Bullseye (1)

"This is the television game in which daring determines the fate of the player. This is the game of strategy, luck and knowledge. This is BULLSEYE! Now, here's our host, Jim Lange!"

A game show that combined elements of other Barry & Enright show. It was the game of strategy, knowledge, luck and especially daring.

Main Game
Two contestants, one a returning champion, competed. The game began with the champion stopping a gameboard of three spinning windows by hitting a three-colored plunger in front of him. The first two windows contained eight different categories (four in each window) with dollar amounts ranging from $50 to $200 (representing the value of each question). The third window (below the two category windows) was the Contract window, and displayed numbers from one to five, as well as a "Bullseye" graphic.

In the event of a champion winning the game without the challenger having an opportunity to play (for example, if the champion spun a Bullseye in the Contract window and answered several consecutive questions to win the game), the challenger would return after the bonus round to play again.

As is the case with most Barry & Enright game shows, a new automobile was awarded to any contestant who won five consecutive games.

Bonus Round ("Bonus Island")
In the bonus round (known to fans as "Bonus Island" or the "Lightning Round"), the champion again stops the spinning wheels by hitting the plunger on the bonus island. This time, the windows contained dollar amounts of $100, $200, or $300 (earlier $50, $100 or $150, then $100, $150 or $200), or bullseyes. One and only one window also contained a dreaded bolt of lightning.

Pilot Version
The original pilot, taped in 1979 at the NBC Burbank Studios, featured a different bonus round. To begin, the player stopped a "Number Jumbler," which contained numbers from 3-5, or a bullseye. The three windows contained either bullseyes or lightning bolts. Starting with the $1,000 (or more) won during the main game, the contestant stopped the windows by hitting his/her plunger, and if all three contained bullseyes, it doubled the player's money. This process continued until reaching the number in the contract set by the Number Jumbler, or a lightning bolt appeared (which bankrupted the player). If the Number Jumbler was stopped on a bullseye, the contestant could continue to spin, until winning $1,024,000 (which, starting at $1,000, would take ten spins).

Celebrity Bullseye (1982)
In January 1982, the show changed its name to Celebrity Bullseye and featured celebrity contestants playing for their favorite charities.

At this point, the celebrities would play a best two-out-of-three game and a $500 value was added to the maingame, but few other rules were changed. One of these rules was that the categories were no longer announced by host Jim Lange before the game began. Another was that most questions were multiple-choice, containing three possible answers, with the celebrity's job to choose the right one; the exceptions to that being visual categories or Two of a Kind. It was as Celebrity Bullseye that this series left the air in September of that year. This version has been criticized by fans of the show as slowing the game down, as there would be episodes where no Bonus Island would be played at all.

Celebrities who played the celebrity version included Harvey Korman, Greg Morris, Doug Davidson, Roxie Roker, Rue McClanahan, Diane Ladd, Richard Kline, Gloria Loring, Patrick Wayne, Lynn Redgrave, Jerry Mathers, Meredith Baxter-Birney, Ernest Borgnine and F. Lee Bailey.

Music
Pilot - "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmeralda (Edit by Hal Hidey)

Series - Hal Hidey

Close - "That's All Folks"

Contestant Intro - "See Me Now"

Prize Cue - "Bits and Pieces"

Prize Cue - "Pieces and Bits"

Tagline
"This is Jim Lange hoping that everything you're going for hits the Bullseye! Bye." - Jim Lange (1980-1982)

Links
Rules for Bullseye at the Game Show Temple

Josh Rebich's Bullseye Rule Sheet