The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: ActualRetailMike on March 23, 2010, 08:32:42 PM
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What visual changes have you noticed that happen on gameshows "when you're not looking"? That is, physical changes that clearly took place before the camera, but we rarely, if ever, see it happen; it always takes place either during the commercial, or when the camera is focusing on something else, like during a fee plug. Stuff you may have wondered what it looked like.
Examples:
TPiR: putting the labels in the showcase podia indicating which contestant bid on which showcase. Also, inserting the little price tag in the pocket on the side. (On the nighttime Dennis James version, this was done while the second showcase was being shown, since there was no commercial between that and price revelations.)
Newlywed game: putting the answer cards on the contestants' laps. Also, when the husbands and wives disappear, although the latest version actually shows the wives getting up to leave, at least at the beginning.
Jeopardy!: Putting up the dividers between the podia for Final Jeopardy! In the Art Fleming version, they also put up those fold-over cards to write on. (With a Goodson-Todman asterisk on the front? How'd that get there.)
What's My Line: Putting on the blindfolds
Concentration: Returning the board back to numbers after puzzle solved. Though in the syndie version, we'd usually hear all the trilons reverting at once; not sure if that ever made it on camera. In the Bob Clayton version, we'd sometimes see the doors close between rounds, done to music in fact, but other times they would suddenly be closed at the end of the Chevy Nova promo.
Wheel of Fortune: Setting up a new puzzle, before the electronic board debuted. Also, putting special items on the wheel.
And there are any number of shows where an electronically-based display would revert, but seldom or never on camera. Such as the Hollywood Squares board de-lettering after a win, the TPiR single-bid displays clearing (other than when everyone overbid), etc.
One that doesn't count is the individual score displays on the 10k pyramid (and others?). Did anyone else ever notice how, while the contestants walked toward the winner's circle, the numeric displays sequentially cycled back, i.e., they went 33, 44, 55.... 99 then blank? I used to be puzzled why the display could go that high since the contestants could never score that much, even if they got every clue right.
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[quote name=\'ActualRetailMike\' post=\'238122\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 07:32 PM\']One that doesn't count is the individual score displays on the 10k pyramid (and others?). Did anyone else ever notice how, while the contestants walked toward the winner's circle, the numeric displays sequentially cycled back, i.e., they went 33, 44, 55.... 99 then blank? I used to be puzzled why the display could go that high since the contestants could never score that much, even if they got every clue right.[/quote]
Actually, 33 and 44 did happen ... in multiple-tie games of that era.
Once, in a week with blind players, the teams played the first game to a 21-21 tie. Dick suggested that they split the $5,000 and each go to the Winner's Circle. The transition from one team to the other took place entirely off camera.
Someone please remind me: How did NY-era Pyramid handle it when Bill Cullen's team won a tie-breaker?
ETA: If you're counting things that happen during the commercial, let's not forget the category cards from the first few years of J!
Also, does this count? On Lingo, when they draw a wild card, they stop the action to remove whatever number was called.
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[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'238131\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 11:16 PM\']Someone please remind me: How did NY-era Pyramid handle it when Bill Cullen's team won a tie-breaker?[/quote]
I believe once the tie was reached, they would go to commercial, and once they came back, Bill would be waiting at the Winner's Circle, at which point he would administer the tiebreaker. Whatever team won would play the bonus right then and there.
EDIT: Eep. You asked about his TEAM. My bad.
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Moving the steps of knowledge offstage on Legends was done off-camera.
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On PYL, the "Earned/Passed" arrow cards always ended up in that middle slot...
On Donnymid, before the Winner's Circle, when they showed a wide shot of the set, the big pyramid monitors were raised. Donny would then explain the rules, and as a dramatic prelude to the Winner's Circle, the now-lowered monitors would rise all over again. Cool effect, but out of place. Why not just keep them down when coming back from commercial?
Also, is my mind deceiving me, or were there two different backdrops for the preliminary and championship rounds on Hit Man? There was round one with the ladder, then the championship round, so to speak...
Also, many games remove the host's podium for the end game. Off the top of my head, the current run of Feud removes the faceoff podium, and I believe M.G.'s Crosswords removed the five lecterns...
