User:Daniel Benfield/Unsold Pilot Theatre

Given the ever-changing landscape of radio and TV, it's no surprise that various game shows have gone unsold. In some rare cases, such as Grill Me, the pilot gets aired as a one-off special. This includes pitchfilms, sales presentations, and sizzle reels.

While I enjoy watching pilots regardless of whether they sold, the unsold ones tend to be a bit more interesting since you can perform an "autopsy" on what was wrong with the show, which tends to lead to some good brainstorming on what you'd fix and how. Sometimes the show's pretty much perfect and it was just pitched at a bad time, while other times a show can be completely unsalvageable.

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. All footage is copyrighted by their respective copyright holders, and I'm using that wording because there's way too many of them to list here.

2 Heads are Better than One
Taped October 6, 1990; hosted by Peter Tomarken

Kinda slow, boring, and hard if the uploaded footage is any indication. Peter's always a bright spot, though, and the sound effects and think cue are recycled from Supermarket Sweep (which had debuted them about a month earlier when they started Season 2).


 * October 6, 1990 (La Rue & Kim vs. Alex & Chris; montage including slate, intro, and bonus round)

The $10,000 Sweep
Taped August 4, 1972 at ABC Studios in New York City; hosted by Jack Clark

Nice idea that would've been a good pairing with Jeopardy! Also notable for having its recording date on a giant check during the intro, which matches existing tickets of the taping.

Interestingly, one player is Bob Lyon, who later appeared during the debut week of The $10,000 Pyramid.


 * August 4, 1972 (Coleman & Tom {Game 2} vs. Cindy & Sue, with Judy & Joe and BOB LYON & Jackie playing later; taped from GSN {alternate copy})

Aces
Taped 2005; hosted by Matt Schallenburger & Amy McCarthy

A "guy quiz" where the players bet, casino-style, on whether they can answer the question. High bid gets a shot at the question for the total of all the bets; missing a question rolls the cash and prize to the next question.

If it weren't for the presence of Mark-Maxwell Smith as a consultant, I'd have probably dismissed this out of hand as being fake. Even so, it's little more than blatant pluggery for the website, and the fact the bonus round is a hand of blackjack on the website feels a bit...off...to me, given that some gambling websites have had evidence of cheating.


 * 2005 (Erik/Vaughn/Matt/Andy; glitchy video during credits, ends during credits)
 * [Has slate, although it's not really informative: it's just the company, show title, and runtime.]

All-Star Charades
Taped November 3, 1977; hosted by Jim Lange

Has the casts of two shows competing and Charlie O'Donnell announcing, but that's about all I can figure out.


 * November 3, 1977 (Forever Fernwood vs. One Day At A Time; intro, B/W video)

Babble
Taped February 3, 1984 at NBC Studios in Burbank; hosted by Tom Kennedy

Uses the Celebrity Charades theme. Each week (this was shot for NBC daytime) would have a "Visiting Team" challenge a "Home Team" of Norm Crosby, Marcia Wallace, and James Hampton. "From time to time" (Tom's words), probably once or twice a week, a guest celebrity would give clues sent in by a home viewer for the six other celebs to figure out.

Thanks in part to Adam Nedeff and Matt Ottinger, this (pretty surprisingly) ended up being aired by GSN on October 5, 2014 as part of their "Tylenol Time Capsule" stuff. Got about 80,000 viewers, which isn't bad for a crappy star-studded unsold 1980s pilot but ranked below pretty much everything else on the network schedule.


 * February 3, 1984 (Friday: Visitors are Meredith MacRae/Brad Garrett/Gwynne Gilford; Players: Heather, Liz, Stephanie, BETTY WHITE {reading clues sent by Francis Allen}; taped from GSN with no crunch!, missing first second or so {alternate copy of first and last segments, with slate!})

Banko
Taped 1986; hosted by Wink Martindale

Barry-Enright's attempt to stay on the air as Tic-Tac-Dough and The Joker's Wild (and Headline Chasers, since Wink's involved) were meeting the axe.


 * 1986 (Greg vs. Kimberly; montage, including intro)

Beat the Chimp
''Taped June? 1998; hosted by Tim Vine''

Based on the '97 British game Fluke (also hosted by Vine), the only difference being that a chimp was one of the contestants, guessing for every question.

One question/clip is about June 15, 1998 in the past tense, suggesting it was taped within a few days of that.


 * June? 1998 (Rick/Brandi/Craig/Jo Anne {Chimp: "Tonka"?}; first 90 seconds and full Round 1)

Beat the I.R.S. (Legally)
Taped 1985 at WESTERN Video & Film; hosted by Bob Goen

In July 1989, Pat Sajak walked downstairs from his CBS talk show to the CBS daytime Wheel of Fortune, chatting with Goen and Vanna White. During this, Bob talked about a few of his prior shows, mentioning one called Beat the I.R.S., to which everybody had a good laugh.

In December 2012, it popped up on YouTube, having been recorded by videoarchives1000 (suggesting it was a one-off syndicated special). So yeah, turns out that's actually a thing that happened.

As for the show itself, the game and set aren't too bad (the contestant area looks like it was recycled from The Cross-Wits), although the bonus round has a bit of a flaw in that if the first question is wrong, it's just there to see how much merchandise you can gather up.

Whether this is actually a pilot is unclear: there's a disclaimer at the end which indicates that the show is for entertainment and educational purposes only with no prizes actually awarded, but "nothing shown was actually awarded" is standard procedure for pilots. Still, if it's not actually a real game show they definitely put in a lot of effort to make it feel like one: Goen hosting, John Harlan as announcer, Ray Horl and Peggy Touchstone producing (the latter fresh off Jim Lange's Name That Tune), and a decent set and format.


 * 1985 (Sabrina vs. Jim {Part 3})

Beat the Odds (1975)
Taped February 7, 1975 (at least three pilots); hosted by Chuck Henry

A Bill Carruthers revamp of the 1960s game for ABC which isn't bad, although the set feels a bit too bland given the general push for pastels and flashiness at the time.


 * February 7, 1975 (Pilot #3: Doralyn vs. Lynda {Part 4})

Birds of a Feather
Taped 1980s?; hosted by Howard Q. Stevens

I...have no idea, other than that it was a Nicholson-Muir show. Probably early 1980s.


 * 1980s? (Bartenders {Champs} vs. Bodybuilders; intro)

Body Talk
Taped October 12, 1990 at Television City Studio 33 (at least two pilots); hosted by Vicki Lawrence

Goodson's third attempt at Showoffs, shot for ABC, and as far as I know it's his last pilot. According to Mike Burger's review of a pilot with Elaine Joyce as one of the celebs, the bonus round...kinda sucked.


 * October 12, 1990 (Jacklyn Zeman/Marcia Wallace/Leanna vs. Brian/Richard Simmons/Bill Kirchenbauer; intro only)

Boggle
Taped 1987; hosted by Bill Rafferty

Later became a Dutch series, with pretty much the same set.


 * 1987 (Russ & Susie {Champs} vs. Tammy & Art; montage including intro and bonus round)

The Buck Stops Here
Taped 1985; hosted by Jim Peck

A race against time that should've had a chance, even if the 1985-86 season was so overrun by games. Jim does his usual good job here.

The intro shows clips of three other teams, possibly hinting at another pilot or two having been done.


 * 1985 (Lisa & Matt vs. Sara & Jerry {Part 3}, with the Big Bucks Bonanza at $15,000; kinda-dark video, audio issues during intro, no credits)

Cash Tornado
Taped April 5, 1994 at Television City (very likely Studio 33); hosted by Jim Perry

A lottery game intended for licensing to various states (most notably in the form of Illinois Instant Riches), although it would've made a great companion to The Big Spin.

Probably the most notable element is how close it is to the Doug Davidson Price Is Right, showing a transition between the 1993 pilots and '94 series. Several of these clips feel like Jim hosting Price with Gene Wood announcing, particularly some of the intro and from about 6:43-55.

