$0

[TimK2003]

There was also a show where two players tied with $0 and the other whammied out; plus at least one other where two players whammied out and the third was left with $0.

That was probably the episode with an older lady named Mabel, I have that ep on tape somewhere.

[whewfan]

There were two (that I know of) episodes of The Gong Show where all of the eligible acts were either gonged or interrupted for some reason (in one case, it was during the show's last week, so they had a lot of returning acts, including "The Worm"), so nobody won the prize.

The other was in the last show of the second Steve Martin week in 1977, but in that instance the "Worst Act of the Week" (later to become the "Most Outrageous Act of the Week") was from that episode, so $516.32 was given away.  (They stopped that award in early 1978.)

Yep, I think I have that episode on tape. Since every act was being gonged, and they had time to fill, Steve Martin played his banjo on the stage, not once, but TWICE.

[alfonzos]

Yes, I witnessed on episode of Fleming's J! where no contestant qualified for Final Jeopardy. Credits ran on a slow crawl that day.

[SamJ93]

How about the first ep. of the original Twenty-One, the only one that wasn't rigged?  The story goes that only one question was answered correctly during the entire show--so it's possible the two contestants in question didn't receive anything for their efforts.  Perhaps someone who's seen the show in question can corroborate?

[davidhammett]

There was an episode of Merv Griffin's Crosswords where the winning contestant had a score of negative $250.  Then they played the endgame and didn't win, so the total winnings were $0.  If you weren't watching on Christmas Eve that year (where they decided to bury the episode), you probably missed it.

[PYLdude]

There was an episode of Merv Griffin's Crosswords where the winning contestant had a score of negative $250.  Then they played the endgame and didn't win, so the total winnings were $0.  If you weren't watching on Christmas Eve that year (where they decided to bury the episode), you probably missed it.

I wasn't and I saw it. It was just another example of how broken that format was.

[clemon79]

There was an episode of Merv Griffin's Crosswords where the winning contestant had a score of negative $250.  Then they played the endgame and didn't win, so the total winnings were $0.

Bah. They should have billed his ass.

[SamJ93]

There was an episode of Merv Griffin's Crosswords where the winning contestant had a score of negative $250.  Then they played the endgame and didn't win, so the total winnings were $0.

Bah. They should have billed his ass.

Just like on J!, as Marge Simpson found out the hard way...

[BillCullen1]

IIRC, on the first season of Trebek's Jeopardy, all three contestants bet all their winnings on FJ and got it wrong. Alex said there would be three NEW contetants on the next show. This was 1984, and the memory is a bit fuzzy. The strategy of FJ wasn't as established as it is now.

On Rayburn's syndie MG, a couple of contestants didn't match any of the Super Match answers and won $0. I remember Rayburn saying "shake my hand" while in the background Brett was saying "Doesn't he get $100?" and someone saying "Not anymore." Might have been CNR.

On Match Game PM, a couple of contestants won $0. IIRC, one guy got $100 and Rayburn said "With your luck you'll get mugged on the way home." For one lady they played a question where each celeb she matched got her $100. I beieve she matched all six.

[BrandonFG]

IIRC, on the first season of Trebek's Jeopardy, all three contestants bet all their winnings on FJ and got it wrong. Alex said there would be three NEW contetants on the next show. This was 1984, and the memory is a bit fuzzy. The strategy of FJ wasn't as established as it is now.

The second episode I believe. It happened again c. 1997...I remember watching it and being quite surprised.

[Jay Temple]

IIRC, on the first season of Trebek's Jeopardy, all three contestants bet all their winnings on FJ and got it wrong. Alex said there would be three NEW contetants on the next show. This was 1984, and the memory is a bit fuzzy. The strategy of FJ wasn't as established as it is now.

The second episode I believe. It happened again c. 1997...I remember watching it and being quite surprised.

Absolutely confirmed about the second ep. 1997 is about right for the other. It didn't air in my area (Labor Day show, hence pre-empted by telethon?) so I tuned in the next day and was even more surprised when there was no returning champion!

[Kevin Prather]

1997 is about right for the other. It didn't air in my area (Labor Day show, hence pre-empted by telethon?) so I tuned in the next day and was even more surprised when there was no returning champion!

According to j-archive, Labor Day '97 was right in the middle of Fred Ramen's run.

[Matt Ottinger]

IIRC, on the first season of Trebek's Jeopardy, all three contestants bet all their winnings on FJ and got it wrong. Alex said there would be three NEW contetants on the next show. This was 1984, and the memory is a bit fuzzy. The strategy of FJ wasn't as established as it is now.

Unfortunately, for a lot of people, the lesson learned was that you're supposed to wager everything except one dollar.  For the record, that by itself is rarely a very good strategy either, and usually worse than wagering it all.

[clemon79]

For one lady they played a question where each celeb she matched got her $100. I beieve she matched all six.

I would be curious to get some kind of corroboration on this, because I'd think it would have come up before now.

[KrisW73]

For one lady they played a question where each celeb she matched got her $100. I beieve she matched all six.

I would be curious to get some kind of corroboration on this, because I'd think it would have come up before now.

Here's the Super Matches in question and the mini game for $100 at a match:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0Aum5WZV8P0[/media]