This list was inspired by the demise (or prolonged retirement) of long-running quiz show A Question Of Sport. I never deliberately watched it, but my word I've seen loads of episodes over the last fifty years.
It was a tricky list to compile because game show debuts don't space out nicely. Some years are a veritable feast of Hall-of-Fame-ness and others are relative deserts.
1971, for example, saw the debut of The Generation Game as well as Sale of the Century - I've plumped for the quizzier of the two. In 1982 Treasure Hunt couldn't quite match Countdown, in 2000 I decided The Weakest Link was probably a better choice than Big Brother and in 2009 I agonised between Pointless and The Chase and eventually picked the latter. The peak year for amazing gameshow genesis appears to be 2005 when The Apprentice, Come Dine With Me, Dragon's Den and 8 Out of 10 Cats bumped heads with Deal Or No Deal. If I had particular trouble picking a winner then I've turned the year into a weblink to the runners up.
At the other end of the scale 1968 threw up no well-known TV gameshows so I've opted for Just A Minute off the radio instead. 1974, 1997 and 2001 were among the other years I found particularly problematic (whereas 1975, 1998 and 2002 were dead easy). If I'm not particularly wedded to my choice then it doesn't have a weblink, and I'd be happy for you to suggest a better one.
The website ukgameshows.com is excellent for all this, by the way, as is Wikipedia if you use the right lists.
And while you're here why not have a go at my Question of Sport quiz?
A Question of Sport quiz
1) Derbyshire have won the cricket County Championships on how many occasions? 2) What number appears between 15 and 17 on a dartboard? 3) How many times has London hosted the Olympic Games? 4) In tennis, how many Grand Slam tournaments are there? 5) A basketball team contains how many players? 6) In Australian rules football, how many points are scored for a goal? 7) How many striped balls are there on a pool table? 8) In curling, what's the maximum score in one end? 9) In rugby, what number appears on a scrum half's shirt? 10) How many teams play in the Scottish Football League Second Division?
n.b. Please DON'T put any answers in the comments box, nor any spoilers, thanks.