Oddly, the official Television City website has no listing for this show.


 * April 5, 1994 (Sales Presentation: Onstage players are Edna {Freefall}, Bettye {Grand Prix}, and ROGER DOBKOWITZ! {Force Field})

Catch Phrase (2006)
Taped February 5, 2006 (two pilots); hosted by Todd Newton

An attempt to bring the show back to the States, only offering cash this time. The main difference is in the bonus round, using the traditional "five-in-a-row" rules rather than the "make a left-to-right connection" the original British version had post-Roy Walker: $1,000 is awarded for each solved Catchphrase, with $10,000 for five-in-a-row and $20,000 for five-in-a-row with the M.

While the sales reel below doesn't directly mention the format originator, it's definitely hinted at (plus the Pasetta Productions logo is at the end). It also basically puts forth that since this is sleek and all-new and updated for the 21st Century, plus all the success the format's had around the world, All-New Catch Phrase will do way better than the 17 weeks the original American version got.


 * February 5, 2006 (Sales Reel with clips of the pilots: Kiana vs. Matt and Kate vs. Jay)

Caught in the Act (1979)
Taped April 29, 1979; hosted by Jack Clark

Interesting fill-the-list game with some goofy prizes...as well as a clear sign that they didn't think anybody would give all the correct answers on a said list.


 * April 29, 1979 (Meme vs. Holly, with returning champ Chris {$3,700})
 * [Jack, at one point, says to a player "there may be no tomorrow". While in context he's referring to the gameplay at said point, the fact this show didn't sell gives a double meaning to that.]

Celebrity Table Tennis
Taped 1971 at Television City (Studio 31); hosted by ?

Uh...Isaywha? Seriously, you'd think this was a joke...but no, it's legit. Based on Johnny Gilbert's intro, it's four celebs playing in doubles (two-on-two) and singles (one-on-one) matches, likely for charity.

The intro appeared during a montage of game shows taped at Television City during the 50 Years from Television City special (April 27, 2002). I once read a theory that the researchers stumbled across this and thought it so strange it had to be included...and evidently, whoever was compiling the lists for the official Television City website thought it was a joke because it's not even listed!


 * 1971 (Peter Lawford, Bob Crane, Jo Anne Worley, Greg Morris; intro)

Combination Lock (2006)
Taped 2006; hosted by Marc Summers (Pilot #1) and Ty Treadway (Pilot #2)

Started as a 1996 pilot hosted by Ross King, and turned into a much fancier show that'd be pretty nice to see in full.

For whatever reason, Ty Treadway was picked for the second pilot despite Merv Griffin's Crosswords also being in development for the same upcoming season. And since Harry Friedman's involved, I can't help but wonder how he felt at seeing the guy who left Wheel and Jeopardy! to him pull out both the sell and the host. (Granted, Crosswords wasn't all that great, but still...)

Even so, I have to wonder who decided a noob host would be better than an established one. It was around this point that Price was doing host tryouts, with CBS denying Marc a chance because...because; I have to wonder if replacing him here was connected to that, especially since CBS owned the show's distribution arm King World (later folded along with "older show" syndication arm CBS Paramount Television into becoming CBS Television Distribution).

In the end, only a clip of the onstage vault opening to show the money got airtime, as a Mystery Round intro sequence on Wheel.

Marc Summers
 * July 13, 2006 (Runthrough #2: Montage)
 * August 31, 2006 (Pilot #1 {Jackpot: $185,000}; montage)

Ty Treadway
 * Late 2006-Early 2007 (Sales Tape)

Concentration (1985)
Taped May 1985 (ten pilots); hosted by Orson Bean

The theme, graphics, and bonus round of the eventual series coupled with a weird set and logo plus a really stupid word-connections format. And they did ten of these?!

Based on a recollection from one of the pilot players, this version did two five-show taping days. It's possible these were meant to be aired as a "tryout" period, but holy crap they were insistent on this format!


 * May 1985 (Lori vs. Hap)
 * May 22, 1985 (#1-002: Cindy vs. Joel; has slate!)
 * [Seems a bit more polished, with Gene introducing the players, but there's no logo during the intro.]

Classic Concentration II
Taped November 1992; hosted by Alex Trebek

One of NBC's planned schedule changes for the start of 1993 was replacing the Classic repeats with an hour-long version, and this is very likely what was planned – a tournament-style format, with a new preliminary jackpot-building game based on the '85 format (matching words to make phrases). Also notable is that the sound for making a match is from the Narz era.

More of an office runthrough than an actual pilot, but hey...


 * November 1992 (Montage)

Cop-Out!
Taped February 15, 1972; hosted by Geoff Edwards

Dull, boring, and broken. Eight celebs is way too much, and the game hinging on the last question probably wasn't the best idea.

Chuck Barris' Themes From TV Game Shows album shows a photo of another pilot on a much smaller set with just four celebs.


 * February 15, 1972 (Ann Elder, James Farrantino, Michelle Lee, Bill Bixby, Lois Nettleton, Larry Hovis, Della Reese, Richard Dawson; Cheryl vs. Frank; taped from GSN)

Crossword
Taped early 1966 (at least two pilots); hosted by George Fenneman

Basically the predecessor to The Cross-Wits, just a lot lamer and tamer. Oh, and nobody on the production side (including Fenneman) seems to know what they're supposed to be doing.


 * Early 1966 (Pilot A: Carolyn Jones & Michael Landon; Ammi vs. Patti; entirety of Game 1 and prize plugs of Game 2 missing)
 * [George plugs Carolyn as being from The Addams Family (which ended 4/8/66). Spiegel catalog shown at 9:07 of Part 2, and appears to be the Spring/Summer 1966 one.]
 * Early 1966 (Pilot B: Tippi Hedren & PAUL LYNDE!; Frank vs. Polly)
 * [George notes that Tippi will be going to London very soon to do Charlie Chaplin's new film with Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren (A Countess from Hong Kong, released 1/5/67), and that Paul will soon be seen in the new Doris Day film Glass Bottom Boat (released 6/9/66). Shooting for Countess began 1/25/66.]

The Cube
Taped 2009?; hosted by Neil Patrick Harris

I have zero idea why this didn't sell, except possibly that CBS thought Americans just couldn't handle the mind-blowing awesomeness and natural drama/suspense of the worldwide franchise that is The Cube.

Seriously, every other country in the world that's bought the show does it flawlessly (or near-flawlessly) to great success, or at least great response. America...gets Minute To Win It, an overblown show on NBC and later GSN.


 * 2009? (Brief clip)

Decisions Decisions
Taped 1979 (at least two pilots); hosted by Bill Cullen

A long game that was eventually simplified into the bonus round of Hot Potato.


 * 1979 (David Letterman & Madeline vs. Joyce Bulifant & Mike; no intro, ends after Round 1)

Doctor I.Q. Jr.
''Taped December? 1953 at the Little Theater in New York City; hosted by ?''

A revival attempt, now for television, four years after the radio version (hosted by Jimmy McClain) ended. As with the radio show, children are asked questions for various amounts of quarters.

The big problem is with the host: not only is his name never given, but he's pretty nervous and clearly overrehearsed. Seriously, you have Art Fleming right there; he even appears at the end. If he had been host (minus the gaudy outfit the actual host wore), I'm pretty sure it would've been far more watchable. Granted, I remember reading that the reason it didn't sell is because ABC couldn't get any sponsors, but still...


 * December? 1953 (First player is a 10-year-old girl {Part 2})
 * [Probably December, based on a couple of the questions; it's definitely before Christmas, per another question. 1953 is specifically named as the current year.]

