Why does the current crop of TV game shows seem to pale in comparison to the gems many of us became addicted to in what we now call the “Golden Age of Television?”

A quick glance at the bloated roster of today’s game shows reveals way too many ill-conceived, cheaply produced programs presided over by weary, half-hearted hosts.

For sheer inventiveness and fun, it would be hard to find a show more captivating or masterfully produced than “Concentration,” an NBC classic that ran on and off from 1958 through 1991. Hosted by the incomparable Hugh Downs, “Concentration” challenged thoughtful, mostly civil guests to memorize and identify hidden sets of cards, which were then removed to reveal a “rebus” puzzle they had to solve. Aired daily in late morning, “Concentration” seemed, well, intelligent.

Or take “Truth or Consequences.” Though launched in 1940 with Ralph Edwards, the game show is probably best known for its later host, the much-beloved Bob Barker, who posed wacky trivia questions to hapless contestants; their inevitably wrong answers triggered an earshattering blast from “Beulah the Buzzer.” Unable to succeed in this “truth” portion of the show, the contestants then had to pay some “consequences,” which involved performing a zany stunt with a typically embarrassing twist.

Watching historic footage of the program, it’s refreshing to witness how skillfully Barker kept everything moving at such an upbeat and entertaining clip.

One thing is certain: Once you begin tripping down memory lane, the list of game-show classics seems endless. Consider the long-running “The Price is Right,” which began in 1956 with the freckle-faced host Bill Cullen and continues today with comedian Drew Carey at the helm. Or how about Gene Rayburn’s wry, gleaming smile on “Match Game,” or John Charles Daly presiding over an erudite panel of celebrities on the hallowed “What’s My Line?”

Clearly, given a choice to either continue with the mind-numbing array of what passes for game show entertainment today, or shell out a goodly sum to bring back a few of the caliber described above, one can only say, “Monty, let’s make a deal.”

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