User:Daniel Benfield/Now You See It Video Archive

Now You See It was a great franchise that didn't get much traction in the States, but did pretty well for itself elsewhere.

For the Aussie versions, see my subpage at the Australian Game Shows Wiki.

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 ©1974-75/1981-86/1989/1993-95/2012-13 Goodson-Todman Productions/FremantleMedia and associated entities.

Original Series (1974-75)
CBS Daytime: April 1, 1974 - May 13, 1975 (308 episodes, taped March 1974 - May 1975 at Television City)

The original series was hosted by Jack Narz, with a pretty good set and the wonderful "Chump Change" (arranged and composed by Quincy Jones) as the theme.

The Solo Round started at $5,000 and increased by $1,000 per playing, with a maximum of $25,000.

While it's a good show, the scoring system is the biggest issue here, since it awards points based on where the word's located on the board. I also have no idea why winning the Solo Round immediately retires you regardless of whether you passed CBS' $25,000 limit.

On a side note, one intro board used regularly during the series contained references to various other Goodson-Todman game shows. Interestingly, one word in the bottom-right corner of this board was "Web", possibly a nod to the company's anthology series The Web (1950-54 on CBS, 1957 on NBC).

The board was also used for the Goodson-Todman closing logo, stacking the names on top of each other and omitting "A" and "Production".


 * 1974 (Promo showing an intro with six players, three on each set of stairs; my best guess is that this is from the pilot, taped 10/73)

Five-Player Format
Beginning on April 15, a prize package was awarded for winning the Semi-Finals. During the third week only, it took five points to win the Semi-Finals, which became permanent in the second format.

Sometime between May 6 and 15, a rainbow border was added around the Semi-Finals line display. Sometime between June 19 and July 3, the intro was sped up a bit, most noticeably when Johnny Olson says the show's title.

Beginning around August 19 (#101), a small wrinkle was added: at the beginning of each half of the Elimination Round and the start of the Finals, the players each wrote down one word from the board. That player or team got an extra 10 points if they correctly answered a question with one of their "bonus words"; the players had to reveal their bonus words once they were found, and couldn't come back to it afterward.


 * April 1, 1974 (Premiere: Tony & Ilsa vs. Lannie & Bert, with designated champ Linda and the Solo Round at $5,000 {taped 3/74}; Buzzr broadcast)
 * [Note that the giant neon logo-sign is brighter here than in subsequent episodes; it's not covered by glass yet (presumably they covered it to reduce glare and chances of accidental breakage).]

"$5000" sign and Round 3 "lockout" element dropped (began 4/2/74)
 * April 2, 1974 (Begins with Steve & Lynn vs. Pat & Ron; Buzzr broadcast)
 * April 3, 1974 (Begins with Lynn & Bill vs. Flo & Ricki; Buzzr broadcast)
 * April 8, 1974 (#6: Begins with Marcia & Virginia vs. Shawn & Billy; Buzzr broadcast)

Prize package awarded for winning the Semi-Finals (began 4/15/74)
 * April 22, 1974 (#16: Jacquelyn & Gilda vs. Evelyn & Steve, with returning champ Bill {$400} and the Solo Round at $14,000; Buzzr broadcast)
 * April 23, 1974 (#17: Begins with Cindy & Linda vs. Jackie & Richard; Buzzr broadcast, begins during intro)
 * April 24, 1974 (#18: Begins with Joyce & Kathy vs. Bruce & June; Buzzr broadcast)
 * April 26, 1974 (#20: Begins with Anne & Pat vs. Rosie & Peggy; Buzzr broadcast)
 * April 30, 1974 (#22: Begins with Patty & Betty vs. Brenda & Sandra, with returning champ Anne {$300}; Buzzr broadcast)

Alternate theme sometimes replaces "Chump Change" for some parts of the show (began 5/1/74)
 * May 1, 1974 (#23: Tim & Kathy vs. Julie & Joan, with returning champ Betty [$600], and the Solo Round at $7,000; Buzzr broadcast)
 * May 2, 1974 (#24: Brenda & Julie vs. Tish & John, with returning champ Julie {Day 2 - $800} and the Solo Round at $8,000 {taped 4/74}; taped from GSN {alternate copy... thing})
 * [First question is "What popular actor has just won an Oscar?" The answer is (Jack) LEMMON, who won Best Actor at the 46th Academy Awards (aired 4/2/74).]
 * May 3, 1974 (#25: Begins with Laurie & Talli vs. Judy & Catherine; taped from GSN)
 * [Has the "G-T shows" intro board.]

