Shop 'til You Drop

''OPENING SPIEL #1 (1991-1992): How would you like to win the shopping trip of a lifetime to a fabulous city like Rome, Paris, New York, London, or Hong Kong? (Well) That's what our contestants will be playing for today on the wildest shopping game ever, Shop 'Til You Drop! Meet today's challengers... (insert team's occupations & names) And now, here's the host of Shop 'Til You Drop, Pat Finn!''

''OPENING SPIEL #2 (1992-1993): One of these lucky couples could win the vacation of a lifetime to one of the shopping capitals of the world, like Rome, Paris, New York, London, or Hong Kong, on the wildest shopping game ever, Shop 'Til You Drop! And now, here's the host of Shop 'Til You Drop, Pat Finn!''

''OPENING SPIEL #3A (1993-1994): Direct from Universal Studios Hollywood, it's the wildest shopping game ever, Shop 'Til You Drop! Today, one of these lucky couples could win the vacation of a lifetime. And now, here's the host of Shop 'Til You Drop, Pat Finn!''

''OPENING SPIEL #3B (1993 Holiday Special): Direct from Universal Studios Hollywood and the new Shop 'Til You Drop theater, it's the first Shop 'Til You Drop Holiday Special! Starring...from the hit CBS series Dave's World, J.C. Wendel, and her shopping partner from Beverly Hills, 90210, Joe E. Tata! From the new CBS series Diagnosis: Murder, Victoria Rowell and Michael Tucci! Radio personality and regular consigular to The Home Show, Mother Love, and her partners, double platinum recording artists, The Nelsons! And the newest addition to the hit NBC series Wings, Farrah Forke, and her partner, star of ABC's General Hospital, Brad Maule! And now, here's the host of Shop 'Til You Drop, Pat Finn!''

''OPENING SPIEL #4 (1996-2005): Today, one of these lucky couples/teams could win a dream vacation. (Insert couples/teams, and their occupations) They're all here to play the wildest shopping game ever, (The New) Shop 'Til You Drop! And now, here's the host of (The New) Shop 'Til You Drop, Pat Finn/JD Roberto!''

Shop 'Til You Drop was an American game show that aired on a number of broadcast television networks and in syndication.

The series was hosted by Pat Finn from 1991-1994, 1996-1998, and 2000-2002, and the rest of the run by JD Roberto from 2003-2005. Co-hosts/announcers include Mark L. Walberg (1991-1994), Jason Grant Smith (1996-1997), Dee Bradley Baker (1997-1998; 2000-2002), and Don Priess (2003-2005).

Original format (1991-1994; 1996-1998; 2000-2002)
From 1991-1994, 1996-1998, and 2000-2002, the backdrop of Shop 'til You Drop was a 14-store, two-story shopping mall.

Stunt rounds
Two teams of two contestants (almost always male-female; married, engaged, dating, siblings, or best friends) competed. Nearly all of the stunts were one-minute mini-games, which tested popular culture and consumer knowledge.

A coin toss backstage before the show determined which couple would have the option of playing the first stunt. The host described the first of two stunts and the team who won the toss chose to play or pass to the other team. Stunts varied widely through the years, but more or less involved the host announcing a category and the team answering questions appropriate to the topic or various other games based on item pricing. In earlier years, stunts similar to those on Beat the Clock were also played (such as the female partner stuffing three balloons in her husband's pair of oversized trousers without breaking any). Most stunts had a 60-second time limit; however, some early stunts were played with a 30-, 45-second or rarely 90-second time limit.

Successfully completing the stunt earned points and allowed the team to pick a prize from one of the seven stores on the lower floor of the mall. One of the stores also hid a mini vacation dubbed the "Shopper's Special".

Two stunt rounds were played, with stunts in the first round worth 100 points and 200 points in the second round; plus, the second team who did not have the choice of playing or passing the first stunt in round one had the option in round two.

