Game shows hold a special place in most Americans’ lives. Whether it’s the after-dinner trivia show or the late-morning weekday line-up, these shows have made household names out of the likes of Bob Barker, Alex Trebek, and Pat Sajak. These days, thanks to channels like Buzzr and GSN, game show fanatics can revisit their favorites anytime they please.
The basic premise of game shows is what makes them so appealing: everyday people compete on-air for money, prizes, and infamy. While some game shows involve skills and knowledge, others are based on chance or happenstance. Here are 10 game show memes that will make any fan cackle.
Jeopardy Is Hard
The long-standing knowledge-based game Jeopardy is famous for its blue puzzle board and for its inverted trivia premise: instead of providing the host with the correct answer, the contestants must provide the correct question based on the answers hiding under each numeric value on the board.
While it claims to be a general knowledge show, Jeopardy can still be quite difficult. This meme pokes fun at Jeopardy’s topics by replacing theme with the sort of niche topics a typical memester would be able to answer.
I’d Like To Buy A Vowel
Wheel of Fortune is another iconic game show that usually airs before or after Jeopardy on weeknights. In it, host Pat Sajak walks three contestants through rounds of word puzzles. They advance by spinning a big wheel full of prizes. Pat’s co-host Vanna White reveals the letters in the puzzle as contestants guess them correctly.
One rule of play in Wheel of Fortune is that contestants have to use their money to buy vowels, which helps them solve the puzzle. It looks like whoever made the sign advertising PS4s above could use a few extra vowels.
Jesse Pinkman In The House
Another popular, long-running game show is The Price is Right, which has been on air since the 1950s. In the show, enthusiastic and outgoing contestants freak out over new products and wares. The catch is that in order to win them, they have to get as close as possible to guessing their value.
Long before he became known for his portrayal of Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad, Aaron Paul tried his luck on The Price is Right. It’s safe to assume Paul’s game show days are long behind him.
Have Your Pets Spayed And Neutered
Bob Barker was the host of The Price is Right from 1972 to 2007. Before that, he hosted Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1974. Barker is a seasoned game show anchor, and he’s still going strong at 96. Drew Carey took over The Price is Right after Barker’s retirement in 2007.
Barker, a lifelong pet lover, used every chance he could on the show to showcase pets up for adoption. He also made a point to remind pet owners to always spay and neuter their animal friends. What a stand-up guy!
Redditors
One of the most popular game shows in recent history is based on a British trivia series of the same name. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? aired for 20 seasons and featured hosts like Regin Philbin, Meredith Vieria, and Terry Crews. It was canceled in 2019, but producers announced it will be coming back in 2020 with a different format.
Instead of everyday folks, the new show will feature celebrities. Jimmy Kimmel is set to host. The jury is still out on how many questions will deal with Reddit, though.
Cash Cab
Another trivia show that originated across the pond, Cash Cab aired on the Discovery Channel from 2005 to 2012, and then from 2017 to 2018. The show’s premise involves the host, comedian Ben Bailey, driving a normal-looking cab around New York City. When he picks up unsuspecting passengers, he gives them the chance to win cash for each correct trivia answer they provide.
It proved to be a fun way to pass time during a commute for those involved, and millions of people tuned in over the years to watch it. This meme shines a light on a hilarious premise for the kinds of things that could go wrong when someone dealing with an emergency situation finds themself in the Cash Cab.
Get It, Wayne
While technically an improvisational comedy show, Whose Line Is It Anyway? involves a cast of comics interacting with an audience in game show format. They are tasked with acting out various hypothetical situations made up by the host and the audience. It harkens back to the days when celebrities were featured on game shows like The Match Game.
Frequent flyers on the Whose Line Is It Anyway? circuit include Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady. It was hosted by Drew Carey for many years, but when it was revived on CW in 2013, Aisha Tyler took over as host.
Legend Of Donkey Kong
This screenshot from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? will make any video game fan furious. One of the best, yet most infuriating, things about trivia game shows like this one is that people tuning in lose it when contestants get easy questions wrong.
It’s easy to assume the man asked this question hasn’t picked up a console since 1994. Better luck next time, pal.
Supermarket Sweep
One of the most absurd game shows of all time is, by far, Supermarket Sweet. The show feels like an infomercial for various grocery store products matched with a few non-sensical rounds of trivia. It turns out, though, it’s actually quite entertaining to watch.
The highlight of this long-running show is the timed race contestants participate in around the fake supermarket erected just for the game. Half the time, the fun lies in waiting for the runner to collide with a poor camera person.
An “I” For An “I”
Throughout its 45-year run, Wheel of Fortune has had some very interesting participants. One of them includes Royal, the man above with an eye patch. This punny meme sees the people involved in a hypothetical conversation waiting for Royal to ask for an “I.”
However it played out for Royal, it’s safe to say Pat Sajak, a professional and seasoned hosted, avoided the kind of lame joke intimated by this meme.