Rainbow border added in Semi-Finals (began sometime between 5/6 and 15/74)
 * June 3, 1974 (#46: Maryann & Ron vs. Barbara & Lynn, with returning champ Adrienne {Day 6 - $3,400} and the Solo Round at $13,000 {Part 3}; taped from GSN, with {and here's something I don't say often} a wonderful promo during the credit crunch)
 * [Jack interviews the players before the second half of the Elimination Game.]
 * June 4, 1974 (#47: Begins with Valerie & Don vs. Betty & Suzanne; taped from GSN)
 * [Don notes that he's a third-year Law student at UCLA and will be graduating "this year".]
 * June 5, 1974 (#48: Begins with Sioux & Lee vs. Jane & Patricia; taped from GSN, video issues from 11:50-12:25)
 * [Patricia will be graduating "this June". Oops. :P]
 * June 6, 1974 (#49: Begins with Rita & Linda vs. Kathleen & Ben; taped from GSN)
 * [Kathleen is expecting her baby "in October".]
 * June 7, 1974 (#50: Begins with Christine & Kathy vs. Doris & Ruth; taped from GSN, video issues for first ten seconds)


 * June 18, 1974 (#57: Lisa & Mary vs. Morlene & Carlyn, with returning champ Susan {Day 2 - $800} and the Solo Round at $11,000 {Part 3}; taped from GSN)
 * [Still has the "slow" intro.]

Intro sped up (began by 7/3/74)
 * July 12, 1974 (Geralyn & Mike vs. Betsy & Patty, with returning champ Gail {Day 2 - $800} and the Solo Round at $7,000; taped from GSN)

Bonus Words added (began around 8/19/74)
 * September 26, 1974 (Vivian & Jane vs. Diane & Eddie, with returning champ LYN HEATH {$5,500!} and the Solo Round at $15,000; taped from GSN)
 * October 14, 1974 (Linda & Christine vs. Jeanette & Vicki, with returning champ Shelley {$1,900} and the Solo Round at $16,000; taped from GSN, begins during intro)
 * [Has the "G-T shows" intro board.]


 * October 25, 1974 (Terri & Jan vs. Joanna & Donna, with returning champ Janet ($2,400) and the solo round at $9,000; taped from GSN)
 * September-December 1974 (Promos for this, The Joker's Wild, Match Game '74, Gambit, The Price is Right, and Tattletales; purple-tinted video)
 * [The Joker clips are of a Senior Citizens week, specifically the 10/1/74 show (#507, taped 9/19/74). The NYSI clips are of the five-player format, which changed to the three-player style on 12/23/74.]
 * [Oddly, the promos aren't entirely arranged as the shows were on the lineup – the order was actually Joker-Gambit-NYSI (morning)/Price-Match-Tattle (afternoon), with no changes during the above timeframe.]

Three-Player Format
On December 23, 1974, the format became a bit more streamlined with less players (three): the two challengers played a Qualifying Game to determine who would face the returning champ in the Championship Game, with the winner of that playing the Solo Round. This also allowed for straddling.

1974
 * Taped 11/27/74 (Test Episode #3: Susan {$1,000} at Solo Round, then Gordon vs. Helen with Donna and Diane playing later {Solo Round starts at $14,000}; Buzzr broadcast, video glitches at a couple points during first five minutes)
 * [Last of three test shows for this format. All three also tried different rules for the Bonus Word, but in the end they just opted to throw the element out upon the format change. Line Game still has its rainbow border.]

