Games in the Global Village compares and contrasts television game shows in fifty countries. These shows have a blank-slate quality that makes them ideal for comparing entertainment television across borders.
Game shows can run the gamut of many subject areas or focus on one, such as rock music (MTV s Remote Control) or football (ESPN's NFL Trivia Game). They can spotlight dazzlingly high IQs (the BBC s erudite Mastermind) or nude assistants and contestants (Germany s Tutti Frutti). They can limp along in mid-morning time slots or smash the competition in...