| Host | |
| Jim Peck | |
| Announcer | |
| Kenny Williams | |
| Broadcast | |
 ABC Daytime: 7/12/1976 – 10/22/1976 | |
| Packagers | |
| Merrill Heatter-Bob Quigley Productions | |
Hot Seat was a short-lived game show where people had to figure out which negative responses were lies.
Gameplay[]
Two married couples played against each other one at a time. One of the spouses had to try and guess what the other would say when asked a round of three questions.
The spouse sitting in the "hot seat" would have their emotions measured by an electronic GSR (galvanic skin response) device. Each question would have two choices. The player at the podium would select one answer and the spouse would respond to each choice with a negative response (said negative response would be directed by host Jim Peck to be of a specific wording, such as, "No, I don't think he [or she] would feel that way"). The arch above the "hot seat" would feature a meter which indicated which answer was more of a lie; the answer that was the most true (the one which had the most lights lit up) was considered the correct answer.
The three questions were worth $100, $200, and $400. The couple with the most money at the end of the show could take either an additional $500 or answer one final question for a prize package. Whichever option was not chosen went to their opponents.
Pilot[]
The pilot was played the same as the series with the exception of the bonus round: the husband sat in front of a turntable, while the wife saw the lie-detector reactions in another isolation booth. The husband would be shown three prizes (in this case, a washer/dryer combo, an expensive sports car, and a cheap iron with ironing board), and had to say "No, I would not like that prize." for each one. After the husband's third reaction, the wife chose which prize the couple would win.
However, there was a twist: namely, the third prize was modeled by a young lady wearing a bikini. The wife, unaware of this and only seeing that the lie detector had shot to the very end of the scale for the third prize, chose it (again, based on her husband's reaction, which had clearly lied about not wanting the model). After the wife came out of the booth, she screamed in agony upon seeing what the show had done.
Quotes and catchphrases[]
Jim Peck, explaining how the game will work: "Over here in this booth, we've got a meter that measures a husband's or wife's response to some very personal questions; sometimes we find out things about these young people that they didn't even know about themselves. Show you how it works in a minute-- that's why we call it the Hot Seat."
Peck, demonstrating the specific wording mechanic of the husband's/wife's responses to the husband's/wife's predictions, on the first question: "Okay, Debbie, I've got a question for you with two possible answers, and to each one I would like you to say, 'No, I wouldn't feel that way'."
End of show, for voiceover promos for Family Feud, from first of two announcers: "Family Feud with host, comedian Richard Dawson-- it's family against family trying for big cash prizes on Family Feud, next here on ABC."
Second announcer: "Enjoy an exciting new game show-- Richard Dawson hosts Family Feud, one hour from now on ABC."
Kenny Williams, standard Heatter-Quigley signoff: "This has been a Merrill Heatter-Bob Quigley Production."
Gallery[]
Other Pics[]
.jpg "Hot Seat (August 13, 1976).jpg (593 KB)")
Music[]
Stan Worth
Open – "Bumpity-Bump #2"
Close – "Bumpity-Bump #3"
Inventor[]
Merrill Heatter & Bob Quigley
Rating[]
Studio[]
ABC Television Center, Los Angeles, California
Trivia[]
Both Hot Seat and Family Feud (Dawson) aired on ABC on July 12, 1976.
Hot Seat is the last Heatter-Quigley production to air on a network other than NBC until 1985.
The sound effect used to turn off the booth in the series is later used as the bonus word reveal sound on Wordplay.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (or Millionaire for short) had a term for the contestant's chair also called the "Hot Seat" where they have to answer questions in order to win the cash.
The term "Hot Seat" was also used on the GSN show Baggage hosted by Jerry Springer.
An active and currently rotating pricing game on The Price is Right (Carey) called "Hot Seat" premiered in 2016.
Links[]
YouTube Videos[]
Full Episode (rumored to be the premiere)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4