User:Daniel Benfield/Dream House Video Archive

The ABC era is pretty obscure, and I've seen complaints that the NBC formats were hard to understand...but Dream House is still a pretty good show in my opinion, especially moreso after the Television Production Music Museum (TVPMM) reported that the master tapes of the NBC run had been destroyed in a flood.

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos that with one exception are not uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. Footage ©1968-70/1983-84 Don Reid Productions/Group W Productions/Lorimar and associated entities.

ABC (1968-70)
ABC Primetime: March 27 - September 19, 1968 (26 episodes); ABC Daytime: April 1, 1968 - January 2, 1970

Seven rooms were required to win the house (four on the nighttime version), but boy did this show run into problems: in mid-1969, TV Guide reported that of the 12 houses won up to that point, none had been finished and some couples had to borrow far more than the $7,000 awarded by the show to purchase land.

So what did the show do in response? Why, make the house harder to win: adding a third couple (and eliminating a couple after Round 1), offering an airplane to quit after getting five rooms, and offering a choice between $20,000 or the $40,000+ house for couples who got all seven rooms. Yeah.

Per Variety, the show's demise was known as early as mid-October 1969.


 * August 1968 (Tuesday: Doyle & Pam Marshand vs. Susan & Jerry Dupree, with Celie & Dick Hanower playing later {uploaded by me}; has commercials)
 * [Mike notes that the current champs (Jim & Bridget Kelly), aren't present due to having a baby "early this morning" named Mary Ellen.]

NBC (1983-84)
NBC Daytime: April 4, 1983 - June 29, 1984 (395 episodes, according to TVPMM)

Pretty much a complete overhaul, with one game per show and a way to win the house on any day. Originally, it took seven wins to automatically get the house, which was dropped to five early in the run and six by August 30, 1983.

In April 1984, the format was changed to have a "Money Machine" in the front game and no longer announce how much had been given away so far during the intro. Per Variety, this version's demise was known as early as mid-April 1984.


 * February 2, 1983 (Pilot #3: Peggy & Tim {Day 3 - $14,000+} vs. Ron & Nancy)
 * March 28-April 3, 1983 (Premiere promo with clips of Pilot #3)
 * 1983-84 (Short montage of house wins)

Original format
 * April 4, 1983 (Premiere: Gary & Vicki vs. Joanne & Don; has commercials, including promos for Dream House and Family Feud {alternate copy})
 * April 13, 1983 (#8: Terrie & Ed {Day 5 - $30,500+} vs. Judy & Jeff; taped from KRON, with commercials)

"Auto-win" threshold becomes six days (debuted by September 6, 1983)
 * September 6, 1983 (Carla & Mark {Day 6} vs. Rhonda & Wayne {alternate copy})
 * [Intro notes that over $2,000,000 has been given away so far.]
 * October 31, 1983 (Rob & Sharon {Day 5 - $24,000+} vs. Kandy & Peter, with Kevin O'Connell stopping by to promote Go!; has commercials {alternate copies: with commercials; no commercials})
 * [Over $2,600,000 given away so far!]


 * November 4, 1983 (Alan & Donetta {Day 2 - $6,000+} vs. Shelly & Bob, with Eubanks promoting the upcoming Celebrity Week; has commercials, begins just before Bob enters, ends just after "DREAM HOUSE is a" credit appears)
 * November 9, 1983 (Celebrity Week, Day 3: Conrad Bain/Donna/Dan {Day 2 - $6,600+} vs. Mary Jo Catlett/Patricia/Darryl; has commercials)
 * [Over $2,600,000 given away so far!]
 * November 21, 1983 ("Playoff Game": Patricia & Darryl Saunders {Day 4?} vs. ? & ? Matthews; brief clip, audio only)
 * November 22, 1983 (Bob & Shelly vs. Robin & Elaine {Day 4 - $23,000+}, with a toss-up question about Wink Martindale; has commercials)
 * [Over $2,850,000 given away so far! Robin & Elaine are a mother-daughter duo from Single Parent Week (another idea I like).]
 * November 23, 1983 (Bob & Shelly vs. Sherry & Jim; has commercials, begins while Johnny introduces the challengers)


 * February 29, 1984 (Julian & Gladyz vs. Karen & Mike; taped from WNBC)
 * [Over $3,300,000 given away "in the past 10 months"!]

Money Machine format (began April 2?, 1984)
 * April 19?, 1984 (Dave & Tracy {Day 5 - $27,700+} vs. Mary & Dan {alternate copy})

Debbie Bartlett introduced by Eubanks (began by May 3, 1984)
 * May 3, 1984 (Becky & Lynn vs. Rose & Larry; has commercials)
 * May 4, 1984 (Rose & Larry vs. Barbara & Duke; has commercials {alternate copy})
 * May 11, 1984 (All-Star Charity Tournament, Day 5: Jamie Farr & Kari Michaelson {$7,800} vs. PAT SAJAK & VANNA WHITE! ($9,000+}; has commercials, including a Celebrity Hot Potato promo {yay :P})


 * June 26, 1984 (4th-to-last: Norris & Kelly {Day 2 - $5,800+} vs. Debbie & Butch)
 * June 29, 1984 (Finale: Curt & Mary {Day 3 - $11,560+} vs. Louisa & Steve; has commercials)