User:Daniel Benfield/Singles and Doubles Collection

I was thinking of ideas for Video Archives, and it hit me: there's a lot of shows out there which have one or two episodes around, which (as noted on my main userpage) I wouldn't do Video Archives of because there's so little out there...but the Internet Archive has a "Singles and Doubles Collection" for radio shows. Why not do a similar page for TV game shows? :)

A few notes before we get to the videos:
 * This page is primarily about shows that debuted in the 1940s-70s. Shows that debuted in the 1980s-90s will be added at my discretion (shows from the 2000s-10s tend to be considerably less scarce).
 * My limit for this page will probably be around five episodes, represented in whole or in part. Pilots (whose listings will for the most part be copies from my pilot-related subpages), promos, and anything applicable from the "Not-For-Broadcast" Theatre do not count towards that limit.
 * This will not include radio shows, as there tends to be a lot of 'em out there and I think the Internet Archive does a good enough job keeping track of those.
 * Also not included are shows that already have subpages in my userspace (such as Judge For Yourself, Second Chance, You Don't Say!, and the first Break the Bank) or are covered as part of subpages for a franchise (such as Storybook Squares, The Who, What, or Where Game, and the original versions of Dream House, Gambit, High Rollers, It Takes Two, Let's Make a Deal, Liar's Club, Name That Tune, Pay Cards!, Split Second, and Supermarket Sweep), to avoid redundancy.
 * The Bowling for Dollars franchise will also be omitted, for the simple reason that there's just too many versions to keep track of and I find it hard to tell them apart. Same goes for the College Bowl derivatives, though the originator itself will be listed here.
 * Sony-owned shows are out of the question, for reasons I cover in User:Daniel Benfield. For the same reason, shows owned by Viacom/MTV Networks and JM Productions won't be here either.

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, only a few 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.

3 for the Money
NBC Daytime: September 29 - November 28, 1975 (40 episodes, taped in Los Angeles)

Proof that this network had no clue what it was doing sometimes: this great show got canned in two months, but The Magnificent Marble Machine was allowed to stagger on well into '76.

Probably didn't help that Money aired in a 25-minute timeslot, and didn't air at all for the week of November 3-7.


 * September 29, 1975 (Premiere: Linda Kaye Henning/Tony/Dona vs. Dick Gautier/Kim/Art, Game 1; studio master! {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Has a full credit roll.]


 * November 14, 1975 (#30 {taped 10/31/75}: Barbara Feldon/Chris/Carroll {$4,300} vs. JIM McKRELL/Danette/Darryl {$4,100}, Game 5; studio master!)
 * [While Spiegel is mentioned (the losing players each get a $1,000 gift certificate), it's never given its own plug.]

50 Grand Slam
NBC Daytime: October 4 - December 31, 1976 (65 episodes)

Ralph Andrews' attempt to bring the 1950s-style big-money quiz to the 1970s.


 * October 4, 1976 (Premiere: Sister MarthaAnn vs. David in American Women, Lee vs. Marge in Golf {which doesn't go too well}, Carolyn vs. Bonnie in General Knowledge {Parts 3, 4, and 5}, with Allen Ludden making an appearance to promote Stumpers!; taped from KNBC, with a Contestant Plug!)


 * December 31, 1976 (Finale: Duane {for $500} vs. Terri in General Knowledge: Prominent Members of the Clergy, RoseLee {for $500} vs. Bonnie in 20th-Century American Fiction, [winner of first game] vs. Lanny in General Knowledge: Flowers, Randy {for $1,000} vs. Dusty in TV Trivia: Maverick {Parts 3, 4, and 5})
 * [Tom notes that since this is the last show, no money is at risk and anything won is kept. "See you Monday on Name That Tune!"]

100 Grand
ABC Primetime: September 15-29, 1963 (3 episodes)

An attempt at bringing big-money quizzes back just three years after the scandals ended, with more focus put on making sure things were "rig-proof" than making sure things were interesting to watch. Even the host (Jack Clark) thought it was boring and was glad it was canned quickly, referring to it as a "stiff show".

Television Obscurities has a great rundown of the show's history here.


 * 1963 (Promo, from ABC's Fall Preview)
 * September 15, 1963 (Premiere intro, audio only)

The $64,000 Challenge
CBS Primetime: April 8, 1956 - September 14, 1958

Spinoff of The $64,000 Question where prior Question champs could compete for even more money.

Sonny Fox (April-August 1956)
 * May 6, 1956 (Gloria Lockerman vs. Andy Douglas for $8,000 in Spelling {continued from last week}, Floyd Yeomans vs. Steven Frolik for $32,000 in American History, Billy Pearson vs. VINCENT PRICE for $1,000 in Great Arts & Artists; has commercials)
 * [One commercial mentions "a great gift for Mother's Day", which was May 13 that year. Sonny and Vincent promote the latter's "new film" Serenade (released 3/23/56). This page quotes a couple of contemporary articles about the Spelling matchup, hence the airdate.]

Ralph Story (began 9/2/56)
 * Late 1956 (Clip of Dr. Joyce Brothers going for another $64,000 in Boxing)


 * May 26, 1957 (Billy Pearson vs. Larry Rivers for $8,000 in Modern Art, Billy Pearson vs. Charles Duveen for $2,000 in 17th- & 18th-Century Art, Al Ein Frank vs. Richard Harrison for $1,000 in Geography {Part 2}; has commercials)
 * [Airdate comes from a closeup of a check.]

The $64,000 Question
CBS Primetime: June 7, 1955 - June 24, 1958/September 21 - November 9, 1958

Supersized TV revival of Take It or Leave It/The $64 Question, a radio show which had aired from 1940-52. Would've been better if it wasn't rigged by order of Charles Revson, then-head of sponsor Revlon.


 * November 22, 1955 (Clip of Dr. Joyce Brothers for $16,000 in Boxing)
 * [It's never been confirmed, but there's been some suspicion that Joyce cheated her way to the $64,000 given that the person hired to write her questions (which were supposed to trip her up) was a friend of her family.]


 * June 5, 1956 (1st-Anniversary Show: Bobbye O'Rourke for $32,000 in Sherlock Holmes, Captain Thomas O'Rourke for $32,000 in Sherlock Holmes, Peter Freucken for $1,000 in Seven Seas; has commercials)
 * [Includes a cake and celebration with previous champs.]
 * September 18, 1956 (Giovanna Ferrara for $2,000 in American History, Wilton J. Springer for $4,000 in Drama, Randolph Churchill {son of Winston} at category choice {The English Language}; has commercials)
 * [Giovanna won 5,000,000 Lire on the Italian equivalent, and she clearly mentions Mike Bongiorno at one point.]


 * March 25, 1958 (Virgil Earp {nephew of Wyatt} for $32,000 in The Wild West, Adelita Quejado for $64,000 in Current Events, Marilyn Southern at category choice {Opera}, with Hal promoting the Name Game sweepstakes beginning "next week" {Part 2}; has commercials, tiny bits missing)
 * [One Revlon plug mentions "a good Easter gift" (Easter was April 6 that year). Airdate comes from a closeup of a check.]

The $128,000 Question
Syndicated, Weekly: September 18, 1976 - September, 1978 (taped at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City {Season 1} and Global Television in Toronto, Ontario {Season 2})

Proof that this format could work without being rigged. Despite the title, questions only went up to $64,000; anybody who won that came back at the end of the season for a tournament, where the winner got another $64,000.

Why? Well, the revival was going to be just The $64,000 Question, but then it was announced that Name That Tune would be adding a $100,000 Mystery Tune for the 1976-77 season. Viacom (distributor of Question), not wanting their show to have the second-biggest payout, added said tournament.

Viacom also ran into a wall when a deal to get the CBS O&O's to carry the show in major markets fell through, as CBS' then-winnings limit of $25,000 also extended to syndicated games airing on the O&O's. Despite getting the Metromedia-owned stations, the ratings weren't too great by the end of Season 2 and so the show was canned.

KDOC aired repeats of the entire run from January 31 through June 7, 1983.

Mike Darrow (Season 1)

Has Alan Kalter announcing, but the big difference is how the early questions are given: the first four questions ($64-$128-$256-$512) are on a cassette tape, which is placed into an electronic typewriter that types out the questions, choices, and answers; the next three ($1,000-$2,000-$4,000) are shown on a monitor transmitting from about a mile away. The remainder ($8,000-$16,000-$32,000-$64,000) are done in the standard isolation booth.

From what I can find, tapings continued through at least February 23, 1977.


 * September 18, 1976 (Premiere: Bernard Corman at category choice {Michelangelo}, Armando Ammoneda? at category choice {Italian Opera}; 1983 KDOC repeat, with a partial commercial and a Contestant Plug!)


 * 1976-77 (Clips of a $64,000 win and closing credits, both from a single episode; audio only)

Alex Trebek (Season 2)

With the move to Canada came a different (more basic, but also more colorful) set, as well as a different announcer (Sandy Hoyt). The Season 1 theme is now only used for the intro, player introductions, and while players are escorted to their positions; all other parts of the show use a more peppy/"disco-y" version of the cue.

Gameplay-wise, the category board, cassettes, typewriter, and monitor were all removed. Instead, the contestant stood at a podium for all questions through $2,000, with the rest done in the isolation booth.


 * November 17, 1977 (Joseph Barletta? for $8,000 in Boxing, Dwyer Clay for $8,000 in Leonardo DaVinci, DON BENN for $64 in Television; taped from KYW with commercials and a Contestant Plug, no credits)
 * [I normally try to avoid overt spoilers, but with five consecutive episodes it can't really be helped in this case.]
 * November 24, 1977 (Dwyer Clay for $16,000 in Leonardo DaVinci, Joseph Barletta? for $16,000 in Boxing, DON BENN for $4,000 in Television, Morris & Ruth Hersaun for $64 in Gilbert & Sullivan {Part 2, Part 3}; taped from KYW with a few commercials and a Contestant Plug, ends right after Morris & Ruth's question {no gameplay lost})
 * [One promo is for "Eyewitness News At 11PM" which outright mentions it's Thanksgiving.]


 * December 1, 1977 (Morris & Ruth Hersaun for $128 in Gilbert & Sullivan, DON BENN for $8,000 in Television, John Crutz for $64 in World War I; taped from KYW, with commercials and a Contestant Plug!)
 * December 8, 1977 (John Crutz for $8,000 in World War I {back due to an error}, DON BENN for $16,000 in Television, Tom Kent for $64 in Horseracing; taped from KYW with commercials and a Contestant Plug, ends during credits)
 * [Harry Curry also appears to play his category of Frank Sinatra, but time runs out during his interview.]
 * December 15, 1977 (John Crutz for $16,000 in World War I, DON BENN for $32,000 in Television, Harry Curry for $64 in Frank Sinatra; taped from KYW with commercials and a Contestant Plug, ends during credits)

About Faces
ABC Daytime: January 4, 1960 - June 30, 1961

A revival of Place the Face which had several variants on the idea, though one was pretty much a direct copy of the predecessor's format.


 * January 4, 1960 (Premiere: Face in the News - Gladys/George/Jean {placing Douglas Corrigan}, Place the Face - Zsa Zsa Gabor {placing Bruce Cowdrey}, Past and Present - Red Schoendienst; has commercials {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Pretty much sustained by the network, as the commercials are for other ABC shows.]

All-Star Secrets
NBC Daytime: January 8 - August 10, 1979 (taped through at least April 22 at NBC Studios in Burbank)

Let's get the obvious joke out of the way:

"hur hur this show is ASS"

Okay, got that out of my system, now I can actually explain the format: three contestants are given a statement pertaining to one of the celebs, usually something they did in the past, and have to figure out which one it applies to.


 * Taped 8/6/78 (Pilot: Robert Reed, Dody Goodman, Arthur Godfrey, Lee Meriwether, Charles Nelson Reilly; Evelyn/Brooks/Joanie)
 * [Called Celebrity Secrets, with a slightly different set and a pretty different scoring system.]


 * February 22, 1979 (Leslie Nielsen, Ruth Buzzi, Don Sutton, LaWanda Page, Pat Harrington; ? {female}/? {male}/Beverly, with Fred Travalena making an appearance; montage including Fred's portion)
 * [Airdate per Mitchell Hang and Ultimate 70s.]


 * March 2, 1979 (BILL CULLEN, Della Reese, John Schuck, Nanette Fabray, Arte Johnson; Laura/Chris/Dee Dee; taped from WNBC with commercials and a Contestant Plug, audio/video is a bit off {alternate copy of a couple portions})
 * March 27, 1979 (Robert Pine, Dody Goodman, Conrad Bain, Anne Lockhart, Robert Gulliame; Vanessa/Michael/Dale; has some commercials and a Ticket Plug!)


 * June 5, 1979 (Nipsey Russell, Abbe Lane, Jamie Farr, Lynn Redgrave, Billy Crystal {Part 2}; Hazel/Gary/Liz; taped from GSN! {alternate copy, fast-forwards through commercials})
 * [Bob plugs Nipsey as performing "through January 31", suggesting this is actually from early in the run.]


 * July 9, 1979 (Wilt Chamberlain, Elaine Joyce, Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Wayland Flowers & Madame; Wendy/Jay/Morrisa; studio master with Ticket Plug!)
 * July 1979 (David Huddleton, Eva Gabor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barbara Feldon, David Landsberg; Joyce/Jon/Bev; taped from WILX with some commercials and a Contestant Plug, begins during first question {though a small part of the intro is also present})
 * [From the week of July 23-27. Round 1 is awkward, as Bev picks the celeb Bob asks to give their thoughts ("It's not you, but who do you think?", thus removing them as a choice) for both questions, even after Bob outright tells her not to pick Eva for the second question because he said it's not Eva and so it can't be Eva; it seems like nervousness, though.]

Almost Anything Goes
Silly team-based stunt show that, for the first two seasons, had each episode consist of three teams representing different towns in the same state. Unfortunately, as far as I know nothing exists from that period, so I won't be focusing on it too much.

ABC Weekend Mornings: September 11, 1976 - September 4, 1977 (moved from Saturdays to Sundays in January)

The third season, Junior Almost Anything Goes, changed the focus from adults to kids, with each episode now having the teams represent the same city.


 * Summer 1976 (Debut promo, with some clips)

Syndicated: September 16, 1977 - September, 1978

The fourth and final season was All-Star Anything Goes, with the teams being from the entertainment industry (usually casts of various shows).


 * 1977 (WOKR tel-op card promo)
 * April 11, 1978 (The New Mickey Mouse Club vs. Little House on the Prairie {taped 5/22/77}; taped from KMSP, montage including intro and part of credits)

The Amateur's Guide To Love
CBS Daytime: March 27 - June 23, 1972 (taped March 18? - June at Television City)

Heatter-Quigley show based around relationship advice, probably better known as CBS' first foray back into the realm of the daytime game show after canning To Tell The Truth in '68.


 * 1972 (Intro)

Anybody Can Play
ABC Primetime: July 6 - December 8, 1958

Straightforward John Guedel quiz hosted by George Fenneman, by all indication.

The show began as a Summer replacement on Sundays at 8:30 PM Eastern. The deal was originally for 13 weeks (Variety 3/14/58 Daily, Page 31), but this was quickly extended into the Fall (Variety 8/22/58 Daily, Page 3), with Anybody moving to Mondays at 9:30 on October 6.

Unfortunately, the Fall slot hurt the show badly, with Anybody pulling a 6 share by mid-October and just 2.5 by early November. The show's cancellation was announced in late October (Variety 10/29/58 Weekly, Page 26).


 * 1958 (Intro)

Anything You Can Do
Syndicated, Daily: September 13, 1971 - September, 1974 (approx. 390 episodes, taped in Canada)

Beat the Clock-esque battle-of-the-sexes stunt show played by teams of three. Originally hosted by Gene Wood, who left after Season 1 due to players ending up with multiple injuries despite producer Richard Reid insisting the stunts were safe; Don Harron took over for the rest of the run.

Seasons 1-2 were distributed by ABC Films, with Season 3 distributed under the company's new title of Worldvision Enterprises.

Gene Wood (1971-72)
 * September 13, 1971 (Premiere: Beverly/Linka/Sharon vs. Bob/Peter/Gillio; studio master with timecode...which unfortunately covers up most of the onscreen clocks)

Auction-Aire
ABC Primetime: September 30, 1949 - June 23, 1950 (aired live)

Televised auction hosted by Jack Gregson where audience members and (primarily) home viewers bid for prizes with labels from Libby's products. Viewers could also win a car by correctly adding together the numbers spoken in a "mystery chant".

This is a really good example of TV throwing things against the wall in its infancy, as well as a great example of how the biggest winner is the sponsor (the bids can get huge, sometimes resulting in people spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of Libby's labels for prizes worth considerably less!). It's also notable for the bids being recorded on an Eggcrate display at center stage.

When the show debuted, it was only seen on five stations, including WJZ in New York. Three more (WENR in Chicago, WTVN in Columbus, and WXYZ in Detroit) were added in January or early February (Variety 2/6/50 Daily, Page 8), with the show moving from New York to Chicago on February 17 (Variety 2/13/50 Daily, Page 10).


 * October 7, 1949 (Items: Westinghouse laundromat {$300}, diamond ring {$100}, Tracy customized kitchen unit {$230}, JB watch band + $150 money order {total value not stated}, Muntz television {$350}, two tickets to Game 5 of the 1949 World Series {value not stated; see below for what I could find}; "Mystery Chant" Car: 1949 Chrysler four-door sedan; taped from WJZ with commercials, no audio for first 15 seconds)
 * [At 1:22:40, Jack mentions that he saw the World Series game "this afternoon", "and I must say the Yanks never looked better." The 1949 World Series lasted from October 5-9, and Game 5 was the one that clinched it for the Yankees. As for the price of said tickets, Games 3-5 were held at Ebbets Field, which charged $4 for Standing Room tickets and $6 for Lower Stand seats (a Game 5 example of the former can be seen here).]

Baby Game
ABC Daytime: January 1 - July 12, 1968 (taped in New York)

Richard Hayes-hosted game where two couples predict how children will act in certain situations. The winning couple at the end of the show gets prizes for their own children.

At least one "America's Cutest Kid" contest was held, where viewers could send in pictures of their children. The winning entry got a $15,000 college education for their child, while five others got a 1968 Pontiac station wagon.

The show ran in a 25-minute timeslot (followed by the five-minute educational series The Children's Doctor), but this doesn't seem to have impacted things in any way. While the show did well enough to get a renewal in early March (Variety 3/7/68 Daily, Page 23), ratings fell enough to where ABC canned it in early May (Variety 5/8/68 Weekly, Pages 219/228), opting to retain the also-struggling Dating Game instead.


 * January 15, 1968 (George & Caroline vs. Gloria & Lloyd; has commercials)


 * Late March-Early July 1968 (Tom & Nancy vs. Nan & Alan; has commercials, sound goes up and down, credits seem to be missing {possibly ABC's doing, since the Children's Doctor title card appears at the very end})
 * [Richard, at 11:32 (following the plugs for the prizes the couples get): "Between this and Dream House, [announcer Chet Gould]'s the new Santa Claus." Promo at 10:33 is for a Dream Whip "Strawberry Season's Greetings" motif that's pretty heavily Christmas-themed; this and a mention of "whip up Summer Christmas trees" may suggest July.]


 * 1968 (Intro of a different episode than the above two)

Baffle
NBC Daytime: March 26, 1973 - March 29, 1974 (approx. 270 episodes)

Heatter-Quigley's revamp of PDQ, with a great set and an unusual theme tune. Some of the other cues sound like they were also used on Gambit.

The show switched to All-Star Baffle around September 24.
 * 1973 (Promo, unusually with no photos or video, just animation)

Original format (March-September 1973)
 * April 10, 1973 (#12 {taped 3/31/73}: PETER MARSHALL & Jim vs. ROSE MARIE & Sherri {Car: Chevy Vega Notchback coupe}; montage including slate, first segment, and last segment)
 * [RJSchex: "Another interesting thing I noticed: The glass on the soundproof booths definitely gave off reflections. You could see the player's letter rack clearing (it was a horizontal trilon), as well as the rail table holding the letters being rotated into place."]

Bank on the Stars
CBS Primetime: June 20 - August 8, 1953

NBC Primetime: May 15 - August 21, 1954

Good quiz about observation and knowledge of current movies.

