Game Show Revivals that need to happen soon

3. Press Your Luck

If any game show catchphrase can compete against the likes of "Come On Down," "I'd Like to Buy a Vowel," and "Is that your Final Answer?," it would be "Big Bucks, No Whammies" from the classic game show Press Your Luck. The show, hosted by the late, great Peter Tomarken, saw three contestants not only compete against each other to see who could spin their way to the most money in cash and prizes, but also see who had lady luck on their side the longest by avoiding the dreaded Whammy. Over two rounds of high-stakes action on the "Big Board," the players would take their spins from the question rounds and "STOP" on one of the eighteen squares by hitting their button. Hopefully the lighted box contained "$5000 + ONE SPIN" or "LONDON" or another cash amount or prize, but not the little red character with a dollar sign chest known as a Whammy. Hitting a Whammy meant your current total was wiped back down to zero and you had to start building your total all over again if any spins remained. The player with the highest total kept everything they won and returned the next day as champion.

The original Press Your Luck ran from September of 1983 to September of 1986, but fans of the show know that from April 2002 to December 2003, the Whammy returned on the GSN original game show Whammy: The All-New Press Your Luck to do some more damage on contestants. The Todd Newton hosted revival offered some new elements to the game, including the more devious Double Whammy and the always exciting "Big Bank." However, the goal was still the same, rack up as much money as possible and don't hit a Whammy.

Sure Press Your Luck was revived 16 years ago and some might say it's too soon for another revival, but most people probably wouldn't. Besides, Whammy, despite being one of GSN's best original game shows and being a well-produced revival that did justice to the original show, there were a few flaws. First, the cash amounts on the board were not up to par with the original Press Your Luck and there were way too many prizes that substituted for what could have been decent cash amounts. Second, many of the winners didn't win much as the grand totals for players were usually in the thousands and not the ten thousands. Plus, since there were no champions, contestants didn't even have a chance to earn more on subsequent episodes. Last, there were way too many Whammys on the board compared to the original. With all those flaws being said, it would be nice to see Press Your Luck return to it's original state, with a square "Big Board," lots of cash spaces and an appropriate amount of Whammys.

Brad Fact: On the fourth episode of CBS's 2006 summertime celebrity tournament Gameshow Marathon, where famous faces played a number of classic game shows, Press Your Luck was the featured game. Actress Kathy Najimy beat out actor Tim Meadows and the late Leslie Nielsen, winning $46,267 for a lucky home viewer.