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Also, many games remove the host's podium for the end game. Off the top of my head, the current run of Feud removes the faceoff podium, and I believe M.G.'s Crosswords removed the five lecterns...
Ditto for Face the Music, which had no podium for Ron Ely during game 1 and the Championship Game, but had it during games 2 and 3.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'238137\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 12:55 AM\']On Donnymid, before the Winner's Circle, when they showed a wide shot of the set, the big pyramid monitors were raised. Donny would then explain the rules, and as a dramatic prelude to the Winner's Circle, the now-"SUDDENLY"-lowered monitors would rise all over again. Cool effect, but out of place. Why not just keep them down when coming back from commercial?[/quote]
THANK YOU!! NOW I ahem... I know that I'm not alone on this . That always bothered the **** out of me. I mean what's the point. Bad directing IMHO
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[quote name=\'ActualRetailMike\' post=\'238122\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 05:32 PM\']One that doesn't count is the individual score displays on the 10k pyramid (and others?). Did anyone else ever notice how, while the contestants walked toward the winner's circle, the numeric displays sequentially cycled back, i.e., they went 33, 44, 55.... 99 then blank? I used to be puzzled why the display could go that high since the contestants could never score that much, even if they got every clue right.[/quote]
Too bad you say that one doesn't count! Signaltron displays had a fixed number of leaves and so each digit had to go 1-2-3-...-9-0-blank. And on the original Pyramid tiebreakers just added to the existing round score. One game score with several tiebreakers went into the 30s or 40s.
Now here's one for you collectors: Somehow I remember that on the CBS New York Pyramids (as opposed to the ABC version or the CBS TV City originated shows) that the score displays went to 00 rather than blank when the winners walked to the winners' circle. Anyone care to confirm this?
Having seen a few of the Pyramids in TV-15 (the Elysee Theater) in New York, I remember a few other resets:
- A stagehand moved the host's podium while the last category was being played. That's why you see Dick Clark standing with one foot on the steps for the tiebreakers.
- Also the leftmost flat (behind the celebrity on the first team) was turned a few degrees outward so it would look right in the Winner's Circle shot.
- And while it doesn't count as a "reset" I remember the wide shot of Dick and the small pyramid was slightly masked with a black card to avoid showing the old boxes (as in box seats) that hung above the small pyramid.
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[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'238131\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 08:16 PM\']Someone please remind me: How did NY-era Pyramid handle it when Bill Cullen's team won a tie-breaker?[/quote]
There was no walk, just a gradual zoom out from a shot of Bill and his partner.
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[quote name=\'William_S.\' post=\'238139\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 01:09 AM\']THANK YOU!! NOW I ahem... I know that I'm not alone on this . That always bothered the **** out of me. I mean what's the point. Bad directing IMHO[/quote]
Not at all. :-) It caused annoyance amongst a few members when the shows first aired as well...
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'238137\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 09:55 PM\']Also, is my mind deceiving me, or were there two different backdrops for the preliminary and championship rounds on Hit Man? There was round one with the ladder, then the championship round, so to speak...[/quote]
Nope, this was definitely the case. Separate sets of podiums, even. I believe they showed that part of the set rotating at least once during the run.
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Not only did they change the puzzle board on WoF, they also changed the wheel layout between rounds.
In addition to the resetting of the displays on TPIR, during an IUFB, whenever that particular IUFB disappears from view, new prizes are loaded on stage mostly behind closed doors(except the car being wheeled out in Lucky $even).
On J!(Alex Trebek version), I use to remember when the background behind the players went from blue after the J! round to red in Double J! but I'm not sure if it was viewed on camera or not.
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On TTTT they lowered the curtain off camera (the one the team of challengers stood behind).
On WML? they changed the sign-in card off camera.
On FF they set the downstage mic off camera.
On P+ did we show the Alphabetics doors closing (or the board flying out during the first few months)?
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[quote name=\'ActualRetailMike\' post=\'238122\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 08:32 PM\']TPiR: putting the labels in the showcase podia indicating which contestant bid on which showcase. Also, inserting the little price tag in the pocket on the side. (On the nighttime Dennis James version, this was done while the second showcase was being shown, since there was no commercial between that and price revelations.)[/quote]
Well, they added an animation on those labels for passes with the new computerized podiums recently.
