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Host
Joe Garagiola
Model
Theresa Ring
Announcer
Charlie O'Donnell (earliest taped episodes)
Bob Hilton
Broadcast
Sir86
Pilot: 1985
Syndication (Daily): 9/15/1986 – 5/22/1987 (reruns aired until 9/1987)
Packagers
Kline & Friends
Bruce M. Sterten Productions
Ladd Framer Productions
Distributor
Blair Entertainment

EARLY EPISODES: "(description of prizes). Today, thousands of dollars in cash and prizes are waiting for our couples, as they play the fastest high stakes game on television, the all-new STRIKE IT RICH! And now, here's the host of STRIKE IT RICH, JOE GARAGIOLA!"

PREMIERE EPISODE: "Soak away the cares of your day as you relax in your own portable spa or live the life of luxury, spend the weekend breezing down the boulevards in an elegant Rolls-Royce and sunny days and starry nights await you as you jet across the Atlantic to the tropical paradise of St. Thomas: The Virgin Islands. Welcome to the fastest high stakes game on television, the all-new STRIKE IT...RICH! And here's your host, JOE GARAGIOLA!"

REST OF SERIES: "(description of prizes). Welcome to the fastest high stakes game on television, the all-new STRIKE IT RICH! And here's your host, JOE GARAGIOLA!"

This short-lived version of the show is far different from the original 1951 version of the show. Two married couples tried moving across a bi-level archway by answering trivia questions for the chance to win cash & prizes all the while trying to avoid "the Bandit" in the bonus game.

Gameplay[]

Two couples, one usually the returning champions, competed to win cash & prizes by moving across a bi-level archway by answering trivia questions. Both levels had nine television monitors spanning from one end of the stage to the other, and seven of these monitors had buttons below them. Those monitors were always in play, as was the monitor at the end of each archway. The first monitor in each archway served as the starting position for the couples.

Main Game[]

Play started with the couple on the bottom level (usually the returning champions). The couple in control was given a category, along with five possible answers; all of which were displayed on a game board on the right side of the stage. The team had to then decide to either answer one, two or three questions correctly. Host Garagiola then started asking those questions, and successfully completing the contract won a chance to move across their arch. One miss or taking too much time gave the opposing team a chance to complete the contract. A miss from the opposing couple ended the category and a new one with five new answers appeared.

When moving across the arch, the team could move up as many monitors as there were answers. On each monitor, one member of the team pressed the button to reveal what was behind the screen. Behind each screen was a prize, but only one hid "the bandit," the show's villain. The Bandit was shuffled around the arch before the couple started to move. The shuffle included all of the open monitors, including ones that might not have been in play on the couple's turn (especially early in the game, when the couples did not have a chance to make significant progress). When the couple revealed a prize, they won that prize; they had to then decide to either bank the prize(s) and pass control to their opponents or reveal the next monitor. Going on was taking a risk, because if at any time the team revealed the bandit, they lost all the prizes revealed up to that point. If the couple completed the number of moves earned, they could either bank the prize(s) and pass control to their opponents or play another category with the risk of losing the unbanked prizes should they run into the bandit.

As soon as a couple reached the end, they could elect to go for one more question (called "The Final Strike it Rich Question" and it was placed in a holder on the monitor) or bank the prize(s) won to that point. This question was also asked if time was called when none of the couples passed the seventh monitor. When going for "The Strike it Rich Question", Joe would announce the category and read the question; if the couple in control could answer the question correctly, they won the game and the prizes revealed; otherwise they lost the prizes and the game continued.

Both couples got to keep any prizes that they banked, and the first couple to reach the end of their arch and correctly answer "The Strike it Rich Question" won the game.

Bonus Game[]

At the start of the bonus game, seven bandits and seven show logos (aka dollar signs) were shuffled up and hidden away. Next, the winning couple decided upon which grand prize to go for. While the winning couple played for $5,000 no matter what, they also had the option to play for that money plus a brand new car (alternating between a Jeep Wrangler and Cadillac Cimarron, at least one episode had a replica of an Auburn convertible from the 1930s). In either case, the bonus game then began. One member of the winning team manned the top archway, while the other team member manned the bottom. On each pair of monitors, the couple chose which screen to reveal (either top or bottom). One of the monitors in that and all other pairs hid a dollar sign, while the other(s) hid the bandit (which acted as a strike). If the winning couple chose to play for just the the $5,000, they had to reveal five dollar signs and no more than two bandits, opting to go for the car and money meant having to reveal six dollar signs and only one bandit. In either case, failure to win the bonus round still gave the winning couple $100 for each dollar sign.

Occasionally, if there was extra time at the end of the show, the winning couple would get to play a special bonus round similar to the one described above, where for every dollar sign they uncovered, $50 would be donated to the couple's favorite charity.

