It might not have been the exact time gameshowlover87 cited, but it certainly wasn't 26 weeks in. This clip is from week eight and has the Alphabetics board tucked in neatly on the left side.
That comports with my records of show numbers and air dates, so he's right about it being show #36 which aired on 2/26/79. That show would have been taped at least a week in advance (2/17 - 2/18 or earlier) so construction of the new board would have begun maybe two weeks prior to that, which puts us in early February, or about four weeks into the run. In hindsight that seems awfully early, and there was indeed discussion about not building a new board until we knew we would be on for more than one 26-week cycle. Of course it's been over 30 years since we taped those shows at the ABC Prospect studios. I forget the production company, was it Hill-Eubanks or William T. Naud? You know, my early Alzheimer's just isn't getting any better. I'll have to drown my misery with another swig of Geritol, if I can remember where I put the bottle.
Does anyone remember the taping date that our emcee, Bobby Van, had the stage carpenters modify the podium so it wouldn't poke him in the abdomen? They came out and sawed the corners off; that much I remember. It was between shows -- anybody remember which episodes? I remember Bobby bringing his wife Elaine Joyce to the studio with him even if Elaine wasn't booked as a guest. She sometimes used to bring her mother Bess with her.
I found the Geritol, time for another belt.
BTW, we had chicken the day we taped show #36. The Geritol jogged my memory. Must be all that iron. Say, does the ethanol in Geritol have any health benefits?
