Game Show Changes

[Don Howard]

Of the shows you can think of, which ones made either subtle or major changes early in their broadcast run? Two I can think of right off the bat are Scrabble dumping the "pot format" in the main game and playing for a flat $500 starting in the program's second week. Another that comes to mind is Wordplay calling their bonus game The Speed Round for the first show only. After that until the show's premature finish it was Double Definitions. What others can you think of?

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Dec 25 2003, 01:42 AM\'] Of the shows you can think of, which ones made either subtle or major changes early in their broadcast run? Two I can think of right off the bat are Scrabble dumping the "pot format" in the main game and playing for a flat $500 starting in the program's second week. Another that comes to mind is Wordplay calling their bonus game The Speed Round for the first show only. After that until the show's premature finish it was Double Definitions. What others can you think of? [/quote]
 Didn't Password Plus add the "opposites" rule a couple of months into the run?

Also, two from the current Hollywood Squares...1) early on the payout structure was $500/$500/$1000/$2000, but the payouts then doubled about a month or two into the run. 2) The change from pick a star/win a prize to pick a star/answer question/win a prize, around the same time, give or take.

[Robert Hutchinson]

Well, how early is early? Just to be thematical, I think Chain Reaction, Blockbusters, Child's Play, and Hot Potato could all qualify.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Dec 25 2003, 03:33 AM\'] Well, how early is early? Just to be thematical, I think Chain Reaction, Blockbusters, Child's Play, and Hot Potato could all qualify. [/quote]
 Hot Potato added the "7 straight" jackpot a few weeks into the run. I think it took Child's Play seven months(more than half its run) to change the bonus game from Triple Play to Sasha Segan's Turnabout.

[GSWitch]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Dec 25 2003, 07:18 AM\'] Hot Potato added the "7 straight" jackpot a few weeks into the run. [/quote]
 That bonus was discontinued when it became "Celebrity Hot Potato" & the final 7 Straight was won on the very last civilian show, just in time!

[ChrisLambert!]

Of course, you could literally fill a book with all the changes to The Joker's Wild during the show's first few months of life.

You often expected Jack to say "now, this is the way we did things during the last segment, but starting right now we're a charades show. No, wait, we're done with that..."

[Starkman]

Blockbusters switched from gold rush/super gold rush to a best of 3 one bonus round format only about a month or two into the run so I think they would count.

Get the picture quit naming teams (after computer parts) after about 2 tries but thanks to GAS showing shows somewhat out of order I do not know if this was early in the run or an expirment in the middle of season 1.

And of course since Carmen Sandiego aired it's pilot I will note that wacked scoring system that was closer to the computer game that came and went very quickly (thank the lord they didnt stick with that)

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Dec 25 2003, 01:42 AM\'] Of the shows you can think of, which ones made either subtle or major changes early in their broadcast run? [/quote]
 80s $otC changed the shopping format to add a cash jackpot by May 1983(four months into the run), and added the $10 and the $15 money cards to the Fame Game at the same point.

Bullseye went from the $1K to win to $2K to win format in the maingame

Play the Percentages had about four rule changes in the first eight weeks of its run before switching to the head to head format.

NYSI 70s added the bonus word to the maingame a couple of months into its run.

Double Talk changed the maingame a tad after its first week on air(i.e. the "steal a missed puzzle from the other team, and score five bonus points, and stop them from any further scoring, was deleted)

Wipeout went to returning champions about seven weeks into its brief run, rather than having three new players everday.

CS86 changed the bonus round procedure from "Change any card three times, or any three cards" to the "change one card at a time"

Yahtzee changed its bonus round after the first few weeks(when two teams claimed the $100K top prize) to have $100K only offered for a roll of five Wild Cards, rather than rolling a Yahtzee on the first roll. THe first team to win the $100K did so on rolling five wild cards, with 1295-1 odds against it("Win" should be put in quotes given what we know about people not receiving the winnings from this show).


Bumper Stumpers went from a bonus round after each Super Stumper(teams who lost two games were eliminated) to a two-out-of-three match, with a bonus round after the Match. This occurred about three weeks into the run, and at that time the bonus round was changed from "get $500 or more before hitting a stop sign" to win double the cash earned to "get $1000 or more or find a WIN card before hitting a stop sign" to win $2000.

[bandit_bobby]

During the first few weeks of Think Fast, finding the Time Bomb in the first half gave you :40 in the second half. Later on, :30 was given in the second half.

Lingo early on marked off 13 balls on the Bonus Lingo card rather than 12, and the prize was a $4,000 prize package. Later on, Bonus Letters are offered, 12 balls are marked off, and the main prize is $5,000. However, a grand prize trip is offered now for pulling a Lingo on the first draw.

Time is Money on TPIR early on had the $500 voucher format. Later on, of course, this was removed to add more time to the game and make it easier.

[gsfan85]

To answer about Get The Picture earlier in this thread, the team names were the first episodes taped from Season 2.  

Season 1 did not have team names at all.  You can tell Season 1 vs. Season 2 by many different parts of the show, but the most easy to see is the fact that there is no Power Surge bar that the players have to run down to in Season 1.  

After about 5 or 6 shows, GTP decided there aren't enough computer parts to name the teams!

Adam

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'bandit_bobby\' date=\'Dec 25 2003, 11:21 AM\']

Time is Money on TPIR early on had the $500 voucher format. Later on, of course, this was removed to add more time to the game and make it easier. [/quote]
 The voucher lasted two playings. The original Punch-a-Bunch format, played twice c. 1978, had the numbers 1-10 under the letters in Punchboard(old gameboard design, the current one debuted c. 1996), and one of the words ONE, TEN, HUNDRED, or THOUSAND in the 50 $ slips. Each punch allowed a player to pick on letter and one $ slip, the numbers were multiplied together to determine the prize, which they could then take or risk to try to win more.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Dec 25 2003, 12:42 AM\'] Of the shows you can think of, which ones made either subtle or major changes early in their broadcast run? Two I can think of right off the bat are Scrabble dumping the "pot format" in the main game and playing for a flat $500 starting in the program's second week. Another that comes to mind is Wordplay calling their bonus game The Speed Round for the first show only. After that until the show's premature finish it was Double Definitions. What others can you think of? [/quote]
Well, if anyone wants to count GONG, the minimum time of an act before it could be gonged went from 15 seconds in the Barbour week to 20 seconds in the first Barris week to 30 seconds a bit later to 45 seconds a couple of months after that (where it remained for the duration).

Doug

[Starkman]

Thanks about the team names, suprised i didnt notice that it was season 2 since season 2 also dropped the toss up puzzle and added the god awful physical challenge type power surges in round two rather than all power surges being a side puzzle or consentration type game like they were in season 1.

[Game Show Man]

Whammy! originally did not spot the players a $1,000 bankroll during the early episodes.  It wasn't until the second or third week when it was instituted.

"Game Show Man" Joe Van Ginkel

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Game Show Man\' date=\'Dec 25 2003, 02:06 PM\']

Whammy! originally did not spot the players a $1,000 bankroll during the early episodes.  It wasn't until the second or third week when it was instituted.

 [/quote]
 Maybe the first couple of weeks of taped shows didn't spot the contestants the $1K. The show premiered in April 2002, but it wasn't until late June 2002 that said episodes were first seen.