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Author Topic: The Secret Category  (Read 2885 times)

Don Howard

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The Secret Category
« on: July 03, 2004, 04:01:19 PM »
The following are some things I was wondering about the SECRET CATEGORY on everybody's game of strategy, knowledge and fun.
Since the SC doubled the pot if answered correctly and the pot started at $0, if someone had picked the SC first and was correct, would the pot have doubled to $0?
What's the highest a pot doubled to because of the SC?
If the SC was answered correctly in a game, would it reappear in another box after the shuffle making it possible for the doubled pot to double yet again?
I imagine the SC had been discontinued between the runs of Thom McKee and Kit Salisbury--otherwise, Kit would have done better than $199,750 in 36 games. True?

digiblader

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The Secret Category
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2004, 08:10:36 PM »
I believe the highest pot on TTD was about $37-38K because of the Secret Category.

Of course a few ties may have caused that on the way too.. no idea!
Except for the last two appearances, I haven't seen all of Thom McKee's run.

And yes I believe it appeared again in the game after being answered.

The Secret Category was replaced with the Grand Question after McKee's run, but made an appearance in 82-83.

zachhoran

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The Secret Category
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2004, 08:14:07 PM »
[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jul 3 2004, 03:01 PM\']
If the SC was answered correctly in a game, would it reappear in another box after the shuffle making it possible for the doubled pot to double yet again?
 [/quote]
 The Secret Categ'Ry was in the shuffle throughout a game in which it appeared. I suspect Barry and Enright figured out at some point a pot could be worth as much as $76,800 if the SC appeared in advantageous position(more than that if it appears during a tie game), ergo it was discontinued after the 1982-83 season.

ChuckNet

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The Secret Category
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2004, 12:38:19 AM »
Quote
I believe the highest pot on TTD was about $37-38K because of the Secret Category.

To be exact, it was $36,800 and won by none other than the aforementioned Thom McKee during the 2nd week (I believe) of his reign.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

Craig Karlberg

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The Secret Category
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2004, 04:57:42 AM »
If the pot was $0, then answering a question on the Secret Category FIRST will only add an X or an O on the board, hence $0 x 2 = $0.  Why even try to go there first anyway.  Start with a categoty that adds money to the pot, then, if the Secret Category was in a position to win or block, use it.

clemon79

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The Secret Category
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2004, 05:02:21 AM »
[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Jul 4 2004, 01:57 AM\'] If the pot was $0, then answering a question on the Secret Category FIRST will only add an X or an O on the board, hence $0 x 2 = $0.  
 [/quote]
 That's the logic, yes, but do you know FOR A FACT that that is how TTD handled it? That was the OP's question. You have, once again, added nothing useful to the discussion at hand.
Chris Lemon, King Fool, Director of Suck Consolidation
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sshuffield70

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The Secret Category
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2004, 11:44:10 AM »
Well, understand that Secret Category and the eventual cavalcade of red started out in slot eight before going to 2, 6 and 8.  It wouldn't make any sense to start with number eight anyway.

Dbacksfan12

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The Secret Category
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2004, 01:32:56 PM »
[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jul 4 2004, 04:02 AM\'] [quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Jul 4 2004, 01:57 AM\'] If the pot was $0, then answering a question on the Secret Category FIRST will only add an X or an O on the board, hence $0 x 2 = $0. 
 [/quote]
That's the logic, yes, but do you know FOR A FACT that that is how TTD handled it? That was the OP's question. You have, once again, added nothing useful to the discussion at hand. [/quote]
 Chris, I'd settle for the fact that he's able to do basic math. Besides, only an idiot would take "Secret Category" first.
--Mark
Phil 4:13

uncamark

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The Secret Category
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2004, 02:48:46 PM »
[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Jul 4 2004, 10:44 AM\']Well, understand that Secret Category and the eventual cavalcade of red started out in slot eight before going to 2, 6 and 8.  It wouldn't make any sense to start with number eight anyway.[/quote]
Also, it seemed to me that Secret Category was never shuffled to the center box--although in most cases the center box was covered by the first round of questioning, anyway.  Center and one of the corners were the usual first round picks in a game.

Robert Hutchinson

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The Secret Category
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2004, 07:28:39 PM »
Ah, but what if the first question of the game was missed, followed by a shuffle of SC to a corner?

(And why do I feel like I'm holding a gas can and a match?)
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GS Warehouse

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The Secret Category
« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2004, 07:36:14 PM »
[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Jul 4 2004, 07:28 PM\'] Ah, but what if the first question of the game was missed, followed by a shuffle of SC to a corner? [/quote]
 Then the O player would probably pick the center box (red boxes never fall in the center).

Michael Brandenburg

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The Secret Category
« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2004, 08:36:07 PM »
The "Secret Category" questions were always single-part, which is why that square would always be in an outside box.  The show's producers knew, even from the very beginning of TTD on NBC in 1956, that if a player captured the center box on the board, he would eliminate four of the eight ways his opponent could beat him.

Hence, the center-box questions were always made more difficult than the outside-box questions (two-part questions, in fact, from 1978 on) and also worth more money than the outside-box questions.  Here's the breakdown:

NBC daytime version (1956-59): Outside-box questions worth $100, center-box questions $200.

NBC prime-time version (1957-58): Outside-box questions worth $300; center-box questions $500.

CBS daytime version (1978): Same as the NBC daytime version.

First syndicated version (1978-86): Outside-box questions worth $200 (except for "Secret Category" and, I seem to recall, a special occasional "Add A Grand" category that was worth $1000); center-box questions $300.

Second syndicated version (1990): Outside-box questions worth $500; center-box questions worth $1000, unless players had previously tied one or more games.  In that case, those amounts were multipled by the game number the players were playing.  ($1000/$2000 if they were playing their second game after tying their first game; $1500/$3000 if they were playing their third game after tying their first two games, etc.)


Michael Brandenburg
(But one of the things I didn't like about TTD's mercifully short-lived 1990 version was that if the players tied, the prize pot was wiped out after each tie and started over from zero for the [next] tie-breaking game.  I would have much rather had the "carryover pots" from the previous versions of the show after ties.)

Dbacksfan12

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The Secret Category
« Reply #12 on: July 05, 2004, 12:36:58 AM »
[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Jul 4 2004, 06:36 PM\'] [quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Jul 4 2004, 07:28 PM\'] Ah, but what if the first question of the game was missed, followed by a shuffle of SC to a corner? [/quote]
Then the O player would probably pick the center box (red boxes never fall in the center). [/quote]
 Ah, no one told us that Jim Caldwell signed up for the board.
--Mark
Phil 4:13