User:Daniel Benfield/Caesars Challenge Video Archive

NBC Daytime: June 14, 1993 - January 14, 1994 (taped at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; aired two new shows per day after 1993)

KCAL, Weekends: September 18 - December 25, 1993 (not sure if this was actually a distinct, separate run)

Another show I vaguely remember from my youth (I turned five during its brief run), Caesars Challenge (there's no apostrophe in the title) remains NBC's last foray into the realm of the daytime network game show, instead preferring to have Today and Days of Our Lives.

And Harry Friedman was the show's producer. Shocked, I tells ya!

Anyway, after Classic Concentration repeats were pulled from the schedule following New Year's Eve '93, the show aired two episodes per day; I'm not sure whether this consisted of one new episode or two, though if it's the latter I'm guessing it was to burn through what was left.

USA aired repeats from June 27-November 4, 1994. While I'm not sure how much of the run they aired, 19 weeks definitely wasn't enough time for a complete cycle of a 31-week series; I know at least a few second-format shows were aired, so they probably had an odd airing schedule like with Press Your Luck.

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 ©1992-94 Rosner Television/Stephen J. Cannell Productions and associated entities.

"Letter Cage" Bonus Round (1993)
June 14 - November 19, 1993

Originally, the winner could buy prizes with their score after the main game, announcing what they bought just before the bonus round. In July or August, this was replaced by the winner simply getting a prize package equal to their winnings.

When the show began, the Stephen J. Cannell logo was a superimposed animated version of Cannell's traditional "flying paper" motion. Around August, this was altered to a computerized animation and the company was now "The Cannell Studios".

Dan Doherty wasn't present at the start of the run; he joined sometime between the first week and the end of July.


 * Taped 1992 (Pilot: Laurel/Scott {Day 3 - $50,000+!}/Leanna {Car: Lincoln Mark VIII; Instant Jackpot begins at $2,000, carried over from the last show}, with a weird "betting" format and an interesting final word in the audience game)
 * [The centurion is Zach (there's also a female centurion, but she isn't named).]


 * June 14, 1993 (Premiere: Scott/Trudy/J.P. {Car: Chevrolet Cavalier} {Part 4})
 * [Has the "old" Cannell logo.]

Dan Doherty becomes centurion
 * July 1993 (Stephen/? {female}/NEIL BINES, with Dan being absent for Round 1 and a huge win; montage, audio is a bit muffled but very audible)
 * [Per a YouTube comment on this video, Neil called Howard Stern's show on 7/30/93 and noted the outcome of this show.]

Winners now get a prize package based on their score; "Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Inc." changes to "The Cannell Studios", with a much different animation
 * August? 1993 (Babette {Day 3 - $14,300!}/Mike/Heather {Car: Chevrolet Geo Tracker}, with the first category giving everyone a laugh!; ends during Cannell logo animation)
 * August? 1993 (Babette/Gordon/Ashley {Car: Chevrolet Geo Tracker}, with a weird technical blunder in Round 2 {alternate copy})
 * [It seems that by this point, the winner gets prizes from a $10,000 prize package.]
 * August? 1993 (David/Betsy/J.D. {Car: Chevrolet Geo Tracker} {Part 3, Part 4})
 * [Category still given to players.]


 * 1993 (Heather {Day 4 - $15,300!}/Jay/Judy {Car: Chevrolet SportSide?}, with proof that it's a lot easier to play the game when the letters aren't mixed up)
 * [Category still given to players.]


 * 1993 (Nestor/?/? {Car: Chevrolet Geo Metro}; bonus game only)
 * [Unknown Cannell logo.]

"Five Words" Bonus Round (1993-94)
November 22, 1993 - January 14, 1994

The bonus game was overhauled to have the winner solve five words (increasing in length from five to nine letters) in 30 seconds. While the words did unscramble themselves, this was pretty slow. The change also led to a new restriction: the appearance limit dropped from eight days (since placing eight of the nine letters would by default place the ninth) to just three.

The original bonus game might have been considered too easy or costly at this point, sure, but could it have hurt to at least remove the giant letter cage?

Regardless, for whatever reason, the front game was slightly altered to no longer give the category to the players, instead only showing it to the home audience.


 * November 24?, 1993 (Joe {Day 2 - $10,500}/Tonya/Ryan {Car: Ford Probe LX}; USA repeat)
 * [Uses a small monitor for the bonus game.]
 * November 25, 1993 (Billy/Julie/Donald {Car: Chevrolet Camaro}; USA repeat)
 * [Uses a large screen for the bonus game.]


 * December 1993 (Friday: William {Day 3 - $10,800}/Barbara/Paul {Car: Mercury Tracer wagon}, with Johnny Mathis making an appearance and a weird final main-game round!; USA repeat, ends during credits)
 * [Uses the small monitor for the bonus game, with the "unused" words and bonus timer in black (doesn't look intentional, though).]
 * 1993-94 (Stephen {Day 3}/?/? {Car: Chevrolet Lumina}; bonus game only)
 * [Uses the large screen for the bonus game.]