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identification of clearly defined generic bodies that are only organized synchronically. Thus, the generic
history of quiz shows is always present in reruns as well as in intertextual references to previous texts,
thus complicating a linear genre history and making genre history an active factor in the creation of
meaning in an individual show. For example, Debt, a now defunct quiz show which aired on the Lifetime
cable channel, hosted by quiz show veteran Wink Martindale, mines the history of quiz shows to create a
new product which incorporates elements from
Jeopardy, Name That Tune, The $20,000 Pyramid, and
The $64,000 Question, and is thus in a very close relationship to the history of this genre. The $64,000
Question itself is inspired by its radio predecessor Take It or Leave It, and it also got its own spinoff in
The $64,000 Challenge. In the fall TV season of 2000, NBC tried to capitalize on intertextual references
to the quiz show scandals in its short-lived remake of
Twenty-One, hosted by talk show host Maury
Povich. Intertextual connections are thus a constant presence on television and in the quiz show genre in
particular. While their specific meanings can only be ascertained in individual case studies, they certainly
complicate the identification of neatly organized genres even further.
As the above example of Maury Povich demonstrates, a convergence of the style and content of
talk shows and quiz shows can often also be observed. The Richard Bey Show, a short-lived, syndicated
talk show, often used small, physical games to humiliate unpopular guests, and thus showed strong
affinities to action-oriented quiz shows such as Family Challenge. Similarly, many talk shows dealing with
personal relationships, especially
INPerson, have recently adopted specific elements from quiz shows
focused on dating to create suspense. They use brightly lit, semi-transparent screens behind which the
silhouette of a ’surprise guest’ is visible. This is a technique recently made popular by
Bzzz!, a dating
show particularly preoccupied with displaying the physical properties of its contestants. In other words,
the history of generic confusion and genre mixing which first defined quiz shows to a large degree, is still
present in our current media environment and continues to undermine attempts at clear genre
classification. The radical intertextuality of radio and television reminds us that the exclusive focus on
individual texts in many genre studies is not an adequate practice for radio and television.
Altman proposes that genre should be studied in a model that considers institutions, text,
audience, and interpretive community. Meaning does not reside in any one of these sites exclusively, but
Convention