Early 1985...going back in time

[wdm1219inpenna]

If Price is Right has pricing games, did Time Machine have timing games?

This show seemed to have a really good possibility at doing well, but it tanked after just 15 or 16 weeks on NBC.  The first format was pretty good, except only the winner got to keep the prize in their prize bank.  This had the chance to be a lot like "Price is Right", potentially adding new "timing games".  It was somewhat educational too, but mostly pop culture.  

That they changed formats about 5 or 6 weeks into the run probably didn't help matters much either.  Price is Right kept pretty much the same format always, with a slight exception for Two Player Bullseye as a pricing game, and of course expanding from 30 to 60 minutes.

What did you think of this program?  Are you even old enough to remember it?  What changes would you make to it if you were given the green light to bring it back into production again?

[clemon79]

What did you think of this program?

It was an utterly shameless rip-off of The Price Is Right's formula. Not as bad as Bargain Hunters, but pretty close.

Are you even old enough to remember it?

Yes.

What changes would you make to it if you were given the green light to bring it back into production again?

I would change the format thusly: Two players compete. They face a board divided into a number of rectangles, and in turn select two of them in an effort to match the prizes hidden behind them. When successful, two parts of a rebus puzzle the size of the overall board are revealed, which resolves to the title of something, a well-known phrase, or something you know. Whoever manages to solve that puzzle first wins the game and whatever prizes they have accumulated to that point.

[J.R.]

In 1985, I was crapping in my diaper.

[clemon79]

In 1985, I was crapping in my diaper.

Hey, so was I! Unfortunately, I was 14 at the time.

[SRIV94]

Hey, so was I! Unfortunately, I was 14 at the time.

WTMI.  

BTW, that concept you wrote as a fix doesn't have a chance of selling.  It'll never work.

/Unless you hire Alex Trebek and add a couple of wild-cards.

[clemon79]

BTW, that concept you wrote as a fix doesn't have a chance of selling.  It'll never work.

That's fine. There's this verbal charades thing I'm working on, with a neat twist for the endgame. Maybe that has a shot.

[BrandonFG]

BTW, that concept you wrote as a fix doesn't have a chance of selling.  It'll never work.

That's fine. There's this verbal charades thing I'm working on, with a neat twist for the endgame. Maybe that has a shot.

To really spruce this up, you should offer a car as the grand prize. No wait...TWO cars! Nothing fancy, just some Chevettes or some rustbox like that.

As for Time Machine, I saw an episode on Youtube, and didn't find it anything to write home about. I'd make the format less like TPiR and maybe more of a straight history quizzer, with each round focusing on something different (i.e. round 1-entertainment, round 2-presidents, round 3-name that year). You could still do the variety of games, but make it so the two or three contestants compete against each other.

With more cable channels today, it could possibly work on the History Channel (that is, if you can find a slot in between the reruns of Pawn Stars) or maybe GSN. Then again, History IQ worked a lot better. However, there's quite a few interactive elements that could be integrated into the show as well.

This aired at, what, 10am? 10:30? If it's 1985 and I have my options, I'm likely watching Pyramid or Press Your Luck.

[alfonzos]

The game had a sterile and cold ambiance. A nostagia-like atmosphere should have been generated. The producers should have taken a good look at Family Feud instead of Space: 1999.

[BrandonFG]

The game had a sterile and cold ambiance. A nostagia-like atmosphere should have been generated. The producers should have taken a good look at Family Feud instead of Space: 1999.

Well, I get the reason for the set (chromakeying it onto the light show during commercial bumps was pretty awesome)...IMO, it would be weird to watch a show called Time Machine without some sort of futuristic look. Kinda like with Battlestars.

/Would love to get the TM theme song in the clear

[SRIV94]

This aired at, what, 10am? 10:30? If it's 1985 and I have my options, I'm likely watching Pyramid or Press Your Luck.

10.  $otC followed it.

[BrandonFG]

This aired at, what, 10am? 10:30? If it's 1985 and I have my options, I'm likely watching Pyramid or Press Your Luck.

10.  $otC followed it.

Gracias. Definitely Pyramid at 10, flipping back and forth at 10:30. :-P

[Neumms]

It was TPIR but without any excitement. The games were complicated and boring. The contestants were boring and/or bored. Also, on TPIR, the basic element is prices of stuff they can display on the stage. On Time Machine, it was historical facts, so you got a lot of typeset cards and badly blown-up photos and prizes that had nothing to do with anything. Mount it today and you'd put monitors all over and could make it look cool.

"In what year did these things happen?" is kind of a fun game, as on the Dateline NBC "Timeline" bumpers or in the card game Chronology, something more cerebral than Plinko but not as woefully dull as the History IQ front game.

Of course, it also gave John Davidson his first attempt at game-show hosting. It was doomed from the start.

[Sodboy13]

In 1985, I was crapping in my diaper.

Better yours than someone else's.

[BillCullen1]

I enjoyed the concept of this show. I'll cut Davidson some slack since this was his first hosting gig, but I think a more experienced host like Tom Kennedy or Wink Martindale would've been better for this show. The different games definitely reminded me of TPIR.

[Jimmy Owen]

I didn't like how the contestants were assigned whatever game they played.  Why not make it a buzzer beater with the three games of the day?