Dollar a Second (1981)
Taped February 7, 1981; hosted by Bob Eubanks

Given the success of reviving Treasure Hunt, Barris opted to revive another Jan Murray game (presumably to pair up with the upcoming 1980s Treasure Hunt)...although in this case, it's even more strange than it was in the 1950s.

Probably the most notable element is Bob outright saying it's a pilot within the first minute.


 * February 7, 1981 (Players: Lori, Harry, Fulton & Donna; First Outside Event: A slot machine with a jackpot; taped from GSN)

Double Cross
Taped November 16, 1975 at Television City (Studio 33); hosted by Jack Barry

All things considered, this was probably CBS' attempt to make amends with Jack after canning The Joker's Wild in favor of Spin-Off and this mess.


 * November 16, 1975 (Paul vs. Tammy; montage including slate and intro)

Double Dare (1987 spinoffs)
Taped July 29-30, 1987 (at least four pilots: two Celebrity, two civilian); hosted by Bruce Jenner

Ron Greenberg tried, he really did. Both with celebrities and without.

For whatever reason, someone in a position of power decided traditional Double Dare just wasn't gonna cut it outside of cable – the set's dull, with the Obstacle Course in particular being a haphazard mess; the stunts are dull and devoid of any real messiness, especially the traditional slime; and the focus seems to be on the Q&A rather than the stunts.

The main problem was trying to make the show for adults, whereas the parent show made it a selling point early on that Double Dare was for kids. These attempts are too far removed from the show that at this point had been airing for the past 10 months, and so I'm not really surprised that neither of these sold. As far as I know, the redone logo was the only thing used after this mess.


 * July 29, 1987 (Celebrity: Heidi Bohay & Wayne vs. Scott Baio & Holly)
 * [Intro shows clips of another pilot with Stuart Pankin.]
 * July 30, 1987 (Adult Civilians: Lisa & Greg Cripps vs. Nancy & John Dragon; montage including slate and intro, color issues during opening clip montage)
 * [Intro shows clips of another pilot with Ketelsen vs. Hatcher.]

Double Up (1987)
Taped 1987 (at least three pilots, based on the available footage); hosted by Jamie Farr

Shot for syndication, it seems. Jamie was promoted as being "from Double Up" when he appeared during both Game Show Host Weeks on Scrabble.


 * 1987 (Sizzle Reel)

Duel in the Daytime
Taped August 23, 1981 (at least three pilots); hosted by Peter Tomarken

Way too loud, noisy, and nonsensical, although Peter's always a bright spot.

According to Mike Burger's review of Pilot #3, they did three takes of the bonus round in that taping: the first had a win that was evidently deemed too fast, while the second time the player failed to guess the subject even with two extremely helpful clues.


 * August 23, 1981 (Pilot #2: Slate and intro)

Eavesdroppers
Taped 1988; hosted by Tom Kennedy

Players had to figure out the person, place, or thing being discussed in a displayed conversation. Eventually became the bonus round of Rodeo Drive, and amusingly said show's eventual host is also present here.

Oh, and the "people" in the logo look freaky.


 * 1988 (Louise DuArt, Vic Dunlop, Melanie Noble, Dean Goss {who also announces!}; montage, including intro)

Every Second Counts (2009)
Taped 2009; hosted by Mark L. Walberg

A big-money game not related to the 1980s obscurity, for better or worse.


 * 2009 (Montage including intro and close)

Everything's Relative (1980)
Taped April 19, 1980 at ABC Studio TV-15 in New York (at least two pilots); hosted by Jim Peck

Probably the most notable thing about this (aside from Jim hosting a show that's miles better than 3's A Crowd) is that the set looks like a 1970s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? No, seriously.

(Amusingly, this was shot for ABC's benefit.)


 * April 19, 1980 (Egan {Marty/Pat/Monica/Craig; Champs} vs. Rosenthal {Bob/Helen/Larry/Michele} {Part 2})

Eye Q
Taped August 14, 1988 at Television City (Studio 33); hosted by Henry Polic II

Another attempt at reviving Eye Guess, now on a recycled Money in the Blank set, but this time the players don't even get to see the board of answers first! As a result, there's a lot of fumbling around in the dark that I'm sure was meant to be fun, but really just slows things down and makes no sense.

The bonus game has the winning team picking numbers off a 16-space board with their backs turned, hoping to make a straight line within a certain number of guesses (doing so in the minimum of four is worth $50,000)...which I'd expect from a lottery game show.

You'd think Bob Stewart would've learned after Punch Lines not to mess with Eye Guess... Funnily enough, the show did end up selling a decade later in Indonesia as Kontak, which ran on RCTI from 1998-2002 for over 900 episodes.


 * August 14, 1988 (Pilot #1: Kathy & Frank vs. Joan & Charlie; montage including slate, intro, and bonus round)

Finders Keepers (1985)
Taped 1985; hosted by "Nee-Fi" and "Sci-Fi"

JM Productions' attempt to stay around after The Video Game met the axe, in which kids went on a real-life treasure hunt. Not connected to the more well-known game show.


 * 1985

Fortune Hunters
Taped August 19, 1983 at Television City (Studio 33); hosted by Bob Hanley

Jay Wolpert tries his hand at another series, this time with a format similar (in its basic form) to Dirty Rotten Cheater. The closing spiel is a bit derpy, though.


 * August 19, 1983 (Ray/Barbara/Bob/Carol; partial intro, partial Round 1, and close)

Fun for the Money (1985)
Taped 1985; hosted by Bob Hilton

Group W show in which three players bet on whether a chosen audience member can pull off a stunt. And hey, Charlie O'Donnell announces!


 * 1985 (Nina?/Shelly/Leeza?; segment of an audience member trying to bounce three tennis balls into a cup held by a unicyclist)

Gambit (1979)
Taped October 19, 1979 (at least two pilots); hosted by Wink Martindale

Nice set and uses the eventual Las Vegas-era theme, but it feels a bit too "updated": the front game is still "closest to 21 without going over (get a 21 and win the Gambit Jackpot)", but the couples take turns solving word puzzles for the cards. Why not have both couples in play for each puzzle? The bonus round "Gambit 6-Ball" is a giant skeeball board filled with cash and prizes; at least the Big Numbers in '81 made sense since it was Vegas and related to gambling.

I mean, don't get me wrong, the word puzzles eventually got reused by Heatter in The Last Word and the skeeball game would be good on another show (like, say, The Price Is Right), but on Gambit it doesn't really feel proper. No real surprise that Las Vegas Gambit went back to the tried-and-true.


 * October 19, 1979 (Pilot #2: Dennis & Jody Van Sandt {$3,600} vs. Tom & Kathy Clarke, with Ron & Denise Smith playing later {Gambit Jackpot starts at $1,000}; has slate! {alternate copy of intro})

Gambit (1990)
Taped October 20, 1990; hosted by Bob Eubanks

Slightly different front-game format, with monitors for the contestants' cards. The bonus round became a "beat the dealer" game. Might have had a chance if the 1990-91 season wasn't so overrun by games.


 * October 20, 1990 (Karla {$5,200} vs. Tony, with Jim playing later {Part 3}; no credits)
 * 1990? ("Runthrough" opening animation)

Casino
Taped April 16, 2002 at KTLA (at least three pilots); hosted by Ron Pearson & Tanya Memme

Merrill Heatter's first attempt at rebooting Gambit for a new generation. Eventually became Catch 21, with a lot less on offer.

Mike Burger has a review of Pilot #3 here.


 * April 16, 2002 (Lance/Renae/Tony; two minutes of clips)

Genesis
Aired April 23, 2000; hosted by Jim McKrell

Okay, seriously, what is it with Jim not being able to helm another series after Celebrity Sweepstakes ended in '77? As with his other unsold shows, though, this one isn't his fault – in this case, it's more the repetitive format than anything.

What cements this as a pilot is that the Holy Land Challenge is played by the week's five winning teams.


