Episode 5 & 6 PREVIEW

Dumping slime and breaking ground: how Canadian game shows made history

Whether it was covering kids in slime or breaking ground with same sex couples, Canada has certainly produced some of the most wacky and revolutionary game shows in history.

In the final two episodes of “The Search For Canada’s Game Shows,” the series looks at some of the most fondly remembered shows from the 80s and 90s and the man responsible for bringing many of them to life – Blair Murdoch. 

After working on the Canadian adaption of “Let’s Make a Deal” and “Pitfall” with the ill-fated Catalena Productions, Murdoch set his sights on a younger audience.

Like “The Newlywed Game” for kids, “Kidstreet” tested siblings on how well they knew each other while competing against two other teams for exciting prizes like a Nintendo Entertainment System or a remote controlled car.

Hosted by Kevin Frank, “Kidstreet” also became iconic for having the contestants seated in race cars and clapping above their heads, with the origins of both explained in the episode. 

The show even featured a famous guest who famously cheated on the episode – actor Seth Rogen.

“My dad sets out a series of like 10 answers, we memorized them and not only does it work, we don’t get one question wrong and we won the game show through cheating,” Rogen revealed on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” in 2018.

“Of course he would’ve tried to cheat,” Murdoch says with a laugh when shown the clip.

Murdoch also produced “Love Handles,” a twist on “The Newlywed Game” that featured couples in all stages of their relationships. The popular show that aired from 1996 – 1998 also broke ground for featuring same sex couples. 

But the progressive move was not received well by everyone, with angry callers protesting the show and some broadcasters refusing to air it. 

“I was a little bothered it bothered people as much as it apparently did … I became much more understanding I suppose, so I tended to take up that fight,” says Murdoch. 

“It changed me a little bit.”

The final episode of the series also looks at the dawning of YTV and two of its most popular game shows – “Video & Arcade Top 10” and “Uh Oh!” 

For kids growing up in the early 90s without Internet, video games were life, which is what made “Video & Arcade Top 10” such an after-school staple for 17 years.

“At the time the only way you could really find out about them was print magazines or a TV show like ours,” says host Nicholas Picholas. 

“Uh Oh!” aired from 1997 - 2003 and secured its iconic status by being one of the strangest game shows of all time.

Scott Yaphe brought the show to life as host Wink Yahoo, known for his wacky jackets and sky-high hair.

But it was kids being doused with slime by a massive guy in a horror mask known as the Punisher that really made the show like none other.

“There were times when he threw kids into the pools of water and we thought, ‘Oh, there’s a lawsuit,’” says director Rick Watts. 

Canadian comedian Shaun Majumder, who toured across the country with the “slime tour,” also reveals the impact the show had on him in the episode.

“More people know me probably from ‘Uh Oh!’ than they do from any of the other things that I’ve done,” says Majumder.