1975

Line Game border changes from rainbow colors to solid red (began 12/23/74)
 * April 22, 1975 (Roxanne vs. Linda at Qualifying Round {continued from last time}, with returning champ Carly {$6,200!} plus Steven and Cathy playing later {Solo Round starts at $12,000}; taped from GSN, with credit crunch)


 * June 13, 1975 (#308/Finale {taped 5/75}: Pat {$600} vs. Art at Championship Round {continued from yesterday at 30-95 in Art's favor}, with Dale and Carol playing later {Part 3} and the Solo Round starting at $6,000; taped from GSN, begins during intro)

"Now You Pyramid It" (1985)
Unsold Pilots: Taped October 19, 1985 (at least 2 episodes)

Hosted by Jack Clark, with a two-on-two format. Round 1 smacks pretty hard of Pyramid, to the point where someone long ago gave it the above title (although I've been unable to pinpoint the source), while Round 2 is pretty standard Now You See It fare. The Solo Round is played for $5,000 if you make it there once, and a total of $10,000 if you make it there twice in one show.

The only things that really carried over into the eventual '89 series were the intro, the lack of the "Letter...letter...letter..." portion of the game, and the removal of the column numbers.


 * Taped 10/19/85 (Pilot #2: Laurel & Alysen vs. Ronata & Tony; has slate, no video from end of Game 2 through first part of second Solo Round)
 * [Tony was later on Card Sharks (1986), in the same colorful sweater.]

The Revival (1989)
CBS Daytime: April 3 - July 14, 1989 (75 episodes, taped March-July at Television City)

Revamped the audiovisuals for the late 1980s, looking pretty cool in the process, although it kept "Chump Change" as the theme because it's awesome. The biggest change was to the format, which no longer had the admittedly-clunky scoring of the 1970s run or the numbered lines. The lack of on-set score displays kinda hurts it, though.

The host was Chuck Henry, who had previously done the 1975 pilots of Beat the Odds but from what I can tell otherwise had stuck to doing news reports. To be honest, he's not bad here. The Solo Round here started at $5,000 and increased by that much per day until won, and apparently had a maximum of $100,000; unlike the Narz era, players could now win multiple jackpots, with a five-day limit in place.

GSN has never aired this version, at Henry's request, as he doesn't want it to damage his journalistic credibility. Keep in mind that this is the guy who years later had to be rescued while reporting on a forest fire, and honestly I think this falls a bit flat.

On April 26, original announcer Mark Driscoll was replaced by Don Morrow. Per Don, a former Sale of the Century staff member had been hired for this show and put in a good word for him.

Misc./Uncertain placement
 * March 31, 1989 (Debut promo, from the Card Sharks finale)

Mark Driscoll announces
 * April 3, 1989 (Premiere: Joanne vs. Jeff, with designated champ Ken and the Solo Round at $5,000 {Parts 3, 4, and 5}; taped from WOWK)
 * April 5, 1989 (#3: Begins with Joanna vs. John {taped 3/89}; buzzy audio {alternate copy, slightly shorter})
 * April 6, 1989 (#4: Begins with Jim vs. Joyce {taped 3/89}; taped from KCBS)


 * April 10, 1989 (#6: Begins with Dorothy vs. TONY RITANO)
 * [Tony was also on The $50,000 Pyramid (1981), Scrabble, The Last Word (1989 pilot), and Gambit (1990 pilot), among other shows.]
 * April 11, 1989 (#7: Begins with Leslie vs. Amanda; taped from KPIX, with a few commercials and a Contestant Plug {alternate copy of Solo Round})
 * April 12, 1989 (#8: Begins with Susan vs. Seth, which goes pretty oddly; has a few commercials and a Ticket Plug)

Don Morrow becomes announcer (began on 4/26/89)

May
 * May 1, 1989 (#21: Lois vs. Nancy, with returning champ ALAN CEVEDNIK! {$13,100} and the Solo Round at $5,000; taped from WTOL with commercials and great quality!)
 * [Alan was also a big winner on the syndicated Sale of the Century (late 1985, Winner's Board).]