 * April 23, 2000 (First Baptist Church {Kay/Tamara/David/Charity} vs. First Christian Church {Bill/SUSAN SEAFORTH-HAYES/Jackie/Charlie} {Parts 2, 3, and 4})

Get Rich Quick!
Taped October 30, 1977; hosted by Steve Edwards

Bob Stewart's first attempt at what eventually became Go!, with a bonus round he oddly never used in any other show.


 * October 30, 1977 (Lynnie Greene, Debralee Scott, Robert Urich, John Ritter; Kevin vs. Karen; taped from GSN)

Going Going Gone!
Taped 1959 at KTLA; hosted by Richard Lewellen

A Ralph Edwards game presumably shot for KTLA, with Tom Kennedy as the announcer.


 * 1959 (Part 2; missing end of Game 2 and entirety of Game 3)

The Gong Show (2001)
Taped 2001 (two or three pilots); hosted by Tom Arnold

Adds segments where audience members show off their (alleged) talent; a very America's Got Talent-esque "Tom visits the homes of some performers" bit; and a "Clip of the Week" contest (the winner gets flown to the show), but that's about it. There's also a recurring character in John Farley, with a disturbing bit shown.

The format is classic Gong Show, with each panelist giving a score from 1-10 and the highest score winning. Intended for late-night syndication in Fall 2001, so it retains the "edge" of Extreme Gong minus the "let's mock ATGS" crap.

The official Television City website lists a taping in November 2000 at Studio 46.


 * 2001 (Sales Reel, with clips of both pilots: ?/Nicole Sullivan/Jimmy Kimmel {although a few clips have an African-American lady in Jimmy's place; not sure whether that indicates a third pilot or something that happened during this one}, and Martin Mull/Kathy Griffin/Tommy Davidson)

Hollywood Teasers
Taped 1993; hosted by Robb Weller

An attempt to fuse All-Star Blitz and Hollywood Squares without the bonus round of either.


 * 1993 (Ed O'Neill, Pamela Anderson, Don Rickles, Mayim Bialik, Mark Curry, Rita Rudner; Michelle vs. Mel; montage including intro and close)

The Honeymoon Game
Taped October 3, 1970; hosted by Jim McKrell

Couples compete in three different games over the course of 90 minutes. The first was a lame Newlywed Game clone, which creator Jack Barry realized and excised from the circulating copy (aired by Metromedia stations as a one-off special in Summer 1971). The fact the other two parts are a slightly altered Joker's Wild only makes the first look even lamer.

As for the Joker-based portions, which aren't exactly top-quality themselves, the Baseball slides and most of the prize slides are clearly recycled from the 1960s pilots.


 * October 3, 1970 (Bob Crane, Jaye P. Morgan, Edmond G. Brown, Don Drysdale, Mark Copage; Rebecca & Charles/Denise & Jim/? & ?/Judy & Felix/? & ?/Anita & Rod {ordered as they stand during the intro}; "hour-long" version, skew at bottom of screen nearly throughout that doesn't get in the way {alternate copy of first part of Round 2 Game 1})

House Party (1983)
Taped January 1983 at Television City (Studio 41); hosted by Mark Sweet

An attempted reboot of the classic Art Linkletter show, shot for CBS daytime, which looks like a lot of fun (although it sometimes borders on parody). And hey, Rod Roddy announces!

The show was done by Little Joey Productions, which did Babble in early '84.


 * January 1983 (Montage including intro and close)

Hype
Taped 1990s?; hosted by David Leisure

A show where statements, video clips, and stunts can be either real or fake. David is...kinda sucky as host, generally trying too hard to be funny.

Not sure when this was taped, but probably early 1990s based on the set design.


 * 1990s? (Olivia & Patrick vs. Karen & Darnell; ends after Round 1)

Idiot Quest
Taped 2007; hosted by Ryan Stout

Real oddity where being dumber than your opponents (and managing to fool the lie detector you're hooked up to, it seems) is what wins. Imagine if It Pays to Be Ignorant was played completely straight and actually serious, and you're halfway there.

Then again, this may have been an April Fool's joke by MTV, so hey...


 * 2007 (Intro and Round 1)

''I Predict
Taped September 1987 at Television City Studio 33 (at least two pilots); hosted by Dean Goss (one pilot) and Monty Hall (other pilot)

Pretty interesting, although the "wild guess" part of the format ("I'm thinking of a chess piece."; cue six or seven guesses) feels a bit off. Probably meant to replace Split Second.


 * 1987 (Pitchfilm of Monty's pilot, with Laura Chambers as a contestant!)

It's Up To You!
Taped 1961?; hosted by ?

A group of students present their product ideas, then ask questions to two guests (Mr. X and Mr. Y) to determine which was a businessman and which was "a top television and movie star".


 * 1961? (Partial intro and brief clips, from the 1996 special The Greatest Shows You Never Saw)

Jackpot! (1984)
Taped June 9, 1984 at Television City (Studio 33); hosted by Nipsey Russell

Shot for CBS and returned to using riddles after Lin Bolen's overhaul killed the original series, with a nice set (designed by Ed Flesh) and good host...but who thought it'd be a great idea for the riddles to be a flat $150 each, drop the Super Jackpot, and add a bonus game (Riddle-Grams)?


 * June 9, 1984 (First Queen of the Hill: Lorna {Laura?}; average quality, but still watchable)

The Joker's Wild (1968)
Taped December 8, 1968/January 1969 at Television City Studio 41/31 (two pilots); hosted by Allen Ludden

"The Savers" is present, as are the Joker slides, but nearly everything else is different.

The official Television City website lists the '68 pilot as "Joker's Wild Preview".


 * January 5, 1969 (DRESS NO-CLEB'S: Dinah vs. Charles, then Debbie vs. Doug; has slate! {alternate copy of first segment})

Keynotes (1986)
Taped August 4-5, 1986 at Television City Studio 33 (three pilots); hosted by Kevin O'Connell

A great format that found success in the UK and Australia. A later American attempt in 1989, hosted by Clint Holmes, added celebs.


 * August 5, 1986 (Pilot #3: Rochelle/Rod/Toni {Champs} vs. BEN WONG/Linda/Paulette; montage including slate, intro, and close)

Key Witness
Taped 1959; hosted by Vincent Price

Murder-mystery show with a jackpot up for grabs, but there's one big issue here: for the jackpot question, Vincent says the players have 30 seconds to give the date and time of the murder...and then proceeds to count so fast they only end up getting 15 seconds!

Given the timeframe, I have to wonder if that was a bold-faced attempt at rigging, although based on Mike Burger's review and screencaps there isn't much about this show that wasn't done better by another game somewhere down the line.


 * 1959 ("Tall, Dark and Handsome"; partial Jackpot Question portion only)

King of the Hill
Taped February 7, 1975 at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York (at least two pilots); hosted by Robert Earle

A solid word game with plenty of variety, a proven host, a great set and audio package, and a bonus game that later became the Card Sharks Money Cards.

I'm guessing that, since 1975 had so many game shows, there were so many getting on the schedules or being piloted that this one was lost in the shuffle.


 * February 7, 1975 (VTR #2: First King is Eileen {$3,400}, with challengers Honey/Bill/Sharon {Part 3})
 * [For those curious, the categories are Five In Common (open)-The Name Game ($25)-Spelling ($50)-Initial Descriptions ($75)-Song Lyrics ($100)-What's Missing? ($125)-Back Words ($150, open)-Scrambled Phrases-Anagrams-The Numbers Game.]

Lucky Numbers
Taped May 18, 1985 (at least two pilots); hosted by Alex Trebek

The first attempt at revamping High Rollers for the 1980s, with a front game that could last forever. Still better than Heatter's quizless Dice Fever, though...

Interestingly, these pilots have the "dummy company" of Blitz Productions, the one used for All-Star Blitz.


