User:Daniel Benfield/High Rollers Video Archive

High Rollers is a great franchise that hasn't really seen the light of day in decades (the last time repeats aired was from 1988-91, and then only of the then-recent Martindale version), which is kind of a shame since it's been pretty solid throughout.

(...Well, not counting Merrill Heatter's revamp attempt Dice Fever, but I'll get to that later.)

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 ©1974-76/1978-88 Merrill Heatter(-Bob Quigley) Productions and associated entities.

The Original Series (1974-76)
NBC Daytime: July 1, 1974 - June 11, 1976

The original version had hostess Ruta Lee rolling the dice for the players, and each of the nine smaller light-up numbers contained a prize. Two numbers contained halves of a car, while another held an amount of cash.

The Big Numbers was played a bit differently than in the subsequent versions: removing eight numbers awarded a car, while knocking out all nine won $10,000 as well. A few weeks into the run, the car was removed, as was a bailout option ($100 per good roll), the latter replaced by awarding $100 per number removed.

The show debuted at 11:00 AM Eastern (replacing Alex's previous series The Wizard of Odds), doing pretty well against CBS' Now You See It and later Tattletales but running into a bit of weird conflict when fellow Heatter-Quigley game Gambit got put in the slot in mid-'75 (ABC hadn't programmed anything in the slot since 1970 and wouldn't do so again until '77). On December 1, 1975, as part of a scheduling shuffle, NBC sent the show off to Noon against Let's Make a Deal on ABC and The Young & The Restless on CBS...and pretty much joined the former in getting beaten up by the latter.

On January 19, 1976, NBC moved the show to 10:30 AM, against the second half of The Price is Right (ABC hadn't programmed anything in the slot since 1969). You can probably see where this is going.

Three months later, on April 26, the front-game format was overhauled into "Face Lifters": the numbers each still held a prize, but were now arranged like a puzzle and hid parts of a famous face. Guessing the identity won the game and any prizes remaining on the board. The show ended seven weeks later.

At least two episodes exist, both from Summer 1975 and held by Paley Center. At least a clip of the Face Lifters format exists, having been used on the 1983 Daytime Emmy Awards broadcast as part of a game show clip montage.

Original format (1974-76)
 * August? 1974 ("Fun In The Morning" promo with clips of this, Name That Tune, Winning Streak, The Hollywood Squares, Jackpot, Celebrity Sweepstakes, and Jeopardy!)
 * [Placement mainly because the Winning Streak clips are from the August 9, 1974 show...which not only didn't air due to the fallout from Watergate, but is also the only full episode known to exist of the series.]

Syndicated, Weekly: September 8, 1975 - September 19, 1976

Pretty much the same format as the daytime series (no Face Lifters here, though), except the same two contestants remained for the entire show and Elaine Stewart was hostess/dice roller.

The Return (1978-80)
NBC Daytime: April 24, 1978 - June 20, 1980

Probably the more well-known version of Trebek's era, with a lot of great changes from the original series. The players now rolled the dice themselves, and played to remove the numbers from three columns. Each column began with one prize and added another for each game, with a maximum of five prizes per column; this led to games with overall totals of over $20,000. In addition, Insurance Markers were now used in the front game as well.

This version uses the same board for both the main game and The Big Numbers, and it ran on slide projectors.

Originally, winning the Big Numbers awarded $5,000 and a car worth about $5,000. Sometime between March 27 and December 4, 1979, the cash was kicked out and winners just got the car. At some point between May 7 and June 9, 1980, due (per Alex on the latter show) to the energy crisis that was going on at the time, the car was replaced by the cash; the idea of the Big Numbers solely offering cash was evidently deemed a good one by Heatter, as it stuck through the next two revivals.

1978
 * April 1978 (Debut promo, with clips of the pilot!)


 * May 19, 1978 (GENE SCHNOOK {Match 2 - $10,000} vs. Daphne, continued from yesterday at Game 1 with Patti playing later {alternate copy, about 30 seconds shorter})
 * [Championship limit is seven matches. Not sure whether that changed at some point, but Alex notes it here.]

1979
 * March 27, 1979 (Pearl {Champ - $10,106} vs. Candice, continued from last time at Game 2 with Jim playing later {Parts 2, 3, 4, and 5}; taped from WNBC)
 * [Big Numbers still awards $5,000 cash and an ~$5,000 car.]

Big Numbers now awards just the ~$5,000 car; champions' total display now shows a dollar sign (began by 12/4/79)
 * December 4, 1979 (Sherry {Match 2? - $7,645} vs. Fred, continued from yesterday at the start of Game 1; taped from WNBC with commercials, reception issues from 10:50-55)
 * [Fred's mother was on another of Alex's shows.]


