How soon are unused questions recycled back into gameplay?

[JasonA1]

I'm surprised that questions weren't reused more frequently.  For example, if a question was used on Match Game 74, who's going to remember if it's used again on Match Game 77 - especially in the days before VCRs were common?

I think among producers, but especially writers, there's a personal pride to avoid Xeroxing yourself. It's one thing to trade on the same area as a previous piece of material, but it's a whole 'nother matter for the most writery writers to say the same exact thing they said before.

And besides that, if you start reusing material in large enough quantities, why do you need writers full time? The writers obviously want to avoid that question being asked, so they'll keep churning out new stuff. For the producer, there's the notion of...once you give back part of your budget (by laying off the writers temporarily), it's hard to get it back.

-Jason

[WhammyPower]

I only found two of these because Buzzr had aired them fairly close together. The other one I had lying around on my hard drive.

[Adam Nedeff]

I'm surprised that questions weren't reused more frequently.  For example, if a question was used on Match Game 74, who's going to remember if it's used again on Match Game 77 - especially in the days before VCRs were common?

I remember noticing during GSN reruns that the daily syndicated run of MG reused some network questions. The reason it stood out to me was they actually reused a question that went so badly on the network show that they elected to throw out the whole round after it played--there was a huge argument about Ira not matching "Going bananas" and "Going ape" because while the key words don't match, they mean exactly the same thing.

[Kevin Prather]

Pyramid seemed to reuse WC categories without too much regard to time. Or perhaps they showed up close in time to each other because they were crossing over between daytime and nighttime. As I recall, "Things that are Enshrined" showed up on $25kP just a few weeks before it showed up in the $100k tournament, and Nathan Cook played it both times.

[Eric Paddon]

That same delicatessen question was also used this time and on this occasion four celebs said "Lox" but incredibly not Richard!

[Nick]

Pyramid seemed to reuse WC categories without too much regard to time.

I seem to recall reading that in the ABC days, there was a two-week minimum rest between uses of the same word in the front game.  Did the same not apply to the Winners' Circle?

As I recall, "Things that are Enshrined" showed up on $25kP just a few weeks before it showed up in the $100k tournament, and Nathan Cook played it both times.

I've seen the clip from the $100k tournament, and the contestant gave in that playing.  I'm curious to know if Cook was on the giving or receiving side of the $25k use.  Did he give similar clues to what he was given, or did he manage to get it there receiving as well?  Either way, it's a toughie; but if you've had a crack at it once before and have a good memory, it would, in theory, make it a bit easier.

Now that you mention it, after the $100k win, Dick seemed to marvel about how tough a top-box category it was and that they got it.  He forgot that it had been used at least one before?

[Kevin Prather]

I've seen the clip from the $100k tournament, and the contestant gave in that playing.  I'm curious to know if Cook was on the giving or receiving side of the $25k use.  Did he give similar clues to what he was given, or did he manage to get it there receiving as well?

He was giving on the $25k game, and as I mentioned, it was before Keefe's win. He only had maybe ten seconds with it, and the only clue I remember him giving was "Grant's tomb".

Now that you mention it, after the $100k win, Dick seemed to marvel about how tough a top-box category it was and that they got it.  He forgot that it had been used at least one before?

It had been used at least twice before. First time I believe was Monday of the (I think) sixth tournament. Howard Morton and his partner only had a few seconds with it, but Dick gave them ten more seconds afterwards with it and they got it.

[TLEberle]

Something to remember at least in the days pre-2000s is they were using physical art cards for all of the category titles, and I don't think they would fit in a regular banker box. Even if those plastic sheets are a sixteenth of an inch thick, a thousand of them aren't as tall as me, and I remember through watching the USA Network and GSN reruns that the bottom row were more apt to be recycled and nobody cares because you polish off $300 in a few seconds to save time for the top shelf.

I can't imagine that Bob would willingly throw away those artifacts given the vanishingly small cost it would be to house a stack of those boxes.

[Otm Shank]

Not just Bob, but any producer would weigh costs. Is it cheaper to box up, securely store, and fish out unused panels or just create a new one when needed? I would guess there were extra sets that were retained, or a few weeks' worth prepared in advance, but to have a whole library of them is probably more trouble than it's worth.

On the other hand, there was the unwritten rule that they would not flip to reveal a new box if there was 1 or sometimes 2 seconds left on the clock. So there was a deliberate recycling tactic in play, if only for the written game material, but possibly for the physical media.

[mmb5]

I vaguely remember in the end credits of an 80s Pyramid that mentioned they were bringing a contestant back because they had reused a winner's circle category within the last six weeks.

[Neumms]

Would “Hall of Famer” be a legal Pyramid clue since it’s a common phrase or get buzzed for the prepositional phrase? What other clues are there for enshrined?

[Kevin Prather]

Would “Hall of Famer” be a legal Pyramid clue since it’s a common phrase or get buzzed for the prepositional phrase? What other clues are there for enshrined?

"The hall of fame books" was the winning clue for it.

[Adam Nedeff]

Would “Hall of Famer” be a legal Pyramid clue since it’s a common phrase or get buzzed for the prepositional phrase? What other clues are there for enshrined?

Okay, so, story here. We played Pyramid one night in my apartment about ten years ago. The category was "Things That Are Shuffled," and the friend acting as judge sounded the buzzer on "Deck of Cards." That felt wrong to me, so I emailed a friend who had some good Pyramid knowledge. What I wasn't expecting was that he sent my email up the chain of command and ended up getting an answer directly from Sande Stewart about the issue.

"Deck of cards isn't a prepositional phrase, that's just what it's called--it's the same reason we would allow Statue of Liberty. The word 'of' is in there, but that's still just what it's called."

So "Hall of Fame" is legal.

[Matt Ottinger]

"Deck of cards isn't a prepositional phrase, that's just what it's called--it's the same reason we would allow Statue of Liberty. The word 'of' is in there, but that's still just what it's called."

I remember hearing Dick Clark explaining the nuance of that rule on air once, using Statue of Liberty as his example.

[Kevin Prather]

I remember Donny Osmond explaining the prepositional phrase rule, and explicitly saying that "of" was the exception. It was a bit more nuanced than that on the Clark version (as evidenced but Adam's story), as Clark himself tried to sneak "The title of the play" by the judges to no avail.