 * May 18, 1985 (Pilot #1: Vicki vs. Jeryl)
 * May 18, 1985 (Pilot #2: Michael vs. Vicki {same one as above!})

Malcolm
Taped 1983; hosted by Alex Trebek

Format's okay, but the main draw was the titular cartoon character (pun not intended). Oh, and Jack Barry was interacting with cartoons 30 years earlier on Winky Dink and You.


 * 1983

Match Game (2008)
Taped July 22, 2008 at Television City Studio 33 (two pilots); hosted by Andrew Daly

Same set as Gameshow Marathon, but who thought it'd be a good idea to do this with a barely-responsive audience? And who thought it'd be a good idea to completely botch Super-Match?


 * July 22, 2008 (Clips of both pilots)

Matchmakers
Taped 1957; hosted by Ted Brown

Nice format, but the sponsor (New Pink Jazz) is definitely...something. Namely, nonexistent, with the most generic commercials you'll ever see, plugged by celebs including Audrey Meadows and Charley Weaver.


 * 1957 (First 3:39 and another bit of gameplay)

Matchmates
Taped 1985 at NBC Studios in Burbank, California; hosted by Michael Burger

Michael's first appearance as a game show host, although the format needs some tightening unless they intended to straddle. Grundy later recycled the bonus round into the Winner's Big Money Game on Sale of the Century, for better or worse; he also recycled the theme music for the Scattergories pilot.

According to Michael, "at the end of our taping, the president of daytime television, Brian Fronz said to Bob Noah who was the executive for Reg Grundy the production company behind the show, and yours truly, "Congratulations it looks like you have another show on the air!""

NBC chose Family Ties repeats instead.


 * 1985 (Lori & Al {Day 5 - $18,000} vs. Sandy & Kirk {Jackpot: $10,000})
 * [Michael notes that $10,000 is the Jackpot's base value and that the champs "stuck us for 18 grand yesterday". The champs are on their fifth day, suggesting that the Jackpot increases by $2,000 per day.]

Million Dollar Bowling
Taped 1950s?; hosted by Ralph Story

Where bowlers can win $25,000...or $256,000...or an unprecedented $1,000,000! (Per the uploader, nobody won the Million.) I'm listing this here because my searches have turned up nothing and I'd like to think a game show offering One Million Damn Dollars would've been notable even if it was a local series.

Based on the prizes at stake and who's hosting, probably late 1950s.


 * Late 1950s? (Intro)

Mind Readers
Taped 1970s?; hosted by Geoff Edwards

Not related to the Goodson-Todman pilot from '75 nor their eventual 1979-80 series, this one involves two teams of people who fall under the same astrological sign.

Uses "Spring Rain", the Love Experts/1984 Jackpot! theme, suggesting this is a Bob Stewart show.


 * 1970s? (Virgo vs. Scorpio {$2,500}; intro)

Monday Night Quarterback
Taped late 1970 or early 1971; hosted by Jerry Kramer

I'm guessing (read: hoping) that someone told Bob Stewart "I bet you can't produce a really, really boring game show!" and Stewart took him/her up on it. I'm not into football, but I can understand its appeal; I don't even think football lovers could watch this.

The game itself has two teams (one celebrity and one football player) watching footage of the St. Louis Cardinals (specifically, the games of September 27 and October 25, 1970) and, when the action freezes, trying to predict the outcome of the current play. This kind of thing works much better on shows based around hidden-camera footage, although Dick Martin's always a bright spot...and in this case, probably the only thing worth watching.

GSN aired this a couple of times: one as part of "Super Games Sunday", the other as part of a "Game Show Turkeys" marathon. And just like turkey, this has the power to make you fall asleep.


 * 1970-71 (Dick Martin & John Hadl vs. Peter Lawford & Myron Pottios; taped from GSN, last two segments only, audio is a bit bad)

Money in the Bank
Taped 1980s at KOIN (Portland, Oregon); hosted by Mark Richards

A rarity: a pilot for a local series, in this case a show that's pretty much The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime minus nearly all the fun. Don't get me wrong, I like Mark Richards, but why does he insist on shoehorning the either-or question format into everything he makes? It's especially bad since he's a much better host on games with open-ended questions, such as the Season 1 Jeopardy! rehearsal games.

Also, and this isn't really relevant to anything, but a superimposed desk? Really? (It's obviously two unfinished podiums with Mark standing between them, as can be seen at 1:34.)


 * 1980s (Jan {Day 3 - $3,450} vs. Dave; 15-minute "edited demo")

Money in the Blank
Taped July 26, 1987 at Television City (Studio 33); hosted by Kevin O'Connell

Pretty nice format, and Kevin's always good to see. In a touch that's simultaneously cool and odd, the bonus game is the Three on a Match board!

The set was recycled a year later for Eye Q.


 * July 26, 1987 (Pilot A: Teresa Ganzel & Nathan Cook; Frank vs. Gail; has slate!)

Money Words
Taped February 8, 1974 (at least two pilots); hosted by Mike Dar(r)ow

Pretty fun word search game, at least based on the available footage.


 * February 8, 1974 (Pilot #2: Ralph/Helen/Dick; montage including slate, intro, and close)

Now You See It (1985)
Taped October 19, 1985 (at least two pilots); hosted by Jack Clark

Someone, long ago, nicknamed this attempt "Now You Pyramid It". The last thing I'm aware of that Jack hosted prior to his retirement in 1988 (itself likely due to the health issues that took his life shortly afterward).


 * October 19, 1985 (Pilot #2: Laurel & Alysen vs. Ronata & Tony; has slate, no video from end of Game 2 through first part of second Solo Round)

Oddball
Taped February 1, 1986 at NBC Studios in Burbank; hosted by Jamie Farr

Well, since 1960s long-runner Match Game worked so well by being supersized in 1973, why not try to supersize 1960s obscurity Get the Message in 1986? ...Yeah, I don't know, either.


 * February 1, 1986 (Pilot #1: Marla Gibbs, Lydia Cornell, Vicki Lawrence, Nedra Volz, Anson Williams, Tom Poston, Daniel Greene, Dick Martin; ends shortly after the contestants enter)

On a Roll
Taped February 23, 1986 at Television City Studio 33 (at least four pilots); hosted by David Sparks

...Boy, what a mess. I'm not saying "Hangman with dice" couldn't work, but with Wheel of Fortune already on for the past eleven years and this format being a bit complicated I'm not really surprised this didn't sell. The "Doublemint Twins" don't help things.

Audiovisuals are nice, though (main theme is "Working Girl March" from the film Tootsie, which was also used on the Star Words and Body Language pilots), for what that's worth. Also noteworthy: David somehow managed to lose his ability to host between this and when The New Cross-Wits began taping in June.

Notably, the Mark Goodson logo used here is the 3D style also seen in the TV's Funniest Game Show Moments specials.


 * February 23, 1986 (Pilot #1: Sharon vs. Tim, with the copyright card accidentally shown at 20:00!; Buzzr broadcast)
 * February 23, 1986 (Pilot #3: Sharon {same one as above!} vs. Bret; has slate!)

Party Line
Taped 1983; hosted by Gene Rayburn

Gene's first game show following the demise of Match Game turned out to also be the first attempt at Hot Streak, albeit with a different (and pretty hard) bonus round.


 * 1983 (Laurie/Judy/LAURA CHAMBERS!/Sue/Evelyn {$4,500} vs. John/David/Stu/Wayne/Bob, with Gene indirectly referencing Match Game during his intro)

Pass/Fail
Taped 1986; hosted by Edwin Newman

Fail.


 * 1986 (Carol Lawrence & David Groh)

Pass the Line
Taped 1954; hosted by Cliff Saber

A professional drawer draws a line, then a panelist copies the line; said line is then copied by the next person, and so on for ten lines. While the video quality is good (all things considered) and the split-screen effect is pretty well-done for the time, not even Jonathan Winters can save this.