Bill Cullen (May-July 1954)
 * June 19, 1954 (Joyce Collins & John Rosen, Annemarie Bernard & Edward Schmidt, Ann & Richard Dale {Part 2}, with the Bank Night Bonus at $250; Films: Johnny Dark, Mr. Hulot's Holiday, The Caine Mutiny; has commercials {alternate copy, lower quality, opening clip missing})
 * [Roger Price appears to plug Droodles (debuted 6/21/54) after Game 1, noting that it'll start "next Monday". Opening clip is from Apache.]

Bargain Hunters
ABC Daytime: July 6 - September 4, 1987 (probably less than the 45 episodes you'd expect from such a timespan; see below)

Very short-lived attempt by Merrill Heatter to cash in on the home-shopping craze that was going on at the time, seemingly borrowing a couple of elements from Time Machine in addition to all the obvious ones from The Price is Right.

It seems the show never really gained a foothold due to coverage of the Iran-Contra hearings: after Bargain debuted, it was pre-empted for over a week. When it returned on July 16, it was pre-empted every two or three days until around early August, when the show began airing five-a-week like it was supposed to. I have no idea if the show taped around this, or there were episodes ABC never aired, or what.

It seems host Peter Tomarken wasn't a fan of the show, as he apparently called it (pardon my language) "a piece of shit" later on. I wouldn't say it's that bad, but it's not all that great either.

NOTE: Since the same three preliminary games (Bargain Quiz, Bargain Trap, and Bargain Busters) were played on every show, and always in the same order, the below listings will only have player names.


 * Taped 5/28/87 (Pilot: Lisa vs. Dorothy, Sully vs. Mart, Mary vs. Tammie {alternate copy... thing})
 * [Has slightly different graphics, and Bargain Quiz has a more Double Prices-esque format.]


 * July 6, 1987 (Premiere: Dorothy vs. Juanita, William vs. Joyce, Barbara Ann vs. Mary; taped from KABC, with commercials {alternate copy, no commercials})
 * July 21, 1987 (Elizabeth vs. Jeannie, Charlie vs. Wini, Jo-Ann vs. Lisa {alternate copy})
 * [Once listed as July 28 by Ryan Rinkerman.]


 * August 1987 (Mark vs. Debbie, Alan vs. Yvonne, Lisa vs. Donna; has commercials {alternate copies, no commercials: #1; #2a, #2b, and #2c})
 * August 1987 (Wendy vs. Doreen, Donna vs. Alicia, Linda vs. Willie; taped from WLKY {alternate copies: #1; #2a, #2b, and #2c})

Beat the Odds (1961)
KTLA, Daily: July 17, 1961 - August 23, 1963

Fun word game, and easily one of the more well-known KTLA game shows (two others being Seven Keys and Liars Club).

The show was originally hosted by Mike Stokey, with Dennis James replacing him around June 1962 "after a long series of tests" (Variety 6/21/62 Daily, Page 1). Dennis himself left in June 1963 to do NBC's People will Talk, with Warren Hull replacing him for the rest of the run (Variety 6/26/63 Weekly, Page 35).

In the end, Odds was canned not because of ratings, but out of spite to creator/producer Bill Derman after he "sold" Shopping Spree to Merv Griffin as Word for Word in early August 1963.

Mike Stokey (1961-62)
 * July 21, 1961 (Arnold vs. Mildred, continued from yesterday at 900-900 with Lee and Paul playing later {Part 2, Part 3}; has commercials and a Home Viewer Contest Plug! {alternate copy... thing})

Dennis James (1962-63)
 * 1962 (Friday: Begins with Michele {Game 4} vs. Bill, continued from yesterday {500-0 in Bill's favor} with the Jackpot at $1,450 {alternate copies: first segment; intro only, low audio})
 * [Dennis notes that winning four games gives you a chance at the Jackpot.]

Bedtime Stories
Syndicated, Daily: June 18 - August, 1979

Really short-lived Heatter-Quigley show that had couples guessing the most popular answer to poll questions for various prizes.


 * Taped 3/9/79 (Pilot: John & Nancy Caring vs. Janice & Joel Grace; has slate and a text-based sales pitch! {alternate copy of intro})
 * [The sales pitch notes that the show will be seen in the Fall, which might have been a better move.]


 * June 1979 (KRON promo, with a few clips {alternate copy})

The Better Sex
ABC Daytime: July 18, 1977 - January 13, 1978 (136 episodes, taped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood)

Six-month Goodson-Todman battle-of-the-sexes game that replaced Second Chance.


 * Taped 4/28/77 (Pilot #3: Jeffrey/Bill/Jack/William/Chuck/Major/Jerry vs. Janet/Blanche/Glenda/Pat/Sharon/Dawn/Jerri)
 * [Larger teams (seven per side), a bigger audience for the bonus round (70 people, consisting of both genders), and more money on offer ($7,000).]


 * Taped 1977 (Intro of an episode, with timecode)
 * [From the series (the teams have six members each), but not the Finale or either of the episodes GSN aired.]


 * September-October 1977 (Harold/Eric/Ray/Bill/Jim/Charles {$26,000!} vs. Beverly/Jeannette/Gail/Louise/Crystal/Carolyn; taped from GSN by way of Faux Pause {yay :P}, rightmost fifth or so cut off)
 * [The men's team has been around for "several days". Also, since it's Faux Pause, expect lots of interruptions, skipping, and painfully unfunny "humor".]
 * [Clips of this episode later appeared in TV's Finest Failures, a 2000 BBC special looking at unsold pilots primarily from the UK and US. I don't think I need to spell out what the problem is here.]


 * October-November 1977 (George/Hank/Ernest/Richard/Curtis/Robaire at Bonus, then vs. Kathy/Josephine/Susan/Leslie/Janice/Stephanie, with an amazing event that may have only happened once; taped from GSN on 12/1/96, pretty wavy video but still watchable {alternate copy of first bonus round, better quality})
 * [Bill notes that "We've been on the air for about 15 or 16 weeks."]


 * January 13, 1978 (#136-BSX-77/Finale: Neal/Vern/Robert/Bob/Angel/Mike {$28,000!} at Bonus, then vs. Johanna/Helen/Jackie/Karen/Wendy/Sherry, with a great goodbye from Bill and Sarah {taped 12/10/77}; studio master with slate! {alternate copy of intro})

Bible Baffle
''WCFC, Weekly: September? 1978 - 1983? (taped in Chicago; also aired on CBN around 1981-82)''

Christian quiz hosted by Ray MacKillop.

The show debuted (definitely by 9/24/78) as Bible Scrabble, with (per this forum post) two three-member teams competing. Per this September 1980 article, in Fall 1979 the format was changed and the show renamed The New Bible Baffle (the original title definitely remained through at least 8/15/79).

I'm not 100% sure when the show ended, but it may have lasted until 1984 (Variety 2/17/84 Daily, Page 25).


 * 1980 (Dwight/Mike/Lee; has a Contestant Plug, begins at Mike's portion of intro)
 * [Date per video title. The show itself doesn't seem to have a copyright date.]

Big Game
NBC Primetime: June 13 - September 19, 1958 (done at NBC Studios in Burbank)

Battleship with a jungle motif and quiz elements, basically. Probably best known as Tom Kennedy's first game show, along with being an early announcing role for Johnny Jacobs.

The pilot, taped January 8, 1958, had Bill Goodwin hosting (Variety 1/6/58 Daily, Page 10) and was a candidate to replace Arlene Francis' daytime series, a position that instead went to Dough-Re-Mi. By mid-April, the network opted to put Big Game on in the Summer (Variety 4/23/58 Weekly, Page 25), though I'm not sure when Tom was hired in relation to this.

In the end, the show ran its Summertime course (but not before being slaughtered in the ratings by Lawrence Welk) and Tom doesn't have fond memories of it, even remarking that "I was absolutely pitiful."


 * September 5, 1958 (Stan Irwin {$5,800} vs. Jim Gibson, continued from last week with Janet Okomoto? and Howard Kautan? playing later; has commercials, B/W video, audio/video seems to be slightly off {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Promo at 12:02 is for the Season Premiere of The Steve Allen Show, "Sunday night" (Season 4 began 9/7/58). Barry I. Grauman, on the intro upload: "Incidentally, contestant Stan Irwin later produced Johnny Carson's "TONIGHT SHOW" in 1967-'68, and was also the voice of "Lou Costello" in Hanna-Barbera's syndicated "ABBOTT & COSTELLO" cartoon series the same year."]

The Big Payoff
NBC Daytime: December 31, 1951 - March 27, 1953

NBC Primetime: June 29 - September 14, 1952/June 21 - September 27, 1953

CBS Daytime: March 30, 1953 - October 16, 1959

Game show/fashion show hybrid that ran for most of the decade and, to my knowledge, never came under scrutiny during the quiz show scandals.

I vaguely remember seeing some silent CBS-era film clips, mainly behind-the-scenes footage, online years ago.

CBS (1953-59)
 * 1956? (Seven-minute clip of the uploader's parents, Elmer & Norma, on the show for their second day; audio only, which gets rough at a couple points due to issues with the original disc {see below})
 * [The host (likely Bob Paige) mentions "yesterday". Per the uploader, this was recorded to an Audiodisc (acetate over an aluminum disc), which was similar in appearance to a 10" vinyl record, but over the years the disc became dirty and warped to the point where the aluminum was showing a bit in three spots.]

Syndicated, Daily: September 8, 1962 - Uncertain, possibly December 1962

A revamp with the original version's second host and final format, albeit with just two couples competing instead of three.


 * Taped 1962 (Pilot: Arthur & Arlene vs. Dr. & Joyce Sykes; has a Payoff Partner Plug, low audio, first part of second segment missing {alternate copy})
 * [For whatever reason, announcer Marvin Lark calls the host "David-I mean Bob" a few times.]

The Big Showdown
ABC Daytime: December 23, 1974 - July 4, 1975

One of the bigger 1970s cult classics in the genre, and for good reason, though the $10,000 top prize was won...maybe twice? (Definitely at least once, per recollections.)


 * Taped 1974 (Pilot: Nancy/Bob/Elaine, with "Politics '74" as a Round 2 category that never gets picked)
 * [Simply called Showdown, with a slightly different set and some different payouts. Notably, the top prize is consistently said to be $5,000 until just before the champ rolls to set their Payoff Point.]
 * [Darryl Heine: "the original Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (1987 book version) showed pics from another Show Down pilot where the catagories for the Final Show Down round were ANOTOMY, FASHION, and THE BARD." (There were definitely at least two pilots with this format; the original pilot, with a much smaller set and a "break the safe" endgame, was taped in '73.)]
 * [As for the tapedate, the best hints at one are probably the Barbra Streisand question at 9:34 and the Robert Redford one at 12:46, both in the Oscars category, as the 46th Academy Awards were held 4/2/74. If the mentions of nominations refer to an announcement of the nods rather than the ceremony itself, the fact the Redford question mentions The Sting (released 12/25/73), along with three other questions (about new "Energy Czar" William Simon, the "brand-new" 13-cent price of airmail stamps, and Gore Vidal's book on Aaron Burr), would suggest this being earlier '74 with an outside chance of late 12/73 (the latter of which would help explain why Politics '74 wasn't picked).]


 * Late December 1974 (Promo, with clips of Sharon {$750}/Joel/Marge)
 * 1975 (Clip of Norma {Day 2} at the bonus round)


 * March 25?, 1975 (#38-SWD-75 {#67 overall}: Andy {Day 2 - $775}/Diane/Mike, with Jim's infamous slip on the stairs! {taped 3/14/75}; studio master with Contestant Plug, "scratchy" audio {alternate copies: #1, has some graphics added by the uploader, Contestant Plug missing; #2, has slate but really low audio})

Bingo at Home (1958)
WABD (New York), Daily: February 17 - December 12, 1958 (station renamed WNEW on September 7)

One of Monty Hall's earliest game shows, if not his first in America, and...I don't wanna say too much bad since it's essentially a DuMont show (WABD was the network's flagship station) and they tend to have effort put into them (to make up for the distinct lack of budget)...but despite Monty's attempts to make things interesting this is kinda lame. Maybe it improved later on, but I don't know.

Oh, and this show ran an hour.

There's been some confusion as to when the show aired, with various places dating the available footage to 1955, 1957, and 1958. The info currently on this wiki's page for the show is thanks to Variety blurbs; not mentioned there is that Stone Associates looked to shop it around to networks and syndication, the latter as a "franchise" like College Bowl and Bowling For Dollars.

Unfortunately, Bingo at Home lost its major sponsors (General Foods and Standard Brands) at the end of November, resulting in its demise shortly afterward. Producer Martin Stone attempted to shop it to the other New York stations, to no avail.


 * February 24-September 1, 1958 (Monday: First game offers a DuMont 21-inch "Beverly" television and hi-fi unit {first ball: G2}; has commercials, first half-hour only, audio hissing sometimes overtakes speech and sounds {generally pretty audible, though}, no video for last 30 seconds {alternate copy})
 * [Commercial Sponsors: Chase & Sanborn instant coffee (at the time owned by Standard Brands), Pop-A-Day Pops (vitamin lollipops), uncertain (during the final part of the available footage, which has no video); Monty's pitch for Pop-A-Day suggests it was introduced relatively recently.]
 * [At this point, the station is still known as WABD, as those call letters are used in the mailing address for those who want to play but either have an unlisted number or don't have a phone line yet. Patty notes around 6:40, when explaining how to submit a winning card, that they can only accept postcards and "letters cannot be handled by our mail sorters from now on", suggesting that letters were accepted earlier in the run. During the first game, after the sixth draw, Monty notes a comment he made "last week". 14:10 and 23:05 have drawings for the winners of last Monday's first two games, along with 10 consolation prizes for each.]

Bingo at Home (1969)
Syndicated, Daily: March 3 - May 30, 1969 (65 episodes)

Also shown in Canada, and also known as Money Makers, five players compete for an entire week. Hosted by Jim Perry, who you might not recognize on sight because his hair is gray.


 * 1969 (Liz/Graham/Pamela/Julian/Mari-Lou, Day 3; six-minute portion, including player intros)
 * [Per the uploader, Jamie Locklin: "This might actually be the show's pilot, but it could also be from very early in the run. I never have received confirmation on that."]

Brains and Brawn (1958)
NBC Primetime: September 13 - December 27, 1958

Short-lived quiz hosted by Jack Lescoulie and Fred Davis which had intelligent people teamed up with sports stars. Based on the photos on this Wiki, there was a top prize of $10,000.


 * October 4, 1958 (Sally Kirkland & Willie Mays vs. James Laver & Jackie Jensen; intro only)

Call My Bluff
NBC Daytime: March 29 - September 24, 1965

Goodson-Todman format about giving definitions for odd words (only one of which is right), essentially a national version of San Francisco's Oh My Word, which debuted around the same time.

A British version debuted a few weeks after the US run ended, and went on to huge success, running until 1988 with a revival airing from 1996-2005. Per Frank Muir, longtime team captain on the original UK run, the American series "was a bit of a shambles, mainly because the bluffs... were so obviously false that it was painfully easy to spot the trues."


 * Taped 1/29 or 2/27/65 (Pilot/Rehearsal, intro only)
 * [Don Pardo announces, which he apparently didn't do during the series.]

Camouflage (1961)
ABC Daytime: January 9, 1961 - November 16, 1962

Answer a question, try to find a hidden object in a drawing. Good show, but Chuck Barris' 1980 revamp was...just bad.


 * January 8, 1962 (Johnny Gilbert hosts!: Begins with Johnny talking to champ Wendy Taylor and running down what she won the previous Friday, then Marita vs. Bette; has commercials {alternate copy})
 * [Also the 1st-Anniversary Show, with a small cake celebration at the end.]

The Celebrity Game (1964)
CBS Primetime: April 5 - September 13, 1964/December 20, 1964 - January 24, 1965/April 8 - September 9, 1965 (taped March-July/November 1964 and March-April/July-September 1965 at Television City)

A revamped People will Talk: host Carl Reiner reads a yes-or-no dilemma-esque question, after which the nine celebrities vote. Each player, in turn, picks a celeb and tries to determine whether s/he said Yes or No.

Scoring is akin to Split Second: $25 per player if all three make a correct prediction, $50 apiece for two, and $100 if only one is correct.

CBS aired repeats on Sunday afternoons from October 1, 1967 through January 7, 1968. A pilot for a revamped format was taped in February '68, but didn't sell.


 * June 7, 1964 (Lee Marvin, Connie Stevens, Sal Mineo, Gypsy Rose Lee, Oscar Levant, Suzy Parker, Louis Nye, Nanette Fabray, Mickey Rooney; Celynn/Edward/Shirley; has commercials {alternate copies, no commercials: #1, same source; #2a, #2b, #2c, and #2d, from a WHYY [PBS affiliate] repeat})


 * July 12, 1964 (#15 {taped 6/11/64}: Fabian, Gisele MacKenzie, PAUL LYNDE!, Gypsy Rose Lee, Barry Sullivan, Julie Newmar, Jack E. Leonard, Ida Lupino, Howard Duff; Gwen/Jerry/Rosemary; studio master with slate!)

Celebrity Sweepstakes
NBC Daytime: April 1, 1974 - October 1, 1976 (645 episodes, taped through September 15, 1976 at NBC Color City in Burbank)

Syndicated, Weekly: September 9, 1974 - September, 1975/September 20, 1976 - September, 1977 (taped at NBC Color City in Burbank)

Long ago, I didn't think a celebrity prediction game with a horse racing theme would be a thing, but here we are.

A Japanese version, Quiz Derby, debuted in 1976 and used five celebs instead of six. While the American version ran three years, the Japanese version lasted sixteen.

NBC (1974-76)

Three players (pilots and first few weeks only)
 * Taped 1/23/74 (Pilot #2: John Astin, Lucie Arnaz, Ted Knight, Dean Jones, Patty Duke-Astin, Jane Withers; Sandi {$12,850}/Cy/Jackie {Three-Day Champ Car: Pontiac Firebird})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 21:00 is the Spring/Summer 1974 one. Format and set are slightly different, a notable instance of the latter being that the celebrity nameplates are small black characters on a white background.]

Two players (rest of series)
 * January 6, 1975 (Closing credits, with Chuck Woolery plugging the premiere of Wheel of Fortune!; audio only)
 * March 18, 1975 (Darren McGavin, BETTY WHITE, Joey Bishop, Carol Wayne, Jim Nabors, Dan Rowan; Julia vs. Sherry, with a replay of yesterday's Shamrock Sweepstakes win!; taped from WAVE, ends shortly after said replay)


 * September-October 1975 (Clips of Billy Braver as a panelist)
 * [First two clips are from a week with Wolfman Jack, Lola Falana, Gabriel Kaplan, Carol Wayne, and James Darren. Third clip is from a week with Buddy Hackett, Sally Struthers, Orson Bean, Carol Wayne, and Shelley Winters. This page lists said weeks as September 22-26 and October 27-31, 1975.]


 * October 1, 1976 (Finale {taped 9/15/76}: Greg Mulavey, Debralee Scott, Alan Sues, Carol Wayne, Nipsey Russell, Pat Cooper {Part 3}; Dave {$11,630!} vs. Hilary; studio master! {alternate copies: full show; an Alan Sues question})

Celebrity Time
ABC Primetime: April 3, 1949 - March 26, 1950

CBS Primetime: April 2 - June 27, 1950/October 1, 1950 - September 21, 1952

Four panelists (two men, two women) tried to identify people and events from newsreel footage and other films. TV Obscurities has a post about the show here.

CBS (1950-52)
 * October 1, 1950 (Kyle MacDonnell & KITTY CARLISLE vs. Herman Hickman & Zachary Scott; taped from WCBS with commercials, last six minutes only, most of final round of play {identifying Shakespearean plays from a displayed opening scene} missing)

Chain Letter
NBC Daytime: July 4 - October 14, 1966

Two teams of two were given a category, then had to give a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word given.


 * Taped 4/25/66 (Pilot: RUTA LEE & Dick Patterson; credits only)
 * [Uses "Put On A Happy Face" as the theme (the series used a different piece), and seems to be the source of the press photos on Getty Images. UCLA's copy lists an airdate of July 4, suggesting this was an aired pilot.]

Chance of a Lifetime (TV, 1952)
ABC Primetime: May 8, 1952 - August 20, 1953/July 3, 1955 - June 23, 1956

DuMont Primetime: September 11, 1953 - June 24, 1955

Talent show hosted by Dennis James where the winner got $1,000 and a week's engagement at a club or hotel of renown.

