Okay, okay, I just know that this topic was covered to death long ago, but I wasn't here long ago.

Well, I was dog and house sitting and was channel surfing out of boredom and happened on a 1987 episode of Mama's Family where Thelma Harper (Mama) goes on Jeopardy! after a bizarre remote contestant tryout. Unreal funny stuff during the quiz show, and apparently this was live, not taped, since the family watched it without Mama being there. What a contrast with a real Jeopardy! episode where Alex snapped at a woman contestant, also in the center position, "Don't mess with me....You'll only hurt your self."

Then there was the probably more famous 1990 "Who is...Cliff Clavin" episode on Cheers. This lived on in Alex remarking, "He couldn't be caught, unless he pulled a Cliff Clavin."

Two movies that I can think of where Jeopardy! was prominent are Rain Man, 1988, and White Men Can't Jump, 1992.

Now for my questions. Are there other TV or movie Jeopardy appearances? Has any other real game/quiz show been similarly featured? Obviously both parties in these "deals" thought "win-win" where the prestige and/or publicity was beneficial. I wonder who first approached whom?

WoF - A-Team
J! - Mama's Family, Cheers
Family Feud - Mama's Family
WWTBAM - Spin City
Pyramid - Friends
TPiR - Martial Law

Those are the ones that spring right to my mind.

Did this really happen? Details please.

TPIR: How I Met Your Mother

A whole episode of The Golden Girls details Dorothy's love for Jeopardy! and her attempts to tryout. Falling asleep during a study session, she has a dream where she takes on her dim-witted roommate and apparent champion Rose Nylund, and a surfing, "chick" obsessed dude. Later, she passes the test so well, yet being cocky doing so. She isn't accepted to be on the show because, in the words of the contestant coordinator, "We don't feel anyone would root for you."

Oh yeah. I forgot about that one. That "dude" happens to be their neighbor, Charlie Deats. He became more prevalent in the spin-off "Empty Nest".

I'm obviously more a fan of the spun-off series than the spin-off. ;)

The Nanny: Jeopardy! and Hollywood Squares.

Although I have never seen it, I've read that the '78 ABC sitcom 'Angie' did a 'Family Feud' show w/ Richard Dawson.

227 had a WOF episode where Jackee and Marla Gibbs went on. Pat gives some explanation that they're having some theme show where neighbors were allowed to compete. The third contestant ends up solving the puzzle by calling only one letter, "Z". Not a very funny episode, but IMO 227 wasn't really that funny to begin with. The same show also had Jackee on Combs' FF, where she answers every fast money question with "A man".

From what I remember reading at ATGS, it was "Feud" in name only, and they never used the actual set.

-I remember 90210 doing an episode centered around "Jeopardy", but like "Golden Girls", it featured more dream sequence than anything.
-An early-90s movie called "Breaking the Rules" featured a contestant who planned to appear on the show.

The Doris Day movie "It Happened To Jane" not only featured IGAS and all participants (Moore, Cullen, Morgan, Palmer, Myerson); but was a prominant part of the story (about a NE widow against a train magnate played by Ernie Kovacs. Day appears on IGAS with her tale.) Also, in a small role as a reporter was Gene Rayburn.

IIRC it is the only time you can see the early 60's IGAS set in color.

How about "Gimme A Break!" with Nell and Addy on WOF. Can't recall if it was this or 227 that had the incorrect solve "Give Me Liberty or Give Me A Car".

Jeopardy: "White Men Can't Jump".

The former.

I saw the show when ABC reran Angie in the mornings, and you're right, the real set wasn't used.

Laverne & Shirley had one episode involving "The Dating Game", where IIRC Lenny & Squiggy were 2 of the Bachelors in one round.

This episode was later in the L&S run after they all moved from Milwaukee to Los Angeles, and it looks like they used the actual set from the late 70's.



I recall the episode and Richard said something to the effect that they took the show on the road to Philadelphia, which would compensate for the faux Feud set.

My favorite game show/sitcom crossover is Oscar and Felix from The Odd Couple going on Password. Absolutely hilarious. There was also an episode where they went on Let's Make a Deal.

That reminds me of a short-lived sitcom entitled "Watching Ellie", in which the cast went on Karn's "Family Feud". For some strange reason, they played for a trip to Hawaii.

