By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
More than two decades after the final episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood aired in 2001, the legacy of Fred Rogers has endured. Rogers has been the topic of a major feature film, It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks, and a documentary film, Won’t You Be My Neighbor. His namesake company, Fred Rogers Productions, has produced numerous public television series, including the spinoff Daniel Tiger’s […]
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Game Saves: Galactic Force
While SEGA fans are likely familiar with the company’s arcade hit Galaxy Force, developer Tengen once had a game in development with a very similar name: Galactic Force. Despite being nearly complete, it would ultimately be cancelled. This episode of Game Saves looks at the game’s development timeline, from a very early test build to a version that is nearly finished, complete with a new name.
Preventive Conservation: Preserving Entire Collections for the Long Term
Have you ever heard the saying ”an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.?” A truer saying couldn’t be more appropriate for the preservation and care of collections. Spending funds and energy proactively on preventive care is the most efficient way to preserve an entire collection for the long term, rather than reacting and treating damage that has already occurred to an individual object. Any type of action that can be implemented to mitigate the agents of deterioration—physical […]
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Seven Things Learned in Five Days in January
I arrived at The Strong National Museum of Play near the end of January 2024 with nine days to spare to submit a book manuscript and a Research Fellowship lasting just five days. This, then, would not be a luxurious waltz around the vast collection in the archives. It was more a sprint through I had already reconnoitered titles in the hope of verifying previous leads, and tidying up some loose ends in some previously written chapters.
This book is about […]
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Original Jeopardy! Debuted 60 Years Ago
By Adam Nedeff, researchers for the National Archives of Game Show History
Barely five years removed from the quiz show scandals of the 1950s, NBC surprised viewers by touting an exciting new quiz show in which the contestants would be told all the answers…the catch was, they had to provide the questions. Sixty years ago this month, America was introduced to Jeopardy! in March of 1964.
Merv Griffin had lamented to his wife, Julann, about the absence of Q&A shows […]
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Play is the Best Medicine
A proverb in the Bible states, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
There’s sound wisdom in this, as anyone knows who has felt better after laughing uproariously at a silly pet video. Play is not necessarily a panacea, but it is good medicine, a way of introducing fun into life and making it a little more bearable along the way. Because of these beneficial qualities of play, it is not surprising that over […]
From Playing Cards to Divination
When I say “tarot cards” you probably conjure up an image of fortune tellers in your mind. Or you might picture the hundreds of decks of the famed 78 cards available in stores. The images on tarot cards always vary, but the structure remains the same: the Major Arcana [also known as the trump cards], and the Minor Arcana, made up of four suits. But did you know, these cards were not used for divination until the 18th century? And […]
The More Things Change. . .
Nature always strives for balance. While at times it may be fragile, there are ecosystems all around us that are evidence of this fact. Even in our own lives, we naturally strive for a state of equilibrium. We’re tired, so we sleep. We’re hungry, so we eat. We’re stressed . . . so we play.
The past few years have certainly had their share of stresses, from civil unrest to economic woes and, oh yeah, a global pandemic. It’s more important […]
The Man Behind Memorable Game Show Graphics
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
Game shows are not just television programs. They are brands unto themselves, and some of them are represented by graphic icons—the blobby red Whammys of Press Your Luck; the merry joker of The Joker’s Wild; the distinctive dollar sign in The Price Is Right’s logo. These elements are calling cards for classic game shows. The best ones stand on their own as representatives of their show.
One of these classic […]
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