ABC, second run (began 7/3/55)
 * February 12, 1956 (Challengers: Fran Leslie {sings "Take Me In Your Arms"}, The Giovannis {family quartet who does a part-music part-comedy act}; Champ: Stanley Grover {Week 2}, who sings "The Way You Look Tonight"; has commercials)
 * [One commercial mentions Valentine's Day.]

Show moves from Sundays to Saturdays (began 3/10/56); home-viewer element removed, three competitors in first half (began by about early 6/56)
 * March-June 1956 (Challengers: Dolores Leigh {sings "Can't Help Loving That Man"}, Little Buck {tapdances to "Thou Swell"}, Jo Mapes {sings/plays "The Frozen Logger"}; Champ: John Gergely {Week 2}, who plays a banjo medley; has commercials)
 * [Dennis notes it's a particularly bad night in New York, and later asks if anybody saw Frederic March in Alexander the Great (released 3/28/56).]

The Cheap Show
Syndicated, Weekly: September, 1978 - September, 1979 (taped at Metromedia Square in Hollywood)

Does for the genre as a whole (especially low-budget ones) what The Gong Show did for talent contests and The $1.98 Beauty Show did for beauty pageants. That's pretty much the best way I can describe it.

(Oh, and "hella weird". That too. :P)


 * Taped 5/5/78 (#4: Rita Moreno & David Doyle {No-Show: Henry Ford}; Marta & Jone vs. Jeff & Stewart {Part 2, Part 3}; video quality is for the most part fine, but occasionally goes borderline unwatchable)
 * [Car: Chevy Chevette four-door hatchback. UCLA holds four episodes (2, 4, 18, and 23), with Rita and David listed for Episode #4.]

Choose Up Sides
NBC Saturday Mornings: January 7 - March 31, 1956 (13 episodes)

Short-lived children's stunt show that was also Goodson-Todman's only attempt at doing a game show for kids. Shame, too, since this seemed to show they could pull it off pretty well...although Mr. Mischief (series announcer Don Pardo doing a falsetto; yes, really) is a bit creepy-looking.

A special "Super Dooper Doo" stunt would be done once per show. After four weeks, the player with the best score received a bonus prize.

The show had originally been pitched to CBS in 1953, and had been put in for debut on November 2 as a daily series with General Mills sponsoring three 15-minute segments per week (Variety 10/21/53 Weekly, Page 23)...and ended up being "indefinitely postponed" when the network couldn't get enough station clearances for the sponsor's liking (Variety 11/11/53 Weekly, Page 31). Unfortunately, the series ended up being sustained by the network, and was canned because there were no advertisers who offered to sponsor it.


 * Taped 9/24/53 (Pilot: John vs. Douglas, Henry vs. James, Nancy vs. Jill, Gerald vs. Kenneth, Irving vs. Mark; taped from GSN)
 * [Bob Kennedy hosts, the set is noticeably different, and there's a different scoring system.]


 * January 7, 1956 (Premiere: First game is Dino {playing for Ann} vs. Marc {playing for Patty}; taped from GSN, seems to end during credits)
 * [Super Dooper Doo Stunt: Toss playing cards onto a suspended ball covered with sticky tape. Maximum score is 15.]

Decorations added below logo portion of backwall, players' sweaters change from images of a rocket and cowboy hat to "SP" and "BB" respectively (began by 1/21/56)
 * January 21, 1956 (First game is Donna {playing for Earl} vs. Marilyn {playing for Johnny}; taped from GSN {alternate copy from an earlier GSN airing with commercials, audio is a bit low})
 * January 28, 1956 (First game is Sal {playing for Linda} vs. Jerry {playing for Buna?}; taped from GSN)


 * February 4, 1956 (First game is Bob {playing for Eddie} vs. Joe {playing for Mary Ann}; taped from GSN)
 * [Super Dooper Doo Stunt: Blow sheets of paper from a table into a wastebasket. Maximum score is 10.]
 * Early 1956 (Intro, from original broadcast; pretty low audio)

Contraption
Disney Channel: April 18, 1983 - January 9, 1988/March 8 - October 25, 1989

Kids show hosted by Ralph Harris (who looks quite a bit like Peter Tomarken) where all the questions are about Disney films.


 * 1983 (Red Champs? {Kevin/Stefanie/Jason} vs. Blue Blasters {Donald/Rachel/Melissa} {Parts 2, 3, and 4}; low audio that's also pretty "buzzy")

Dealer's Choice
Syndicated, Daily: January 21, 1974 - December 12, 1975 (300+ episodes, taping began in 1973)

I love this show: lots of games, a great atmosphere, and a catchy theme tune.

Pilots were shot on August 24 and September 8, 1973, with at least the latter hosted by Robert Horton (Variety 8/20/73 Daily, Page 7; Variety 8/29/73 Daily, Page 6).

The show was originally produced by Odyssey Productions and syndicated by Les Wallwork and Associates. Around June 1974, these were altered to Fishman-Freer (same company as Odyssey, just a different name) and Columbia Pictures Television respectively.

Bob Hastings (first few weeks)

Feels like an actor playing a game show host rather than being one, which is never a good sign.

According to Russell Freer, he also talked way too much (requiring a bunch of edits), which wouldn't necessarily be a "get out"-worthy issue...except that during one taping, Hastings told a severely-trailing player "you don't have a Chinaman's chance", which freaked everybody out.

So...we have a lousy host who cost the show a ton of money in post-production, plus he dropped a racial slur. And the show probably hadn't even debuted yet. Yeah, no surprise he was kicked out after just a few weeks were taped; I'm not sure when he was canned or how many episodes he did, but he was still listed as host for tapings as late as January 25 (Variety 1/21/74 Daily, Page 13).


 * January-February 1974 (Liz/Dick/Linda {taped 1973}; begins during Game 2 {Wheel of Chance}, low audio, audio/video is off)
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 6:45 is...the Spring/Summer 1974 one? What, did they edit in the current-for-airdate one right before sending it out or somesuch?]

Jack Clark (began 2?/74)

And with this, the show has substantially improved before even resuming tapings. :)

The cover of the home game, Place Your Bets! (long story), shows Jack next to the original Wheel of Chance and near the original contestant podiums, indicating that they were still present when he took over. The standard set definitely debuted by about July 1974.

Around January 1975, the show moved from the Tropicana Hotel in Vegas to The Burbank Studios in California (Variety 1/8/75 Daily, Page 24); according to Chuck Donegan's page on the show, for the last part of the run taping moved again to KTTV in Los Angeles.

Production ended by early July 1975 (Variety 7/9/75 Weekly, Page 46), with Columbia citing "the rough economy" as the reason (Broadcasting 7/28/75, Page 31). I'm not sure when first-run episodes stopped, but repeats were definitely airing for the last few months or so.

Standard set (debuted by about 7/74)
 * 1974 (Janet/Mel/Terry {alternate copy of some portions, edited down as a pitchfilm})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 6:35 of Part 1 is the Spring/Summer 1974 one. At one point, Jack introduces the "Dealer's Choice A's", a baseball team (presumably Little League) who went undefeated, although I can't seem to find any info on them.]

Show moves to Burbank (began 1?/75)
 * 1975 (#301: Marilyn/Carolyn/Kate; studio master with slate, video issues at times {particularly during credits})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 14:55 is the Spring/Summer 1975 one. One prize is tickets to see The Stepford Wives (released 2/12/75), starring Katherine Ross and Paula Prentiss.]

Don Adams' Screen Test
Syndicated, Weekly: September 7, 1975 - February 21 [September 18], 1976 (24 episodes)

Essentially a pet project of Adams, who served as executive producer and host along with directing the various scenes.


 * Taped 5/16/75 (Pilot: First 12 minutes, with James Caan appearing and segment with Connie Stevens only)
 * [Runs an hour, and was financed by Adams himself. The slates used for the screen tests are generic, whereas the series used a slate with the show's logo present.]


 * 1975 (Clips of Pamela Rodriguez's screen test with Doug McClure)
 * [The uploader (Nancy Ellen Sonnabend) worked on the show, and has a lot of insightful comments on what turned out to be a one-season syndicated obscurity. She also tried to get Universal to release the series on DVD at the same time they were putting out Get Smart, but the company wasn't (and isn't) interested.]
 * 1975-76 (Various bloopers {including some with Mel Brooks!}, from the 1984 special Foul-Ups, Bleeps and Blunders)

Dough Re Mi
NBC Daytime: February 24, 1958 - December 30, 1960

Somewhat a Name That Tune variant, hosted by Gene Rayburn. Originally produced by Barry-Enright, with NBC taking control after the scandals broke later in '58.


 * 1959? (Intro)

Down You Go
DuMont Primetime: May 30, 1951 - May 20, 1955

CBS Primetime: June 11 - September 3, 1955

ABC Primetime: September 15, 1955 - June 14, 1956

NBC Primetime: June 16 - September 8, 1956 

Long-running game of televised hangman, with phrases sent in by home viewers. Dr. Bergen Evans hosted the first three runs, with the NBC run being more of a comedy game hosted by Bill Cullen.

CBS (1955)
 * 1955 (Francis Coughlin, Patricia Cutts, Jerome Weidman, Laraine Day, with a cameo by announcer JACK CLARK!; has a Phrase Submission Plug, video is a bit blurry, audio/video is off {alternate copy of intro, far better quality})

Everybody's Talking!
ABC Daytime: February 6 - December 29, 1967

ABC's last daytime show produced in black-and-white, in which players had to determine what people on the street were talking about.

On April 3, the show did two weeks with celebrities playing for home viewers (Variety 3/29/67 Weekly, Page 32), but this appears to have become permanent (if not seamlessly, then definitely by June 2), making this possibly the first instance of a game show going the "all celebs, all the time" route.

When the show debuted, the announcer was Wink Martindale. Around late June, when he left to do Dream Girl of '67, he was replaced by Charlie O'Donnell.

First-run episodes appear to have ended in October, possibly due to the NABET strike, with repeats airing afterward (Variety 11/1/67 Weekly, Page 27).

Original format
 * February 6, 1967 (Premiere: Geri/Mike/Pat, with Bob and Bonnie playing later {alternate copy of intro})

All-celeb format

Each set of celebs played a full week for home viewers, with a different set of postcards drawn each day (carrying over to the next day if a game straddled). The intro was altered to introduce each celeb as they drew their respective cards.


 * June 2, 1967 (Roger Smith/Vivian Vance/Godfrey Cambridge, continued from yesterday during Game 6 {0-61-25}; has commercials and a Home Contest Plug {done by Wink!}, first half of intro missing {begins right after Vivian draws her card}, video is slightly blurry)
 * [Sears catalog shown at 10:10 is the Spring/Summer 1967 one.]

Every Second Counts (1984)
Syndicated, Daily: September 17, 1984 - September 13, 1985 (taping began August 1984)

Bill Rafferty's first show, an awesome comedic time-building game that ended after one season due to low clearances in major markets (it didn't air at all in New York) and (per Rafferty himself) internal politics at Group W/Westinghouse - "There were some people there who simply did not want the show to succeed." A reworked version, Tricky Business, was attempted in '86 but failed to get off the ground.

The show used two different intros, the latter showing clips of car wins. Also, at some point during the run part of the "T" on the logo-sign broke off.

Complete "T" on logo-sign
 * 1984-85 (Intro, with the original spiel)

Broken "T" on logo-sign
 * 1985 (Cathy & Tim/Cyndi & Steve/Mary & E.J.; taped from KCOP with commercials, begins during Round 1)
 * [Round 2 starts with "Public Signs", a visual category. Bill's comments suggest this is Susie Barr's first episode, replacing Debbie Bartlett.]


 * 1985 (Patty & Shawn/Lara & Paul/Deborah & Ted; KCOP repeat from 9/85 with {some?} commercials, begins shortly before opening logo, first couple's intro missing)
 * [Seems to have the second intro. Promo at 23:35 is for Saturday's college football games: Arizona State vs. Michigan State and Pittsburgh vs. Ohio State; per Sports Reference, both were held on 9/14/85.]
 * [Show is followed at 25:47 by a 2001 news report on a contestant's arrest(!).]


 * Taped 3/1/85 (#1183: Patti & Joe/Lisa & Paul/Rita & Royce {Part 2, Part 3}; studio master with slate! {alternate copy, low audio})
 * [Has the second intro.]

Feather Your Nest
NBC Daytime: October 4, 1954 - July 27, 1956

Bud Collyer-hosted quiz involving feathers that awarded points, which in turn awarded prizes. It seems a house was also given away each Friday.


 * January 3, 1955 (Players: Ryan Kirk and his mother-in-law Mrs. Cooke, Arthur Gallagher and his mother, Gene Hudson and his daughter Mary Jane; has commercials)
 * [First advert is Robert Ryan on the set of "his new picture", plugging the 1955 March of Dimes. Janis Carter mentions "Happy New Year once again", and Bud's opening comments mention "last Friday".]

Funny You Should Ask!! (1968
ABC Daytime: October 28, 1968 - June 27, 1969

Heatter-Quigley's smaller-scale revamp of The Celebrity Game: this time, a celebrity panel was given a dilemma-type question and shared their thoughts, after which the players were brought out and had to match a given answer to the celeb who gave it. Matching four stars in one round awarded that player a Funny Money Jackpot which began at $100 and increased by $100 per game until won.

Big thanks to this page for some of the below placement.


 * January 1969 (Noel Harrison, Nanette Fabray, Jim Backus, Jan Murray, Donna Jean Young; intro and clips mostly involving Noel, B/W video)
 * [From the week of January 13-17.]


 * February 1969 (Dean Jones, ROSE MARIE, Stu Gilliam, Marty Allen, Meredith MacRae; Rita vs. Jake, with the Funny Money Jackpot starting at $1,100; has commercials, B/W video {alternate copy, video is a bit pixely and bright})
 * [From the week of February 24-28. Spiegel catalog shown at 6:40 is the Spring/Summer 1969 one. Includes that day's Children's Doctor presentation.]


 * March 24, 1969 (Glenn Ford, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Stu Gilliam, Jim Backus, Martha Raye {Part 2}; Susan vs. Nick, with the Funny Money Jackpot starting at $4,400!; has commercials, B/W video)
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 6:15 of Part 1 is the Spring/Summer 1969 one.]

The Generation Gap
ABC Primetime: February 7 - May 23, 1969 (16 episodes, taped January 26 - May 7)

Great quiz that pit the "older generation" against the "younger generation" 15 years before Trivia Trap. Probably better known as the show that brought Jack Barry back to hosting on national television, though.

A big thanks to the UCLA Film & Television Archive for much of the below placement.

Dennis Wholey (through 4/11/69)

When the series began, all six contestant podiums had solid-color bases, and they were all the same color. The standard look (red-on-yellow for the adults, yellow-on-red for the teens) debuted by March 14.


 * Taped 10/68 (Pilot: Mrs. Murray/Mr. Gallagher/Mrs. Poliakin vs. Nancy/Jonathan/Reeta; Special Guests: The Turtles, Kenny Delmar {Part 2, Part 3})
 * [Has a different logo and slightly different set. One question is about the new Peter Sellers film I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (released 10/7/68). Another is about the newest Ambassador to the United Nations, James Russell Wiggins (who held the office from October 1968 to January 1969). The Turtles play "Elenore", released 9/68.]


 * February 7, 1969 (Premiere: Nancy/Thomas/Jane Henesy vs. David Henesy/Sue/Victor {taped 1/30/69}; Special Guests: The Ohio Express, Bill Kenny; has commercials {alternate copy of some portions})

Standard contestant podiums (began by 3/14/69)
 * March 14, 1969 (Mrs. O'Brien/Hugh O'Brian/Mrs. Stone vs. Chris/Jon/Paul Levine {taped 3/5/69}; Special Guests: Pinky Lee, The Brooklyn Bridge; intro, player interviews, and Pinky's portion only {alternate copy of intro})


 * March 28, 1969 (Mrs. Morgan/ORSON BEAN/Barbara Cowsill vs. Bob/Cathie/Tony {taped 3/20/69}; Special Guests: Del Reeves, The Classics IV, Katherine Raht, Jonathan Frid {as Barnabas Collins!}; intro and Frid's portion only)
 * April 4, 1969 (Jonathan Frid/Mrs. Mundy/SOUPY SALES vs. Tony Sales/Ruth/Andy {taped 3/20/69}; Special Guests: Chubby Checker, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Renzo Cesana; montage, centered around Frid)

Get the Message
ABC Daytime: March 30 - December 25, 1964 (taped at the Elysee Theater in New York City)

Another Password variant by Goodson-Todman, this time with teams of two celebrities and one contestant.

Frank Buxton (March-September)
 * April 9, 1964 (Peggy Cass, Phyllis Newman, Orson Bean, Howard Keel {taped 3/13/64}; Ellen vs. Wilson, then Betty vs. Dave; taped from GSN, low audio, ends during credits)

Set slightly altered, messages now displayed in split-screen effect, bonus round changes from Turnabout to Open Round (began by 5/1/64)
 * May 1, 1964 (Ann Sothern, Nancy Dussault, Abe Burrows, Daryl Hickman; Barbara vs. Al, who stay for the whole show; has commercials, low audio {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Also by this point, Chet Gould has become announcer, replacing Johnny Olson.]

Robert Q. Lewis (began 9/28/64)
 * December 25, 1964 (Finale/Celebrity Special: Arlene Francis, Barbara Cook, Marty Ingles, Douglas Fairbanks; Joan Fontaine vs. Mitch Miller, then Julia Mead vs. Orson Bean; taped from GSN {alternate copy, slightly shorter, audio is a bit low})
 * [By this point, nameplates have been added for the celebrities.]

Giant Step
CBS Primetime: November 7, 1956 - May 29, 1957

Basically a children's version of The $64,000 Question, with the top prize being an all-expenses-paid college education and a travel scholarship around the world after graduation.

CBS, wanting to boost affiliate clearances for the show, offered a closed-circuit telecast in early October 1956 (essentially a pilot, I suppose). Step was originally going to be canned by sponsor General Mills after February (Variety 2/6/57 Daily, Page 6), but the company gave it a last-minute reprieve (Variety 3/6/57 Weekly, Page 27)...only to bring the axe down permanently just after April (Variety 5/1/57 Weekly, Page 46).


 * November 21?-December 19, 1956 (Kenny Sweetman? for Step 7 in Entymology, Joseph Pikliter? for Step 8 in US Presidents, Stephanie Maris for Step 6 in Astronomy; has commercials and a Contestant Plug! {alternate copy})
 * [One promo is for Christmas ideas. Has a fun (though I suppose one could argue for it being arrogant) moment I've never seen in any blooper specials: Bert tells a joke to the first contestant, which Kenny not only doesn't like but goes on to explain why the joke doesn't work.]

Give-N-Take
CBS Daytime: September 8 - November 26, 1975 (58 episodes, taped at The Burbank Studios)

Really an "odd one out" in '75: there's really not much to the format, plus it has a dark set in an era of bright colors/pastels. Television Obscurities has a print ad for the debut here, which also has a quick plug for the "special full-hour The Price is Right" shows airing that week.

And honestly, that was probably the first slap in the face to this show's chances, which became even worse when Price permanently expanded to an hour on November 3, shoving Take all the way down to 4:00 PM Eastern. Still, Bill Carruthers saw some merit in the format, revamping it into Up and Over in 1986.


 * September 26, 1975 (#0015 {taped 9/19/75}: Gina/Susan/Judy/Ann {Part 2, Part 3}; studio master with slate and Ticket Plug, average video for the most part)
 * [Judy was later on The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime (1987).]

Golf For Swingers
Syndicated, Weekly: January 15 - December?, 1972 (26? episodes, began taping October 8, 1971)

Two celebs play three holes against Trevino, a pro golfer. The show seems to have gotten two half-seasons: one Variety blurb (9/27/72 Daily, Page 7) mentions a second season, and it's still referred to in the present tense as late as 11/22/72.


 * Late 1972 (First half of an episode with Sammy Davis Jr. and Jack Benny)
 * [Lee's opening comments suggest this is from the second set of recordings.]

Haggis Baggis
NBC Primetime: June 20 - September 28, 1958

NBC Daytime: June 30, 1958 – June 19, 1959

Two players named objects/people/places/etc. that fit a given letter and category to reveal pieces of a famous face; first to figure out the person gets first choice of two prize packages: "Haggis" or "Baggis".

The primetime series was hosted by Jack Linkletter, while the daytime show debuted with Fred Robbins as emcee. Both versions aired from the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York.

