Card Sharks (2001)

All of this just works.
― Todd Howard

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Card Sharks (2001)

How NOT to revive a classic.

Genre:	Game Show
Running Time:	22–26 minutes
Country:	United States
Release Date:	2001 – 2002
Network(s):	Syndicated
Created by:	Chester Feldman
Distributed by:	Tribune Entertainment
Starring:	Pat Bullard Gary Kroger Tami Anderson
Episodes:	65

In the 2001-2002 television season, there was an ill-fated attempt to revive the classic game show Card Sharks for syndication.

Format

The format is almost the same, except for a few changes, all covered below.

Lack of drama.
The set is very lazily made.
Inept hosting from Pat Bullard, who'd already proven his incompetence on previous game shows he'd hosted.
Due to each player sharing a single row of cards, a contestant could potentially have a good run and get hit by a bad card, causing the opponent to win effortlessly.
The money the contestant wins is their stake at the Money Cards, so the contestant can potentially win less than that total if the cards outright blow.
The Money Cards now use a 3-2-1 pyramid, instead of having the third card on the second row.
The cards are now turned over with a button, which comes off as effortless.
A contestant now has to use Clip Chips, where they guess the outcome of a home video, just to change the card.
The interesting sometimes hilarious surveys are gone. Instead, we have lousy, Street Smarts-esque questions and the aforementioned Clip Chips.
It was so bad, that after this version tanked, absolutely zero attempts were made to revive the series before 2019, not counting Game$how Marathon's 2006 effort.

The announcer, Gary Kroeger, is the only member of the cast to not have only been there for the check.
The 2000 pilot had a better format and a significantly less lazy (and more game show-like) set.

The set was recycled and repurposed for the short-lived but far much better Press Your Luck revival Whammy!, which aired on GSN from 2002-03.
Card Sharks and long-time game show fans have taken to nicknaming this show CASINO (standing for "Card Sharks In Name Only").

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