Matt over at Scrubbles has a nice write up of the Game Show Network’s ‘Black And White Overnight”:
The New York Times did a nice article on the wonders of ‘Black & White Overnight’, the Game Show Network’s graveyard shift programme of vintage ’50s-’60s quiz shows. This has quickly became a favorite of mine since getting the TiVo, giving me the warm fuzzies for a time which I never experienced firsthand. The shows (‘What’s My Line’, ‘I’ve Got a Secret’, and ‘To Tell the Truth’) conjure up a swanky, Manhattanish world of cigarettes and martinis, intermissions and urbane small talk. Concepts were simple, sets were utalitarian, and personality was everything. Being smart and well-rounded was a given among all participants, something nearly unheard-of nowadays. For example, the effortlessly witty Bennett Cerf of ‘What’s My Line?’ was the head of Random House — can you imagine a publisher being on today’s game shows? I could go on and on, but instead I’ll point to Evan Izer’s wonderful weblog entry on the same subject from last year. Arlene Francis must be smiling down on him.