In discussing how mean American Idol has gotten lately, a lot of people point back to the Gong Show as the initiator of public TV humiliation. Anybody who thinks that never saw this show.
The show basically had two kinds of acts: the really ridiculous, and the really good. People with genuine talent were usually given high marks and compliments by the judges, who were all show-biz veterans and who knew talent when they saw it (I recall after one such act, Arte Johnson exclaimed, "I'm gonna get you a job!").
The other acts were supposed to be either wildly bizarre or just plain dumb. This gave everyone a chance to enjoy it for a few moments, knowing that the gong was soon in the offing. When the gong sounded, everyone laughed, including the people in the act itself. And Chuck Barris would shake his head in mock indignation and say "Gee, I don't know why they did that..." and as he escorted the act offstage, he cooed "Be of good cheer."
It was all played for laughs. Nobody was told they were horrible, nobody was told they had no talent, nobody was told they were too fat.
Add to this the great music, the amazing creativity of the contestants, and the one-line jokes between acts, and you had a great half-hour of comedy.