Dennis James (began 2/9/59)
 * February 18, 1959 (Mrs. Sheehan {Champ} vs. Hastie? DeLancy {Part 2, Part 3}, with Harold Kall and Carol Highman playing later; has a few commercials {including promos for You Bet Your Life and The Price is Right!} and a Contest Plug, first second or so missing, B/W video {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Dennis never seems to give Mrs. Sheehan's first name.]

High Low
NBC Primetime: July 4 - September 19, 1957 (done in New York)

Quiz kinda based on High-Low Poker, with celebrities and isolation booths.

Regular panelist Burl Ives was replaced for the last two episodes by Walter Slezak so the former could co-star in Big Country with Gregory Peck (Variety 9/11/57 Weekly, Page 48).

High Low was a Summer replacement for Tennessee Ernie Ford's Ford Show, with the same sponsor. While it was under consideration by Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the Parkson agency as a midseason replacement for What's it For?, this never got off the ground.


 * 1957 (Intro, with timecode)

High Stakes
WJZ, Weekly: Circa 1976

Local Baltimore quiz hosted by Clem Florio where three panelists answered questions related to a specific topic. High score at the end got their points converted to dollars for a home viewer.

Unfortunately, due to its title (which may or may not actually be a single word), I've been unable to find anything on it.


 * 1976 (William Donald Schaefer/Ethel Ennis/Artie Donovan; Topic: Over-The-Counter Drugs; studio master, Short-Answer Round only)
 * [Schaefer was, at the time, mayor of Baltimore. Given that, he may have been a regular panelist.]

Hold That Note
NBC Primetime: January 22 - April 2, 1957 (broadcast from New York City)

Short-lived Name That Tune-esque musical quiz where the earlier you identify a song, the more money gets put into a Jackpot ($50 per remaining note). Winner gets the entire Jackpot, loser gets a separate 10% cut. Interesting show, and certainly fast-paced in the one episode known to exist.

Note replaced Break the $250,000 Bank, also hosted by Bert Parks, and by all indication used most of the "Hall of Knowledge" set Bank had for that final season (hence the artsy statues in the wide set shots and the bookcase behind Bert). The show doesn't seem to have been all that popular, though, as the Medford Mail Tribune remarked on 9/16/57 that Note was "a fairly clumsy piece of TV furniture" and "the victim of a mercy killing by NBC".

Oof.


 * March 26, 1957 (TINA ROBIN {Game 5 - $19,100} vs. Frankie, continued from last week {1-0 in Tina's favor and $500 in the Jackpot} with John, Millie, Jackie, and Stanley playing later; has a Contestant Plug, bad commercial edits {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Bert mentions that Tina got a contract with Coral Records as a result of her appearances on the show, which was also reported by Variety on 3/20/57 (Weekly, Page 59). Tina notes that she made a record "today" (which she can't name), which will be released "in ten days"; 45cat's discography page on Tina indicates that said record, containing the songs "My Mammy" and "I Have A Heart", was released in April 1957.]

Hot Seat
ABC Daytime: July 12 - October 22, 1976 (taped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood)

Heatter-Quigley attempt to do televised lie-detector tests for married couples, with Jim Peck hosting. Did I mention this replaced Let's Make a Deal?


 * July 1976 (Debut promo, with clips of the 1/17/76 Pilot)
 * [Has a different set and logo. Format-wise, the biggest difference (per Randy Amasia many years ago) is the bonus round, which was played like the front game: the husband saw three items, said "No, I would not like that prize." to each, and the wife (who couldn't see said items) chose what they won based on his reactions...except that while the first two items were a washer/dryer combo and an expensive sports car, the third was a cheap iron and ironing board modeled by a young lady in a bikini, which resulted in the lie detector shooting to the far end of the scale ('cause hur hur he's a pig!) and the wife choosing it. Yeah.]


 * July 12?, 1976 (Premiere?: Fred & Debbie vs. Jeff & Susan {Part 3, Part 4}; has some commercials, begins as Jim walks out, average video)
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 4:33 of Part 3 is the Fall/Winter 1976 one.]

I'll Bet
KTLA Primetime, Weekly: May 28 - August 27, 1964

NBC Daytime: March 29 - September 24, 1965

Fun little game where celebrities determine whether their spouse can answer a given question. Any cash earned is given to home viewers.

As with fellow Andrews-Yagemann game You Don't Say!, I'll Bet began as a weekly series on KTLA (Variety 5/8/64 Daily, Page 10). The ending date above is per David Baber's book Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars (Page 192).

NBC (1965)

At some point, the NBC affiliates of each day's home viewers began to be revealed after the game rather than before...or possibly vice-versa.


 * April or so 1965 (Monday: Filmore Crank & Beverly Garland vs. Richard & Mara Long; First Question: "Where did whiskey originate?"; B/W video, begins during logo animation)
 * [NBC affiliates revealed before the game. Jack notes this is "revenge day" for the Longs, since they didn't win anything "on Friday". Partial promo at end is for The Man from U.N.C.L.E., airing Mondays at 8:00 PM Eastern (the show moved to Fridays on 9/17/65, and repeats did air in Summer '65).]


 * September 6, 1965 (Denise Darcel & Bob Atkinson vs. Robert & Nancy Culp; First Question: "What sea parted to allow Moses and the Israelites to escape from the Egyptians?"; has commercials, first five minutes only, video is a bit bright {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Robert is plugged as being from "NBC's new series I Spy" (debuted 9/15/65). NBC affiliates revealed after the game.]

I'll Buy That
CBS Daytime: June 15, 1953 - July 2, 1954

Mike Wallace-hosted show where contestants and panelists tried to identify items submitted by viewers, with up to $300 on offer.


 * 1953-54 (Set of four promos done on the show's set with Mike, Albert Morehead, Audrey Meadows, Hans Conried, and Vanessa Brown)
 * [Strangely, none of the promos mention CBS, only ever saying "this channel". This may suggest these were done in connection with a pilot (hence no mention of a network) or the show was "syndicated" to CBS affiliates.]

Information, Please! (1939)
RKO Theatrical Shorts: 1939 - 1942 (no idea how often they were released)

Long-running radio quiz where panelists answered questions submitted by listeners. The RKO shorts were simply filmed versions of various episodes.

Admittedly, this is a bit of a stretch since (to my knowledge) these didn't air on TV, but I wanted to acknowledge these in some way so here you go. :)


 * 1940 (Franklin P. Adams, Oscar Levant, John Kieran, Deems Taylor; first challenge is to verbally create a zoo with animals mentioned in song titles; quality isn't the greatest at times, but still very watchable)

It's News To Me
CBS Primetime: May 11, 1951 (Special)/July 2, 1951 - September 12, 1953

Goodson-Todman show hosted by John Daly, where players attempted to determine whether a given panelist's explanation for a displayed item or somesuch was true or false. One round, an Eyewitness Round, had the panel question a guest to determine what news event they had witnessed.

News was moved around considerably during 1952: it began the year airing Mondays at 9:30 PM Eastern (as it had since July; the special aired on a Friday), but on April 4 was moved to Fridays at 10, though it was quickly bumped up to 9:30 on May 23. On July 6, it was moved to Sundays at 6:30, and was put back on Fridays (now at 10:30) on September 5 before being shoved to Saturdays at 6:30 on the 20th. The final move was on December 6, 1952, when CBS kept News on Saturdays but shoved it all the way down to 10:30.


 * May 11, 1951 (Premiere: Quincy Howe, Anna Lee, Jean Dalrymple, John Henry Faulk; Players: Shirley Higgins?, Corporal James Donasteel?, Loy Baek? {Eyewitness: James Bronson}; original broadcast {alternate copy, taped from GSN})
 * [John refers to the show as a "trial session", so I suppose it could be considered an aired pilot. Sustained by the network, hence why it runs over 29 minutes with no commercials.]

Sponsors added (began 7/2/51)
 * July 20, 1952 (Quentin Reynolds, Martha Scott, Mel Allen, Anna Lee; Players: Dick Deers, Virginia Mulrine, Richard J. Schlesser {Eyewitness: L.J. Ross}, with Frank Wayne appearing in several skits!; taped from GSN {alternate copy from a later GSN airing, runs about 20 seconds shorter})
 * [Oddly, the older GSN airing has a graphic reading "AIRED MAR'62".]
 * July 27, 1952 (Quentin Reynolds, June Lockhart, John Henry Faulk, Anna Lee; Players: Dr. Tracy Leavy, Mrs. Flikinger? {Eyewitness: Wyeth Williams}; taped from GSN)


 * August 3, 1952 (Quentin Reynolds, June Lockhart, John Henry Faulk, Anna Lee; Players: Nancy Taylor, Ernest Spitialle?, Edward Tyrell {Eyewitness: Frank F. Tockerman}; taped from GSN)
 * August 10?, 1952 (Quentin Reynolds, Martha Scott, John Henry Faulk, Anna Lee; Players: Leo F. McAllister, Gertrude Morris, Ray Weersimmer? {Eyewitness: Mrs. Irving M. Pools}, with Frank Wayne appearing in several skits!; has commercials {alternate copy, taped from GSN})
 * [Martha is in "the current hit Male Animal" (referring to the Broadway play), and August 4 is mentioned in the past tense during Game 1. OC copy has a post-show plug noting that See It Now will be airing in this timeslot in the Fall (retaining Alcoa as sponsor), with It's News To Me moving to a different slot.]

CBS Primetime: July 9 - August 27, 1954

The final season was a Summer replacement for Person to Person, airing Fridays at 10:30 PM, now with Walter Cronkite hosting. The payout system was altered a bit to start players with $30, with correct and incorrect guesses adding or taking away $10.


 * July 16, 1954 (John Henry Faulk, Nina Foch, Quentin Reynolds, Anna Lee; Players: Janelle Jackson, Lewis Rocco?, Wayne Aston? {Eyewitness: Bob Turley}; has commercials plus a Ticket/Contestant Plug and an Eyewitness Plug, ends late in credits {alternate copies: intro,  Eyewitness Round})
 * [Nina is in the current MGM film Executive Suite (released 5/6/54). First subject is Casey Stengel, whose team won the All-Star Game (held 7/13/54) this week.]

It's Your Bet
Syndicated, Daily: September 29, 1969 - September 7, 1973 (aired mainly on NBC affiliates)

A revamped I'll Bet, the only real difference being that the celebrity couples now play for audience members. Also well-known for having a revolving emcee door.

Hal March
 * 1969 (Michael & Patricia Callen vs. Jan & Toni Murray; studio master, intro only)

Tom Kennedy
 * November 5, 1969 (#28: Lyle & Sharon Waggoner vs. King Donovan & Imogene Coca {taped 10/21/69}; First Question: "What is the date of your marriage?"; studio master with slate and Ticket/Contestant Plug!)
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 15:15 is the Fall/Winter 1969 one. At this point, Tom is simply filling in for Hal.]

Keep Talking
CBS Primetime: July 15, 1958 - September 2, 1959

ABC Primetime: October 29, 1959 - May 3, 1960

Teams of celebrities had to work a specific phrase into an ad-libbed conversation, after which the opponents tried to identify the phrase.

While beginning as a standard Summer replacement show, Keep Talking became a full-time series thanks to the cancellation of The $64,000 Question.


 * 1959? (Clip of a blooper involving Orson Bean and Pat Carroll; not sure who the host is here)
 * [The wall behind Orson and Pat shows a sponsor of Mutual of Omaha, which appears to have become a permanent sponsor after the CBS run.]

Kids Baffle
WJZ, Weekly: 1981 - 1987

Childrens' quiz bowl that was a spinoff/revival of the station's Great Baltimore Baffle, a Saturday-evening trivia show for adults which ran for two seasons (from what I can find, 1976-78).

The show was originally hosted by Bob Sokoler, with Bob Callahan taking over by mid-October 1985 (per this article).

Bob Sokoler
 * December 19, 1981 (Promo)

Knockout
NBC Daytime: October 3, 1977 - April 21, 1978 (taped at NBC Studios in Burbank)

Good show that might have run longer if NBC hadn't put it up against Family Feud.

A British version, Odd One Out, was one of three Paul Daniels-hosted adaptations of shows that ran briefly in the US but became hits in the UK (the others being Every Second Counts and Wipeout).


 * October 3, 1977 (Premiere: Begins with Kacy/Jes/Stella; audio only {alternate copy, with a visual rendering})
 * [Winning five games awards a Chevy Chevette four-door hatchback.]


 * December 1977 (Begins with Skip {Game 5}/Diane/Stan, continued from last time; begins during contestant intros, audio/video is off, ends after second segment)
 * [Winning five games awards a Chevy Chevette four-door hatchback. One prize plug mentions Christmas.]


 * Early 1978 (Begins with Maxine/Jack/Anita, continued from last time; has a Ticket Plug, ends during sponsor list)
 * [Winning five games awards a Ford Fairmont. Arte mentions "tomorrow" when signing off.]

Lohman & Barkley's Name Droppers
NBC Daytime: September 29, 1969 - March 27, 1970

An interesting inversion of To Tell The Truth: one person with three stories.


 * March 26, 1970 (Bob Cummings, Ruth Buzzi, Bob Newhart; Name Droppers: Ward, Tina; intro and a round of Tina's gameplay)

The Magnificent Marble Machine
NBC Daytime: July 7, 1975 - January 2, 1976/January 19 - March 12 [June 11], 1976 (taped at NBC Color City/Studios in Burbank)

Two celebrity-contestant teams answer word puzzles, with the winning team playing the titular Machine for tons of cash and prizes. I'm not gonna mince words here - this show was overblown and not really all that good, plus by all indication the Machine got cheaper as time went on.

The show took two weeks off so NBC could air an experimental talk show called Take My Advice, hosted by Kelly Lange of KNBC. When Marble returned, it turned into an all-celeb format...and got canned two months later, with repeats airing for the next three because The Fun Factory wasn't ready to go yet.

Probably the oddest thing about the series was its cameo in The China Syndrome (released 3/16/79) as the regular programming that gets interrupted near the end of the film; oddly, the film's credits never mention the show or Heatter-Quigley.


 * July 10, 1975 (Roddy McDowell & Florence Henderson {taped 6/23/75}; Gary vs. Bobbie, with Lyn playing later; video is a bit blurry, first second or so missing, brief flash of green at times {alternate copy of intro, in beautiful quality!})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 11:35 is the Spring/Summer 1975 one.]

Make the Connection
NBC Primetime: July 7 - September 29, 1955 (13 episodes)

Short-lived Goodson-Todman variant on I've Got a Secret where panelists had to determine the connection between two guests.

From what I can tell, the panel for nearly all of the run was Betty White, Gene Klavan, Gloria DeHaven, and Eddie Bracken, and always in that order. The only changeups were on August 18 and September 29, when Gloria was replaced by Laraine Day and Barbara Britton respectively.

Big thanks to this episode guide at the Mark Goodson Wiki for some of the below placement.

Jim McKay
 * July 28, 1955 (Jim's Finale: Betty White, Gene Klavan, Gloria DeHaven, Eddie Bracken; Special Guest: Diana Lynn; taped from GSN {alternate copy})

Gene Rayburn (began 8/4/55)
 * August 4, 1955 (Rayburn's Debut: Betty White, Gene Klavan, Gloria DeHaven, Eddie Bracken; Special Guest: Sam Levenson; taped from GSN)
 * August 11, 1955 (Betty White, Gene Klavan, Gloria DeHaven, Eddie Bracken; Special Guest: Hoagy Carmichael; taped from GSN {alternate copy of Carmichael segment})


 * August 18, 1955 (Betty White, Gene Klavan, Laraine Day, Eddie Bracken; Special Guest: Buster Keaton; taped from GSN {alternate copies: intro and Keaton segment, same source; intro only, from original broadcast})
 * [Announcer notes that Gloria is on a one-week vacation.]
 * August 25, 1955 (Betty White, Gene Klavan, Gloria DeHaven, Eddie Bracken; Special Guest: Vaughn Monroe; taped from GSN, audio is a bit low {alternate copy})


 * September 1, 1955 (Betty White, Gene Klavan, Gloria DeHaven, Eddie Bracken; Special Guests: J. Fred Muggs {who goes insane!} and Xavier Cugat; taped from GSN {alternate copy of Muggs segment})

Masquerade Party
NBC Primetime: July 14 - August 25, 1952/March 6 - September 4, 1957/October 2, 1958 - September 24, 1959/January 29 - September 23, 1960

CBS Primetime: June 22 - September 14, 1953/June 21 - September 27, 1954/August 4 - September 15, 1958/October 26, 1959 - January 18, 1960

ABC Primetime: September 29, 1954 - December 29, 1956

Long-running network-bouncing game where panelists tried to guess the identity of various masqueraders, all of whom were well-known celebs.

Peter Donald (1954-56 versions)
 * May 22, 1955 (Bobby Sherwood, Dagmar, Ogden Nash, Ilka Chase; Masqueraders: Classy-looking feminine-voiced male {continued from last week with 12 seconds used of 300}, male circus ringmaster, male bum and male artist, old man in a child's outfit; has commercials)
 * [Home game is plugged. Closing voiceover plugs Penny To A Million.]

Eddie Bracken (1957 version)
 * 1957 (Intro)

Syndicated, Weekly: September 9, 1974 - September, 1975

Still as great as ever, now with Richard Dawson hosting. Print ads indicate the show produced 30 episodes and likely began taping in May.


 * Taped 7/10/74 (#24: Bill Bixby, Lee Meriwether, Nipsey Russell; studio master with timecode, intro and "Judge" game only)


 * 1974-75 (Bill Bixby, Lee Meriwether, Nipsey Russell; studio master with timecode, "Harpo Marx" game only)
 * [Dawson does a pretty good Groucho Marx here, by the way.]

Matches 'N Mates
Syndicated, Daily: March 20, 1967 - September 6?, 1968 (approx. 130 episodes)

Obscure Nicholson-Muir show hosted by Art James which, based on what I've heard, has a great format. From what I've read, the series began taping at WJW in Cleveland, Ohio before moving to WAGA (Atlanta, Georgia) later on.

The show was basically replaced by Pay Cards! for the 1968-69 season.


 * 1967-68 (Credits)

The Match Game (1962)
NBC Daytime: December 31, 1962 - September 26, 1969 (approx. 1,760 episodes, done in New York)

The original series, which started off pretty pedestrian but turned into a comedy game later on. Too bad not much of this series exists...

First set and theme
 * Taped 12/5/62 (Pilot: Arthur/Peggy Cass/Ronni vs. Rick/Peter Lind Hayes/Mary; has commercials, amusingly {alternate copies, no commercials: #1, #2})
 * [Has a slightly different set (the celebs and score displays are in the middle instead of next to each other), a slightly different scoring system (10 points per match with 50 needed to win, Audience Match awards $25 per match), and a different version of "A Surfin' Safari" (Billy Vaughn's; the series used the Bert Kaempfert version).]

Standard theme, set, and scoring
 * January 21, 1964 (All-Star Week, Day 2: Joan Fontaine/Betty White/Peggy Cass vs. Bennett Cerf/Henry Morgan/Robert Q. Lewis {Part 2, Part 3}; taped from GSN, uploader's watermark in bottom-right corner throughout)
 * [Gene mentions "yesterday", and his comments suggest this is Tuesday.]


 * July 28, 1964 (Dave/Jean/Orson Bean vs. Jayne Mansfield/Joe/Marlene {Part 2, Part 3}; taped from GSN, uploader's watermark in bottom-right corner throughout)

Redone set and theme (began 9/67)
 * November 21, 1968 (Bill/Carol/Patrick O'Neal vs. Lauren Bacall/John/Peg {Telephone Match is at $700}, with Lauren calling question writer Dick DeBartolo her "secret passion"!; two-minute clip, B/W video)
 * [Uploaded by DeBartolo himself, in tribute to Lauren.]

Matchmaker
Syndicated, Daily: September 14, 1987 - September 9?, 1988

Dating show where girls and guys are paired off, sight-unseen, by host Dave Hull (who had already been doing this kind of a thing for a good 20 years on the radio).

The show was originally pitched for a Fall 1986 start, but eventually got pushed back a year. Based on a Variety blurb (6/12/87 Daily, Page 19), 130 episodes were produced.

For whatever reason, sometime in 1988 Jimmie Walker filled in for a week, with the set turning into a castle motif and the format slightly altered.

