Every Second Counts (1)

The one-year game show where contestants win seconds by answering questions.

Premise
Three married couples competed in a game of answering questions & earning time.

Main Game
The game was played in two rounds, one spouse from each couple would play in the first round, while the other spouses would play in the second round. Each round has three categories with nine dual-choice questions. On each category, host Rafferty asked each couple a question. A correct answer would earn seconds, while a wrong answer eliminated the couple from the remainder of the category. The category continued until all nine questions were asked or if all three couples missed a question & were locked out.

Values of Seconds

 * Round 1 - 2 seconds
 * Round 2 - 4 seconds

The couple with the greatest amount of time at the end of the game wins and goes on to the bonus round. If both teams are tied, another question is asked. The first team that gives an incorrect answer loses.

Bonus Round
In the bonus round, the winning couple used their winning time to answer a certain number of questions on four levels to win prizes. On each level, host Rafferty asked a series of rapid-fire multiple-choice questions from any category from a choice of two. Each right answer brought the couple one step closer to completing that level.

Levels
Each level required a different number of questions answered correctly to complete:
 * Level 1 - 4 questions
 * Level 2 - 5 questions
 * Level 3 - 6 questions
 * Level 4 - 7 questions

Each completed level won a prize, and completing all four levels before time expired won a brand new car. If they don't win the car, they still win $100 for each correct answer.

International Versions
Countries that have previously aired their versions of Every Second Counts include:
 * Indonesia
 * New Zealand
 * Spain
 * United Kingdom

Trivia
This was Bill Rafferty's first game show, having hosted Card Sharks & the 1987 version of Blockbusters in later years.

Although it wasn't a big success in America, one year after the show's cancellation, a new & more popular English version premiered with Paul Daniels as host. It enjoyed a nice seven-year run.

The title of this show is used as a catchphrase for Apollo Anton Ohno in the GSN 2013 revival of Minute to Win It.

Links
Rules for Every Second Counts

Official Pearson site for "Every Second Counts" (via Internet Archive)

YouTube Videos
A full episode of the show.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3