to the chairs at the end were safe - those who found themselves without a place to sit were offed.
