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
prime time (France’s La Roue de la Fortune).
This is the first comprehensive comparison of TV entertainment content, and it gives new meaning to McLuhan’s concept of the “Global Village.”
