Bullseye

Bullseye was a good show! In the beginning, the game seemed very slow, but Jim later picked up the pace. The big strategy was when to bank the money. If you bank it too soon, your opponent could easily bank a larger amount or possibly win the game.

Bullseye, unfortunately, suffered the same fate as many shows of the 80s did when they went to an all celeb format. Whew!, Hot Potato, Beat the Clock, and Password went to all celeb formats and died quickly.

When celebs played Bullseye, some of them didn't want to be there, (F. Lee Bailey would've much rather been fighting high profile cases, and Jerry Mathers looked VERY bored) some feigned excitement (when you see 3's Company's Richard Kline mugging the camera, you know you have problems), as if they were actors playing contestants on a game show.

Worse, it didn't feel like it was much of a competition. The rules always were that any money banked was yours to whether you win the game or not. So, many celebs were just banking money when they could, not caring if they won the game or not. The match between Jerry Mathers and Tina Louise was a perfect example. Both celebs were banking money each round, thus taking away the element of risk that makes the game more interesting.

Bullseye is another one of those Barry and Enright productions where you answer questions and avoid the bad guy in the bonus round, but the jumbled words category was pretty creative. But the one thing about that differs from Jokers Wild and Tic Tac Dough is the technical aspects. The disco-flavored theme is one of the best game show themes ever written. The sound effects are just way too cool (especially the banking sound and the bulleye buzzers).

And don't forget the set, which looks way ahead of its time, and the overall tone of the show looks like a typical game show from the 90's. Watch an episode and you will not believe that this is from the early 80's.

I enjoyed Bullseye when the show had civilian contestants answering a designated number of questions in order to fulfill a "contract" en route to $1000 (later $2000). It had suspense whether or not a player should bank the money or leave it in the pot to go to the next contract.

The bonus game was notable for the podium that magically came on the set but was the familiar Barry-Enright model where a contestant lost their winnings if lightning appeared in a window.

The set was outstanding and Jim Lange was a really good host but the producers made a big mistake in changing to an all-celebrity format. The questions were all multiple choice and it became annoying when a celebrity kept saying "Can you repeat the choices again?" It slowed down the pace of the game and it made Bullseye unwatchable, leading to its eventual cancellation.

I used to watch this show when I was a little girl. First off, I must say that it was a fun game show. Also, I don't think I've seen every episode. However, if you ask me, it was still a good show. I remember the show very vaguely. In addition, it was fun to play along and watch. I hope some network brings it back so I can play along and watch again. If that happens, I will be really happy. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever, even though I haven't seen every episode. Now, in conclusion, if some network ever brings it back, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.