 * December 31, 1979 (Donna {Match 2 - $9,870} vs. Jane, continued from last Friday at the start of Game 2 with John playing later {Parts 2, 3, and 4}; taped from WCKT {alternate copies of intro and credits, same source})
 * [The car footage shows the studio doors at Burbank, which are decorated with the logos of NBC's then-current games (sign of the times: one of said shows is Mindreaders).]

1980
 * February 28, 1980 (Techla {Match 2 - $700} vs. Steven, continued from yesterday during Game 2 with Rebecca and Jacqueline playing later; taped from WKYC, with commercials {alternate copy of first segment})


 * March 25, 1980 (John {Match 3 - ~$15,000} vs. Tom, continued from yesterday at the start of Game 1 with Stephanie playing later; taped from WNBC, with commercials)


 * May 7, 1980 (Ted {Match 2? - $26,572} vs. Rich, with Cathy playing later and a question about Pink Lady & Jeff! {Parts 2, 3, 4, and 5}; taped from WNBC)
 * [Big Numbers still awards an ~$5,000 car.]

Big Numbers now awards $5,000 (began by 6/9/80)
 * June 20, 1980 (Finale: Betty {Match 2? - $10,610} vs. Richard, continued from yesterday during Game 2 with Jim playing later and Alex making some really weird comments throughout {Part 3, Part 4}; taped from WNBC)

A Not-So-Lucky Revamp (1985)
Unsold Pilots: May 18, 1985 (2 episodes); hosted by Alex Trebek

Lucky Numbers, using the theme of the eventual revival. Set is nice, and Alex is always a positive, although I think Heatter may have changed too much of the format...

While I don't know for certain, I suspect these were shot for ABC: one prize in Pilot #2 is themed to (and includes lunch with the cast of) ABC's primetime soap Dynasty, and the copyright notice uses the "dummy company" of The Blitz Co., Inc. – the same one used for All Star Blitz, which had just finished airing its sixth week on ABC.

Oh, and aside from introducing the contestants, hostess Debbie Sue Maffett doesn't really have any purpose on-set. She does describe (and sometimes appear with) the various prizes, but they're all pre-taped videos. The camera sometimes cuts to reaction shots of her, but she's always in the same spot and as such (coupled with the fact she wears the same outfit in both pilots) they're all interchangeable.


 * Taped 5/18/85 (Pilot #1: Jeryl vs. Vicki)
 * [Jeryl was also on All-Star Blitz (1985) and Blockbusters (1987).]
 * Taped 5/18/85 (Pilot #2: Michael vs. Vicki {same as above!})

Something Old, Something New (1987-88)
Syndicated, Daily: September 14, 1987 - May 27 [September 9], 1988 (195 episodes, taped August 9?, 1987 - April 1988 at Television City)

The revamp kinda combined the first two versions: the set heavily resembled the '74 style, but players still tried to knock out numbers from the three columns (now each containing a single prize, none of which carried over from game to game). The main game board was now completely computer animated. As before, the winner of the best-of-three match played the Big Numbers for $10,000, using the giant light-up numbers this time.

The biggest change by far was the addition of minigames, which tended to appear in one column during every other match or so. This also contributed to the biggest issue with this version: the pacing. Matches could take quite a while to finish, especially if a minigame was played.

Repeats aired on USA from September 19, 1988 to September 13, 1991.


 * Taped 10/21/86 (Pilot: Carol vs. John; includes a pitchfilm with a weird game never used on the series!)
 * [Minigames: Map Game (Game 1, Column 2); Rabbit Test (Game 2, Column 3); Duel of the Dice (pitchfilm). Taped at ABC Television Center, with several differences from the series (including prizes carring over from game to game).]

General/Misc.
 * Late 1987 (WAVY promo)
 * 1987-88 (Four promos for the show, with a bunch of clips)
 * January 1988 (WXII promo)

1987

Originally, the logo had a black diamond outline around it during the intro, which was removed sometime between September 24 and November 2. Granted, this is a pretty minor change, but it's something I noticed and does help distinguish the earlier '87 shows from the later ones. (The version with the diamond continued to be used during the body of the show, however.)

It seems that at some point, the prize for winning five matches was removed. I'm not sure when, though.


 * September 14, 1987 (Premiere: Anna vs. Al {taped 8/87}; ends during eligibility disclaimer)
 * [Minigames: Map Game (Game 2, Column 2). Winning five matches awards a $14,500 Jeep Cherokee.]
 * September 16, 1987 (#3: Al vs. Wendy, continued from yesterday during Game 1 {taped 8/87}; USA repeat)
 * [Minigames: None.]
 * September 17, 1987 (#4: Al vs. Wendy, continued from yesterday {still!} with Marc playing later {taped 8/87}; taped from WISH, with promos for Hollywood Squares and Love Connection!)
 * [Minigames: It Takes Two (Match 2, Game 1, Column 3).]