List of stores
A note: Many of the stores are named after people who worked on the show and for Stone Stanley Entertainment; one exception, "Cosmetics Plus", was actually based on a New York-based chain.
 * Gary's Gadgets
 * Gifts Galore
 * Andrea's Art Mart (originally & later Andrea's Art Attack)
 * RCA/BMG Music and Video
 * Outdoor Explorer
 * Heidi's Housewares
 * The Greenery
 * Von Schiffendecker's Furniture
 * 24 Karats
 * Bed Bath and Beyond
 * Chez Gourmet
 * Sally's Bedding and Beyond
 * Global Wonders
 * World of Discovery
 * Mister Gadget
 * Brighten Up!
 * Leslie's House of Music
 * Kanthony's Furniture Store
 * Chuck's Department Store
 * J&B's Sports of All Sorts
 * Shutter Bug
 * JJ's Fashion Fair
 * Downtown Designs
 * Top Chef
 * Heidi's Healthy Living
 * The Green House
 * Decorator's Showcase
 * Brendlinger's Bed & Bath (Later Birkeland's Bed & Bath)
 * Melanie's Fashion Fair
 * Back to Nature
 * Gadgets & Gizmos
 * Sweet Sensations
 * Leather & Luggage Rack
 * Harry's House of Music & Videos
 * Circuit Center
 * Decker Marcus Department Store
 * Cosmetics Plus
 * Bob & Steve's Camera Shop
 * Fun & Games
 * Good Sports
 * The Book Nook (later Sue's Book Nook)
 * Baby Land
 * Good Time Charlie's
 * Food Gloria's Food
 * S&S Clothiers
 * Justin ("Just in") Time
 * Jerome's Leather & Luggage Store

Shopper's Challenge Round
Round 3 was the "Shopper's Challenge Round", a 90-second series of rapid-fire three-choice questions, again related to entertainment and shopping. Correct answers were worth 50 points each and an incorrect answer gave the other team a chance to respond. The male and female halves switched places after each question.

The team with the most points at the end of the round won the game and advanced to the bonus round. If a tie occurred, a final question was asked. If the player answered correctly, his/her team went to the bonus round. If the player answered incorrectly, the opposing team automatically went to the bonus round.

Shop 'til They Drop (bonus round)
The bonus round was a shopping spree where the team tried to build a prize package of at least $2,500 in 90 seconds. One of the team members was the shopper (usually, but not always the female) while the other team member was the runner (usually, but not always the male). One of the stores (rarely two) in the mall contained a prize worth at least $700.

One at a time, the team opened one of six packages on a table, each concealing a prize. The shopper decided whether to keep the gift or exchange it with another gift from one of the other stores in the mall. If they decided to exchange it, the runner scurried to one of the stores for another prize. In either case, the runner had to take the item to a prize table on the other side of the set and hit a bell before the shopper could open another box.

After all six boxes had been exchanged/kept, or if the 90-second time limit expires (the rarer of the two), the host and announcer described the prizes and added up each item's retail price. The couple kept everything they selected (including any prizes from the first 2 rounds and the "Shopper's Special" if won), but if they exceeded the $2,500 threshold, the couple won a vacation.

During the show's first two seasons, the couple only needed to obtain $1,000 in prizes. In the first season with the $1,000 quota, there was always at least one prize that was worth $300 or more. In addition, some of the packages in the first season contained gag gifts (related to the store, with no photos of them shown during descriptions as was the case with the larger prizes), which if selected only added $10 or below to a team's total. The gag gifts were eliminated when the required money amount was raised.

1993 Christmas Special
On December 19, 1993, to commemorate the holiday season, a one-hour Christmas special aired, featuring celebrities playing for charity. The celebrities were J.C. Wendel & Joe E. Tata (Homestead Hospice), Victoria Rowell & Michael Tucci (Foster Youth Connection), Mother Love & The Nelsons (Lyphnoma Research Foundation America), and Farrah Forke & Brad Maule (Alzheimer's Association).