First intro spiel, Lou Hunt announces
 * October 15, 1987 (Girls - Anadel/Catherine/Kelli; Guys - Rick/Robert/Jason; taped from WPHL with Contestant and Ticket Plugs, low audio)
 * [Dave gets just a little too interested in what Anadel does as a hobby...]


 * Taped 1987 (Girls - Alexia/Debra/Tally; Guys - Tom/Mark/David {Parts 2, 3, and 4}; video is a bit cropped {most notable with the name graphics during the intro})

Second intro spiel, Bill Armstrong announces
 * 1988 (Girls - Cynthia/Donna M./Donna; Guys - Edwin/Lindell/Alvin {Part 2}, with Dave's daughter making an appearance; has a Ticket Plug!)
 * [The show seems to have become a bit more polished by this point, both in set and general presentation.]

The Million Dollar Word Game
America One, Daily: September 27 - November 19, 1999 [repeats through at least June 19, 2000] (40 episodes)

Flash-in-the-pan, laughable "attempt" at copying the success of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, hosted by Ian Jamieson.

The game consisted of 14 levels of anagrams, with $1,000 awarded for passing Level 5 and a trip added for winning Level 10. Clearing Level 14 awarded a major prize in some manner involving the numbered jars on the set; prizes here included cash awards of $250,000, $500,000, and the titular Million.

According to recollections, though, nobody cleared Level 14 and most players never even passed Level 10.


 * Fall 1999 (Players: Jennifer, Darlene, Calvin)
 * [A commercial slate is briefly shown at 5:39, with a date of 10/22/99 listed.]
 * [Ian mentions that for "our next series of tapings", they'll be adding a $5,000,000 cash prize. He also plugs a tournament between Canada and the United States, which didn't happen either.]

Mindreaders (1979)
NBC Daytime: August 13, 1979 - January 11, 1980 (taped at NBC Studios in Burbank)

Short-lived ESP game by Goodson-Todman which I'm guessing NBC bought on the strength of Password Plus. It's not bad, per se, but it could've used a bit more work.


 * August 15, 1979 (Patty Duke-Astin & Nipsey Russell {Part 2}; Jan/Barbara/Catherine vs. Brendan/David/Leonard, Game 3 {continued at $250-$50 in the ladies' favor}, with Gail/Marilyn/Gloria vs. Jim/Clayton/John later; taped from WNBC, begins during intro, video is kinda blurry, video issues during part of first bonus round {alternate copies: full show; first 9:34, as a reconstruction attempt})
 * [Reconstruction combines the primary copy with this intro clip seen in the 1992 Mark Goodson birthday tape and these higher-quality clips uploaded by one of the players.]


 * December 13, 1979 (Joyce Bulifant & Jack Jones; Julie/Ray/Elizabeth at Bonus, then Game 2 of them vs. Peter/Larry/Ralph; taped from WNBC, with commercials)
 * [Copyright date uses Roman numerals (the 8/15/79 show uses standard numbers).]


 * December 31, 1979 (BRETT SOMERS & Bill Daily; ?/?/"Captain Sticky" {$1,200} vs. Celeste/?/? {$12,550!}, Game 3; taped from WNBC, first two minutes only)
 * [Dick notes that Johnny Olson is back after a week's absence. As for "Captain Sticky"...I don't know, and I don't want to know.]

Missing Links
NBC Daytime: September 9, 1963 - March 27, 1964

ABC Daytime: March 30 - December 25, 1964

Fun little Goodson-Todman panel game that's probably most well-known for being the show that got replaced by Jeopardy!...and the first show ABC put up against it.

Interestingly, the "right answer" ding for at least the ABC run is almost identical to the well-known one used for most Goodson shows at Television City.

NBC (1963-64)
 * Taped 8/21/63 (Pilot: Milt Kamen, Phyllis Newman, Chester Morris; Players: Herbert J. Cutting, Joan LaKaye?; Buzzr broadcast, with original commercials)

ABC (1964)
 * July 9, 1964 (Sam Levenson, Kaye Ballard, Joel Grey; Players: Allen H. Seed Jr., Hazel McCavden, Billy Baxter; has commercials, timecode, and a Contestant Plug, video issues during third and fourth rounds of Game 1 {alternate copy of most of intro, no timecode})
 * [Home game is plugged and given to civilian contestants. Dick notes that tomorrow's guest will be Sally Ann Howes.]


 * December 25, 1964 (Finale: Sam Levenson, Phyllis Kirk, NIPSEY RUSSELL; Players: unknown; intro only)
 * [Set decorated a bit for Christmas (there's a wreath on the wall behind Dick).]

The Moneymaze
ABC Daytime: December 23, 1974 - June 27 [July 4], 1975 (taped at ABC Studios in New York City)

Great idea that was severely hampered by several things: for one, from what I've read, critics at the time had a field day with the whole "maze" thing. Secondly, it was up against TattleTales, which itself aired right after Match Game, resulting in Maze doing stuff later on like adding more prizes, having host Nick Clooney sing at the top of the show, and having celebrity-contestant teams (with Soupy Sales and Anita Gillette) for a week rather than married couples.

Third, and the biggest issue by far, was that it cost so damn much to set up, keep up, and take down the Maze. Per this article, it cost a fortune for studio rental and the stage crew got an absurd amount of overtime pay to strike the set and store it. If Maze had dedicated studio space where they could keep the set up and simply have to rearrange the Maze paths from week to week, it might have lasted a bit longer by virtue of simply not bleeding money.


 * Taped 9/21/74 (Pilot: George & Joyce vs. Bernard & Helen {alternate copies: full show, about 15 seconds shorter; intro only})
 * [Slightly different set (such as the logo, which had a blue background in the series), slightly different intro, and Chet Gould announces (Alan Kalter did the series). Date per this ticket, given it's a good three months before the series debuted and lists a slightly different address than the two available tickets from the series.]


 * December 1974 (Debut promo, with clips of an early episode)
 * 1974-75 (End credits, audio only)

Mother's Day
ABC Daytime: October 13, 1958 - January 2, 1959 (done at the Latin Quarter in New York City)

Short-lived Dick Van Dyke series where mothers played various games (apparently designed to test their homemaking skill), with the winner getting a mink coat and some merchandise prizes.


 * 1958-59 (Intro)

The Movie Game
Syndicated, Daily: September 8, 1969 - February, 1972

Two teams answer questions about films and film stars.

Originally, the teams consisted of two celebrities and one contestant. At some point, this switched to two three-celeb teams playing for home viewers, with the score displays moving to the center section. Sometime after that, the contestant area was overhauled.

Sonny Fox (1969-70?)
 * December 26, 1969 (#80/Friday Finals: Dan Rowan/Greer Garson/Woody vs. Gina/Dick Martin/Sharon Farrell {taped 11/14/69}; studio master with slate!)
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 28:35 is the Fall/Winter 1969 one.]

Larry Blyden (began 1/ or 2/70)
 * Taped 8/25/71 (Richard Crenna/Shelley Winters/Roscoe Lee Browne vs. Fernando Lamas/Della Reese/Kurt Kasznar; studio master, intro and gameplay clip only)
 * [By this point, the overhauled contestant area is present, though the intro shows clips of an all-celeb episode with the slightly-modified original set.]

Musical Chairs (1954)
KTLA Primetime, Weekly: January 15, 1954 - January 14, 1955

NBC Primetime: July 9 - September 17, 1955

Four celebs answer music-related questions, and at one point string a song together based on a viewer suggestion.

NBC (1955)
 * August 6, 1955 (Bobby Troup, Rose Marie, Mel Blanc, Johnny Mercer; has a few commercials, no intro or credits, video is a bit bright {but particularly bad when it comes to faces})
 * [At 21:00, Bill shows off the upcoming TV Guide issue with a Mel Blanc interview. The cover matches the one dated 8/13/55, with Roxanne and Bud Collyer.]

Musical Chairs (1975)
CBS Daytime: June 16 - October 31, 1975 (taped at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City)

Pretty obscure, but holds an important place in genre history as the first game show hosted by an African-American (Adam Wade). Also might have inspired the "Off the Air" segments of Remote Control.

For at least part of the run, each round used questions worth a set amount ($50 in Round 1, $75 in Round 2, $100 in Round 3), with Round 3 eliminating the low-scoring player after each question. In September or October, this was altered to have a $50, $75, and $100 question used in each round, with the eliminations now coming after each of the first two rounds. The "first three"/"first two"/"first" rules, which had previously been distributed to each question of each round, were now limited to each respective round - which, honestly, makes more sense.

Unfortunately, Chairs had gotten the 4:00 PM slot previously held by Tattletales (which moved to 11:00 AM), meaning it never really gained much traction despite the names it routinely pulled in. The show pulled a 21 share during its first week, which was considered "disappointing" (Variety 7/9/75 Weekly, Page 45), and by early September had dropped to a 14 share (Variety 9/25/75 Daily, Page 5). In the end, CBS canned the show in order to expand The Price is Right to an hour (Variety 10/1/75 Weekly, Page 56), with Give-N-Take being punted to 4:00.


 * 1975 (Promo with clips of what appears to be a single episode)


 * September 11, 1975 (Carole/Steve/Ronnie/Gerri {Day 2 - $2,500}; Special Guests: Irene Cara, Mary Stuart, The Spinners; has commercials {alternate copies: full show, lower quality; intro and montage of Irene Cara})
 * [Airdate per Ian Wallis. Wade refers to the endgame (arranging ten lyrics of a song for $2,000) as "our new Musical Chairs bonus round", suggesting it was introduced relatively recently.]

Main game payout structure and elimination points altered (began 9/ or 10/75)

By October 27, the endgame area was altered: the hexagonal shapes and treble clefs were removed, the board with the song choices changed from a continuation of the leftmost piece to a solid tan with white borders, the song choices themselves changed from smaller versions of the lyric pieces to large squares on drawn music stands, the piece the player put the lyrics onto changed from blue to tan, and the white frame around the money display was removed.

Also by October 27, the display border on the champ's podium (used during the main game) changed from red with stuck-on stars to a flashy gold with no stars.


 * October 27, 1975 (Arlene/Larry/May/Carol {$3,325}; Special Guests: Larry Kert, Sister Sledge, Shari Lewis; has commercials, begins during Larry's portion of intro {alternate copy, begins during May's portion of intro, tracking issues})
 * [Adam mentions "tomorrow" while signing off. Promo at end is for tomorrow night's specials You're A Good Sport, Charlie Brown and Perry Como's Lake Tahoe Holiday, both of which first aired on 10/28/75.]


 * October 28, 1975 (Diane/Joe/Lauren/Arlene; Special Guests: Donna Cellini, Ralph Carter, Ernestine Jackson, Bobby Rydell; has commercials, begins during Donna's portion of intro {alternate copy, begins during Ralph's portion of intro, tracking issues})
 * [Wade acknowledges that this is the final week, noting that "we only have four more shows of the current series".]

The Neighbors
ABC Daytime: December 29, 1975 - April 9, 1976 (approx. 75 episodes, taped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood)

Little more than a derivative of The Newlywed Game, seemingly limited to all-female neighbors in various California suburbs. Set's nice, and host Regis Philbin isn't bad, but there's really no play-along value and not too much fun either - in fact, from what I can tell, some friendships were broken due to this show.

By all indication, Reege isn't exactly proud of this (his A&E Biography failed to even have it as a footnote), and its failure coming so soon after that of Give-N-Take probably didn't help morale at the Carruthers Company. It's also part of why Geoff Edwards turned down a tryout for Family Feud, as with a name like that he thought it'd be something like this.

The show was canned after 15 weeks and replaced by Break the Bank, which did far better for itself but also got canned after 15 weeks. Still, Carruthers wasn't forgotten, and in November ABC decided to give him a second chance.


 * Taped 1975 (Pilot: Sharon vs. Gale, with neighbors Sara, Linda, & Susan {Part 3})
 * [Slightly different set (most notably the lack of score displays in Rounds 1-2) and format, different intro, different color scheme for the logo, and the theme is "Pick A Little, Talk A Little" (which is annoying) rather than the Stan Worth piece the series used. Question at 0:43 of Part 2 mentions the film Jaws (released 6/20/75).]
 * [VeryLarlar1, on Part 3 (comment has since been removed): "I was a contestant coordinator on this show along with Bobby Edwards, David Harte, Eddie Fields etc...downside to The Neighbors: a lot of friendships were damaged or broken."]


 * 1975-76 (Promo with clips of various episodes)
 * 1975-76 (Kathy vs. Iris, with neighbors Chris, Judy, & Shirley {Part 2}; has a Ticket/Contestant Plug, no video from 2:43-52/6:38-7:00 of Part 1 and 5:46-55 of Part 2, audio glitch from 6:52-7:00 of Part 1, ends during ABC Television Center credit)


 * March 18?, 1976 (Cookie vs. Kathy, with neighbors Ruth, Linda, & Nancy; taped from KABC with commercials, begins at Regis' intro)
 * [Prize plug at 27:10 is a TV showing a photo of an episode (Dianne vs. Banne?) with the pilot set. Either a second pilot was done, or the standard set didn't debut until sometime after the series began taping.]
 * [Closing voiceover plugs Skiing Free, airing tomorrow at 10:30 PM Eastern; this was a two-part ABC Sports presentation on the Colgate World Trophy Women's Freestyle Championships, held in 1975 and '76 in Stowe, Vermont. From what I can tell, one part aired 3/19/76.]

Number Please
ABC Daytime: January 30 - December 29, 1961

Goodson-Todman show based around hangman, where to win you have to solve your puzzle and your opponent's.

Best-of-three format (began by about late 5/61)
 * May 1961 (Katherine Secord vs. Helen DeWitt {Game 3}, continued from yesterday with Al Scott playing later; taped from GSN {alternate copies: full show, from an earlier GSN airing; intro only, from original broadcast})
 * [Bud mentions "yesterday and the day before" at one point and "tomorrow" when signing off, suggesting this is Wednesday or Thursday.]

The Object is...
ABC Daytime: December 30, 1963 - March 27, 1964 (65 episodes)

The first game show hosted by Dick Clark, a Password-esque game where teams try to communicate people by naming inanimate objects associated with them (such as an apple for William Tell or a stovepipe hat for Abraham Lincoln).

While the entire series (and the 11/26/63 Pilot) exists and is held by UCLA, to my knowledge only four episodes circulate (including the Finale, which isn't online to my knowledge).

Three celebrities, three contestants

All three players competed for the entire show, with whoever won the most money coming back on the next show as champion.


 * December 30, 1963 (#1-OBJ-64/Premiere: Dwayne Hickman, Yvonne Craig, Hans Conried; Georgette/Gerald/Mary Anne; has commercials, audio/video is a bit off, video issues at a few points {particularly during intro})
 * [Intro uses the pilot logo (see here for a press photo of Dick on the pilot set). Closing voiceover plugs Seven Keys.]

Intro altered to use standard logo, Winner's Game removed, front-game prize upped from $75 to $100 (began by 3/6/64)
 * March 6, 1964 (#50-OBJ-64: Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, Carl Ballantine; Karen/Don/Juanita {Champ}; has commercials, audio/video is a bit off)
 * [Closing voiceover plugs Seven Keys.]

Two celebrities, two contestants (began 3/16/64)

With the middle portion removed from the desk (giving Dick a proper hosting area), the game now went to an even more Password-esque format. The Winner's Game was reinstated, but this time players had to win a best-of-three match to play it, which in turn allowed for straddling.


 * March 26, 1964 (#64-OBJ-64: Stubby Kaye & Joan Caulfield; Nola {Match 5} vs. Leonard, continued from yesterday during Game 1 {5-0 in Leonard's favor} with Stephanie playing later; has commercials {uploaded by me})
 * [Stubby plugs the debut of Shenanigans. Closing voiceover plugs Seven Keys.]

Oh My Word
KGO Saturday Nights: March 20, 1965 - 1969?

Syndicated, Weekly: September, 1966 - September, 1967 (26 episodes)

Local San Francisco series (and, briefly, a nationally-syndicated one) hosted by Jim Lange where two celebs play for home viewers in a game that's pretty much a forerunner to Wordplay and Liar's Club.

David Baber's book Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars lists the show as continuing on KGO until January 1970. While I can't confirm that, Variety blurbs indicate it was still going as late as October 1968 (10/11/68 Daily, Page 2).

KGO (1965-69?)
 * 1965 (Merla Zellerbach, Paul Speegle, Kathryn Ish, Scott Beach; Carl Tjader vs. George Liberace; one round only)
 * [Has black lettering for celebrity names and words; I suspect this was earlier on, as they're a bit hard to read.]


 * November 13, 1965 (#34?-OMW-65 {taped 11/3/65}: Merla Zellerbach, Paul Speegle, Kathryn Ish, Scott Beach; Buddy Greco vs. Sal Mineo {uploaded by me}; studio master with slate! {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Has white lettering for celebrity names and words. Second digit of show number looks like an unintelligible squiggle, but given how I long thought "65" was "L5" I took another look and picked what seems to be the most likely match.]

On Your Account
NBC Daytime: June 8, 1953 - July 2, 1954

CBS Daytime: July 5, 1954 - March 30, 1956

Daytime quiz by Proctor & Gamble where players answered questions for money to give to a charity or deserving person (which could be themselves). By 1955, this was altered to a more standard quiz where players won money and prizes for themselves. Original host Win Elliot was replaced by Dennis James on October 4, 1954.

Account quickly ran into issues within its first week, with Walt Framer's attorneys sending a letter to NBC notifying the network that this new show was rather similar to Strike It Rich (Variety 6/15/53 Daily, Page 1). While P&G originally appears to have sponsored every episode, this was quickly pared down to Tuesday-Wednesday-Friday with NBC sustaining it on Mondays and Thursdays (Variety 10/21/53 Weekly, Page 37).

NBC (1953-54)
 * 1953-54 (Mr. & Mrs. Bruno Dubrowski {playing for their son}, Airman 3rd Class Vernon Brown {has fallen on hard times}, Norman Bella? {blind wrestler playing for Lighthouse for the Blind}; intro only)
 * [Having seen the full episode this is (almost certainly) from, I didn't see any hints to an airdate aside from Win saying "tomorrow" when signing off and the fact this episode is sponsored by P&G products.]

Password (1971)
ABC Daytime: April 5, 1971 - June 27, 1975 (1,099 episodes, taped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood)

The second era of the franchise, and easily the one most affected by the wiping practices of this period. At least internally, the show numbering continued from the CBS daytime run, as they had a "2,000th show" celebration at one point.

For info on the week-to-week celebs of this run, Aaron Handy has a really good guide here. The site also includes many press photos that were released during the show's run, in many cases the only known visual evidence of said episodes.

On a side note, a brief clip appears in the film It's Alive (released 10/18/74), just after the one-hour mark.

Original Era (1971-74)

Besides the audiovisual overhaul and announcer change (now John Harlan), the format was altered to be a bit faster (words were now thrown out if they weren't guessed at the 5-point level) and offer a bit more money: after the Lightning Round ended, a "Betting Word" would be shown to the contestant, who could then bet all or part of their Lightning Round money to get their partner to say the word in 15 seconds. The other big change was that there were now returning champs with a 10-game limit, meaning players could win as much as $5,000 (no money was awarded just for winning the front game) - pretty good money for daytime in the era between the quiz show scandals and The $10,000 Pyramid.

In 1973, the format was slightly altered to be a best-of-three style, with placards added to the desk to denote these. Probably at the same time, champs now played until defeated, and the Lightning Round doubled its payouts to $100/word.

Around June 1974, after winning "Outstanding Game Show" at the first Daytime Emmy Awards (held 5/28/74), a large Emmy statuette graphic was added onto the set. A brief intro clip from this era appears in The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blank.

Eggcrate score displays (began sometime between 5/28 and 12/6/71; previously, they were the CBS-era style)
 * December 7, 1971 (Jack Klugman & BRETT SOMERS; Mary {$700} vs. Diane, continued from yesterday {10-8 in Mary's favor} with Pat and Shamona playing later; taped from GSN {the only episode of this version they've ever aired!}, audio is a bit low)
 * [Has a full credit roll, which GSN crunches to show a stupid promo for their lame original StarFace. Did I mention this is the only episode GSN's ever aired of the ABC run?]


