User:Daniel Benfield/The Challengers Video Archive

The Challengers started life as The Who, What, or Where Game, which ran for just over four years on NBC. The revival, also produced by Ron Greenberg, was part of the crowded field that was the 1990-91 syndication season but deserved to run much longer.

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, none of which were uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. Footage ©1969-74/1990-91 Ron Greenberg Productions and associated entities.

Original Series (1969-74)
NBC Daytime: December 29, 1969 - January 4, 1974

The long-running original, hosted by Art James. Has a fun charm to it, which makes it a shame that it seems to be gone.


 * December 1970 (Greg {Day 5 - $3,225}/Clare/John {Part 3}, with Greg trying to become the show's eighth undefeated champ!)

Revival (1990-91)
Syndicated, Daily: August 31, 1990 - August 2 [30], 1991

One notable aspect about this run is that nearly all episodes had the airdate (on, in the case of the September 15, 1989 pilot, tapedate) prominently shown, both during the intro and on a monitor behind host Dick Clark, as the episodes were taped close to their airdates so the questions could take advantage of current events. The only exceptions appear to be the Sneak Preview, Teachers Tournament, and Invitational Tournaments.

Players originally started with $0, which was increased to $200 on September 24. Also early on, if one player missed during the Sprint, s/he lost $100 and their opponents could jump in; the latter element was removed sometime between October 10 and November 8.

Early on, the Sprint timer was blue. It became red sometime between September 3 and 17.

Originally, players had to win three consecutive games to play the Ultimate Challenge at the top of the next show, which started at $50,000 (dropped to $25,000 after the first win) and increased by $5,000 for each failed attempt; on September 17, this was altered to add $1,000 each day until won. Beginning on November 13 or 21 (I've seen both dates banded around), this was knocked down to a daily feature for the winner with $10,000 on offer; the Sprint round was replaced by a single $100 toss-up question.

When the show began, questions were worth $150/$200/$250 in Round 1 and $300/$400/$500 in Round 2. Sometime between November 8 and February 15, probably when the above changes happened, these were dropped to $100/$150/$200 and $200/$300/$400 respectively.

The Sprint returned sometime between February 15 and March 18, with the Ultimate Challenge ousted entirely by April 1.


 * 1990 (WNBC preview promo, with clips of the 9/15/89 Pilot {David/Rodger/Ursula})
 * September 1990 (WNBC promo voiced by Ernie Anderson, with clips from the first week)

1990
 * August 31, 1990 (Sneak Preview: DOAK FAIREY/Betsy/John {alternate copy})
 * September 3, 1990 (Premiere: Charley/Doak/Toni; taped from WNBC, with commercials {alternate copy, no commercials})

Opening logo appears over the set (previously had a black background)
 * 1990 (Teachers Tournament, Semifinal #1: Adella/Lance/Cherylanne)
 * [May have aired the week of 9/10/90. It's definitely a pretty early taping, since the Sprint timer is blue.]
 * 1990 (Teachers Tournament, Semifinal #2: Alex/Christine/Steve)
 * 1990 (Teachers Tournament, Semifinal #3: Chris/Michelle/Ron)
 * 1990 (Teachers Tournament, Finals #1)
 * 1990 (Teachers Tournament, Finals #2; who will win an extra $10,000?)

$1,000 added to Ultimate Challenge every day until won (began 9/17/91); Sprint timer becomes red by this point
 * September 17, 1990 (Mary/Tone {Day 2 - $1,500}/DOUG MOLITOR, with Dick announcing the above change {Ultimate Challenge is at $55,000})
 * September 18, 1990 (Toni/Doug/Chick {alternate copy of intro})
 * September 19, 1990 (Cindy/Chick/LARRY CAPLAN)
 * September 21, 1990 (Ray/Larry/Bill {Parts 3, 4, and 5}; taped from WBAL)

Players now start with $200 (began 9/24/91)
 * September 24, 1990 (Larry at Ultimate Challenge {$60,000}, then Andrea/Larry/Steve {alternate copy})

Ultimate Challenge starts at $25,000
 * October 10, 1990 (Tom O'Brien/Mary {$5,900}/Paul {Part 3, Part 4}, with the Ultimate Challenge at $36,000; ghosts in picture, average quality, B/W at a few points)
 * [Still has the "wrong Sprint answer gives opponents a chance to buzz-in" rule.]


