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A copy of this book is available at the Denison Public Library
791.497 NEDEFF
Gong This Book! The Uncensored History of Television's Wildest Talent Show:
For someone who was born post-1980, this book might be just a curious foray into the seedier side of '70's era TV. The concept of the game show, The Gong Show, might even cause some of the more modern population to be in consternation as to how such a show ever got off the ground in the first place. But for those of you who were from this blogger's era (I was born in 1961), it will be a window into that bygone era.
Chuck Barris, for those of you new to the name, was a TV producer who brought such classic TV game shows to the public as The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game to TV in the 70's. The Gong Show, to educate the neophyte, was a show that was basically a predecessor of such modern TV shows as America's Got Talent, albeit with a more seedier premise.
The Gong Show showcased a bevy of talent that was basically something like an amateur hour, with acts that were just barely better than something the local kid's school talent show, and sometimes not even as good as that. What made The Gong Show so popular, at least to me, was the fact that the viewer could laugh at the audacity that some of the contestants had to even think they had enough talent to be on the show, or that the viewer could watch and think "I could do better than that...!"
The author fleshes out this look into the studio background of the production with some insights into the life of the show's creator, Chuck Barris, as well as some reminiscences of some of the personnel behind the scenes. It's really hard to describe the show and have the reader see how truly outre the show was, however. I highly recommend that you scope out YouTube for a few episodes before delving into the book. The problem with doing that is it may convince you to abandon reading the book in the first place, since it is admittedly something that is what I hesitate to refer to as an "acquired taste".
That said, if you do have fond memories of the show, either from experiencing it first hand during it's initial run, or the occasional revival on such modern re-airings on such stations like The Game Show Network, the book is well worth checking out.
Until next time, happy browsing.
Quiggy
Disclaimer: BARR Discoveries is solely the opinion of the author of the entry. BARR Library is not responsible in any way for the material posted.