Earliest Taped Episodes[]

The format was significantly different than the one used for the bulk of the series. While in the front the questions were asked the same, instead of a couple earning moves, they instead earned prizes for each correct answer. In addition, instead of the Bandit being in one of the screens in place of a prize, the Bandit instead moved from screen to screen, with the couple hitting the button to stop him moving. If the Bandit landed on a screen with a prize, the couple lost everything to that point. As usual, the couple could bank their prizes and the first couple to make it to the end of their arch and correctly answer "The Strike it Rich Question" won the game.

The bonus game was also different. Instead of choosing to play for either $5,000 or $5,000 & a car, the couple had these choices: 3 $'s: $1,000, 4 $'s: $2,000, 5 $'s: Car, 6 $'s: Two Cars.

Gallery[]

Trade Ads[]

Press Release[]

International Versions[]

A short-lived Australian version hosted by Ronnie Burns aired on the Nine Network in 1994 and like its 1986-94 British counterpart, it was also under the name Strike It Lucky. Unlike its other counterparts, the show had a hostess, Jane Blatchford and was announced by Craig Huggins (who had earlier announced the Australian version of Keynotes). Also for the bonus round, instead of winning a cash prize, winning the bonus round gives the winning couples a prize package. The format was generally similar to its UK counterpart, with the only noticeable difference being that time could run out before a couple got to the end of the arch. If that happened, the couple furthest along won the game. If two teams tied for the lead (or if all three tied), the final "Strike it Lucky Question" was treated like a toss-up question, with the team members at the screens buzzing-in to answer.

An equally short-lived French version aired on Antenne 2 from 1988 until 1989 and was hosted by Georges Beller under the name L'arche d'or (The Golden Arch/Ark).

Despite the show being a flop here in the US, a long-running and much more successful version hosted by Michael Barrymore has aired on ITV in the United Kingdom originally under the name Strike It Lucky from 1986 until 1994 then the show was revived and renamed again as Michael Barrymore's Strike It Rich from 1996 until 1999. Unlike its US counterpart, the show had three couples competing for cash and prizes (also unlike the US, cash could be won in the main game in addition to the bonus round), with one half of the team answering questions at podiums while the other half ran through the arches. As opposed to answering one, two, or three questions, the person at the podium could answer two, three, or four questions, with each category containing a list of six answers as opposed to five. Upon finishing the contract, the team in control would go through the arches, trying to avoid hitting a "Hot Spot" instead of a bandit like the US show, still with the option to bank or risk prizes. If the team in control completed their moves without hitting a Hot Spot, the prizes were automatically banked and the next team in line got to answer the next set of questions. As before, the first couple to get to the end of the arch answer the final "Strike it Lucky Question" (which always contained the words "struck it lucky" in the question itself) correctly won the game, putting any unbanked at risk like the original. The winning team then had the option to try to reveal six, seven, or eight screens (out of ten) with arrows to win a cash prize before revealing three, four, or five Hot Spots. Also included among the screens were true-or-false questions, which, if answered correctly, turned into arrows, but if answered incorrectly, turned into Hot Spots.

South Africa also had a long running version, entitled Telly Fun Quiz, hosted by Martin Bailie and co-hosted by Eddie Eckstein and Anne Tyrell (and later on, Tumi Makgabo), airing on TV1 throughout the early 1990s. While the general format remained the same as other versions, this was also quite different from others. Four teams of two competed each episode, with the first two rounds seeing two couples competing against each other playing the game like normal (using lists of six answers like other foreign versions), but players only had the option to answer two or three questions per category before going through the arches to win prizes to avoid "Booby Traps" (their equivalent to bandits and Hot Spots). Unlike other versions, there was also a "Joker" prize among them-- if it was revealed, the couple in control automatically won the prize attached, regardless of outcome. As before, the first team to get to the end (with only six screens this time) and answer the final question correctly won and then moved on to the third round, with the process repeating for the second round. For the third and final round, the two teams that each won their rounds would play a 90-second speed round where Martin would read off rapid-fire questions. The first team to ring-in with a right answer would then choose a screen, containing a cash prize from R100 to R500 (in R50 increments), a Booby Trap (which added nothing), or a R1,500 bonus prize, which, if picked, would stop the clock, and the couple would win that prize, even though it didn't count towards their score. When all of the screens were picked, or after the 90 seconds expired, the team with the most money won the game and tried to answer one last question correctly to win a jackpot that started at R10,000 and went up by that amount each time it wasn't won.

ADDITIONAL NOTE[]

Most international versions use a three-couple format, which is what the US version used for its pilot before dropping to just two when it went to series.