 * October 24-25, 1990 (WGRZ promo for the 10/25 show: Nora/Gene {Champ}/John {Ultimate Challenge is at $32,000})
 * November 7, 1990 (Dan/Gary {$4,000}/Jay {Ultimate Challenge is at $27,000}; begins shortly before Sprint)

Sprint no longer allows opponents to jump in after a wrong guess (began by November 8)
 * November 8, 1990 (Holly/Gary/STAN NEWMAN, all of whom are from New York!; begins shortly before logo {alternate copies: #1a and #1b, same source; #2, has commercials but begins just before Sprint round; one of the first round categories even references the show's predecessor!})

Uncertain placement
 * 1990-91 (Alex/Michelle {Champ, most likely}/Lance; clip of a blooper involving a license plate!)
 * [I think this is after the payouts drop, as the sub-category (with a yellow backdrop on the contestant's podium) appears to be worth $300.]

1991
 * February 15, 1991 (Ed/Ron {Day 2? - $14,565}/Bob; montage including open and Ultimate Challenge)
 * [During "The $250,000 Challengers Call-In Sweepstakes", with another $10,000 on offer today. Still has the "flat $10,000" Ultimate Challenge and opening tossup question, although by this point the Round 1 and Round 2 payouts have dropped.]

Sprint reinstated (began by 3/18/91)
 * March 18, 1991 (Invitational Tournament II, Semifinal #1: Lorin Burte {$44,250}/Mort Kamens {$24,350}/Rick Rorafon? {$20,800})
 * [First question is about former Senator Barry Goldwater and actor Chuck Connors being inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma "two days ago" (3/16/91).]
 * March 20, 1991 (Invitational Tournament II, Semifinal #3: Chris Shea {$27,795}/Evan Allen {$26,810}/Nathan Walpol? {$18,160})
 * March 22, 1991 (Invitational Tournament II, Finals #2 {Part 3}; who will win an extra $10,000?; low audio, but has a Jeopardy! promo {alternate copy})

Ultimate Challenge removed (began by 4/1/91)
 * April 1, 1991 (Mike/KURT WELDIN {Day 6 - $26,550!}/Meredith, with a really odd first set of categories and a cameo by the Judge {Gary Johnson, who later became a Jeopardy! judge at the request of Harry Friedman}; has a Trump Card promo {alternate copy})
 * April 2, 1991 (Neil/Kurt/Linnda; low/scratchy audio, first few seconds missing)
 * April 3, 1991 (Dave/Kurt/Joel, with the Judge getting quite a bit of screentime; taped from WNBC, with a couple of commercials {alternate copy of some portions, including most of the first and last segments})
 * April 4, 1991 (Laurie/Kurt/Ed, with Dick promoting The Challengers Big Cash Sweepstakes {running from April 15-May 12}; first few seconds missing)


 * May 24, 1991 (Harry/Steve {$6,400}/Cecil; very low audio, first few seconds missing)
 * June 21, 1991 (Paul/Warren {Day 2 - $3,700}/Bonnie {alternate copy})
 * July 3, 1991 (Annelle/Dave {$7,600}/Bryce)
 * July 5, 1991 (Jeanne/Bryce/Trish; begins at logo)


 * Taped 7?/91 (Wrap Video shown before the August 2 Finale {#08/02/91}, essentially a mockumentary on the show's creation {not my kind of thing, sorry} with a bunch of celebrity cameos)