Re-pong

One of the odder bits of game show news just turned up in Variety. Primitive video game Pong may return as a game show called Million Dollar Pong.

Yeah, I'll have to see it to believe it, too. Pong was so basic that it's hard to imagine how a TV show could arise from the ancient graphics. What was state of the art in the 1970s looks like cuneiform today. But hope springs eternal for politicians and game show producers.

Scott Sternberg is the veteran showrunner attempting this reboot. He's got a checkered past in the business. He hit rock bottom with Extreme Gong, one of the few shows that actually deserves its Game Show Garbage induction. But he's also turned out more respectable efforts. Remember That's the Question? I put this GSN original on my top 50 list, though it's so obscure that Wikipedia doesn't even have an article on it. (They do have a very brief entry on the Brit version.) U.S. Game Shows Wiki has a nice article about the show, though.

I have no idea how Sternberg will tart up the minimalist Pong into a passable game show. There are no details in the linked Variety article about little things like a network, a host, a debut date, a reason for existence...

We'll just have to wait and see if Pong lives again.

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