 * September 23, 1987 (#8: Tracey {Match 2} vs. Walt, continued from yesterday during Game 2 with Rick playing later; taped from KXAS with commercials, unusual audio error for first segment {only the music and sound effects are present!}, ends after second segment)
 * [Minigames: Rabbit Test (Match 1, Game 2, Column 3). The audio oddity doesn't affect the commercials, and the station seems to mute the audio entirely shortly into the second segment. An "AUDIO DIFFICULTY" graphic is present for most of the first two segments, with a KXAS voiceover at 10:22 acknowledging the issue (followed by some generic music for about 30 seconds); the normal, complete audio finally shows up at 10:58.]
 * September 24, 1987 (#9: Tracey vs. Rick, continued from yesterday with Claudia playing later)
 * [Minigames: Island Hoppers (Match 2, Game 1, Column 1). Still has the black diamond around the logo.]
 * September 25, 1987 (#10: Rick vs. Claudia, continued from yesterday; Big Numbers round only, quality is somewhat average {although given it's a 2009 upload of a clip originally put up on the Page O' Clips website in 2005, not too surprising})
 * [Not sure whether this show has the black diamond around the logo.]

Black diamond removed from logo (began by 11/2/87)
 * November 2, 1987 (#36: Jerry {$9,617} at Big Numbers, then vs. Jean; original broadcast)
 * [Minigames: Dice Derby (Game 1, Column 3).]
 * November 5, 1987 (#39: Chris {Match 2 - $900} vs. Irene {$2,600}, continued from yesterday during Game 3 with Sheila playing later; USA repeat)
 * [Minigames: Island Hoppers (Match 2, Game 1, Column 1). Winning five matches still awards a $14,500 Jeep Cherokee. Wink notes that a $10,000 win has "happened several times on our show".]


 * November 24, 1987 (#52: Julie {$21,608} vs. Nevin, continued from last time at the start of Game 2 with Jack playing later; USA repeat from 5/7/90, "ghosts" in picture but pretty good quality otherwise)
 * [Minigames: Dice Derby (Match 1, Game 2, Column 2); It Takes Two (Match 2, Game 1, Column 1).]
 * November 26, 1987 (#54: Jack {$19,417} vs. Betty Jo, with Lidia playing later and the first board being all-cash!; USA repeat)
 * [Minigames: Wild Wheels (Match 1, Game 3, Column 1). Wink specifically says it's "Turkey Day 1987", and notes that Jack won a Mustang convertible and a trip to New England last time.]


 * December 8, 1987 (#62: Darlene {Match 5 - $44,608!} vs. Brian {taped 11/87}, continued from yesterday during Game 1 with Martha and Bob playing later; USA repeat from 4/29/90 with commercials, begins with the end of a 1985 Press Your Luck episode {link is timecoded to skip it}, "ghosts" in picture but very good quality otherwise {alternate copy, no commercials or Press clip, quality is a bit lower})
 * [Minigames: Smilin' Wink's Car Lot (Match 1, Game 2, Column 3). Intro begins with a clip of Darlene winning $10,000 yesterday. Various prizes are related to Christmas and/or holiday shopping.]
 * December 9, 1987 (#63: Martha vs. Bob {taped 11/14/87}, continued from yesterday with John playing later; studio master with slate and a few commercials, lots of blank black space between segments)
 * [Minigames: Love Letters (Match 1, Game 1, Column 1); Dice Derby (Match 1, Game 3, Column 2).]


 * December 22, 1987 (#72: Robert {$17,690} vs. Nancy {taped 11/21/87}, continued from yesterday during Game 2 with Rob playing later and the set decorated for Christmas!; studio master with slate and a few commercials!)
 * [Minigames: Around the World (Match 2, Game 1, Column 2). Intro begins with Robert winning $10,000 yesterday. Wink notes that Robert was the show's contestant search winner in Florida.]


 * December 31, 1987 (#79: Dolores {Match 2? - $11,000} vs. Bill {$12,680}, continued from yesterday during Game 2 {an all-cash board!} with Dan playing later; first few seconds missing, ends right before fee plugs)
 * [Minigames: It Takes Two (Match 2, Game 1, Column 3).]

1988


 * January 18, 1988 (#91: Mike {Match 2? - ~$10,000+} vs. Robin, continued from last Friday during Game 2 with Carolyn playing later {taped 12/87}; USA repeat, small portion of Robin's interview missing, third player's interview through subsequent prize descriptions missing)
 * [Minigames: Around the World (Match 1, Game 2, Column 3); Lucky Numbers (Match 2, Game 1, Column 2). Intro shows Mike winning $10,000 on the previous show. Wink notes that at this point, no champ has won the $10,000 twice.]
 * January 19, 1988 (#92: Mike vs. Carolyn, continued from yesterday with Richard playing later {taped 12/6/87}; studio master with slate and a few commercials!)
 * [Minigames: Love Letters (Match 1, Game 3, Column 2); Map & Money Game (Match 2, Game 2, Column 3). Copyright date is still 1987.]

