The Game Show Forum

The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: alfonzos on March 21, 2008, 04:38:19 PM

Title: Eliminating the Formalities
Post by: alfonzos on March 21, 2008, 04:38:19 PM
Can anyone recall the first game show to eliminate the chatting with contestants and begin with gameplay? I can remember the Jack Kelly hosted $0tC beginning the game with an Instant Bargain before the host entered and towards the end of its brief run Let's Play Post Office would begin the show with one game. Are there others I have forgotten?
Title: Eliminating the Formalities
Post by: Matt Ottinger on March 21, 2008, 04:59:30 PM
[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'182121\' date=\'Mar 21 2008, 04:38 PM\']
Can anyone recall the first game show to eliminate the chatting with contestants and begin with gameplay? I can remember the Jack Kelly hosted $0tC beginning the game with an Instant Bargain before the host entered and towards the end of its brief run Let's Play Post Office would begin the show with one game. Are there others I have forgotten?[/quote]
Well, at the very least, the original Jeopardy! predates the original SOTC, and as far as I know, they always played the first part of the Jeopardy round before the contestant interview, much as they do now.
Title: Eliminating the Formalities
Post by: Neumms on March 22, 2008, 12:42:37 PM
[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'182121\' date=\'Mar 21 2008, 03:38 PM\']
Can anyone recall the first game show to eliminate the chatting with contestants and begin with gameplay? I can remember the Jack Kelly hosted $0tC beginning the game with an Instant Bargain before the host entered.
[/quote]

How could they do it before the host entered? Did the players even have any money?

Barker's TPIR, of course, had the first item up for bids before he chatted with anyone.
Title: Eliminating the Formalities
Post by: uncamark on March 24, 2008, 12:27:26 PM
[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'182189\' date=\'Mar 22 2008, 11:42 AM\']
[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'182121\' date=\'Mar 21 2008, 03:38 PM\']
Can anyone recall the first game show to eliminate the chatting with contestants and begin with gameplay? I can remember the Jack Kelly hosted $0tC beginning the game with an Instant Bargain before the host entered.
[/quote]

How could they do it before the host entered? Did the players even have any money?[/quote]

The $20 was already posted on the podia (this was after the show had been on the air for a while and they felt they didn't need to discuss the stake) and Bill Wendell (after I believe introing the contestants) would just say, "And here's your first Instant Bargain--for $2.95, this beautiful..."

Remember that in the original format, the Instant Bargains were always available to all three players.  If no one buzzed in right away, as the crowd yelling "BUY IT!"/MacKenzie would start up, the host (whether it be Kelly or Joe G.) would then come in and try to exhort someone to buzz in, and then do the "going...going...gone!", at which point Wendell would then formally intro the host.  If someone buzzed in, Wendell would then read the plug (on the original, the plug was read only when someone bought), congratulate the player and then intro the host.

(A added reminder that price cuts were very rare on IBs back then and extra cash offers just didn't happen.)
Title: Eliminating the Formalities
Post by: Jimmy Owen on March 24, 2008, 01:13:16 PM
Could the case be made that Collyer TTTT began with game play?
Title: Eliminating the Formalities
Post by: alfonzos on March 24, 2008, 03:39:34 PM
Quote
How could they do it before the host entered? Did the players even have any money?
Quote
The $20 was already posted on the podia...

The players started with $25 (the Milton Bradley home games reflect this). Thanks for backing me up.
Title: Eliminating the Formalities
Post by: alfonzos on March 24, 2008, 03:51:42 PM
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'182304\' date=\'Mar 24 2008, 12:13 PM\']
Could the case be made that Collyer TTTT began with game play?
[/quote]
No, arguably. Contestants are being introduced, just two of them falsely.