 * May 16, 1989 (#32: Begins with Patty vs. Dave, with the Solo Round at $25,000; last two segments only, weather crawl at bottom of screen from Ticket Plug through part of sponsor list)


 * May 22-26, 1989 (Promo for the "Battle of the Daytime Soaps", airing next week; "shaky-cam" upload)
 * [For this special week, two Qualifying Games are done, each with a 500-point goal. One player from each winning team then plays the Championship Game for the right to play the Solo Round for $5,000.]

June-July
 * June 1, 1989 (#44/Battle of the Daytime Soaps, Day 4: The Bold & The Beautiful {Joanna Johnson & Jeff Conaway} vs. General Hospital {Jackie Zeman & Corey Young}, then The Young & The Restless {Melody Thomas Scott & Nina Arvesen} vs. Days of Our Lives {Peggy McKay & James Hampton}; fee plugs missing, but otherwise really good quality {alternate copy, has fee plugs but video is a bit fuzzy})


 * June 6, 1989 (#47: Jim vs. PAUL ROUFFA, with returning champ Brad {$3,900} and the Solo Game at $50,000; taped from WAFB, montage including intro and last two segments)
 * [Paul was also on Jeopardy! (1986), Scrabble (12/87), Super Jeopardy! (1990), and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (4/13/15).]

International Versions
As I said, while Now You See It didn't really find much success in the States, it did elsewhere.

United Kingdom (1981-86/1993/1994-95)
STV for ITV: January 5, 1981 - July 27, 1986 (12 series)

The original run used the alternate American theme, with a pretty similar intro.

For at least 1982, the game started with four players who did the traditional "lines and positions" round; low scorer was eliminated, after which the three remaining played the Line Game. The two surviving from there played the Championship Game to determine who would get £400 (the loser got £100).

By 1985, the prizes were altered: £500 for the winner, £100 for second place, £50 for third. All four players got a specified prize as well, with the winner playing an altered Solo Game for a "star mystery prize" (correctly answer seven out of 12 questions in two minutes). The big problem with the Solo Round, aside from the lack of an onscreen counter of correct answers, is that passing (which Jack specifically says is allowed) reveals the correct answer.

Johnny Beattie (through 10/11/84)
 * 1982 (Donnie/Claire/Albert/Avreil; has commercials, "shaky-cam" upload)

Jack McLaughlin (began 1/2/85)
 * 1985 (John/Moraig/Alan/Ann; taped from LWT, has commercials)

STV for ITV: 1993

A brief set of celebrity specials as part of Weymyss Bay 902101, hosted by Grant Stott. As far as I know, nothing seems to be online of this version.

STV for ITV: July 11, 1994 - August, 1995 (39? episodes)

A version for children with pretty much the same format as the 1985-93 Aussie version (see below), although the Solo Game is a bit easier (you only need to get 7 out of 10). This said, the music is the same bland piece played repeatedly, Fred MacAulay is kinda stiff as host, the sound effects are obnoxious, and the Solo Round timer just being a bar is kinda crap since you can't really tell how much time you have left.


 * July 1994 (#3: Euan vs. John, then Jill vs. Leigh)
 * July-August 1994 (#4: Kenneth vs. Robbie, then Lyndsay vs. Daisy)
 * July-August 1994 (#5: Natalie vs. Rachel, then Kevin vs. James)
 * July-August 1994 (#6: Calum vs. Andrew, then Lindsey vs. Lorna)
 * July-August 1994 (#7: Pauline vs. Verity, then Andrew vs. Paul)


 * July-September 1994 (#9: Billy vs. Scott, then Anna vs. Vicky)

Indonesia (2012-13)
Kompas TV, Daily: June 4, 2012 - September 27, 2013 (340 episodes)

Temukan Kata, "a word game where every answer to every question is right before your eyes" and the buzz-in sound effect is really obnoxious. Nico Siahaan hosted the first ~130 episodes (see below), with Irgi Fahrezi taking over for the rest of the run.

The show has an official YouTube channel here, although their uploads only go up through #263 and there seem to be a bunch of missing episodes. The uploads also suggest Fahrezi took over on #120 or #121.

Nico Siahaan (through 11/30/12)

Irgi Fahrezi (began 12/9/12)