What if it hasn't been Shadoe?

[Deleted]

I thought about something recently. The decision for who should host AT40 in 1988 came down IIRC to Shadoe Stevens and Pat Sajak. I think had Pat been chosen one of two things would have happened: 1.) AT40 wouldn't have been produced as the nonsense it was the last 2-3 years it existed originally or 2.) Pat would have told them stick the show up their *ss and find someone else, he was done.

Why do I say this? No offense to Shadoe, but he was pretty much just an emcee for a mid afternoon/evening syndicated game show and had a couple of TV roles. Nothing huge. AT40 seemed to be his main gig and wasn't going to be hurt by their decisions professionally other than as it related to that show. Pat on the other hand was the host of the #1 game show in the country watched by millions every night. It's possible that pause editing, horrible writing, and in many ways a shoddily produced show could have had an adverse affect on him or his perception in the minds of many. Plus, if the show was still dropping in affiliates, people without a clue (TV PDs, advertisers, etc) could have thought Pat was losing appeal and demanded him be replaced with someone else for fear their ratings would soon show the same signs.

Thoughts?

[pointpark04]

I don't think a big-name person would have taken the show, not after Casey Kasem being the host for 18 years and making it the institution it was.

That's why the decision was made to give it to an "unknown" in Shadoe. He would be easier to toy with than would an already established star.

BTW, I listened to the 8/1/1992 show today, and was stunned to hear not one but TWO songs go without an introduction during the first hour. Casey would have NEVER allowed that.

Nor would have Pat Sajak.

[easye]

Shadoe was usually in the bottom-center square, so people knew of him. Plus to be on a national show like that, you do need to have some sort of personality. I always thought that Shadoe got the AT40 gig mainly because he "looked cool", which is an important trait when you are trying to appeal to a younger demographic.

On the other hand, Sajek looks sort of dull and might be somebody your Mom listened to. Also Sajek had previously done the weather for the local NBC station, so my perception of him is that he would not naturally appeal to a top-40 crowd.

To me, Shadoe actually had many good traits that you would want in a replacement for Casey (looks good, nationally known, has personality, has radio dj background). Problem for me was I didn't like his speaking voice after getting used to hearing Casey for so many years. Too bad he wasn't a voice actor so he could have just tried "another voice".

It is always tough when you are trying to replace a legend. The new guy will want to bring in something that is unique to him, but then there is a risk of a backlash from those who had been faithful to the predecessor. Maybe there was nobody out there who could have replaced Casey. If replacing Casey was possible, then chances are there would be no need for this board.

[michaelcasselman]

Had it not been Shadoe, I fear it would have been a rotating roster of short-term hosts, which may have sunk the show earlier. Sajak was firmly entrenched in 'Wheel of Fortune' at that time, and his own late-night talk show had a very short life itself. Sajak has 'it' when it comes to being the host/foil in half-hour gameshows, but I can't see him maintaining an audience over 4 hours like he would have on AT40. What happened to AT40 during the last couple of years of it's first run would have been out of the hands of it's host, as it was based on whatever chart they affiliated themselves with, which was an extension of what was going on in radio at the time with the fragmentation of Top 40.

[matt]

Aug 20, 2013 23:05:54 GMT -5 easye said:

Shadoe was usually in the bottom-center square, so people knew of him. Plus to be on a national show like that, you do need to have some sort of personality. I always thought that Shadoe got the AT40 gig mainly because he "looked cool", which is an important trait when you are trying to appeal to a younger demographic.

On the other hand, Sajek looks sort of dull and might be somebody your Mom listened to. Also Sajek had previously done the weather for the local NBC station, so my perception of him is that he would not naturally appeal to a top-40 crowd.

My thoughts exactly when it came to the Shadoe vs. Pat Sajak debate. Pat hosted a game show that appealed in large part to a middle aged and older demographic (heck, my wife used to work at the ABC affiliate in Denver that carried Wheel, and if it was ever preempted or delayed, most of those calling to complain were elderly folks). Now, Pat has obviously become somewhat of a legend in his own right, as he has been the host of one of the 2 or 3 most popular game shows on TV for 30 years plus, but my point is that he perhaps didn't possess the same "coolness" factor that Shadoe did in the ABC suits' eyes at the time.

Shadoe on the other hand, had what ABC execs were presumably looking for--a celebrity with a DJ background, but had enough of a cool factor to keep the younger demographic interested. Unfortunately, that only went so far in trying to replace Casey, then compete with Casey, and compete with Rick Dees as well.

I always wished they would have gone with Charlie Van Dyke to replace Casey, but it's hard to say how well he would have been able to keep the show going over time competing against Casey and Dees. I do think that he would have kept a large percentage of the AT40 loyalists tuned in however, since his voice had become so familiar to so many of us over the last 8 years of Casey's original run.

[Mike]

As much as I don't like taking a stance like this... considering ABC's own f**k-ups, ultimately would it really have mattered who replaced Casey?