Blockbusters '87....

[dmota104]

The computer graphics used for the game board and theme song certainly helped in "jazzing things up" for a revival of "Blockbusters".  The set had that futuristic look.

Rafferty's no Cullen -- but then again, Cullen's one hell of a tough act to follow.  

While this was a daytime show, still, there were too many "helpful hints"/Mary Ellen questions.  Nice to see Rafferty have a field day with that one.  

While the advantage swings for dueling solo players weren't too bad, still, "Blockbusters" should always be two against one.  To the best of my knowledge, every BB series in the UK was two against one.

Plus the prize money on BB87 -- PUH-lease.  If you win a game and had to capture at least five hexagons, you only get a hundred bucks (down from 500 in the early '80s)  Further, IIRC, after you won five matches, you had to retire undefeated.

The early 80s Blockbusters had great writing, memorable contestants who put together nice long winning streaks (John Hatten, Pat and Liz McCarthy) and of course Cullen.  A great show that should've lasted much longer than a year and a half.  

Had BB87 allowed for two players against one and perhaps a top prize of at least $10,000 in the gold run, I bet it would've lasted longer than four months.

[aaron sica]

In chatting with a friend today, this is something that I actually pondered:

BB87 was not on very long - from January until the end of April, IIRC. The show that replaced it was Classic Concentration, which had a much longer life. Was BB87 simply a placeholder for CC?

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Apr 15 2005, 08:56 AM\']In chatting with a friend today, this is something that I actually pondered:

BB87 was not on very long - from January until the end of April, IIRC. The show that replaced it was Classic Concentration, which had a much longer life. Was BB87 simply a placeholder for CC?

[snapback]82002[/snapback]

[/quote]

No.  If that were the case, Bill Cullen would have hosted.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' date=\'Apr 15 2005, 06:49 AM\']The San Quentin (sp?) prison was to Card Sharks?

[snapback]81997[/snapback]

[/quote]
San Quentin wasn't the only prison CS used for polls.  They also used Folsom State Prison (yes, as in Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues").

As an aside, I've done projects with Davis Research as a part of my day job (comes with being involved in the field of market research).  Good firm.

Doug

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'dmota104\' date=\'Apr 15 2005, 08:53 AM\']

Plus the prize money on BB87 -- PUH-lease.  If you win a game and had to capture at least five hexagons, you only get a hundred bucks (down from 500 in the early '80s)  Further, IIRC, after you won five matches, you had to retire undefeated.

[snapback]82001[/snapback]

[/quote]

It was a ten match limit on BB87. And they did, however, go to the progressive jackpot for the Gold Run later in the run. New champs always started at the $5K level a la Hot Potato, regardless of whether the last Gold Run played was a win or loss. I do think they could have kept the maingame wins at $500 per game, however.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' date=\'Apr 15 2005, 04:49 AM\']BTW, I swear I heard the BB87 theme elsewhere.
[/quote]
I've heard it a boatload of places used as a generic music bed, but one place we both might have heard it was when CBS was using it as a network promo bed for a while.

[JMFabiano]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Apr 15 2005, 09:14 AM\'][quote name=\'dmota104\' date=\'Apr 15 2005, 08:53 AM\']

Plus the prize money on BB87 -- PUH-lease.  If you win a game and had to capture at least five hexagons, you only get a hundred bucks (down from 500 in the early '80s)  Further, IIRC, after you won five matches, you had to retire undefeated.

[snapback]82001[/snapback]

[/quote]

It was a ten match limit on BB87. And they did, however, go to the progressive jackpot for the Gold Run later in the run. New champs always started at the $5K level a la Hot Potato, regardless of whether the last Gold Run played was a win or loss. I do think they could have kept the maingame wins at $500 per game, however.

[snapback]82005[/snapback]

[/quote]

MO' MONEY SYNDROME!  Oops, sorry, reflex...

As for my status, was Cullen BB better?  Yes.  Was Rafferty BB a bad show?  No.  They made do with the new players format, and did it the best way they could (switching advantages, even tiebreaker board).  The show otherwise was pretty much the same, aside from the majority of domestic questions (was this the assumption that only housewives were watching daytime TV coming into play?)  

One nitpicky thing I missed: different pitch bells for each player when they score a hexagon, and it sounding WHEN the red or white block goes up.