<Tr> <Th> Original release </Th> <Td> June 14, 1976--September 15, 1989 Revival series June 22, 2017--present </Td> </Tr> <P> The Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries . It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first - run syndication from 1976 to 1980 and 1988 to 1989, and was revived in 2017 for broadcast on ABC . The show was created and originally produced by Chuck Barris, who also served as host for the NBC run and from 1977 to 1980 in syndication . It is currently executive produced by Will Arnett and hosted by Tommy Maitland, a fictional character performed by an uncredited Mike Myers . The Gong Show is known for its absurdist humor and style, with the actual competition secondary to the often outlandish acts presented; a small cash prize has typically been awarded to each show's winner . </P> <P> Each show presented a contest between amateur performers of often dubious talent, with a panel of three celebrity judges . The program's regular judges included Jaye P. Morgan, Jamie Farr, Arte Johnson, Patty Andrews, Anson Williams, Steve Garvey, Rex Reed, and Rip Taylor . If any judge considered an act to be particularly bad, he or she could force it to stop by striking a large gong, a trope adapted from the durable radio show Major Bowes Amateur Hour . Most of the performers took the gong with sheepish good grace, but there were exceptions . Barris would then ask the judge (s) in question why they gonged the act . </P> <P> Originally, panelists had to wait 20 seconds before they could "gong" an act; This was quickly extended to 30 seconds and then to 45 . Some performers deliberately ended their acts before the minimum time had elapsed if it appeared that a judge was about to gong them, but Barris would immediately disqualify them . In other cases, a judge would gong an act before its minimum time was up; Barris would overrule the gong, and the act would be obliged to continue with its fate already sealed . Occasionally, Barris would overrule a gong and permit an act to continue if he felt it was unjustifiably gonged or he simply felt sorry for the performer (s). </P>

What does the gong mean in the gong show
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