Oh, and did I mention that Ellie's (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) character got her "family" on the show after meeting Richard Karn at her nightclub? Only in a sitcom...

I remember that episode; I thought the jokes there fell pretty flat.

My favorite part was when Steve Carrell's character mentioned he was on Wink's Tic Tac Dough in 1992. I'd love to know how he accomplished that.

Can't leave out Groundhog Day! Also, Art Fleming had a cameo in Airplane II: The Sequel.

The "Angie" Feud episode was one of the few that actually involved the show's announcer as well - Gene Wood was also in the show. And ABC ran a disclaimer saying that the Feud game in the episode was fictional and scripted.

and if you recall, Maude, er Dorothy tries to show off by telling Alex "..as a matter of fact, give me ALL the $1000 questions!" and so she was given all of the $1000 questions read to her succession all to herself without having to buzz in..

Anyone remember the Simon and Simon episode where.. um.. Simon (?) was on WOF, and went to the bonus round bragging about his extensive letter frequency research, and ended up picking obscure letters (back in the 5 consonants/1 vowel days) and won (of course).. I was seven or eight, so that's really all I remember :p

EDiT: gah! tried looking it up online -- turns out it was the A-Team.. my bad

summary:


haha sounds worse than what I remember..

Going way back, there was the "Teamwork Beat the Clock" sketch -- complete with Bud and Roxanne -- on "The Jackie Gleason Show." It's still shown as part of the "Honeymooners" syndication package.

Wasn't there an episode of Fantasy Island (the newer version) with Jeopardy!?

Don't forget the L. A. Law episode in which Douglas went on on WOF and, IIRC, made a pass at Vanna.

Indeed. No Alex (Mr. Roarke was the host), but they did use the actual set. A woman wanted to "know everything" in order to show up her sister, a trivia whiz. Mr. Roarke give her knowledge of family secrets; much anguish ensues.

The original version dipped into the world of game shows with a completely fictional 1982 segment called The Quiz Masters where "the two most famous game show hosts in the world" are played by Gene Rayburn and Jan Murray.

Both Sanford & Son and What's Happening channeled GONG.

As did The Carol Burnett Show, where Eunice mangles "Feelings."

/Then again, who didn't mangle "Feelings"?

Gawd, I remember that! Had some 'mystery' doors they had to open...one had a skeleton waiting....scared the hell out of me (Okay, I was 8 at the time).

In case another Clanky shows up in three years, we may need to sticky this thread.

Anyway, if you count American Gladiators, add the episode of Family Matters where Urkel and Mr. Winslow went on AG to settle a score. Ellen went on AG on Ellen, too.

/the 90s sitcom, not the 00s talk show
//didn't AG also figure into Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman?

It did look like that, and some of the music cues were from the late '70s version too, which really didn't quite fit since the show was still supposed to be in the '60s at the time.

Adam Nedeff has an episode of some short lived TV drama where Tom Kennedy plays a crooked game show host on "Million Dollar Trivia Master". It plays like a roller coaster. I loved it! Tom Kennedy is amazing.

"Hardcastle and McCormick", but I remember it lasting a few years.

Maybe this one is a stretch, but I remember an episode of a religious anthology series called "The Christophers" centered around a game show called "All Out" in which contestants and a loved one did special challenges for big money. Bob Hastings (then of Dealer's Choice) played the smarmy host and it was filmed at CBS studio 33.

The climax is a game of Russian roulette (the real thing!). Of course, with Fox's Moment of Truth, this show is very tame by comparison.

In one of the earlier seasons of Scrubs, JD has one of his signature flashbacks, and it brings him to Louie's Feud.

Something about boobs, if I recall correctly.

There was a crooked game show on Cagney & Lacey too. They were in costumes like LMAD, but I think the game played more like Scrabble.

Well, if we want to go in to made up games, Matlock had a crooked quizzer where the centerpiece was an enormous stopwatch. It counted down from 10 seconds, and a right answer got you money for every full second left on the clock.

Might I suggest this for all your one stop game show "cameo" appearance on various tv shows and the like?

Ryan :)

/enjoyed the Jeopardy! cameo on Blossom
//WHOA!

Gee, I'm impressed! All we need now is to produce a TV Special with the clips!

..waiting for a lurker named Damian to magically appear and make the official request :D

I posted the clip in the A/V Room. Great moment.