 * 1954 (JONATHAN WINTERS, Erica White?, Jeff Kane, Marge ? {Artist: Ray White}; includes a sales pitch, for whatever that's worth {not much, actually} {alternate copy})

Pictionary (2000)
Taped early 2000; hosted by Graham Elwood

The third attempt at adapting the drawing game for television, this time for GSN with a top prize of $5,000.


 * Early 2000 (The Patriots {Amy/Wayne/Meilani/Christine} vs. Team Spice {Elizabeth/Bob/Sue/Deanna})

Pindemonium
Taped 1992; hosted by Ken Ober

Newlywed Game-esque show based around bowling. And hey, Ken's always nice to see.


 * 1992 (Sales Tape)

Play For Keeps!
Taped November 18, 1955, most likely in New York; hosted by Sonny Fox

An attempted big-money revamp of Winner Take All, shot for CBS daytime. Probably better for the genre that it didn't sell, since if it ran long enough it could've taken Goodson-Todman down in the quiz show scandals.


 * November 18, 1955 (Pilot #2: Mrs. Trudeau {$15,000} vs. Mr. Stevens, with Mrs. Plout {GREAT contestant!} and Ms. Morse playing later; Buzzr broadcast)

The Plot Thickens
Taped 1963; hosted by Jack Linkletter

John Guedel's next (and last, by all indication) way to keep Groucho in the spotlight after Tell it to Groucho tanked in '62. Nearly everything here is fine, partly due to the names pulled in on the production side: Rosemary's Baby producer and three-decade B-movie director William Castle in charge alongside Guedel, Psycho author Robert Bloch wrote the film-within-the-show, and the actors from said film who not only turn in a decent showing but somehow managed to keep a straight face and stay in-character while Groucho was questioning them.

So what's wrong with this? Jack Linkletter, who clearly took after Bert Parks in the "hosting style" department minus the charm and sincerity. It's particularly bad when he interacts with Groucho, who's clearly there to be himself (i.e., funny) – Jack decides to try and keep him in line, even chiding the sexist remarks to the bailiff-in-a-catsuit. And then Jack makes a sexist remark to said bailiff, making him (say it with me) a hypocrite.

As Michael Burger (not the game show host) put it, "You have Groucho Marx on your show, so let him be funny. If you don't want funny, don't have him on the show, and kiss any longevity goodbye because even the strictest of panel shows like To Tell the Truth relied on some amount of levity." I honestly think Jack's hosting was the no-sale factor.

And this isn't really related to anything, but I found it amusing: the film-within-the-show has a 1963 Screen Gems copyright credit when its logo appears.


 * 1963 (Murder in the Crystal Ball: Dick Halley, Stan Ross, Jan Sterling, Groucho Marx)

Pop Life
Taped circa 1993 at FOX Television Center in Manhattan (Studio 5A); hosted by John McKinley (best guess)

Shot for FOX, and involves questions about current media and the like. Each episode was to generally be focused around a specific schmuck current in the news.


 * 1993? (Mike & Drew vs. Kerrie & Tracy {Today's Potshot: Amy Fisher}; first segment only)

Pot O' Gold
Taped 1979; hosted by Art James

A game with a pachinko element where even though only $500 is needed to win, and contrary to Mike Burger's review of the pilot, the outermost slots are worth...$50,000?!


 * 1979 (Montage including intro and credits)

Puzzle Roulette
Taped 1987 (four pilots); hosted by Jim Lange

Has a nice set and theme, plus Dean Goss announcing, but the format...no idea. It was a Marty Pasetta show, for what that's worth.


 * 1987 (Intro)

Puzzlers
Taped March 14, 1980 (three pilots); hosted by Pat Sajak

A Goodson-Todman format with a lot of variety...possibly too much, although it could've made for a good testing ground of other formats. Uses the Mindreaders theme.

The three pilots all had different outcomes, hence why three were taped.


 * March 14, 1980 (Laurie/Tom/April; Champ: Ann {$6,000} {alternate copies: intro; round seen during Game Show Moments Gone Bananas})

Pyramid Rocks
Taped Fall 1999; hosted by Bil Dwyer

Shot for VH1, with a few minor changes: singing was disallowed, getting a score of 21 awarded a bonus prize (in this case, a "fully loaded" personal computer), and the Winner's Circle (also the front-game board) was played for $5,000.

A shame this didn't sell, since it would've definitely made a good companion to Rock & Roll Jeopardy! Might have also been known as Rock & Roll Pyramid, as I vaguely remember seeing the name on a couple of sites long ago.


 * Fall 1999 (Ellen Cleghorne & Riki Rachtman; Michael vs. Jen; ends shortly after second category)

The $100,000 Pyramid (2000)
Taped December 6, 2000; hosted by Donny Osmond

Shot for syndication, which it did eventually get...just not like this. The set's darker, the logo's different, Randy West is announcer, the celebs actually walk out (albeit not together), and most of the classic format is intact (7-in-30, only the "essence" is needed for credit in the Winner's Circle, and there's returning champs). There's also a $500 bonus for getting 7-out-of-7, although it's not clear whether that's particular to one category (like the Big 7 of long ago) or all of them.

The main format change is with the Winner's Circle: while the sizzle reel below suggests awards of $10,000-$25,000-$45,000-$70,000-$100,000 (hence the fifth and final win awards the titular amount), it was actually an admittedly far more sane $10,000-$15,000-$20,000-$25,000-$30,000. Hence, the fifth and final win results in a grand total of $100,000, which sounds like how they paid out cash in the Donnymid Tournaments.

Still better than the $1,000,000 pilot shot for NBC at the same time, though, where the first Winner's Circle was worth $125,000 and the choice to leave or play another front game, as said money was taken away if you lost a front game or Winner's Circle (and hence why the front game paid $1,000 per word). Because massive heartbreak from an accidental illegal clue is great television according to NBC!


 * December 6, 2000 (Sizzle Reel, narrated by Don Lafontaine!)

The $1,000,000 Pyramid (2009)
Taped June 2009 in New York (two pilots); hosted by Dean Cain (Pilot #1) and Tim Vincent (Pilot #2)

The franchise returned home after 28 years and went back to what worked between 1973-91: classic-style set with neon tubing and bright colors, classic-style logo, and classic theme "Tuning Up" (in a nice touch, the New York-era original for Pilot #1 and the Television City-era version for #2). Also in a nice touch, Alan Kalter returned to the mic long after having seen off the New York era by replacing Steve O'Brien on $50,000.

The 7-11 also made its triumphant return after being unceremoniously kicked out in April 1991, further restoring its original element of having a choice: go for all seven and $11,000, or play it safe and take $500 per word. The Winner's Circle was worth $25,000 for the first attempt and a total of $75,000 in the second, with the four best times and the four biggest money winners returning for a $1,000,000 League of Champions.

While CBS didn't pick it up (choosing Let's Make A Deal that year and The Talk in 2010), Michael Davies had proven that Pyramid as Bob Stewart had guided it and Jim Ryan/Ed Flesh had designed it could in fact work in the present day.


 * June 2009 (Behind-the-scenes clips and photos from both taping days)
 * June 2009 (Pilot #2: Caroline Rhea & Norm MacDonald; intro and Winner's Circle #1)

The $25,000 Pyramid (2010)
Taped June 23, 2010 in Hollywood, California (two pilots); hosted by Andy Richter

Shot for TBS, with a slightly altered format for an hour-long slot: the first two Winner's Circles were played for $10,000, with the front-game winners playing again for a shot at $25,000. The front game was also altered in two ways: the third and fourth categories of each game offered a bonus for 7-out-of-7, and each team had a "Double Down" option allowing them to play a category for double points.

The 1982 "Tuning Up" is still present, and the logo has been given a 3D makeover with an odd-looking opening animation (the center piece swivels around between $500,000, $100,000, and $25,000 before slowing down to $25,000) that suggests a tournament which isn't explained in the available footage. I don't remember seeing anything at the time which even hinted at it, either.