 * February 14, 1972 (Sheila MacRae & Martin Milner; Sandra vs. Jerry {$500}, continued from last Friday {10-0 in Sandra's favor}; first segment only {alternate copy})

All-Stars Era (began 11/18/74)

After a ton of all-celeb weeks and a few other gimmicks (two weeks with Monty Hall hosting, a $10,000 Tournament of Champions featuring winners from past years, and a week where the show's producers and writers played) during Summer-Fall 1974, this was essentially the end result: an all-celeb version with a brand-new set and theme tune, plus a revamped format (featuring a new qualifying round and a new 20:20 Password endgame).

This portion of the run consisted of two "Grandmaster Tournaments", each running seven weeks, with the winner of the Finals getting a trophy and $25,000 for charity.


 * February 21, 1975 (Grandmaster Tournament II, Finals: Richard Dawson/Bill Bixby/Hal Linden/Betty White, one of whom will become the second Password Grandmaster today; has commercials)
 * [Allen notes that due to audience response and requests, the show will go back to having regular contestants starting next Monday. That probably translates to sagging ratings, especially since he says "We hope you'll be with us-tell your friends we need you."]

"Big-Money Lightning Round" Era (began 2/24/75)

Aside from restoring civilians to the format, removing the tournament aspect, and replacing 20:20 Password with a Two for the Money-esque three-stage Lightning Round, it's pretty much the same as the All-Stars era.


 * March 14, 1975 (Betty White & Vicki Lawrence; Charlene at Lightning Round, then Charlene/Nancy/Sharon/Jim, with Mark Goodson making an appearance at the end!; muffled/bad audio, video is a bit bright)


 * June 27, 1975 (Finale: Kate Jackson & Sam Melville; Susan at Lightning Round, then Susan/Helen/Barbara/Terrie; has commercials, first part of intro missing, video issues for first five seconds {alternate copy of complete intro})
 * [Has staff members playing the final game (including Howard Felsher and Frank Wayne), and Mark Goodson and Betty White make an appearance afterward. Closing voiceover plugs the debuts of You Don't Say! and Rhyme & Reason.]

PDQ
Syndicated, Daily: September 6, 1965 - September 26, 1969 (taped at NBC Color City in Burbank)

Fun game where players guess words or short phrases with as few letters showing as possible.


 * Taped 1964 (Pilot: Stubby Kaye & Dick Patterson vs. Gisele Mackenzie & Jerry {alternate copy})
 * [Has a different logo and slightly different set, from what I've heard. Shot for ABC primetime, and was financed by the network, but ended up in syndication instead (albeit primarily on NBC stations).]

Penny to a Million
ABC Primetime: May 4 - October 19, 1955

Short-lived quiz hosted by Bill Goodwin where players answered questions to build a pot from one penny to (hopefully) 1,000,000 pennies, or $10,000. Announcing was handled by Johnny Olson and Jay Stewart, who appear to have alternated weeks; they also appeared on-camera to explain the rules.

The show was sponsored by Raleigh cigarettes and the W.A. Sheaffer Pen Co., with each sponsor getting half of each episode, though the latter left in October (Variety 10/5/55 Weekly, Page 27); while Raleigh quickly got CBS to pencil the show in on Sundays at 4:30 PM Eastern for a November start (Variety 10/19/55 Weekly, Page 23), these plans were later shelved (Variety 11/23/55 Daily, Page 16).


 * 1955 (Johnny/Phyllis/Charlie/Ciel?, then ?/?/?/?; partial intro and first question round only, from the 1987 videotape TV Turkeys: The World's Worst Television Shows {alternate copy of show footage, "shaky-cam" upload})
 * [Jay Stewart announces. Skip Young, host of the tape, claims that the questions were picked by a cigarette company, then shows the first round of questions - all of which involve Raleigh or smoking. Thing is, this wasn't the case each week (see the below episode), and they were clearly put at the beginning to be the easiest set of questions.]


 * October 12, 1955 (Eleanor/Wayne/Arlene/Renee?, then Stewart/Margaret/Molly/Carl)
 * [Jay Stewart announces. Bill notes in Game 2 that it's Fire Prevention Week; this 8/2/55 proclamation by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower states that "the week beginning October 9, 1955" is designated as such.]

Place the Face
NBC Primetime: July 2 - August 20, 1953/September 18 - December 25, 1954/June 28 - September 13, 1955

CBS Primetime: August 27, 1953 - August 26, 1954

Ralph Edwards' spinoff of This Is Your Life, which is kinda like that show except considerably less sobby.

Bill Cullen (began 1/28/54)
 * February 11, 1954 (Players: Joanne Gilbert {placing Asher Warshofsky}, Ken Pollock {placing Ann Baker}, Xavier Cugat {placing Bob Brinton}; has commercials and a Contestant Plug!)


 * June 18?, 1954 (Clip of Vampira's appearance {alternate copy of first portion, no watermark})
 * [Bill is reading the June 14, 1954 issue of LIFE magazine (compare to the 6/14/54 cover image here).]

Play Your Hunch
CBS Daytime: June 30, 1958 - January 2, 1959

ABC Daytime: January 5 - May 8, 1959

NBC Daytime: December 7, 1959 - September 27, 1963

Goodson-Todman show based somewhat on observation and somewhat on luck: here's three items/animals/people marked X, Y, and Z; which one is the correct answer? The CBS and ABC runs had a bonus game that was pretty much entirely luck-based.

Originally hosted by Merv Griffin, who left after the September 28, 1962 show. Robert Q. Lewis subbed for two weeks, followed by Gene Rayburn for five, with the former chosen to take the reins permanently on November 19.

CBS (1958-59)
 * July 30, 1958 (Bob & Peg Sheppard at Bonus, then vs. Mr. & Mrs. Molidor; intro, montage of clips involving Bob & Peg, and a Problem involving Jerry Leiber, Burt Bacharach, and Norman Gimbel, all from original broadcast {alternate copy of songwriter segment, taped from GSN})

NBC Primetime: April 15 - September 23, 1960/June 20 - September 26, 1962

Same as the daytime show, just with a little more money involved.

1960

This version initially aired at 7:30 PM Eastern, moving to 9:00 on June 24 after NBC changed its mind about putting Head of the Class on the air.


 * August 26, 1960 (Mr. & Mrs. John Mauney {$900} vs. Dorothy Stromquist & Catherine Bushee {sisters}, continued from last week at 2-2 with Mr. & Mrs. Robert Thomson playing later; First Problem: Which of these men is lifting a real 65-pound weight?; Special Guest: Jaye P. Morgan; taped from GSN)
 * [Merv notes that the Thomsons appeared two weeks ago, but were unable to make it back last week.]

1962
 * June 20, 1962 (Premiere: Mr. & Mrs. David Braun vs. Dr. and Mrs. Gary Nitz; First Problem: Which is actually doing the motions of their job?; Special Guest: Kaye Ballard; has commercials, B/W video {alternate copy})

Professor Yes 'n' No
WFIL, Weekly: Summer 1952 (26 episodes)

Bill Cullen, in a classroom setting, gives viewers a statement and asks whether it's true or false ("yes or no"), with prizes awarded through a home-viewer contest. While 15 statements need to be answered, only 13 are given: #8 is provided by the station as part of a commercial, while #15 is written by the submitting viewers with creativity determining the winner in the event of a tie. Each episode lasted 15 minutes, including commercials.

The show was later put into syndication by Screen Gems, lasting from January 4, 1953 until about May 1954, though these were almost certainly just the same 26 episodes WFIL produced.

Adam Nedeff has a page on the show is here.


 * Summer 1952 (#11: First statement is "By melting together two parts copper and one part zinc, I would wind up with brass.")
 * [Probably a syndication copy, as no commercials are present (which means Question #8 isn't present either).]

Queen for a Day (TV, 1956)
NBC Daytime: January 3, 1956 - September 2, 1960

ABC Daytime: September 5, 1960 - October 2, 1964

Four (sometimes five) ladies tell their stories of misfortune and current needs to host Jack Bailey, after which the audience votes (by applause) for who should become "Queen for a day"; said Queen gets their wishes filled and receives an assortment of gifts from the show's sponsors.

While the above may sound relatively tame, the show has generally been derided for being exploitative, with Mark Evanier calling it "tasteless, demeaning to women, demeaning to anyone who watched it, cheap, insulting and utterly degrading to the human spirit". While in fairness the show couldn't reasonably fulfill everyone's needs (due to various limitations of the era) and Jack is clearly genuinely sympathetic toward these ladies' issues, it's still (quoting Evanier again) "one of the most ghastly shows ever produced".

Queen originally ran on Mutual Radio from 1945-55, apparently with a TV simulcast through the Don Lee Network from 1948 onward (though I haven't really found concrete info on that one). The original host was Ken Murray, who was replaced by Jack only a few months in...though that's probably for the best given the show's later infamy.

NBC (1956-60)
 * March 28, 1958 (45-minute episode: Candidates are Lacy {material for two bunk beds}, Rosanne {hospital gurney for her son, who is bedridden due to an accident}, Ruth {classes so she can get some income; something to cheer up her fatherless daughter}, Marcia {stock for a small grocery store}, & Mildred {a set of encyclopedias and rugs for her fever-stricken son}, with a chat with Jean Cagney {James' sister}; has commercials {alternate copy})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 41:29 is the Spring/Summer 1958 one. At 28:45, Desire Under the Elms (released 3/12/58) is mentioned as being a new film the stars are "currently" in. Promo at 29:36 is for tonight's M-Squad, and the brief description (bank robbers holding somebody hostage) seems to be for the episode "Hideout" (aired 3/28/58).]


 * 1959 ("Newspaper Boy King For A Day" Special: Candidates are Mike, David, Bill, & Jeff; also has an interview with former newspaper boy and current California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, who's in the audience; intro, Mike's portion, and last two segments only)
 * [In observance of the 20th National Newspaper Boy Day, which Jack says is October 17. Mention is also made of the upcoming 1960 Summer Olympics.]

ABC (1960-64)
 * October 17, 1960 (Candidates are Viva {a wheelchair for her 13-year-old son with cerebral palsy}, Kay {diaper service for new triplets; has four other children}, Marguerite {a vacation because of many deaths in her family}, & Arlene {beds for the many friends her son brings home every weekend}; has commercials {alternate copy})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 24:10 is the Fall/Winter 1960 one.]
 * October 19, 1960 (Candidates are Jewel {a washing machine and new tires}, Carol {educational aids for her brain-damaged son}, Clarice {a special bed for her brother, who was shot}, & Beverly {a heating system for her home in Oregon}; has commercials, first segment and voting/awarding portion only)


 * September? 1964 (Circus Day: Candidates are Shirley {a phone call to her husband, serving overseas, and a second honeymoon when he returns}, Claudia {housekeeper/babysitter for two weeks due to upcoming surgery}, Carol {a TV for four fatherless children}, & Roma {a dehumidifier for her husband and son, who both have asthma}, with an appearance by Jean Cagney; has commercials {alternate copy})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 23:37 is the Fall/Winter 1964 one.]
 * [At one point, a piece of circus art by Jack is shown, during which the announcer states that they'll be sending it to the Goodson-Todman Art Exhibit in New York (the art exhibits all have to do with show business), done for Lighthouse For the Blind; this Independent Star-News blurb from 9/6/64 seems to reference the exhibit in the present tense.]

Quick as a Flash (TV)
ABC Primetime: March 12 - July 2, 1953/September 10, 1953 - February 25, 1954

An elaborate, long-running radio show (1944-51) was revived as an even more elaborate TV game. Originally hosted by Bobby Sherwood, who was replaced by Bud Collyer in May 1953.


 * Taped 1952 (Pilot: Boris Karloff & Margo vs. Wendy Barrie & John, with the Pyramid race at $100; no audio during intro {alternate copy})
 * [Shot for NBC, with Bill Cullen hosting.]

Rhyme and Reason
ABC Daytime: July 7, 1975 - July 9, 1976 (taped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood)

Players had to predict how a chosen celebrity would finish a displayed rhyme. Probably most infamous for the Finale, where the celebs trashed the set; unfortunately, the fact the only known available copy is an audio recording doesn't do it justice.


 * Taped 1975 (Pilot #2?: Nipsey Russell, Lee Meriwether, Richard Dawson, Jaye P. Morgan, Jack Cassidy, Adrienne Barbeau {Part 3}; Patrick vs. Yensin; glitchy video during bonus round {no gameplay lost, I think})
 * [Slightly different logo and set. Probably the biggest indicator this is a pilot is the credits, which are a near-illegible mess of signatures in a circle.]
 * [Intro begins with a clip of another pilot with different panelists (Mitzi McCall, Nipsey Russell, Jaye P. Morgan, Jack Cassidy, Adrienne Barbeau, Charlie Brill), no "1-2-WIN" labels on the score lights, no contestant nameplates (they're wearing nametags instead), and different players.]


 * July 1976 (Pat Harrington, Shari Lewis, Rick Hurst, Terry Carter, Mitzi McCall, Charlie Brill; intro only)
 * [From the final week.]

Rodeo Drive (1990)
Lifetime, Daily: February 5 - May 4 [August 31], 1990 (65 episodes, taped December 1989 - February 1990 at Television City)

The show that debuted alongside the Supermarket Sweep revival was yet another in the long line of Jay Wolpert games that weren't bad or badly executed, but just couldn't seem to find enough of an audience to stick around.


 * February 5, 1990 (Premiere {taped 12/89}: Midori/Paul/Kate, with the Bank at $1,000 {alternate copy, runs just over 90 seconds less})
 * February 6, 1990 (Midori/Brian/Helen {taped 12/89})


 * 1990 (Partial bonus round segment, with Hester going for the prizes and a $2,600 Bank)
 * [Uncertain placement. The fact the largest bag is $2,000 in this and the below episodes may suggest that the Bank was altered to start at that amount later on.]

Copyright date changes to 1990; "champ's total" graphic changes to large round numbers with no ".00"
 * 1990 (Saratoga {$2,000+}/Gavin/Cathy, with the Bank at $4,600!; 6/90 repeat with one commercial and a few bits of others, intro missing, no audio for first few seconds)
 * [Commercial at 6:15 is for this week's People, on Jim Henson (specifically, the 6/18/90 issue). Round 1 board still has purple "marbling".]

"Marbling" on Round 1 board changes to brown
 * 1990 (Anita {$800+}/Jeremy/Vicky, with the Bank at $2,200; 5/7/90 repeat, 15 seconds of Round 2 missing, video oddly switches to a different copy {with timecode!} from 0:32-0:49)

Sale of the Century (1973)
Syndicated, Weekly: September 10, 1973 - June 3 [September 13], 1974 (39 episodes)

Distributed by Screen Gems and appears to have been the same as the last few months of the NBC run, just with the shopping endgame simplified a bit: originally, the winning couple answered questions for $100 each and could stop at any point to buy one of three prizes (a trip, a fur, or a car).

Later on, this was altered to have Joe ask three questions, the difficulty depending on which prize the couple opted to play for: $50 per question for the lowest prize, $100 per question for the mid-level one, and $200 per question for the car.


 * 1973-74 (Clips of an episode, including part of the "three questions" endgame, from a 1982 pitchfilm for the revival)
 * [Oddly, the narration only mentions the NBC run, even though these clips aren't from it (and didn't even represent what the revival was gonna be like anyway).]

Say When!!
NBC Daytime: January 2, 1961 - March 25, 1965

Two players try to get as close to $2,000 in prizes as possible without going over. Interesting show, from what little is around.


 * Taped 12/20/60 (Test Episode: Mary Guest vs. Paul Mortensen and Ed Hobby vs. Marian Trick, with kind of an awkward moment in Game 3; first second or so missing {alternate copy, pretty low audio})
 * [Slightly different logo and set, but the big difference is that there's a tournament-style format: three games are played, with the first two having a $750 goal; the winners of those games then play a "Championship Match" with $2,000 as the target. Also, players choose a number to reveal the next prize that appears on the board; the series had Art reveal the prizes in numerical order.]
 * [The other big difference is that you have to "say when" before you end your turn (in other words, before you know the value of your most recent pick and hence your grand total). If, say, you end up with exactly the target amount but didn't "say when" before the last pick's value was revealed, you have to pick again; granted, there's some variables involved, but the way things go leave me suspecting they didn't anticipate this.]


 * June 30-September 15, 1961 (Friday: Fernita? Wallace {Champ, no Strikes} vs. Maria Roels {no Strikes}, continued from yesterday; has commercials and a Ticket/Contestant Plug! {alternate copy})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 13:20 of Part 1 is the Spring/Summer 1961 one. Still has the original set, and is still sustained by NBC.]

Show switches to color (began 1964)
 * 1964-65 (Mr. Peabody vs. Miss or Mrs. Roy; clip of the infamous Peter Pan blooper!)
 * [Uploader lists this as 1964. By this point, the set has become noticeably fancier.]

Seven Keys
Basically a televised twist on Chutes/Snakes & Ladders, with the end of the path awarding one of the titular keys. One key opens up a prize package, while the other six open smaller-but-still-nice prizes.

KTLA Primetime, Daily: September 12, 1960 - April 28, 1961/April 6, 1964 - January 15, 1965

You wouldn't think a local show would necessarily have a big budget, but this one seems to. Might be because KTLA was partly owned by Paramount.


 * September 22, 1960 (Sargent Robert Stewart going for Key #3, then Bill Dansen? going for Key #1; has a Contest Plug, low audio during parts of Game 1 {uploaded by me})


 * February 10, 1961 (Vern Barton going for Key #2, then Alan Maddis? going for Key #1 {Part 2}; has a Contest Plug!)
 * [Contest Plug notes to send entries for the next week of drawings beginning February 13, hence the airdate.]

ABC Daytime: April 3, 1961 - March 27, 1964

Went national and got a bit bigger, although aside from some cosmetic differences I don't think it really changed between local and national. Also the earliest known example (that I'm aware of) of an ABC show using the network's "[show number]-[show initials]-[year]" episode numbering system.


 * July 12, 1962 (#139-Keys-62: Gloria Roberts going for Key #3, John Hall going for Key #1 {taped 7/9/62}; studio master with slate and commercials! {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 2:43:13 is the Spring/Summer 1962 one. Home game is plugged.]


 * May 24, 1963 (Rev. Kenneth Olson going for Key #4, Ed Elder? going for Key #?; taped from WEWS with commercials, audio only {visuals are a reconstruction by the uploader})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 11:25 is presumably the Spring/Summer 1963 one, though the reconstruction uses the Fall/Winter 1961 cover.]

Shadow Stumpers
''WAAM/WBAL, Weekly: August, 1949 - 1953? (taped at WAAM in Baltimore)''

Local show hosted by Brent Gunts where two families try to guess the identities of various shadows. The team with more points gets $50, while the losing team receives $25.

The show began on WAAM, moving to WBAL by about mid-March 1950, where it remained through at least mid-July 1953.

Of note, it seems Fremantle may own the show now, as Fremantle of Canada got the exclusive license to Shadow Stumpers through a subsidiary agreement (Variety 2/13/63 Weekly, Page 31).


 * 1950s? (Berger vs. Spatz; Super Shadow starts at $100)
 * [Probably a pilot for a national run, given the intro and nondescript sponsors (the show was normally backed by Motor Sales, a local DeSoto-Plymouth dealer) plus the fact there's no commercial breaks at all. Given that and the aforementioned Fremantle article, I can see why a couple of the YouTube mirrors would date this to 1962.]

Shopper's Casino
Syndicated, Daily?: September 8, 1987 - 1988?

Two contestants play casino games for various prizes, the values of which are also awarded in the form of points. High score after six games (two each of Blackjack, Roulette, and Chuck-A-Luck) spins a "Big Wheel" for an extra prize.

That may not sound like much, but for years this was considered the worst game show ever made, for various reasons: the painfully obviously low production values, bad hosts, a "phone player" element where the "home viewer" was pretty clearly in the same studio, and the whole thing basically being an infomercial for Legacy International. To my knowledge, no media was put online until 2013, when Game Show Garbage did an induction with screencaps; shortly afterward, the one circulating episode was finally uploaded for all to see.

And yeah, it's bad. Really bad.

Shopper's Casino (aka "Shoppers Casino" and "Shoppers' Casino") is extremely obscure, to the point where my searches of Broadcasting and Variety turned up nothing. The latest airing I can find is this Courier-News Tuesday schedule for 9/29/87.


 * September 8, 1987 (Premiere: Maryann vs. Rich; has most commercials and a Ticket/Contestant Plug {yay?})

Showoffs
ABC Daytime: June 30 - December 26, 1975 (taped in Los Angeles)

Goodson-Todman's first attempt at a format based around charades.


