Unused set elements visible on air

[That Don Guy]

Recalling a fading memory of a show of which I was not fond: "Showoffs" original format had the teams playing a best out of three series. Score was kept with a single digit readout and when a round was won a drama mask was lit indicating so. A format change meant that scores could go higher than nine making a single digit readout useless. The best two-out-of-three scoring was ditched making the masks useless. Please correct me if I am misremembering this.

I think the "single-digit readout" had a vertical line through the center of it, which could turn it into two side-by-side seven-segment digits if necessary. It would only be a problem if a team scored 20, which was hard to do as, IIRC, the game ended when one team had seven or more. (Also note that the format went back to two-out-of-three, but with the revised 1000/2000/5000 bonus round rather than the Body Language-style one, near the end of the run.)

In this format, the masks were used to show whose turn it was. They weren't entirely useless as, if you had a black and white TV, you couldn't tell which score belonged to which team.

[Bryce L.]

In this format, the masks were used to show whose turn it was. They weren't entirely useless as, if you had a black and white TV, you couldn't tell which score belonged to which team.

Isn't that also why the teams had the words "Red" and "Blue" printed on their shirts?

[That Don Guy]

In this format, the masks were used to show whose turn it was. They weren't entirely useless as, if you had a black and white TV, you couldn't tell which score belonged to which team.

Isn't that also why the teams had the words "Red" and "Blue" printed on their shirts?

Yes (well, "Reds" and "Blues") - in fact, the first day they did that, Bobby Van explained about the black-and-white TV set problem.

[Stackertosh]

Leslie Crowther Price is Right in Uk when they retired the big wheel it just sat in the corner of the set and was never used again.

[Neumms]

Yes (well, "Reds" and "Blues") - in fact, the first day they did that, Bobby Van explained about the black-and-white TV set problem.

Someone posted a Whew! audience ticket on Facebook which noted "black and white television door prize." I grant you those were still around in '79, but that's one unspectacular prize. 

[BrandonFG]

In the mid-90s I had a portable B&W TV, and it did the job. I wonder if the door prize was a similar size.

[PYLdude]

Yes (well, "Reds" and "Blues") - in fact, the first day they did that, Bobby Van explained about the black-and-white TV set problem.

Someone posted a Whew! audience ticket on Facebook which noted "black and white television door prize." I grant you those were still around in '79, but that's one unspectacular prize. 

What’s unspectacular about a free TV? Regardless of whether or not it’s monochrome.

[TLEberle]

And people aren’t attending a taping to win the door prize.

[That Don Guy]

Yes (well, "Reds" and "Blues") - in fact, the first day they did that, Bobby Van explained about the black-and-white TV set problem.

Someone posted a Whew! audience ticket on Facebook which noted "black and white television door prize." I grant you those were still around in '79, but that's one unspectacular prize.

Portable color TVs (something you didn't have to put on the floor) wouldn't really be affordable until around 1984, IIRC. They were useful to put in, say, bedrooms or dorm rooms. Just about all larger TVs were color by the late 1970s.

[PYLdude]

Yes (well, "Reds" and "Blues") - in fact, the first day they did that, Bobby Van explained about the black-and-white TV set problem.

Someone posted a Whew! audience ticket on Facebook which noted "black and white television door prize." I grant you those were still around in '79, but that's one unspectacular prize.

Portable color TVs (something you didn't have to put on the floor) wouldn't really be affordable until around 1984, IIRC. They were useful to put in, say, bedrooms or dorm rooms. Just about all larger TVs were color by the late 1970s.

Sounds about right. I don't know how much our first TV cost but we had it from at least 1983, so I gotta imagine it was affordable enough.

I still love to tell about the cheapness of my first portable TV. I'm convinced they just put a border around a monitor and called it a TV. Lower part of the picture was always cut off no matter what I did.

[WarioBarker]

Leslie Crowther Price is Right in Uk when they retired the big wheel it just sat in the corner of the set and was never used again.

If I'm not mistaken, they actually got rid of the prop after Series 2.

[Bob Zager]

Yes (well, "Reds" and "Blues") - in fact, the first day they did that, Bobby Van explained about the black-and-white TV set problem.

Someone posted a Whew! audience ticket on Facebook which noted "black and white television door prize." I grant you those were still around in '79, but that's one unspectacular prize.

One year later, on NBC's Election night coverage, they misspoke about the B&W gray levels, and had to make a correction.  When Tom Brokaw clarified to the viewing audience that "Blue states would be light gray, and Red States dark gray," John Chancellor then said, "Tom, I've got a better idea--for those watching in Black & White, BUY A COLOR SET!!"

Back on topic, the back side of the rotating partition, on the viewers left side of original Dating Game set, was shown in the early days of the show, but not for the majority of the series run.

[JMFabiano]

Yes (well, "Reds" and "Blues") - in fact, the first day they did that, Bobby Van explained about the black-and-white TV set problem.

Someone posted a Whew! audience ticket on Facebook which noted "black and white television door prize." I grant you those were still around in '79, but that's one unspectacular prize.

One year later, on NBC's Election night coverage, they misspoke about the B&W gray levels, and had to make a correction.  When Tom Brokaw clarified to the viewing audience that "Blue states would be light gray, and Red States dark gray," John Chancellor then said, "Tom, I've got a better idea--for those watching in Black & White, BUY A COLOR SET!!"

Back on topic, the back side of the rotating partition, on the viewers left side of original Dating Game set, was shown in the early days of the show, but not for the majority of the series run.

Shades of grey for both parties...seems right...

[whewfan]

Just thought of a set element that BECAME unused... when Break the Bank 85 switched to having no stunts, the keypad to enter the combination to open the vault remained but was not used again, and of course the vault opened on its own.

[TimK2003]

When original Tattletales went to the all-quickie format, all they did was yank out the monitor-top buzzers, and covered the holes with square pieces of plastic.