Great short-lived shows

[Jeremy Nelson]

Each player that makes it to the seven wins a small cash payout. Maybe $100, maybe $500. Instead of "eliminate your opponent's number" you basically crib something akin to a multiplayer version of the Trivia Race from Trivia Trap. First to five or seven or whatever times well in run-throughs wins five grand that's theirs to keep (bumping up from the $2500 from the old series for inflation) and goes to the Wonderwall, played almost verbatim. 

I do like the idea of the cutthroat battle, but it's "blink and you miss it" so I would keep it, but I would change two things:

1. Everyone is defending an answer, but we get rid of them being number specific. Every game begets a different theming, so each cutthroat round everyone gets one of the seven colors of the rainbow, or the name of a country, or a Best Actress winner, etc.
2. You get a point for defending your answer, you steal a point from a player who owns the correct answer you give, and you lose a point for a wrong answer. Play til the klaxon sounds.

At the bottom of the hour, the top seven go back to the pool, and we do it again. If the same player makes it to the Wonderwall both games, they get an extra $5,000 bonus on top of the previous $5K x2 for the clean sweep, regardless of what happens at the Wonderwall either time.

I don't think you have to incentivize winning both games with an extra cash prize, since the bonus round is the incentive and has such a high payout for even an average effort. Assuming we're keeping everything the same, only going halfway up the stack is still worth $50,000.

[carlisle96]

Three little words: The Big Showdown

Seconded. I also nominate:

The Moneymaze
To Say The Least
Rhyme and Reason
Trebek Double Dare
Catch Phrase

To Say the Least wasn't bad, but there wasn't much viewer participation. unless you leave the room and come back just at the right moment to solve the puzzle

[Jeremy Nelson]

Money Maze (which should come back in prime time)

You know what? I had never thought about it before, but in the wake of The Wall, The Quiz With Balls and their ilk, I could see this working. The only problem is that we'd now be treated to a 5-minute video blurb about how badly the couple needs the money and a 30-second "suspenseful" pause before revealing the value of every prize column.

Actually, the game closest in comparison would be Raid the Cage, even down to how to show is staged with trivia in the crow's nest and action on the floor. I'd actually be interested to see that team take on the Moneymaze- jsut copy themselves and call it "Raid the Maze".

[JasonA1]

I thought Jeopardy '78 and Sale of the Late 1980s were fine with their growing jackpots irrespective of a win or loss but Sale was absolutely rendered inert with so many smaller steps.

For clarification, Jeopardy! '78 worked more like Mark described - a first-time champ played Super Jeopardy! for $5,000 on their first trip, then $7,500 for their second regardless of the first one's result, $10,000 for their third, and so on, going up in $2,500 increments.

-Jason

[TLEberle]

Correct, i was saying its fine, and also "irrespective of a win or a loss."

[Kevin Prather]

I do like the idea of the cutthroat battle, but it's "blink and you miss it" so I would keep it, but I would change two things:

1. Everyone is defending an answer, but we get rid of them being number specific. Every game begets a different theming, so each cutthroat round everyone gets one of the seven colors of the rainbow, or the name of a country, or a Best Actress winner, etc.
2. You get a point for defending your answer, you steal a point from a player who owns the correct answer you give, and you lose a point for a wrong answer. Play til the klaxon sounds.

I like this idea, but if I may, I'll suggest a small tweak.

Every player starts with 3 points. If you defend your own answer, you gain a point. If you pip someone else's answer, they lose a point. If you're wrong, you're out no matter how many points you have. Players are eliminated when they hit zero.

[Jeremy Nelson]

Bruce Forsyth’s Hot Streak (I may be the only one here who liked it)

I've thought for a couple years that this would be a fantastic revival for a network like GSN. Casting doesn't have to find related groups of 4, there's really no need to create material other than the words, and it's been off for so long that the rights to create a new version couldn't cost much.

[colonial]

Personal favorites ...

-- Greed
-- Sports Geniuses
-- Ultimate Fan League
-- Idiot Savants
-- Cullen Chain Reaction
-- Talkabout
-- Paranoia


JD

[Casey Buck]

I mentioned Greed earlier, but I'll also put in a good word for Winning Lines. It's a tragedy that such an amazing end game got stuck with such a broken play-in round.

I don't know how this can work out logistically (since there's multiple production companies involved), but if Now You See It is ever somehow revived, a $100K top-prize Wonderwall would make for a damn good Solo Round.

Both The Wonderwall and NYSI involve finding the answers right in front of you.

[Joe Mello]

This is my co-sign. Naturally, it was better with the more inventive categories, but to fill 13 weeks of shows, you need material of all stripes.

The wilder topics also help make Pass The Buck stand out from Family Feud or Card Sharks and feel much more like a party game, something that I'd probably lean into if I had the power to revive it as a modern game show.

[wdm1219inpenna]

Play the Percentages, the first format with the 2 married couples especially.

I realize this show was perhaps none too popular but how about The Magnificent Marble Machine?

And one more, the short-lived, precursor to Press Your Luck, "Second Chance" from ABC, hosted by Jim Peck.

[BrandonFG]

Each player that makes it to the seven wins a small cash payout. Maybe $100, maybe $500. Instead of "eliminate your opponent's number" you basically crib something akin to a multiplayer version of the Trivia Race from Trivia Trap. First to five or seven or whatever times well in run-throughs wins five grand that's theirs to keep (bumping up from the $2500 from the old series for inflation) and goes to the Wonderwall, played almost verbatim.

An idea that just came to me...a smaller Wonderwall-type game similar to Quicksilver, but straightforward trivia instead of dad joke answers. Four to six choices which are replaced anytime a contestant picks a correct answer. First to five gets 5K and goes on to the Wonderwall; everyone else goes back to the pool with their $500.

[Chief-O]

"Whew!".

[Mr. Brown]

My list would definitely be Talk About, Greed, and the Mike Richards-hosted Pyramid on GSN.

Aren't they bringing Talk About back? The show is a great concept, but the end game could use a little work.

Greed was a great spin on the WWTBAM trend in the 2000s and it had decent payouts versus other trivia shows like Weakest Link.

And finally, the Richards-hosted Pyramid was actually pretty good. It was true to the original format, which has always been a good one.

[SuperMatch93]

This may be an unpopular choice, but I'm going to say Give-N-Take. I like the blend of trivia and pricing, and the setting in-the-round was unique for the era. I get why it didn't last, but I feel like it should've gotten another try in the mid-80s.