 * Taped 5/24/75 (Pilot: Elaine Joyce, Ron Masak, Linda Kaye Henning, Dick Gautier; intro and clip seen on Game Show Moments Gone Bananas)
 * [Slightly different format and logo, but the big thing is that Larry Blyden's hosting; this was his last game show, and likely his last television-related appearance, prior to his death in an auto accident on June 6. I'm not sure who decided to put the series into production anyway, but...I dunno.]
 * June 1975 (Debut promo, with clips of the pilot)


 * November 28, 1975 (Dr. Joyce Brothers, Dick Gautier, Karen Morrow, Mike Farrell {Parts 2, 3, 4, and 5}; Dick at Bonus Round, then vs. Cathy; has a Contestant Plug! {alternate copies: full show; intro only})
 * [Bobby notes that yesterday was Thanksgiving. He also mentions "new rules" several times, suggesting the format change happened relatively recently.]

Snap Judgment
NBC Daytime: April 11, 1967 - March 28, 1969

Password variant hosted by Ed McMahon which is probably most well-known for having no video footage known to exist, an extreme rarity for the Goodson-Todman stable (the only other example I can think of is By Popular Demand, which doesn't seem to have anything around).

Originally, the theme music was Bob Cobert's "Window Shopping", recycled from The Price Is Right. On September 4, 1967, this was replaced by a Score Productions piece called "Snap Judgment".

By far the biggest change came on December 23, 1968, when the format was overhauled to basically revive Password, which CBS had canned 15 months earlier. The set, which looked like this, changed to this; why yes, that is the Password desk.

Original format and theme (1967)
 * July 31-August 4, 1967 (Phyllis Newman & Paul Anka; intro, audio only)
 * [Date per a YouTube comment.]
 * 1967 (Clip of a Big 5 round, audio only)

So You Think You Got Troubles?!
Syndicated, Daily: September 13, 1982 - September, 1983 (taped at Metromedia Square in Hollywood)

Comedic advice-giving show that tackles social issues you probably wouldn't expect to see discussed on TV at this point.

The game show element comes with the audience voting on which of two advisors gave the better advice; if the guest picks the right one, s/he gets the percentage times $10.


 * December 1982 (Dr. Joyce Brothers, Ruth Revzen, Dr. Robert Schuller; Guests: Jenny Lee, Terrell Williams; taped from WGR with commercials and a Contestant Plug, begins after first player walks out)
 * [Several commercials are related to Christmas (although primarily Ronco products), with the one at 8:55 for this week's sale at Zellers. Terrell is introduced by Rod as, and I swear I'm not making this up, "God"; that's actually what this guy changed his name to, and the reason he changed it is...even odder.]


 * Taped 1982 (Rod Roddy's warmup with appearances by Jay, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Spencer Grendall?, and Dr. Robert Schuller, followed by a couple of clips of Rod announcing; some bits missing, mostly when other people are talking)
 * [Rod notes that "this is the last show for this cycle". The episode being taped seems to be the same one as above, given what little is shown from the episode proper (particularly Rod introducing a guest named "Jenny Lee").]

Spin-Off
CBS Daytime: June 16 - September 5, 1975 (60 episodes, taped June - August at Television City)

Quiz with a Yahtzee-esque element that really deserved a longer run.


 * 1975 (Promo, with what may be clips of the pilot {alternate copy})
 * 1975 (Clips of Mike & Debbie vs. Eddie & Loretta, with added narration that indicates this is a sales reel)
 * {The score displays here are much longer, with bigger numbers, than the ones in the above promo.]


 * September 1, 1975 (Martin & Becky {$625} vs. Alden & Donna, continued from last Friday {champs have $175 and 2-2-3-6-2} with Alan & Patrice and Joe & Nancy playing later {taped 8/75}; audio only, which is a bit buzzy but otherwise fine {alternate copy})
 * [Visuals are a reconstruction by the respective uploaders, though I personally recommend the former. Jim notes this is the final week, plugging the debut of Give-N-Take. Closing voiceover plugs the debut of Phyllis "one week from tonight".]

Split Personality
NBC Daytime: September 28, 1959 - February 5, 1960

Two players try to identify celebrities from biographical clues split between two electronic game boards.


 * Taped 1959 (Pilot, intro only)

Stop the Music (TV)
ABC Primetime: May 5, 1949 - April 24, 1952/September 7, 1954 - May 31, 1955/September 15, 1955 - June 14, 1956

Long-running song-identification show hosted by Bert Parks.

60-minute format (1949-52)
 * 1951 (Intro)
 * [Bert apologizes to viewers in Minnesota for not being able to participate due to the eastern United States currently observing Daylight Saving Time.]

30-minute format (1954-56)
 * April 5, 1955 (Studio Players: Santos Ipolito, George Moran, Helen Gestakis; Home Partners: Edna Wilson, James Phelps, Leon Jacobson; has commercials {alternate copy, no commercials, audio seems to be lower in quality})
 * [At one point, Bert sings a song he did for Majar Records, which was released "this week". 45cat's discography page for Parks lists a release date of April 1955, and both songs on the record were reviewed by The Billboard in their 4/9/55 issue.]

Stumpers!
NBC Daytime: October 4 - December 31, 1976 (65 episodes)

Lin Bolen's first game show under her own production company, with Allen Ludden hosting.


 * October 4, 1976 (Premiere: Dick Gautier & Robert Reed; Gail vs. Mauri, with Tom Kennedy making an appearance to plug 50 Grand Slam!; has commercials {alternate copy... thing, no commercials and lower quality})


 * December 7, 1976 (Rita Moreno & Greg Morris; begins at tiebreaker of Mike vs. Kei, ends after subsequent bonus game)
 * December 8, 1976 (Rita Moreno & Greg Morris; begins near end of Mike vs. Marcia, ends after subsequent bonus game)


 * December 1976 (All-Star Week, Day ?: Peter Bonerz & Betty White vs. Joanna Barnes & Dick Gautier; intro, audio only)
 * [Per this page, from the week of December 20-24.]
 * December 31, 1976 (Finale: Anita Gillette & Bill Bixby; Bonnye vs. Jess {Part 3, Part 4}, with a great final segment)

Super Bingo
Syndicated, Weekly: September - December, 1967 (13 episodes)

Short-lived entry hosted by Bill Leyden and produced by J&H International Corp. that was tested in six cities during the 1967-68 season, which had celebrities competing for sections of the audience. Announcer Johnny Olson appeared on-camera, running a "Computer Center" between the audience sections.

This show is really obscure, so much so that it managed to elude both The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows and Randy West's great book on Johnny.


 * Late 1967 (Arlene Dahl vs. Jack Carter; intro only)

Take My Word For It!
Syndicated, Daily: September 13, 1982 - September, 1983 (taped in San Francisco)

Revival of Oh My Word which had civilians playing with a "most points after three rounds wins" format. This version also had a bonus round called "Turnabout", where the contestant tried to fool the panelists for prizes of increasing value (depending on how many celebs voted incorrectly).


 * Taped 1982 (June Lockhart, Gordon Jump, Roxie Roker, Richard Kline; Arlene vs. Colyer; has a few bits of commercials, wavy video at times)
 * [Richard is plugged as being from the film Not Just Another Affair (actually a TV-movie, first aired 10/2/82).]


 * Taped 10/25/82 (June Lockhart, Gordon Jump, Roxie Roker, Jon Bauman; John vs. Nancy; studio master, clip only)
 * 1982-83 (June Lockhart {I think}, Gordon Jump, Lisa Raggio, Richard Kline; intro only, low audio)

TattleTales (1977)
Syndicated, Weekly: September 12, 1977 - September, 1978

No idea what all was different about this run compared to the daytime show, though it's clear everyone dressed fancier. Precedent suggests more money was on offer, too.

This is probably the rarest Goodson-Todman show of the 1970s, as it's pretty obscure and has never been reshown.

Also of note is that this version's credits included a copyright date and "dummy company" (in this case, Panel Productions), which I'm not sure the original daytime series ever did, though by 1982 it was credited to The Tattletale Company instead.


 * November 28, 1977 (Last 13 seconds of an episode with Richard Dawson, Judy Donovan, and what I think is Dr. Joyce Brothers; taped from KIRO)

Tele-Quest
Syndicated: approx. April - September, 1988

Hosted by Ed Greene (a longtime anchorman at KCNC), three players use phone-style keypads to answer multiple-choice questions, while home viewers get ripped off by the huge charges for playing the game by phone. That's pretty much it.

Like Shopper's Casino, Tele-Quest (or "TeleQuest") is pretty obscure, with very few articles online. Per recollections, the studio players didn't actually get the money they were "winning".


 * 1988 (Roni/Sylvia/Al; has some bits of commercials {including a Santa Barbara promo}, begins during second question of Round 1, Round 3 missing)
 * [The clips shown before Rounds 2 and 4 are probably from the pilot, as the set and graphics are a bit different.]

Temptation (1967)
ABC Daytime: December 4, 1967 - March 1, 1968

Interesting show where three prizes are displayed, each with different values, but you can only win the prize you chose if you're the only one who chose it. The title comes from the fact the prizes get progressively bigger with each round; Rounds 3-4 allow you to change your pick, while Round 5 adds a rule where if you're the only one who wins a prize you get all three. High score after five rounds becomes champ and comes back the next day.

Temptation, along with How's Your Mother-In-Law?, was actually intended to debut around mid-October (Variety 10/4/67 Weekly, Page 28) but got postponed due to the NABET Strike (Variety 11/1/67 Weekly, Page 27) which, from what I can tell, had started around mid-September. The latter blurb also notes that The Honeymoon Race, The Family Game, Everybody's Talking!, and Dream Girl of '67 were all in repeats at this point, which would explain why one existing episode of Family is a "repeat master" from November '67.

While the series was up against Andy Griffith Show repeats on CBS and Personality on NBC, which might have contributed to its quick demise, per an interview with host Art James for Wesley Hyatt's book Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops (Page 181) tapings took an extremely-long time due to changing out the prize displays after each round; it didn't help that, per James, Heatter and Quigley didn't treat the contestants well prior to the show.


 * December 18, 1967 (Margo/Rosama/Sheryl {Champ?}; B/W video, intro, Round 1, and second part of Round 2 only)
 * [Art specifically says it's the beginning of their third week.]


 * 1967-68 (June/Lada/Robynne {Day 2 - $3,854}; low audio, B/W video)
 * [Art mentions "yesterday" and "tomorrow", and at one point notes that "in three days we've offered over $22,000 worth of prizes".]
 * [DoorNumberFour (Christian Carrion), on The Game Show Forum: "I think this is the pilot. Some subtle differences between this one and the other episode that's publicly available, including a different order for the lock-in/reveal SFX and the fact that Art is hosting as himself rather than utilizing the more subdued "character" he maintained for the series."]

Tic-Tac-Dough (1956)
NBC Daytime: July 30, 1956 - October 23, 1959

The original series, hosted by Jack Barry with Gene Rayburn filling in on Fridays for a few months in 1956-57.

On October 6, 1958, likely due to the brewing scandals, Barry was replaced by announcer Bill Wendell. Fellow NBC staff announcer Bill McCord took the announcer position.

Jack Barry (1956-58)
 * January 31, 1958 (Morton Wilson {$3,000} vs. Shirley Fisher, with William Colpeper, John Radie, and Carol Zaner playing later; has commercials)
 * [First Edition home game given to all players.]

NBC Primetime: September 12, 1957 - December 29, 1958

Has a more upscale set and slightly bigger payouts, but otherwise the same. Was also probably rigged more often, as neither of the circulating episodes actually begin or end a game and neither have any wrong answers given (the only question that doesn't get answered ends up being thrown out due to, supposedly, an audience member saying something).

Also likely due to the scandals, Jay Jackson was replaced near the end of the run by Win Elliot.

Jay Jackson (1957-58)
 * April 3, 1958 (Michael O'Rourke {$140,300!} vs. Martin Dowd, continued from last week during Game 6 with $14,700 in the Pot; B/W video, no intro or credits, bad commercial edits {alternate copy... thing})
 * [Jay notes this is Michael's 18th week on the show.]

Win Elliot (began 10/2/58)
 * December 22, 1958 (William "Bill" Craig {$4,900} vs. Richard "Dick" Clark {all-time daytime winner}, continued from last week during Game 7 with $16,700 in the Pot {Parts 2, 3, and 4}; has commercials, B/W video {alternate copy of first segment})

To Say the Least
NBC Daytime: October 3, 1977 - April 21, 1978 (taped at NBC Studios in Burbank)

Heatter-Quigley show hosted by Tom Kennedy where players had to get their teammates to get the correct answer while giving as little info as possible.

Champs could stay on until they won seven matches or lost twice, with a car awarded for winning four matches.

1977
 * Taped 1977 (Pilot, intro only)
 * [Has a yellow set (the series used blue) and a different intro.]


 * October 3, 1977 (Premiere: Rita Moreno, Lee Meriwether, Robert Fuller, Jamie Farr; Gerri vs. Bill {Jackpot starts at $2,000}; mid-show car plug and one fee plug missing)
 * [Car: Chevy Camaro compact.]

1978
 * January 16-17, 1978 (Jo Ann Pflug, Susan Seaforth, Paul Sylvan, Jamie Farr; begins with Shirley at All-Star Game; taped from KNBC, intro only)

Copyright info added to credits (began by 1/18/78)
 * January 18, 1978 (Susan Seaforth, Jo Ann Pflug, Jamie Farr, Paul Sylvan; Dan {$2,370 + 1 Loss} at All-Star Game, then vs. Shirley {$8,296 + 1 Loss} with Kathy playing later {Jackpot starts at $3,000}; has commercials, part of Match 2 missing due to an NBC News Special Report {alternate copy})
 * [Car: Chevy Chevette four-door hatchback. Lillian Vernon catalog shown at 26:40 of primary copy.]
 * January 20, 1978 (Susan Seaforth, Jo Ann Pflug, Paul Sylvan, Jamie Farr; Kathy {$5,128 + 1 Loss} vs. Bob {No Losses}, continued from yesterday at Game 2 with Gayl playing later and Tom leading the audience in doing the mid-show car plug preamble; has most commercials)
 * [Car: Chevy Chevette four-door hatchback. Lillian Vernon catalog shown at 27:15.]


 * February 23, 1978 (RUTA LEE, Sharon Gless, Paul Sylvan, Jamie Farr; Wayne {$21,000+!} at All-Star Game, then Maria {1 Loss} vs. Al {Jackpot starts at $5,000}; has commercials, first second or so missing {alternate copy... thing})
 * [Car: Chevy Chevette four-door hatchback. Lillian Vernon catalog shown at 27:45.]


 * March 2, 1978 (Sharon Gless, RUTA LEE, Paul Sylvan, Peter Isacksen; Gale {Champ - 1 Loss} vs. Ken {~$4,000 + No Losses}, continued from yesterday at Game 3 with Peggy playing later {Jackpot starts at $2,000}; has commercials, intro missing, seems to end during credits)
 * [Car: unstated. It's possible they removed it by this point, but it could be that the car wasn't plugged every day.]

Treasure Hunt (1956)
ABC Primetime: September 7, 1956 - May 31, 1957

NBC Daytime: August 12, 1957 - December 4, 1959

NBC Primetime: December 24, 1957 - June 17, 1958

The original version of what became a Chuck Barris property, hosted by Jan Murray.

The winner of a short quiz picked one of 30 treasure chests (the show utilized a pirate motif), then selected an envelope from a nearby wheel. The player could take the cash buyout (always at least $100), or go for the chest which could contain something good, a Klunk cheap "prize" like a head of lettuce, or the top prize.

On the ABC version, the top prize was a flat $25,000; NBC's primetime run started it at $10,000 and added $1,000 each week until won. The daytime series started at $1,000 and went up $100 each day it wasn't won.

Amusingly, one other element that carried over to the Barris versions was the security guard, who like Emile Autouri never smiled and got jabs about it by the host.

NBC Daytime (1957-59)
 * March 20, 1958 (Sara {Game 3 - $2,800} vs. Bessie { Check Jackpot is at $3,900}, with the director appearing on-camera; has one commercial, a Ticket/Contestant Plug, and a Home Viewer Contest Plug! {alternate copy})
 * [Jan notes that $3,900 is the largest the daytime Jackpot has ever been.]

Treasure Isle
ABC Daytime: December 18, 1967 - December 27, 1968 (taped near the Colonnades Beach Hotel in Palm Beach Shores, Florida)

Cheesy show where two couples do silly stunts for prizes.

While all three circulating episodes are in black-and-white, there is definitely some color footage out there: an intro clip was used in a 1983 montage to celebrate ABC's 25 years of daytime programming.


 * 1967-68 (Intro, B/W video)


 * March 6, 1968 (Maggie & Bob vs. Doris & Chris; has most commercials, B/W video that's a bit "wavy" and a bit bright)
 * [John mentions at 17:07 that the preceding riddle is "about the 50th riddle I haven't figured out, but you two did". Promo at 26:35 is for Monte Carlo: C'est La Rose (aired 3/6/68), airing "tonight".]
 * [An "ENCORE ENTERTAINMENT" graphic appears alongside the opening logo. No idea what it's referring to, but noted regardless.]

Intro replaces "new" with "exciting", logo moved to top of screen, theme tune altered to a more "full" style (began by 5/20/68)
 * May 20, 1968 (Marie & Bill vs. Vicki & John; has commercials, B/W video {alternate copy, has some footage added to the start and end by the uploader})

Truth or Consequences (TV, 1950s)
Did various things, mostly prank-like stuff but sometimes straightforward games or emotional reunions (whether with someone they hadn't seen for years, or a spouse serving military duty overseas). The show originated in radio during 1940, with creator Ralph Edwards hosting (he also did the one-off WNBT special in 1941 and the 1950-51 CBS-TV version).

One big thing, at least in the early years, was the "Q&A" part: if they asked a question, chances were pretty good that the answer was a play on the question's wording; oh, and the timer for answering was about two seconds, also intentionally. From what I've read, if you managed to answer the question correctly, you didn't actually get anything - you were just asked another question, and another, and so on until you failed; in other words, you were going to do whatever they had set up for you.

I'm not really a fan of this show, for various reasons.


 * 1950s-70s (Various clips, mostly Barker-era, from the Ralph Edwards website)
 * 1950s-70s (From the 1984 special Those Wonderful TV Game Shows, a segment with Ralph Edwards with a couple of clips)

NBC Primetime: May 18, 1954 - September 28, 1956

The second TV "era", as it were, hosted by Jack Bailey. And honestly...Jack might be my favorite host of this franchise.


 * Late March 1956 (First event is four guys doing a round of "Row Row Row Your Boat" in their respective native languages; has commercials {alternate copy})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 28:58 is the Spring/Summer 1956 one. Jack mentions that he wants to "play an April Fool's joke" at one point.]

NBC Daytime: December 31, 1956 - September 25, 1959/October 26, 1959 - September 24, 1965

The show that put Bob Barker on the map, put simply.


 * December 31, 1956 (Premiere: First event is a return appearance by Jack Dempsey, the show's first Mr. Hush, to help promote the new Mrs. Hush contest; has commercials {including a brief promo for The Price Is Right!} and inactive timecode, audio is a bit low {alternate copy})
 * [Ralph makes the entrance, explains the show a bit, and mentions Jack Bailey before introducing Bob. "Remember this name, you're going to be hearing a lot about him."; little did Ralph know just what people would be hearing about Barker...]


 * 1961 (First six minutes or so, starting with a baby race involving mothers and their baby children which will pay $300, $30, or $3; kinda-low audio)

NBC Primetime: December 13, 1957 - June 6, 1958

Hosted by Steve Dunne, but otherwise seems to be the same.


 * 1958? (Clip of John Guth on the show)
 * [This and the below two are consecutive. Uploader lists this as 1959, but references to "next week" indicate this is Dunne's primetime show (as opposed to him filling in for Bob).]
 * 1958? (Clip of John Guth returning to find out his consequence: he gets to go around the world on a new TWA route, albeit blindfolded)
 * [Thankfully, the uploader (his grandson) includes some home movies and photos as proof that John actually did get on a plane, though it's not really made clear if he actually went much of anywhere (given this show, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't).]
 * 1958? (Clip of John Guth being led home and tricked into thinking he's in Honolulu; did I mention there was a prize involved if he correctly guessed where he was?)
 * [Steve notes at 22:15 that TWA inaugurated this new route "on January 1st". At one point, copies of The Hollywood Journal are shown with the headline "GUTH CIRCLES GLOBE BLINDFOLDED", which I can't seem to track down.]