By far the biggest change is to the set, now far more basic with seven screens surrounding the players and, in a weird bit of reasoning, had the players standing for the front game; per Davies, it was "bringing the show to its feet". I would've said the show had been brought to its feet in 2009 after the 1996-2004 attempts that, barring Pyramid Rocks, tended to miss the point, but hey...

And this isn't really relevant to anything, but I found it amusing: Greggo had been using the tournament-style format for his version at least three months prior to this taping session.


 * June 23, 2010 (Mo Rocca & Aisha Tyler; intro and Winner's Circle #2 of one pilot, or possibly a combination of both)

A Question of Scruples
Taped late 1980s?; hosted by Richard Kline

Based on the board game of the same name, but not to be confused with this pilot. That said, I'm pretty sure one of the scenarios (would you light up in a no-smoking area if there was nobody around?) uses footage of the Hindenburg explosion.

Unfortunately, the "Sizzle Reel" below is so haphazardly put together that I couldn't make sense of the format...assuming, of course, that they actually taped two or so pilots and didn't just record these bits.

On a side note, Rob Paulsen is the announcer. No, seriously.


 * 19?? (Anthony Newley, Lisa Hartman, Louie Anderson, John Ratzenberger; Players: Stacey, Zack, Joanne, Darla; Sizzle Reel compilation)

Quick on the Draw (1964)
Taped 1964; hosted by Paul Winchell with Jerry Mahoney

Children's game with the pictures drawing themselves, predating pretty much every game in this field I can think of except Pass the Line. Also has returning champs, a rarity for both children's game shows and primetime games in general.

The main issue is that the highest score plays the Bonus Round, which is kinda weird given returning champs unless the winner was to carry over to the next show...and that the bonus drawing is way too hard for a children's show – the solution doesn't even fit the category!


 * 1964

Rate Your Mate (1951 TV)
Taped 1951; hosted by Joey Adams

A planned CBS-TV adaptation of the concurrent radio game also hosted by Adams, with a nice visual element added.


 * 1951 (Part 2)

The Riddlers
Taped November 4, 1977 at NBC Studios in Burbank (two pilots); hosted by David Letterman

Kinda-slow game based around riddles, with a team of five celebs competing against a team of five civilians who have the same job (such as dance instructors). 1970s Dave is always fun to watch, and in this case he's really the only thing that makes it worth watching.

Much later, in a 1991 Late Night interview with Michael McKean, the two briefly discussed this show after Michael brought it up. Oddly, Dave notes that there was no second pilot – instead, after #1, the producers came up to him and said "Iiiii think we got what we need, Dave..."


 * November 4, 1977 (Pilot #1: Jo Anne Worley/Robert Urich/Joyce Bulifant/Michael McKean/Debralee Scott {$0} vs. Dance Instructors {Sherry/Rocco/Joan/Mark/Hartley; $4,000+}; taped from GSN, with "Raise the Dead" segments)

Run for the Money
Taped late 1987 at ABC Television Center in Hollywood; hosted by Bill Rafferty

The precursor to Going For Gold.


 * Late 1987 (Doug/Nancy/Christi/Steve)

''Says Who?
Taped May 28, 1971 in New York (most likely, based on the credits); hosted by Geoff Edwards

A game where celebs can answer questions as themselves, or as one of the other celebs. Likely meant for a primetime slot, since two contestants stay for the entire show and switch partners for each game.

I think Adam Nedeff summed it up best: "Two great emcees, one hosting and one playing, and both suffered back injuries from carrying this pilot."


 * May 28, 1971 (Betsy Palmer, Anne Meara, Peter Lawford, Bill Cullen; Lynne vs. Nathan; taped from GSN)

Scrabble (1990)
Taped August 1, 1990; hosted by Steve Edwards

Different host, a different (much less fun and much more annoying) intro, the clues have categories attached, and the letters are chosen through some number graphics rather than the tiles. All in all, not too surprising the changes here didn't stick for the eventual '93 revival.

Still, unlike the eventual revival, the Scrabble Cube is still rotating here. Mike Burger's review is here.


 * August 1, 1990 (Davis {Champ} vs. Craig, then ? vs. ? {Bonus Sprint: $8,000}; montage including slate, intro, and Bonus Sprint)

The Scrabble Challenge
Taped December 16, 2002/July 2003; hosted by John O'Hurley (2002) and Lisa Kennedy Montgomery (2003)

Sticks pretty closely to the board game...which might have been its undoing.


 * December 16, 2002

Second Guessers
Taped December 29, 1969 at Miami Beach, Florida; hosted by Jack Carter (in-studio) and Jack Clark (on-location at the Miami Seaquarium and Miami International Airport)

...Well, I'm sure it looked good on paper. Only six questions are asked, and the thing's so bad that some of the 1,000-person audience can be seen leaving!

Easily the best part of this pilot is Jack Clark. Mind you, this pilot isn't as boring as Monday Night Quarterback, but it's pretty close.


 * December 29, 1969 (Second Guessers: Judy, Roberta, Harry, Don, Jerri, Dinah; Special Guest: Brenda Vaccaro; taped from GSN, with "Raise the Dead" segments)

Shopper's Bazaar
Taped September (October 9?) 1973; hosted by Chuck Woolery

Holy crap, what a mess. Merv Griffin didn't like it, then-NBC head of daytime Lin Bolen didn't like it, test audiences didn't like it, and nearly everybody who's seen it since it surfaced in 2012 doesn't like it. Chuck is probably the only good thing about this mess.

An overhaul later, and we got Wheel of Fortune. Even later, Harry Friedman revived the Shopper's Special bonus round as the Prize Puzzle...and nobody likes it. :P


 * Fall 1973 (Pilot #1: Marilyn/Dawn/Maureen {alternate copy of opening segment})

Silent Partners
Taped 1950s?; hosted by Dennis James

From what I can tell, involves four players using strategy (possibly making bets, given the score displays visible at one point). Probably 1950s.


 * 1950s? (Partial intro and brief clips, from the 1996 special The Greatest Shows You Never Saw {which replaces the music in the last clip, for whatever reason})

Simon Says...
Taped 1971 in California; hosted by Bob Barker

Yes, Barker hosted a game show that didn't get past the pilot stage. In fairness, the concept's kinda weird anyway: Truth or Consequences with a giant computer, pretty much.

The show was created by Wesley J. Cox for DUNDAS, although neither name seems to have any other credits. Mike Burger, who reviewed the pilot, theorized that this may have been a production by Barry and/or Enright since the theme is "The Savers".


 * 1971 (Intro and first segment)

Slingo
Taped 2008; hosted by Michael Burger

Based on the slot game of the same name, with a top prize of $250,000. And hey, Randy West announces!


 * 2008 (Montage including intro and close)
 * 2008 (Sizzle Reel that explains the format)
 * 2008 (Behind-the-scenes footage)

Spell Binders
Taped August 16, 1978 at NBC Studios in Burbank; hosted by Bill Anderson

Interesting show, based on Mike Burger's review and what little is around.


 * August 16, 1978 (Intro)

Split Decision
Taped July 11, 1985 (at least two pilots); hosted by Jim McKrell

Pretty nice pilot, per what I've seen and heard (including Mike Burger's review). Not sure why it didn't sell, though.


 * July 11, 1985 (Pilot #2: Montage including intro and close)

Star Play
Taped November 20, 1988 at Hollywood Center TV Studios (KTLA); hosted by Tom Kennedy

Interesting combination of charades and You Don't Say!. Mike Burger's review is here.


