*This post is very graphics heavy. Use caution. Sorry*
Nnnnggggg…..
…..I hate game shows.
And you know what I hate more than game shows?
1970s game shows.
…..yay, this episode.
But I’m gonna power through it, because there’s a lot of throw backs and references here that you may not have noticed the first time around. There’s also some good plot happenings, too.
But really….
Pictured: my two moods watching this episode.
So the first reference people got almost immediately is in the Garfle Warfle Snick logo.
It’s a classic 70s design. While the asterisks and colors of the GWS logo aren't present in the original Dating game logo, they do feature in the set.
That’s Farah Fawcett, by the way.
The first game is called Pictation. It’s obviously a play on Pictionary, which had it’s own game show in 1997. The original drawing game show, however, was “Win, Lose or Draw”.
This is an episode from 1987, featuring Burt Reynolds, Annie Potts, Dom Deluise, and…
Betty White!
And now Keith is lucky enough to play.
The hair tie is to keep his emo bangs out of his face while the pacifier is to bite down on in frustration.
I know this from experience, as I was in art school starting in 2005, which was a prime year for emo kids, and they made us play Pictionary one afternoon.
Everyone’s pretty much already said it, but yes, I can confirm, Keith is a good artist.
None of us were that day, though.
Several instructors pulled all of their students into one room and broke the news that we’d be playing a game. As socially awkward and socially anxious weirdos, the news also broke us. Half the students didn’t even participate, the other half were doing what Lance is doing here: yelling random stuff that doesn’t even come close to making sense.
And we were terrible at this game. All of us.
After the 3rd round, a cry came from the back of the room:
“hOW Are wE SO BAD aT ThiS???!!!”
I wish I knew, random art kid.
What I do know is that Keith is doing far better than I did. I mean, he didn’t start crying, not even a little bit.
In the end, Team Voltron loses, giving Team Galra a chance to steal. That’s a game mechanic from The Family Feud, and it’s the only one, even though the episode is titled “The Feud”.
It’s more in the overall design of the set, really.
….
I’ve never liked “The Family Feud”. I claim legacy on that: back in the day before remote controls were standard, my sickly grandpa would drag himself out of his chair to turn the t.v. off because he hated Richard Dawkins so much.
Richard Dawkins was the original host of the show, and he was one in a line of 70s game hosts that always made me feel like I was about to be sexually assaulted.
...can’t imagine why I’d ever feel that way.
To be fair, he’s not kissing those women without consent. They asked them before the taping if they were ok with it. But still….ick. And Richard Dawkins wasn’t even close to being the worst in terms of smarmy game show hosts.
Back to the episode at hand though.
(This is a great loop, btw. I suck at gif making myself, so thanks op.)
Everything about Team Galra is delightful. I just wish there was more of it.
With a steal and a win, Zarkon chooses Lance to play.
Zarkon is so thrilled to call Lance dumb. It’s hilarious. Also, Lance fans, please enjoy this endless loop of that moment.
I kid, I kid. I like Lance. We’ll talk more later.
I don’t know what Faces from the Past is referencing, but that isolation shield seems awful lot like The Cone of Silence from “Get Smart”.
What is The Cone of Silence? It’s a class A security procedure, used to transfer top secret intel between two agents.
Demonstrated here:
The next game is more familiar.
It’s the Garflator, or otherwise known as...Password!
...wait….is that…?
Yes! It’s Betty White again. Also seen here in an episode from 1963.
Doing this research, I found out that Betty’s done a lot of game shows in her time. That’s news to me, because I still don’t like game shows.
After the dumb one is the smart one.
And everyone knows it.
Pidge plays miniature golf here.I don’t think it’s in reference to anything else, though maybe you could see a game from The Price is Right if you squint.
And then Pidge gets things done about, by calculating a shot that takes out the camera and the crazy, demi god like creature known as Bob, tackling him to the ground.
The ambition, drive and self assurance that Pidge has is amazing and no one talks about it nearly enough. I want to be her when I grow up.
So now it’s down to a vote: who ever gets voted for the most gets to leave while the rest stay for eternity. It’s kind of like a reverse “Survivor” situation, really.
And now everything gets very heartwarming as they vote for each other, but one stood out to me: Lance, voting for Keith.
Lance: He’s our leader, plus he’s half Galra, so I think he’s, like, the future.
That….was so sweet. I mean it. That face, those words. I didn’t expect Lance to say that. He’s come so far since those first episodes where he was just an unmitigated asshat to Keith. It’s growth. It’s good.
Keith, what say you?
Keith: I just don’t wanna be stuck here for eternity with Lance.
Oh no! Keith...hahah...Lance gives you something so heartfelt and that’s what you go with? Aw man…
Really, though, his ire’s not directed at Lance, not really. It’s more like he’s just done with everything that’s happening, he’s frustrated, and Lance is the only one he’d take anything like this out on.
But buck up, kiddos, your love and friendship won the day!
And lastly, one more reference, this time directly from The Price is Right:
At the end of each show, host Bob Barker would turn to the camera and say “Help control the pet population: have your pet spayed or neutered.”
Bob Barker has fought for animals rights for decades, and while I don’t necessarily agree with everything he’s done, good things have come from his work. I’d link some info on it here, but...I can’t. Channel you’re inner essay writer and go find those sources.
So, that episode was a trip. In all, it more reminded me of “Let’s Make a Deal”, where costumed contestants would be chosen from the audience to play games for cash and prizes.
Bob himself is most like Bob Eubanks, as played by Q from Star Trek. I believe the showrunners even mentioned Q while talking about Bob in this episode
That’s Bob Eubanks up there. He was the host of “The Newlywed Game” and “Hollywood Squares”.
Q, on the other hand, is:
“He is an extra-dimensional being of unknown origin who possesses immeasurable power over normal human notions of time, space, the laws of physics, and reality itself, being capable of violating or altering them in unpredictable ways with a casual thought or hand gesture. Despite his vast knowledge and experience spanning untold eons (and much to the exasperation of the object(s) of his obsession), he is not above practical jokes for his own personal amusement, for a Machiavellian and manipulative purpose, or to prove a point. He is said to be nigh-omnipotent, and he is continually evasive regarding his true motivations.”
This is him:
So...I still don’t like 70s game shows. But, I gotta say, not everything is terrible about them.
Gene Gene the Dancing Machine is fun. This is from “The Gong Show”.
Fun, if your definition includes “pure chaos”.
The uh….energetic...host there is Chuck Barris. He’s the creator of “The Dating Game”, “The Newlywed Game” and “The Gong Show”. His shows seem to have pioneered the whole look and feel of most of these 70s game shows, and thus is my sworn enemy.
…
Don’t even think of talking to me about “The Match Game”.
In summary:
I actually had fun with this episode, as much as I don’t like the aesthetic.
And apparently Josh Keaton said that this episode foreshadows something and I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS AND I’M SCARED SO VERY SCARED.
Next up: Wow! What a call back! -and- Kolivan’s been having a bad time.
Dean interrupting Jer on the Eddie Fisher Show at ‘The Feud’s’ height, with an old gag of theirs, “don’t sing it!” Jer’s quick response is to sing the double entendre, “Return To Me”, Dean’s current recording.
Even when angry, two quick comics, playing to each other......