Truth or Consequences (1966/1977)
Syndicated, Daily: September 19, 1966 - September, 1975 [September 16, 1977]

Same show, just a bit fancier. Production stopped after Season 9, not due to ratings but because enough episodes had been taped to cover the next two seasons.


 * Taped 1966 (First event involves a unicyclist {Part 2, Part 3}; color seems a bit washed-out {alternate copies: #1a, #1b, and #1c, stronger color but video is vertically "squashed"; #2, B/W video})
 * [Spiegel catalog shown at 1:10 of the primary copy's Part 3 is the Spring/Summer 1967 one.]
 * Taped 1966 (Clip of Mr. & Mrs. Hinton talking with Bob, during which Mr. Hinton has to steal fruit from a nearby bowl without his wife noticing for $5 per fruit)


 * Taped 1968 (Clip of three couples in a waiting area, with the wives being given a release form that includes a clause about hitting their spouse with a pie)
 * [From Season 3.]
 * Taped 1968 (Clip of three church ladies being pranked by a football player arguing with someone dressed as an old lady)
 * [From Season 3.]
 * Taped 1969 (Clip of three ladies being given $50 and tested on their driving abilities with a game called "Barker Says")
 * [From Season 4.]


 * June 16, 1971 (Clip of a reunion between Giuseppe Primavera and Vittorio Belnome, two brothers who have not seen each other in 42 years {Part 2})
 * September 23, 1971 (Clips of three players being taught a monologue by three comedians {Richard Dawson, Sammy Shore, and Jack Carter}, which they then have to perform; "shaky-cam" upload)


 * Taped 1972 (Clip of Jim Ryan "racing" against several ladies, by way of swapping when a certain person passes a certain point)
 * [From Season 7. Of note, the person who swaps with Jim? Her face isn't really visible at all - and the one time the camera is close up on her and she's facing it, Bob is standing in front of her.]


 * 1977 (Generic KMGH promo for the show, with some clips; it's not clear whether this is the Barker or Hilton era)

Syndicated, Daily: September 19, 1977 - September, 1978

When production resumed, Barker had taken over the nighttime Price Is Right, so Bob Hilton was tapped to host. The set was also overhauled, with a much flashier look, and the logo was also redone (now called New Truth or Consequences).


 * Taped 1977 (Clips of Marie and Don; no audio)
 * [Dated 1978 by the uploader.]

Twenty-One (1956)
NBC Primetime: September 12, 1956 - October 16, 1958

Quiz with a decent format that became rigged after a disastrous first episode. Probably best known through the 1994 film Quiz Show, which I only really recommend seeing for the set recreation and some good performances; factually speaking...notsomuch.

There was at least one set change: the "GERITOL" logo on Jack's podium changed from black to white sometime between early July 1957 and early June 1958.

There's also this picture with a different setup that kinda looks like the standard set, but the isolation booths look much larger and more spread out from each other, with score displays on Jack's podium (which has the black "GERITOL" logo). Perhaps an early post-pilot iteration?

Thanks to the brewing scandals, Twenty-One slipped from 6th to 35th in the Nielsens in early September 1958, only dropping further when NBC pushed it to Thursday nights late that month.


 * Taped 3/56 (Pilot: Marian Swintor vs. Maurice Pilabbey, with Ben Bouser? and Kenneth McEwen? playing later; seems to begin during intro)
 * [Shot for CBS, with a more basic logo, a slightly different set (most notably the presence of "SPONSOR" at the top of the set), and "Sponsor Message" cards representing commercial breaks. Format-wise, there's no straddling and Jack never says what happens in the event of a tie.]
 * [One question in Game 2 involves events from the past few weeks.]


 * December 5, 1956 (Herbert Stempel {$69,500} vs. Charles Van Doren, continued from last week at $2,000/point; has commercials {alternate copy})
 * [Yes, it's that episode.]

Way Out Games
CBS Saturday Mornings: September 11, 1976 - September 4, 1977

Kids show hosted by Sonny Fox where teams from each state (and Puerto Rico) competed in a tournament-style format.


 * 1976-77 (Intro)

What in the World?
CBS Weekends (Saturday and Sunday afternoons): October 7, 1951 - April 2, 1955 (aired live from WCAU in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Three panelists are shown various objects, generally from the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and try to identify them as well as describe the items' origins and original uses. Hosting duties alternated between Dr. Froelich Rainey (then the director of the University of Pennsylvania) and Dr. Alfred Kidder; I've noted the host in the below listings.

While episodes ran almost 30 minutes each, from what I can tell the series was sustained by CBS from start to finish. There don't seem to be any commercial breaks, and if there are commercials they're all after the show.


 * 1952? (Dr. Carleton Coon, Dr. Schuyler Cammann, Dr. Matthew Sterling; first item is some volcanic glass found in northern Iraq; begins at first object intro {alternate copy})
 * [Hosted by Dr. Rainey.]
 * 1952? (Dr. Carleton Coon, Dr. Myron Smith, Dr. Schuyler Cammann; first item is a Spanish helmet found in the Philippines; ends during host's explanation of fifth item)
 * [Hosted by Dr. Rainey.]
 * 1952? (Dr. Carleton Coon, Dr. Ralph Linton, Dr. Alfred Kidder; first item is an iron bird {alternate copy})
 * [Hosted by Dr. Rainey. Promo at 28:25 is for Sunday's Toast of the Town, the show that became The Ed Sullivan Show.]
 * 1952? (Dr. Carleton Coon, Dr. Schuyler Cammann, Jacques Lipschitz; first item is a wooden half-man mask from Alaska; begins at first object intro, no credits, video length suggests a good ten minutes is missing from this copy)
 * [Hosted by Dr. Rainey.]


 * October 10, 1954 (Dr. Carleton Coon, Jacques Lipchitz, Dr. Schuyler Cammann; all objects today come from the Cincinnati Art Museum)
 * [Hosted by Dr. Kidder.]
 * December 4, 1954 (Dr. Carleton Coon, Jacques Lipchitz, VINCENT PRICE!; first item is a wood carving of a crocodile from New Guinea; first part of intro and first panelist's intro missing {alternate copies: #1, #2})
 * [Hosted by Dr. Rainey. Vincent is plugged as starring in the play Black-Eyed Susan, which at the time was running in Philadelphia, and he leaves a few minutes early to do a performance of said show. Promo at 27:39 is for tomorrow afternoon's American Week and You Are There (the latter about the Battle of Gibraltar); the one at 28:10 is for Monday's Studio One, with Jackie Gleason.]


 * March 12, 1955 (Dr. Alfred Kidder, Jacques Lipchitz, Dr. Robert Eddinghausen; all objects today also challenged a panel of the British version Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, with some clips shown of said episode)
 * [Hosted by Dr. Rainey, who was a panelist on the aforementioned British episode. Promo at 28:34 is for tonight's Professional Father (the housekeeper taking a vacation), followed by one for tomorrow's You Are There and tomorrow's Sunday Night Theater Westernization of War & Peace (starring Ronald Reagan).]

What's Going On?
ABC Primetime: November 28 - December 26, 1954 (5 episodes, done in New York City)

Extremely short-lived Goodson-Todman panel game that had a great concept, but ran into issues due to the technology of the era. Oh, and per Gil Fates host Lee Bowman once mistook signals of "stretch for two minutes" as "sign off".

A "live preview" show was done on November 25 in the Elysee Theatre to make sure things would run smoothly when the show properly debuted three days later (Variety 11/17/54 Weekly, Page 42).

Apparently, Revlon was talked into sponsoring this and pulled out after the fifth show (Variety 12/29/54 Weekly, Page 19), opting to replace it with Pantomime Quiz to finish out the season. An episode guide, including the available info for the seemingly-lost Finale, is here.


 * December 19, 1954 (Gene Raymond, Audrey Meadows, Hy Gardner {Part 2, Part 3}, with the audio failing for part of Game 1 - resulting in Lee answering half the questions himself!; taped from GSN {alternate copy})
 * [Revlon Remotes: Cliff Norton (counting sheep in a Chicago stockyard), Sue Oakland (in the basement of this theatre, wrapping Michael McGarvey as a Christmas parcel), Kitty Carlisle (singing with the New Haven Railroad Glee Club at Grand Central Station).]

What's My Name? (TV)
NBC Primetime: September 18, 1950 - June 29, 1953

Players tried to identify famous people through clues provided by Paul Winchell, his dummies, host Ted Brown, or others in a song or sketch. A $100 bond was awarded for a correct answer, with a wrong one adding it to a Mystery Name Jackpot which started at $100 in bonds and was offered by phone to viewers.

The show began on Mutual Radio in 1938, hosted by Arlene Francis, later moving to NBC and ABC before ending in 1949. This TV version is...a bit harder to determine.

Contemporary articles seem to differ on what the show's name was at any given point. Some call it The Speidel Show (later renamed The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show and The Paul Winchell Show), while others use What's My Name? and a couple more use multiple names at once.

Ziv Television made plans to relaunch the game in syndication, with Bill Goodwin hosting and Sheilah Graham as a regular panelist (Variety 7/28/54 Weekly, Page 99), but by all indication it didn't sell.


 * March?-June 1953 (Mr. Cal?, Lois Henri, Mr. Dubbey?, Stella Botte; Mystery Name Jackpot is at $100)
 * [Ted mentions the film Everything I Have Is Yours (released 10/31/52) at one point. He later mentions a "Plan Your Kitchen" contest by the sponsor, Crosley, which per this advert ran from April 1 through June 30, 1953.]

What's Your Bid?
ABC Primetime: February 14 - April 18, 1953

DuMont Primetime: May 2 - June 29, 1953

Basically a televised auction: audience members bid on displayed merchandise using their own money, with all proceeds donated to a specified charity, though there were also minigames thrown in. Each week also had an auction where three preselected viewers gave their bids by phone.

The ABC version had "Liberal Bill" (Leonard Rosen) as host and auctioneer, while the brief DuMont run had Robert Alda filling both roles.

ABC (February-April)
 * February 21-April 4, 1953 (Tonight's charity is the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital; Home Viewer Auction: Marie/Helen/Walter; Special Guest: Ralph Bellamy {Part 2}; has commercials)
 * [One prize is a camera, "just in time for the Easter parade" (Easter was April 5 that year). Next week's charity will be the American Red Cross.]

Who Do You Trust?
ABC Daytime: September 30, 1957 - December 27, 1963

The show that really put Johnny Carson (and, later, Ed McMahon) on the map.

Originally, the title was Do You Trust Your Wife?, continuing from the 1956-57 CBS version hosted by Edgar Bergen. The standard name debuted sometime between late May and late July 1958.

Carson and McMahon left for The Tonight Show in September 1962 (their contract with Trust was the reason why Tonight had that six-month stretch of guest hosts after Jack Paar left), with Woody Woodbury replacing Carson.

Johnny Carson (1957-62)

Originally, the show's announcer was Del Sharbutt, who was replaced by Bill Nimmo in November 1957 due to scheduling conflicts. Nimmo himself left in Summer 1958, but returned in 1962 with the host change.

Name changes to Who Do You Trust? (began by 7/30/58)
 * September 9, 1958 (Begins with John & Lorraine Burns {going for $2,500} vs. Carl Koffell? & Lucille Rivers, with the winners facing either Art & Pauline Wexler or Sylvia Compton? & Nicki Hishcrin?; has a Contestant Plug!)
 * [Todd Russell announces and assists. Johnny references the quiz show scandals, and a player gets locked in an isolation booth!]

Ed McMahon becomes announcer/assistant (began 11/58)
 * 1961? (Two clips from an episode, from the 1983 special Life's Most Embarrassing Moments)
 * [Ed McMahon is announcer/assistant, but that's the only thing that's really clear. The set pieces shown, plus the fact both clips come from the same episode, suggest that the second format (three couples play, high score tries to unscramble a word or phrase in 15 seconds for a bonus) is in use.]

Whodunnit? (1979)
NBC Primetime: April 12 - May 17, 1979 (6 episodes)

Short-lived American version of the long-running British game (itself probably most famous for being hosted for the majority of its run by Jon Pertwee).


 * Taped 1978 (Pilot/"Goodbye Dolly" and "The Last Act": Vincent Baggeta, Barbara Feldon, F. Lee Bailey; ends after first-half panelist intros)
 * [Runs an hour, with a mystery in each half and the players competing for a trip to London. Also notable for being produced by Stu Billett and directed by Joe Behar, both of whom were replaced for the series by Bill Carruthers.]


 * April 7, 1979 (Debut promo #1, with clips of the Premiere)
 * April 1979 (Debut promo #2, followed by one for the debut of Highcliffe Manor)

Who Said That?
NBC Primetime: December 9, 1948 - July 19, 1954

ABC Primetime: February 2 - July 26, 1955

Host reads a quotation from recent news, and the panelists have to determine who said it and the context.

A British version ran on the BBC from 1955-58, with what seems to be a revival airing from about 1974-76.

Walter Kiernan (1951-54)
 * March 30, 1953 (Frank Conniff, Deems Taylor, Dagmar, H.V. Kaltenborn; has commercials)


 * April-May 1953 (Bill Henry, GEORGE GOBEL, June Lockhart, Merriman Smith {Special Guest: Laurie Anders}; has commercials)
 * [Walter notes that the "first-person quotes" round debuted last week. Laurie is in The Marshal's Daughter (released 6/26/53), which will be released in "the latter part of June".]

Wingo
CBS Primetime: April 1 - May 6, 1958 (6 episodes)

Really short-lived quiz with $250,000 on offer.


 * April-May 1958 (Intro)

Winner Take All (TV)
CBS Daytime: February 12 - April 20, 1951

Not the first attempt at a televised version (a primetime series ran from 1948-50 with Bud Collyer as host), but still notable. Has its fun moments, though I'm not really a fan of Barry Gray.


 * April 12, 1951 (Grace Rockley {Champ} vs. Estelle Sherman, continued from yesterday {1-0 in Grace's favor} with Paul Daniels and Robbie Colley? playing later; taped from WCBS with commercials, including a Truth or Consequences promo! {alternate copy of intro})
 * [Preceded by a slate noting this as a transfer from 3/6/87. Game 2 is about recent news headlines.]


 * April 16, 1951 (Henni Paul {Game 2} vs. June Schneider, continued at 2-0 with Ralph Sigel, Private Jack Heyman, and Virginia Bond playing later; has commercials, first and last segments missing, no audio from 26:52 onward)
 * [Preceded by a slate noting this as a transfer from 11/20/84 for TV's Funniest Game Show Moments #2.]
 * April 17, 1951 (Private Jack Heyman vs. Virginia Bond, continued from yesterday with Phyllis Flanagan and Stanley Rahl? playing later plus Frank Wayne helping out for Game 2; taped from GSN)

NBC Daytime: February 25 - April 25, 1952 (standalone)/June 9 - September 5, 1952 (as part of "Matinee in New York")

Now has Bill Cullen hosting, but honestly it feels lower-budget than the '51 series. Still a good show, though

It's also quite possibly the only game show to be completely swallowed up into another, non-game show, series - Matinee was a Summer replacement variety show which had a game of Winner Take All as one of the segments.

Original set
 * February 27, 1952 (Marian Tillman {Game 2} vs. Elaine Heller, with Frank McGee and Betty Shoup playing later; taped from GSN in 2004 {alternate copy from a 12/1/96 airing, wavy video, ends after Game 1})
 * February 28, 1952 (Marian Tillman vs. Ralph Harry, with Mildred Kaplan and Gwen Elk playing later; taped from GSN, which accidentally leaves in a partial WNBT ident at 14:25!)


 * March 5, 1952 (Mildred Mattsen {Game 2} vs. Margaret Bever, continued from yesterday {2-1 in Margaret's favor} with Lois Ittleson and Pauline Ruby playing later; taped from GSN)

Set redone (began 3/ or 4/52)
 * March-April 1952 (Thursday: Ellen Sparks {Game 3} vs. Kay Hanniforth, continued from yesterday {1-0 in Ellen's favor} with Burton Tarr and Grida Vickerman playing later; taped from GSN)

Win with the Stars
Syndicated, Weekly: September 18, 1968 - September 10, 1969 (52 episodes, taped at NBC Studios in Burbank)

A revamped What's This Song?, basically, with Allen Ludden hosting.

While some print ads list the show as having 26 episodes, this "thank you" advert from the producers to the cast, crew, and guests mentions 52 episodes and lists 64 celebs.


 * 1968-69 (Judy Carne & Bill Bixby; ends shortly after Judy's entrance)

The Wizard of Odds
NBC Daytime: July 16, 1973 - June 28, 1974

Alex Trebek's first game show in the States, which began with audience members answering questions based around statistics but later got overhauled into something that left the title with almost no meaning.

Aside from that...um...I know the show participated, along with all of NBC's other games at the time, in a "Games For Great Lovers Week" in February 1974 (a short promo for the lineup can be seen here), so there's that.


 * Taped 4/26/73 (Pilot intro)
 * [John Harlan announces, and the theme is different. From what I can tell, Alan Thicke wasn't tapped for the show until about late May or early June '73 (Variety 6/7/73 Daily, Page 6).]


 * 1973-74 (Credits, audio only)
 * [Sam Riddle announces.]

You Bet Your Life (1980)
Syndicated, Daily: September 8, 1980 - September, 1981

Hosted by Buddy Hackett with Ron Husmann as announcer/sidekick, this is probably the most obscure version of the show. It doesn't help that the Secret Words were pretty tough.


 * 1980 (WUHF promo)


 * Taped 1980 (Gerry/Marilyn/Charlie {Secret Word: Baseball}; has a Contestant Plug, audio/video slightly out of sync)

Your First Impression
NBC Daytime: January 2, 1962 - June 26, 1964 (taped at NBC Color City in Burbank)

A panel of celebs try to guess the identity of mystery guests from clues supplied by host Bill Leyden.


 * August 15, 1962 (Monty Hall hosts!: Morey Amsterdam, Mary Tyler Moore, George Kirgo; Guests include Jerry Mathers and a mystery celebrity couple; intro only)
 * [Matches UCLA's listing for the 8/15/62 show.]


 * 1963? (Clip of Bill getting bit by Jayne Mansfield's dog!)
 * [Has Dennis James and Jane Withers as panelists, suggesting that the format and set underwent some changes.]

Yours for a Song
ABC Primetime: November 14, 1961 - September 18, 1962

ABC Daytime: December 4, 1962 - March 29, 1963

Players try to fill in missing words in song lyrics, with host Bert Parks helping them out if need be. Pretty much Don't Forget the Lyrics!, except nowhere near as crap.

Daytime (1962-63)
 * March 25, 1963 (Barbara Fichtl {Champ} vs. Tony Ianno, continued from yesterday with Helen Basilici playing later; has commercials)
 * [Home game is plugged and given to all players.]

Your Surprise Package
CBS Daytime: March 13, 1961 - February 23, 1962 (taped April? - January at Television City)

The show George Fenneman moved to after You Bet Your Life wrapped taping, where players tried to identify a mystery prize.

It seems the show didn't do so well ratings-wise (available tickets suggest it was sustained by the network through at least early December), as shortly into '62 the producers attempted to pitch a nighttime version. Didn't work.

Note that the home game has "Your" printed rather small on the box, leading to some sources referring to the show as just "Surprise Package".


 * Taped 1/17/62 (Nighttime Pilot: Golda/Howard/Frances; intro only)
 * [No idea what was different from the daytime show, although it probably had bigger prizes on offer.]

You've Got To Be Kidding
''KDOC, Mondays-to-Saturdays: November 16 or 23, 1987 - 1988? (taped in California, most likely KDOC itself)''

Local show hosted by Jack Narz where a panel of kids/young teens are shown a picture and have to tell a story about it, with two players (also kids/young teens) having to determine which story is true.

Unfortunately, it's clear this was produced on a shoestring budget, with the show giving off more of a "public access" feel. Still, KDOC's Ray Horl (he of Face the Music, Name That Tune, and Beat the I.R.S.) had plans to put this and two other children's game shows up for syndication at NATPE '88, due to the success of shows like Double Dare.

An article about the show from 1/22/88 is here.


 * December 1, 1987 (Lynda vs. January; Panel: Shannon, Stephanie, Louella, Omar {Part 2, Part 3}; has some commercials, ends during credits)
 * [First commercial is related to Christmas. Another, at 6:33 of Part 3, is for an event on December 5-6.]