 * 1988 (Runthrough: Teresa Ganzel, Charlie Callas, Florence LaRue, Richard Simmons, Marcia Wallace; Carolyn & Gary vs. Gail & Nancy, with a brief pitchfilm)
 * November 20, 1988 (Pilot: Carol Burnett, Willie Aames, Deidre Hall, Robert Guillaume, Valerie Harper, Pat Harrington; montage)

Star Words
Taped May-June 2, 1983 at Television City Studio 33 (at least three pilots); hosted by Nipsey Russell

Shot for CBS daytime, and has a set design that reminds me of Double Dare. Some good ideas here, but looking at the first pilot I'm not surprised why they taped a little more.

Given the timeframe, it seems CBS had the option of this or Press Your Luck to replace Child's Play...and boy, did they make the right choice.


 * May 1983 (Pilot I: Charles Nelson Reilly & Patty Duke-Astin; April vs. Jeff; Buzzr broadcast {alternate copy of closing credits})
 * June 2, 1983 (Pilot III: intro)

Stop Me if You've Heard this One! (1991)
Taped October 17, 1991 (two pilots); hosted by Larry Anderson

A 1940s game that had become well past obscure by this point yet, for whatever reason, decided to attempt a return for the 1990s. If this had been tried after Whose Line Is It Anyway? was brought to the States, it might have had a chance.


 * October 17, 1991 (Brief clip)

Take....5
Taped May 6, 1973 (at least two pilots); hosted by Tony Hernandez

Don Pardo announces, although whoever was responsible for the sound mixing did a poor job.


 * May 6, 1973 (AIR B: Montage including slate, intro, and close)

Talking Pictures (1968)
Taped February 25, 1968 at Television City (Studio 31); hosted by Allen Ludden

A "hidden celebs" game that comes lawsuit-close to Eye Guess. Amusingly, it seems turnabout was fair play, as Bob Stewart used the "numbers hide celebs" idea for his Eye Guess revival attempt Punch Lines in 1979.


 * February 25, 1968 (AIR: Ann Miller, Peter Lawford, Angela Cartwright, Lorne Greene, Jan Sterling, Stubby Kaye, Agnes Moorehead, Tom Smothers, Carol Burnett, Paul Winchell {Part 3}; Rachel vs. Dick)

TKO
Taped November 10, 1989 at Television City Studio 33 (at least four pilots); hosted by Peter Tomarken

Interesting little game, shot for ABC, and Peter's always good to see. And hey, Mark Goodson makes a cameo!

Mike Burger's review is here, by the way.


 * November 10, 1989 (Pilot #4: Montage including intro and an audio pickup that wasn't actually edited into the pilot)

Top Secret
Taped March 3-4, 1988 at Television City Studio 33 (at least three pilots); hosted by Wink Martindale

A clue-filled game of hidden identities that was so close to making CBS' schedule, Parker Brothers released a board game tie-in that got pulled shortly afterward!


 * March 4, 1988 (Pilot #3, "Short Version": Sharon/Mike/Wendy)

Trivial Pursuit (1987)
Taped 1987 (at least four pilots); hosted by Steve Morris & Linda Marr

The first attempt, produced by Jay Wolpert with an interesting format. Also has an animated intro, pretty much a staple of his work.


 * 1987 (Montage, including intro)

Twenty One (1982)
Taped May 4, 1982 at Television City; hosted by Jim Lange

Intended to replace the heading-out-the-door Bullseye. Only real difference is the addition of a bonus round, whose Number Jumbler was recycled for the 1980s Break the Bank.


 * May 4, 1982 ("Tie" Pilot: Steve Naideth {$20,000} vs. Marie Lee; has slate!)

Twisters
Taped October 23, 1982; hosted by Jim Perry

Bob Stewart takes a whole bunch of elements from games he's done (including the Chain Reaction and Shoot For the Stars themes), puts them in a blender, and adds in a shuffleboard just because. Plus, hey, anything with Ed Flesh involved is worth a look.

Why this didn't sell is beyond me, although the timeframe suggests that if it had then Jim might not have been able to host Sale of the Century.


 * October 23, 1982 (Wednesday: First King of the Hill is Meme; taped from GSN)

The Wedding Game
Taped 2000s?; hosted by Molly Gilford & Jill Smith

First of all, please don't be alarmed. This is not another Newlywed Game ripoff.

Shot in Las Vegas (maybe), with a house on offer! The website plugged, weddinggame.com, has no captures in the Internet Archive that actually work and no captures at all during 2009-10, so I can't really pin it down aside from when it was uploaded.

Probably late 2000s, but that's just a guess.


 * 2000s? (Montage including intro and close {uploaded 3/6/11})

We've Got Your Number
Taped May 13, 1975 in Los Angeles (at least two pilots); hosted by Jack Barry

Interesting format that's kinda hampered by only using real dice in the bonus round – the front game uses giant projected dice that, to their credit, look 3D until they turn around for said bonus round.


 * May 13, 1975 (Show B: Bill vs. Susan; has slate!)

What Are My True Colors?
Aired May 30, 1987; hosted by Mike Jarrett (who?)

ABC aired this in place of American Bandstand, noting the one-time substitution before the show...and really, the only notable thing is that Charlie O'Donnell is announcer.

Based on the synopsis here, this is a precursor to the modern-day dragging-out of answers and brevity of material.


 * May 30, 1987 (Richard Simmons & Leslie Charleson; Marcella vs. Brian; ABC program change notice and clip of Leslie's intro)

What Do You Want?
Taped January 1961; hosted by Groucho Marx

A weird "halfway transition" between You Bet Your Life and Tell It To Groucho: George Fenneman is still present, as is a variant of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", while the interviews are more like the latter series (and like both shows, the interactions with Groucho are the focus). The main difference is the quiz portion, where the guests can either take $400 or try to answer a question for $1,000.

Possibly the strangest part is the ending, where George introduces clips of "future" episode segments, all of which are more interesting than the ones they made viewers sit through for the past 20 minutes! Seriously!

(A review by Mike Burger is here, along with a few screencaps.)


 * January 1961 (Commercial outro)

What's My Line? (2000)
Taped June 10, 2000 at Television City (Studio 46); hosted by Harry Anderson

25 years after the syndicated version went off the air, CBS had a choice between this and Survivor. Given what's happened in the years since then, I think they chose...poorly.


 * June 10, 2000 (Katherine Bell, Bryan Cranston, BETTY WHITE, Al Franken; first 90 seconds)

What's the Law?
Taped sometime between November 1967 and February 1968 in New York; hosted by Henry Morgan

Shot for weekly syndication, a panel of celebs is given an unusual case by announcer Chet Gould (taken from a syndicated newspaper column) and give how they would have ruled.

Also, feel free to insert that Judge Dredd meme in response to the question of the title. I know you're thinking it. :)


 * November 1967-February 1968 (Linda Lavin, Barry Nelson, Joan Rivers, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.; begins with "The Case of the Shapely Broad" {no, seriously})
 * [Per rrgomes, "Both Linda Lavin and Barry Nelson refer to plays in which they were "now" performing at the time, and both plays ("Something Different" and "Everything in the Garden") ran between November 1967 and February 1968." This was in response to Barry I. Grauman (a guy who typically really knows his stuff), who had dated it to 1970.]

Winfall
Taped 1988 or '89; hosted by Clint Holmes

Interesting game built around phrases, with a better use of pachinko than Pot O' Gold. Rolf Benirschke also hosted at least a runthrough, but moved up to Wheel of Fortune...and interestingly, it seems CBS nearly gave this the green light before NBC canned Wheel.

Sometimes referred to as "Windfall", as it was when Rolf was hired for Wheel.


 * 1988-89 (Edie McClurg & Fred Willard; Judy vs. Nancy; montage, including intro)
 * [Timeframe per the namedrops of The Hogan Family and D.C. Follies during the intro.]

Word for Word (2012)
Taped 2012; hosted by Martin Cole

Based around word games, although not related to or based on Merv's game of long ago.


 * 2012 (Part 2)