It's time for another of my oddball queries

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'128057\' date=\'Aug 19 2006, 02:09 PM\']
Okay, but let's clarify this, just to be sure. I'm not talking about those situations where the player needs less-than-seven to win and they play it out to completion to see if the player can win the bonus, I'm talking about those (really REALLY rare) situations where the player needed 0 to win and the remaining category was the bonus. Is that what you're telling me you can confirm (even without Horanesque dates; your word is certainly good enough for me) happening?
[/quote]
Well, I can say with almost certainty that I have seen an episode of $25K where there was a five category blowout and the winning team still played the sixth category because it was a bonus.  I have never seen a four category blowout, though.   Unfortunately, I'm not as brilliant as Zach to tell you exactly when that episode happened, but of course, few people are as brilliant as he.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Brandon Brooks\' post=\'128079\' date=\'Aug 19 2006, 01:00 PM\']
Well, I can say with almost certainty that I have seen an episode of $25K where there was a five category blowout and the winning team still played the sixth category because it was a bonus.
[/quote]
Excellent. Good enough for me.

I have never seen a four category blowout, though.   Unfortunately, I'm not as brilliant as Zach to tell you exactly when that episode happened, but of course, few people are as brilliant as he.

Or as banned.

[Robert Hutchinson]

I live for little "rules moments" like the ones we're discussing, and Chris, I can say with 100% certainty that '80s Pyramid did indeed play out any bonuses even when the game was a foregone conclusion before the bonus started. It happened on several occasions that I can remember, including one where the clue giver managed to get cuckoo'd about 5 seconds in. "Well, that settles that!" or something similar was said.

Side note: those combined "$1,100 - WINNERS" and "1958 CHEVETTE - WINNERS" graphics were not around when (that version of) the show started in 1982. They had to flash each one separately for a few seconds. I would take a wild guess that Mr. Stewart found that to look a little goofy, and changed it later.

[sshuffield70]

1958 CHEVETTE - WINNERS

I know Bob Stewart was cheap, but I didn't think he was that cheap.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Gus' signature\' post=\'128001\' date=\'Aug 19 2006, 12:37 AM\']
The countdown to 160 continues. (Apologies to Doug.)[/quote]

For what?  

Doug-- and the countdown to 2200 begins

[Fedya]

[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' post=\'128092\' date=\'Aug 19 2006, 04:33 PM\']

1958 CHEVETTE - WINNERS

I know Bob Stewart was cheap, but I didn't think he was that cheap.
[/quote]
There's a blooper from the first season of the syndie $100K Pyramid (1985-6) in which Dick Clark mistakenly announced the Mystery 7 prize as a 1958 Chevrolet instead of a 1985 Chevrolet.

As for the two sets of graphics, I've certainly seen the "$1100 Winners" graphic, as well as the $5,000 Winners" graphic for the tiebreaker in a perfect game, but when the Mystery 7 was the last category played, I'm pretty sure that the entire run had two graphics; namely the prize won would blink for a few seconds, followed by the "Winners" graphic.

[Robert Hutchinson]

[quote name=\'Fedya\' post=\'128127\' date=\'Aug 19 2006, 10:40 PM\']There's a blooper from the first season of the syndie $100K Pyramid (1985-6) in which Dick Clark mistakenly announced the Mystery 7 prize as a 1958 Chevrolet instead of a 1985 Chevrolet.[/quote]
And I was referencing that deliberately, for the record.

but when the Mystery 7 was the last category played, I'm pretty sure that the entire run had two graphics; namely the prize won would blink for a few seconds, followed by the "Winners" graphic.

My memory is violently disagreeing. I, on the other hand, am relaying my memory's vehemence in a polite way.

[Steve Gavazzi]

I would have to guess (and that's all this is, mind you) that Ted is right here about the Mystery 7, simply because it didn't offer a consistent prize, whereas the 7-11 did.

[Ian Wallis]

Well, I can say with almost certainty that I have seen an episode of $25K where there was a five category blowout and the winning team still played the sixth category because it was a bonus. I have never seen a four category blowout, though.

For the record, there was at least one four-category blowout in the '80s CBS era.  I remember seeing it on USA in the mid-90s, but I couldn't tell you who the celebs were or anything.  The bonus had already been played in the first four categories so they didn't go on.

[trainman]

I agree with the folks who remember that "NAME OF MYSTERY 7 PRIZE" would flash for a few seconds, followed by "WINNERS," never the two together.

[pyrfan]

Ooh, a question for a "Pyramid" freak. Yay!

There were a few times in the L.A. run where there had been 5 categories played and even though the one team had already lost, the other team still played the final category because it was either the 7-11 or the Mystery 7.

However, there were at least two instances where the game was decided after only FOUR categories and one of the two remaining categories was the bonus card. The first one I can think of was in the summer of 1983. After four categories, Jill Whelan's team had 6 points and Philip McKeon's team had 14 points. The game was technically over, but since it was the first day of the week and both celebs were new, Dick asked if they could play the last two categories for practice, forgetting that the 7-11 was still hidden on the board. When reminded of this, Dick asked Jill's team to try to find it. They chose the wrong category, but rather than have them play out the category they chose, Dick just went straight to Philip's team, who proceeded to play the 7-11 and win the bonus.

One other time that it happened was in the fall of 1987, in the Leslie Easterbrook/Harry Waters Jr. episode that's on the trading circuit.


Brendan