Biggest Leaps in Set Technology

[JasonA1]

The 2 clocks had to be electronically tied together to display the same thing. Or just programmed to start at the same time, even if they weren't directly tied to one another. I imagine the reason the one offstage was eggcrate is because it provided its own light source. "Vane" displays are flat white mechanical pieces you shine light at (like Family Feud's board being flat yellow disks).

This also recalls latter day (Nickelodeon) Double Dare episodes where the supered clock was different from the one behind Marc Summers, and sometimes they'd be out of sync, with Marc reminding us the music is timed to exactly 15/20/30/60 seconds, etc. etc.

When this thread said LEAPS in technology, my mind immediately went to the entire floor being a gameboard on Monopoly Millionaires Club. We haven't quite seen that used to full effect in America yet, as far as I can remember, although Jimmy Kimmel's Millionaire is making great use of it as their set floor. The overseas show 5 Gold Rings is a great example of what we could be doing.

-Jason

[Joe Mello]

When this thread said LEAPS in technology, my mind immediately went to the entire floor being a gameboard on Monopoly Millionaires Club. We haven't quite seen that used to full effect in America yet, as far as I can remember, although Jimmy Kimmel's Millionaire is making great use of it as their set floor.

Family Game Night??

[mystery7]

While we're talking about Pyramid: wasn't it the first game show to use a graphics computer? I know there was a Vidifont for the run of shows they did at Television City in 1973. Don't recognize the machine they started with at Sullivan.

[chris319]

Anything that got rid of text on a piece of cardboard or slides in a carousel projector.

menu boards were even worse than cardboard or slides in my opinion.

You mean what they used for the 317? Those were text on cardboard slips which slid into a series of slats mounted on a board. Before that they used a board ribbed with black felt that you press plastic letters into.

[chrisholland03]

The ribbed felt jobbies.  It was near impossible to get all the letters aligned quickly.  And the font was ugly.  Coming from someone who frequently changed them in a store.

[Kniwt]

The overseas show 5 Gold Rings

... which triggers my memories of The Cube and its 75 high-speed cameras.

[Otm Shank]

The 2 clocks had to be electronically tied together to display the same thing. Or just programmed to start at the same time, even if they weren't directly tied to one another. I imagine the reason the one offstage was eggcrate is because it provided its own light source. "Vane" displays are flat white mechanical pieces you shine light at (like Family Feud's board being flat yellow disks).

Exactly. In addition, there were 2 eggcrates to the left of the front-game pyramid for the contestant's scores, seen here:


I assume that the scores were synced up, but it would have been an absolute necessity for the clocks. As for the tiebreaker time with Dick calling off a margin of error of 1 second occasionally ... not sure how exact they called it, but technically it would be marked at the first syllable of the final answer, since the second team could answer on the buzzer in the same fashion. Also, the requirement was to do it in less time, which seemed to lead to a 1 second difference when they set the clock. (Although there was at least one circumstance where they allowed a 7-7 tie.)

[clemon79]

I'll back you up on this, I distinctly remember it too. I remember it showing "01".

They did, and it makes sense, since if it was in the wings it wouldn't be lit, and so a vane display wouldn't be useful there.

[Neumms]

When this thread said LEAPS in technology, my mind immediately went to the entire floor being a gameboard on Monopoly Millionaires Club. We haven't quite seen that used to full effect in America...

20-25 years earlier on ABC’s Monopoly, the floor was the gameboard. While the Club floor sure was amazing, the predecessor was pretty hot for its time.

Back to $10,000-20,000 Pyramid...I love them now, but Solari flippy numbers looked cheap and outdated compared to eggcrates. Why would they use those on camera? Also, if you look closely, the desk scores have a slightly different font from the timers, which because I’m anal about type, bugged me.

[mystery7]

Solari flippy numbers looked cheap and outdated compared to eggcrates. Why would they use those on camera? Also, if you look closely, the desk scores have a slightly different font from the timers, which because I’m anal about type, bugged me.

It was cheap and it worked. And unlike Eggcrate/19-S8, no pesky light bulbs to go out. It was exactly what producers needed...especially Bob Stewart after having to rebuild the Pyramid set when the show moved to ABC. Besides, it was the '70s, when millions of people had clock radios at home with that worked almost the exact same way - numbers just flipped down instead of over.

Side note: New York always seemed a little behind when it came to production value. Maybe the size of the converted theaters and radio studios had a little to do with it. Compare NBC's Concentration with Goodson-Todman's syndicated version just 6 months later. Or NBC's Jeopardy! with Wheel Of Fortune. Whole different world between NY and LA in the '70s.

[JasonA1]

When this thread said LEAPS in technology, my mind immediately went to the entire floor being a gameboard on Monopoly Millionaires Club. We haven't quite seen that used to full effect in America...

20-25 years earlier on ABC’s Monopoly, the floor was the gameboard. While the Club floor sure was amazing, the predecessor was pretty hot for its time.

Then I guess I should have said an entire floor being a video screen, because The Video Game in the early '80s had a lighted floor too. I still think there's lots more to exploit with having that much video screen power.

-Jason

[ChrisLambert!]

You mean what they used for the 317? Those were text on cardboard slips which slid into a series of slats mounted on a board. Before that they used a board ribbed with black felt that you press plastic letters into.

I never knew that was referred to as "317". Given that that is my area code, TIL that I live in The Land of Parting Gifts. 

[jlgarfield]

I think Classic Concentration took a huge leap from a nine-year absence between 1978 and 1987. Having to go from trilons to a computer-generated board. Plus you have to believe that game shows in the 1980s were moving with the times as well.

It's been said before, but the Classic Concentration game board was generated via an IBM PC.