Family Feud: TV's Top Game Show

Family Feud was and continues to be a great show, despite its host. Viewers are entertained and tested on their knowledge of the general public's opinion.

That’s what I love about this show. You can find entertainment in various aspects of the show. There’s the game show itself, which is golden. The way it is set up, there are no correct answers because the public is asked what they think are the answers. Once that subjectivity is added, the whole game is changed. Here’s an example:

Name the top 5 answers of something you find in the kitchen

My guesses would be:

1. refrigerator
2. oven
3. microwave
4. food (don't think that's a great one, but believe others would say it)
5. silverware

I’m sure many of you out there have different answers, and it’s not until we submit this question to the producers at Family Feud that will be able to find out what America really thinks.

Another great feature is the span of decades that the show encompasses. Thanks to the Game Show Network, the golden age of the Feud is syndicated: the 1970s-80s with host Richard Dawson and 1980s-90s with Ray Combs. Although there were other hosts, who can forget Louie Anderson at the turn of the century, as well as recent alum Richard Karn (Al on Home Improvement), who was recently replaced by John O’Hurley (Mr. Peterman of Seinfeld fame)? But GSN focuses on Dawson and Combs, with good reason.

Dawson was the king of Family Feud. The originator, coming off his stint on Match Game, brought his perverted antics to the families featured on the show. If you haven’t seen an episode with him as the host, do yourself a favor and take a dive into the culture of the time period. Dawson greeted each female with a kiss on the lips despite her age while their fathers, husbands, and brothers watched, usually with a smile. Were these smiles phony and were they really simmering with rage? We may never know. My guess is that they were quite complacent according to their relatively calm body language, especially prominent when thanking Richard for the opportunity to be on the show. Only Dawson was able to get away with this behavior, and the Feud of the 70s remains a television treasure and a piece of pop culture history.

In the 1980s Comb took over the airwaves, bringing his own style to the new format. Seeing the clothing of the 80s contestants is a show in itself. The producers also decided on bringing some new faces to the show, including the Playboy Bunnies of the 1970s versus 1980s, and one my personal favorites, priests versus nuns, who played for charities of their choice.

The Feud is a great game to play with friends or family in the living room at any time. If you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing the game, there are plenty of places to download a free trial to play against other players. Although I haven’t caught the new version with O’Hurley yet, I’ll make a bold statement and guarantee that the originals can’t be topped.