Copyright date changes to 1988 (began 1/26?/88)
 * January 26?, 1988 (#97?: Cheryl {$14,602} at Big Numbers, then vs. Tom with Joanne playing later {Parts 2, 3, and 4}; local station graphic pops up briefly at 2:50 of Part 4)
 * [Minigames: Dice Derby (Match 1, Game 2, Column 3). A question in Part 4 is about a recent USA Weekend poll.]


 * Early 1988 (Clip of Jerry {$1,249} at Big Numbers, then full closing credits of him vs. Patty)


 * Early 1988 (Patrick {Match 3 - $1,700} vs. Vickie, continued from last time during Game 1 with Joe playing later {Parts 2, 3, and 4}; USA repeat, "flickering" video somewhat frequently for first half of show)
 * [Minigames: Love Letters (Match 1, Game 1, Column 3); Wink's Garage Sale (Match 2, Game 1, Column 3).]


 * Taped 4/88 (Intro and some other clips from the last rehearsal taping...and boy, is it weird {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Minigames: Throw the Dice Off the Table (Game ?, Column 3). :P]

Dice Fever (2011?)
Unsold Pilot: 2011?; hosted by Andrew O'Keefe

Before I start, pardon me if some of this sounds vague or is incorrect – the show's sales pitch used to be online in 2011, but it's since disappeared. As such, I have to reconstruct stuff from my (sadly vague) memories of said pitch and this July 2011 discussion on The Game Show Forum.

Per this page for Small World IFT, Dice Fever is "the shiny floor game show that takes luck, strategy and a whole lot of dice rolling!" ...Notice that line says nothing about any kind of quiz. I'll get to why a bit later.

The game has ten Dice Girls, each of whom is attached to a lot of money. Contestants have two passes, which can be used if they think a roll of 7 is coming up (why yes, that rule is from Lucky Numbers, another High Rollers revamp that didn't sell). The bonus game has one of the Dice Girls rolling a pair of dice, after which the winner rolls a pair of dice into a covered-up area; Andrew then offers $5,000 per dice pip on the player's roll to quit. After the player makes the decision to quit or go on, the cover is removed from the table – a matching number wins $1,000,000, while anything else awards nothing unless the contestant took Andrew's offer.

Notice that I've said nothing about the quiz element yet. I mean, given this is a big-money High Rollers and the Q&A is a pretty basic part of said franchise, there has to be a quiz element, right? ...Right?

Turns out, the sales pitch (narrated by Rich Fields) noted "the intriguing absence of knowledge and skill" – in other words, there's no Q&A here and they used its absence as a selling point.

I mean, don't get me wrong: Heatter's trying to keep with how the genre's flowing these days (see also Catch 21), but crossing High Rollers/Lucky Numbers with (apparently) Show Me the Money and (appropriately, given O'Keefe's presence) Deal or No Deal just resulted in a mess.

...I just wish the trailer was online.

International Versions
Despite the show's relatively-brief runs, it did manage to spawn a couple of versions elsewhere in the world.

Australia (1975)
Seven Network: 1975

Hosted by Garry Meadows (who had previously hosted the 1973-74 version of The Price Is Right), with Max Rowley announcing. Delvene Delaney (who later became hostess on Sale of the Century from 1982-85) and Suzanne Fox were the hostesses.

As far as I know, nothing seems to exist.

Japan (1980-84)
Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS): March 3, 1980 - March 30, 1984

SuperdiceQ (or Super-dice Q), hosted by Masaru Doi. The front game is entirely different, though – two contestants face each other (one a returning champ, the other called from the audience). Before the game begins, each player secretly pushes a number on their keypad to hide a "Squid". Standard Q&A follows, but a correct answer means your opponent has to pick a number (get it wrong, you pick a number). Find a die, the game goes on; find the Squid, you lose. Last player standing gets ¥30,000 and plays the Big Numbers.

The Big Numbers is for the most part the same as usual, but with a sort of "money ladder" progression: ¥5,000 is awarded for each of the first six numbers you remove, which jumps to ¥70,000 for the seventh number, ¥80,000 for the eighth, and ¥300,000 for clearing the board. However, two numbers hide the word "DON"; uncover both of 'em consecutively, the game ends. Apparently, rolling the "DON" numbers last awarded ¥1,000,000.

(Big thanks to Greg Palmer for the above, given in the comments of the below video.)


 * 1983? (First 9:47 of an episode, beginning at the Big Numbers; has commercials)