Stations[]

Stations that carried the US show include:

  • New York - WCBS-TV
  • Los Angeles - KCAL-TV
  • Chicago - WGBO-DT
  • Philadelphia - WCAU
  • San Francisco - KRON-TV
  • Dallas-Ft. Worth - KTVT
  • Boston - WBPX-TV
  • Atlanta - WUPA
  • Houston - KHTV-CD
  • Phoenix - KSTZ-TV
  • Seattle / Tacoma - KCPQ
  • Minneapolis / St. Paul - KMSP-TV
  • Miami / Ft. Lauderdale - WSVN
  • Sacramento - KQCA
  • St. Louis - KMOV-DT2
  • Pittsburgh - WPXI
  • Indianapolis - WRTV
  • Charlotte - WCNC-TV
  • Baltimore - WBAL-TV
  • Nashville - WTVF
  • Hartford-New Haven - WVIT
  • Kansas City - KMBC-TV
  • Cincinnati - WCPO-TV
  • Milwaukee - WTMJ-TV
  • Grand Rapids / Kalamazoo / Battle Creek - WOTV
  • Harrisburg - WHTM-TV
  • Louisville - WLKY
  • Greenville, SC - WLOS-DT2
  • Oklahoma City - KOKH-TV
  • Greensboro / Winston-Salem - WGHP
  • New Orleans - WWL-TV
  • Fresno - KFSN-TV
  • Albany - WTEN
  • Mobile / Pensacola - WALA-TV
  • Ft. Myers - WEVU-LP
  • Honolulu - KUPU
  • Des Moines - KCCI
  • Green Bay / Appleton - WLUK-TV
  • Tucson - KHRR
  • Portland, ME - WCSH
  • Cedar Rapids - KFXB-TV
  • Greenville, NC - WITN-DT2
  • Ft. Wayne - WFFT-TV
  • Bakersfield - KERO-TV
  • Rockford - WREX
  • Rochester, MN - KTTC-DT2
  • Columbus, OH - WCMH-TV
  • Casper, WY - KGWC-TV
  • Las Vegas - KSNV
  • Paducah, KY - WSIL-TV
  • Memphis - WMC-TV

Trivia[]

  • The original name of the show was Arch Rivals; however, producer/director & former Barry & Enright director Richard S. Kline believed that it needed a better name for it to sell, hence the change to Strike it Rich (or The All-New Strike it Rich as mentioned in the opening). Additionally, it was also the name of a basketball-themed arcade game by now-defunct company Midway from 1989.
  • This was the last game show hosted by famed baseball announcer & occasional Today Show host Joe Garagiola. He hadn't hosted a game show since To Tell the Truth ended in 1978. This would also be his only game show he hosted in Los Angeles (all his other shows were taped in New York).
  • This was also the last show in which its music was composed by Barry & Enright music composer Hal Hidey.
  • According to the ads from Broadcasting Magazine and while the show was in development, the format was to have had three couples play the game. But it was changed to two before it went on the air.
  • When the Bandit was revealed, he usually laughed. The Bandit's laugh was the voice of baseball player Boog Powell.
  • Some of the sound effects from Tic Tac Dough were recycled into this show (shuffle and reveal sounds).
  • The diamond used in the intro was later used for the bonus round in Season 1 on Masters of the Maze.
  • The same balloons of green, white, and gold that fell on Break the Bank when the bank was broken also fell on Strike it Rich when a couple won the bonus round (albeit with red ones added). Along with the balloons, a siren similar to that of a burglar alarm would go off. International versions, however, do not drop anything on a bonus round win, nor do they blare a siren, regardless of prize.
  • Model Theresa Ring later appeared on an episode of the original Quantum Leap (1989 version) titled "Miss Deep South" as a beauty pageant contestant named Darlene Monte who was the body that Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) leap into. Originally airing November 2, 1990.
  • In early 2019, reruns began airing on Amazon Video[1]via Buzzr, as Fremantle (who already had UK rights due to producing that version) acquired US rights from the previous rights holder, the now-defunct 20th Television. The series was removed from Amazon in July 2019.
  • An earlier episode aired on Buzzr on January 17, 2023 as part of their 7th Annual "Lost & Found" week.

Additional Pages[]

Bandit
Dollar Sign (Strike it Rich 1986)

Taglines[]

"They struck it rich. I hope you strike it rich. This is Joe Garagiola saying 'See ya next time.'" - Joe Garagiola (1986-1987)
"Strike it Rich is a Kline & Friends Production in association with Blair Entertainment." - Announcer (1986-1987)

References[]

Flashgame[]

Strike it Rich Flash Game

Link[]

Rules for Strike it Rich

YouTube Videos[]

Clip of the 1st Segment
End of the game, bonus round & credits

Paul & Linda[]

Regular & Charity Bonus Game
Paul & Linda vs. Linda & Rod

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