Given that this show was originally on when I was 6, I didn't really appreciate it for what it was, other than it was another game show, and I recognized Dick Clark. Having watched it again as an adult, I really enjoyed the game as a whole, but also completely understand how, in a world already occupied by J!, why it only lasted one season.
For it to have gotten legs and gone for multiple seasons like J!, I think it needed to come out *before* Alex's J! gets legs and becomes Wheel's syndie twin. But, since J! is such a simple game at its core (yes; the trivia is challenging, but the game itself is extremely easy to follow), I still think J! had a much better chance of a long life as compared to The Challengers. Of course, too simple of a format isn't really interesting (see Card, Trump), but too complicated of a format means not as many are going to give it a chance unless there is some other sort of gimmick to hook people (huge cash prize, super-engaging host, etc.). And, I think this is why they originally had the Ultimate Challenge: a huge cash prize dangled in front of viewers that a champ had to win 3 times to try for, so you'd want to see if someone would get a chance at that big money. The downside, though, is that, if you know a champ was on his/her second day, and your incentive is to see that huge cash prize played for, you'll just watch the next day and see if that champ is back. Oh, she lost? Guess you'll check back in three days...
That said, I think, if they had stuck with the final format (Sprint round, no Ultimate Challenge), that would have been the best format from a game play perspective: it's the simplest format of the ones they tried, and it had a good mix of rapid trivia and the strategy/betting part of the game I think we all enjoyed. I, honestly, never knew there *was* a bonus round until I saw an episode with the Ultimate Challenge as an adult; I thought the Final Challenge was the end of the game.
Final thoughts after rambling: I love The Challengers as a game (I think the idea behind it would make a great board game). I wish it would have lasted longer. But, with J! ruling the trivia roost by 1990, and still doing so to this day, I don't know what format could have been done to eat away at that.
Anthony