The basic format remained the same, but four teams competed (three teams of two and one team of three), there were higher-priced prizes, and cash was used instead of points, each event not having a set value. Also, the celebrity teams picked a prize from one of the 14 stores in both the upper and lower floors of the mall. Also, the two low-scoring teams were eliminated before the "Shopper's Challenge", in which all questions were related to entertainment and shopping, including the holiday season. Each correct answer was worth $500, and the time limit in Shopper's Challenge Round was changed to two minutes. All teams won at least $2,500 for their charities. Finally, in the bonus round, the target was raised to $5,000, and reaching or exceeding that goal won an additional $10,000. Farrah Forke & Brad Maule defeated Mother Love & The Nelsons $6,300-$2,450, and went on to win the endgame with a score of $6,192. Their grand total for the Alzheimer's Association was $27,287. All told, the four charities represented on the show earned a total of $48,554.

New format (2003-2005)
In the new version, two pairs competed (regardless of marital status). The show was set in a 14-department warehouse store (similar to warehouse stores like Costco or BJ's). The podiums had sponsors of products found in the store. The 14 departments were played similar to the stores from the mall version (see below).

First two rounds
Stunts were replaced by a question/pricing round, with the choices being given in pun-laden categories. After choosing a category, host Roberto let the contestants know what the category entailed, and then gave the play-or-pass option to the team. Whichever team played the chosen category chose one player to play the category.

Like the stunts in the previous version, the questions dealt with pricing items or knowledge of celebrities. The team was given one minute to come up with a set number of correct answers. As in the original version, completing the challenge earned 100 points in round one, and 200 points in round two.

Unlike the previous version, where teams verbally chose a store in the mall, the other member of the team went into the store to grab a gift box from any department that had a flashing light, then ran back to host Roberto, who opened the box and revealed their prize. As before, there was also a "Shopper's Special" which earned the team a bonus trip for finding it.

Round three, the "Shopper's Challenge" round, was played exactly the same as in previous versions.

List of departments

 * Electronics
 * Grocery
 * Appliances
 * Housewares
 * Sporting Goods
 * Music & More
 * Big Savings
 * Health & Beauty
 * Home & Garden
 * Bed & Bath
 * Furniture
 * Toys
 * Jewelry
 * Gifts

Shop 'til They Drop (bonus round)
Contestants now took turns buying/exchanging gifts in order to reach the goal of $2,500 in prizes. One opened the gift box and the other handed off the item to the partner, who then kept it or exchanged it for any prize in a department with a flashing light. The partner took the box to the check out table, rang the bell, then came back to the table and handed off the next item to the first player, who repeated the process. Again, the contestants had 1:30 to complete the task.

For the second season, the clock had a sponsor, just as the contestants' podiums did.

Broadcast history
The show ran on Lifetime from July 8, 1991 to May 27, 1994, with reruns airing from May 30, 1994 to May 31, 1996.

On June 3, 1996, the show moved to The Family Channel and was renamed The New Shop 'til You Drop. There it ran from September 30, 1996 to August 14, 1998. After airing reruns for a year, on April 3, 2000, PAX (later ION) began airing new episodes before canceling it on May 27, 2005. Reruns continued through August 11, 2006. PAX re-aired the 1996-1998 (Family Channel) episodes of The New Shop 'til You Drop from April 19, 1999 to October 29, 1999, and the final season of the Lifetime version from November 1, 1999 to March 31, 2000.

One episode from 2000 aired on GSN, during The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time series, even though GSN has never owned the rights to this show. The Episode that aired on GSN had the Biggest Record in the Shopper's Challenge Round, which was 950 Points.

Merchandise
A mobile game based on the show was released by Reaxion, and plays mostly to the "warehouse store" format of the show. Reaxion closed up shop in 2010.

Music
Gary Scott

Many of the cues from College Mad House were recycled into the Lifetime and Family Channel versions.

Spinoffs
Spend it Fast - a short lived spinoff that aired in 2002 where contestants had to purchase items in a store in less than 5 minutes.

Additional Page
Shop 'Til You Drop/Gallery

Official Sites
Information about the show itself

The Online Mall (which is not yet "Online" as of now)

Video of the show narrated by John Cramer (requires a Quicktime player to use for viewing)

Look for the show under "TV Properties"

Rules
Jay Anton's Rules for Shop 'til you Drop

Rules for Shop 'til you Drop @ Loogslair.net

Rules for Shop 'til you Drop @ The Game Show Temple

Josh Rebich's Rules for Shop 'til you Drop