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[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'238131\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 10:16 PM\']Also, does this count? On Lingo, when they draw a wild card, they stop the action to remove whatever number was called.[/quote]
Did they? It would seem to make more sense to leave the ball in, and only stop tape if the contestants pulled the corresponding number later in the round.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'238137\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 11:55 PM\']On PYL, the "Earned/Passed" arrow cards always ended up in that middle slot...[/quote]
Unless I'm not seeing correctly, I don't think anyone's brought up that on PYL also the score panels for money were covered by slats with the word "Spins" on them during the question rounds.
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[quote name=\'SFQuizKid\' post=\'238140\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 01:09 AM\'][quote name=\'ActualRetailMike\' post=\'238122\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 05:32 PM\']One that doesn't count is the individual score displays on the 10k pyramid (and others?). Did anyone else ever notice how, while the contestants walked toward the winner's circle, the numeric displays sequentially cycled back, i.e., they went 33, 44, 55.... 99 then blank? I used to be puzzled why the display could go that high since the contestants could never score that much, even if they got every clue right.[/quote]
Too bad you say that one doesn't count! Signaltron displays had a fixed number of leaves and so each digit had to go 1-2-3-...-9-0-blank. And on the original Pyramid tiebreakers just added to the existing round score. One game score with several tiebreakers went into the 30s or 40s.
Now here's one for you collectors: Somehow I remember that on the CBS New York Pyramids (as opposed to the ABC version or the CBS TV City originated shows) that the score displays went to 00 rather than blank when the winners walked to the winners' circle. Anyone care to confirm this?
Having seen a few of the Pyramids in TV-15 (the Elysee Theater) in New York, I remember a few other resets:
- A stagehand moved the host's podium while the last category was being played. That's why you see Dick Clark standing with one foot on the steps for the tiebreakers.
- Also the leftmost flat (behind the celebrity on the first team) was turned a few degrees outward so it would look right in the Winner's Circle shot.
- And while it doesn't count as a "reset" I remember the wide shot of Dick and the small pyramid was slightly masked with a black card to avoid showing the old boxes (as in box seats) that hung above the small pyramid.
[/quote]
Yes, on the original CBS $10,000 Pyramid set used at the Ed Sullivan Theater, which was also the same one sent to/from CBS Television City for 15 episodes taped there, the score displays did go up to "00" and stopped prior to the break. On the set at ABC Studio TV-15, the score displays usually remained at the final score during the segment, but changed to blank during the commercial break.
Now, here is a link to a picture of the small pyramid and host Dick Clark taken from the balcony during a taping session of a $20,000 Pyramid episode in progress. However, the only *card* of sorts I could recall was on the right side of the stage, and it was taped on the side of the fifth background pylon (behind the contestant on the second team) preventing the players of seeing the television monitor closely nearby on the stage.
http://subway.com.ru/other/images/pyr1.jpg (http://\"http://subway.com.ru/other/images/pyr1.jpg\")
It should be noted that up above in the former balcony seats along the far left side ridge are the two Signaltron display boxes in use during the game, not seen on camera, with one each for the celebrity captain's team name taped on its top. Whenever any player wishes to look at his/her score during game play, he/she simply looks upward to the balcony.
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On the 1982-84 version of Tattletales, after about the first three weeks or so, they never turned off the lights indicating a correct answer on camera. After a round they’d change the score on camera, but the lights would remain on for as long as they were on that shot. They’d cut to a close-up of Bert, and on the zoom-out heading to commercial, the lights would then be off.
I could never figure out why they did this – did they think it would have been too much of a distraction having the lights go off and the score changing at the same time? Didn’t seem to be a problem on the ’74-78 version.
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In most versions of "Let's Make a Deal" (but not the current version), there was never any indication that curtains 1, 2, and 3 used the same frames as doors 1, 2, and 3, giving viewers the impression that there were separate areas for the curtains and doors.
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[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' post=\'238157\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 10:49 AM\']In most versions of "Let's Make a Deal" (but not the current version), there was never any indication that curtains 1, 2, and 3 used the same frames as doors 1, 2, and 3, giving viewers the impression that there were separate areas for the curtains and doors.[/quote]
I gotta tell you, I never once got that impression.
