Twenty-One

[carlisle96]

I saw Broadcasting magazine's review of the 1956 debut of Twenty-One. Legend has it that the contestants on the first show missed nearly every question, sending the audience into gales of laughter, angering the sponsor, and leading to the rigging. But there was no mention of that in the review. Was the disastrous episode perhaps the second or third week of the series?

[That Don Guy]

I wouldn't say it's a "legend"; it's mentioned on PBS's The American Experience episode on the quiz show scandal. Here is a transcript where Dan Enright mentioned that it was the first episode and the sponsor contacted him the next day. Of course, it's possible that it's just a false memory he had.

[carlisle96]

I wouldn't say it's a "legend"; it's mentioned on PBS's The American Experience episode on the quiz show scandal. Here is a transcript where Dan Enright mentioned that it was the first episode and the sponsor contacted him the next day. Of course, it's possible that it's just a false memory he had.

I know it happened, but if the premiere was such a mess, surely the Broadcasting critic would have talked about it. That's why I think it may have been the second show that was so sloppy.