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Now, here is a link to a picture of the small pyramid and host Dick Clark taken from the balcony during a taping session of a $20,000 Pyramid episode in progress.
[...]
http://subway.com.ru/other/images/pyr1.jpg (http://subway.com.ru/other/images/pyr1.jpg)
That looks like it was taken yesterday. :o I'd try to give a timeframe on the picture, but unfortunately Wikipedia (sprinkle appropriately) seems to be down.
/what's the higher-lower on somebody telling us which episode that picture is from?
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[quote name=\'Dan88\' post=\'238159\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 02:14 PM\'][quote name=\'William A. Padron\' post=\'238153\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 12:20 PM\']Now, here is a link to a picture of the small pyramid and host Dick Clark taken from the balcony during a taping session of a $20,000 Pyramid episode in progress. http://subway.com.ru/other/images/pyr1.jpg (http://\"http://subway.com.ru/other/images/pyr1.jpg\")[/quote]
That looks like it was taken yesterday. O_O I'd try to give a timeframe on the picture, but unfortunately Wikipedia seems to be down.
/What's the higher-lower on somebody telling us which episode that picture is from?
[/quote]
The photograph was taken during the year 1979, as I seem to remember that the set's carpet looked a little brighter at that time. Also, there was an extension (i.e. new addition) of the carpet covering a bit more of the stage floor in a straight line between the bottom edge of the giant pyramid and the triangular arc's end.
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[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' post=\'238157\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 01:49 PM\']In most versions of "Let's Make a Deal" (but not the current version), there was never any indication that curtains 1, 2, and 3 used the same frames as doors 1, 2, and 3, giving viewers the impression that there were separate areas for the curtains and doors.[/quote]
The director, Joe Behar, had the camera operators zoom in enough so you could never see the curtain frames. But you could tell which curtain was which - there were little stripes on the edge of the curtains indicating the respective door number.
I know back in the day there was a similar coding system on the Big TPIR doors - the shape of the outline box of the logo was unique to each door.
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'238145\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 04:16 AM\']On J!(Alex Trebek version), I use to remember when the background behind the players went from blue after the J! round to red in Double J! but I'm not sure if it was viewed on camera or not.[/quote]
It was...as they went to commercial, they'd show a wide shot of the set, and the background would change. At least that was the case for the "checkerboard" set era. The first season of the "sushi bar" set changed from blue to red, but I don't think that was on-camera.
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'238152\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 11:33 AM\'][quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'238137\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 11:55 PM\']On PYL, the "Earned/Passed" arrow cards always ended up in that middle slot...[/quote]
Unless I'm not seeing correctly, I don't think anyone's brought up that on PYL also the score panels for money were covered by slats with the word "Spins" on them during the question rounds.
[/quote]
Ahh, forgot all about that one...
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'238164\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 03:06 PM\'][quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'238145\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 04:16 AM\']On J!(Alex Trebek version), I use to remember when the background behind the players went from blue after the J! round to red in Double J! but I'm not sure if it was viewed on camera or not.[/quote]
It was...as they went to commercial, they'd show a wide shot of the set, and the background would change. At least that was the case for the "checkerboard" set era. The first season of the "sushi bar" set changed from blue to red, but I don't think that was on-camera.
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'238152\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 11:33 AM\'][quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'238137\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 11:55 PM\']On PYL, the "Earned/Passed" arrow cards always ended up in that middle slot...[/quote]
Unless I'm not seeing correctly, I don't think anyone's brought up that on PYL also the score panels for money were covered by slats with the word "Spins" on them during the question rounds.
[/quote]
Ahh, forgot all about that one...
[/quote]
Well, actually, the first and second seasons of the "sushi bar" set change from blue to red with the door itself changing from red to blue. Later on, only the door itself would change colors but it's usually not seen.
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[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'238147\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 07:38 AM\']On TTTT they lowered the curtain off camera (the one the team of challengers stood behind).[/quote]
Yeah, I always noticed that on Collyer TTTT. The curtain would go up, they'd go through the "What-is-your-name-please?" routine, the announcer would say "One of these people is the real so-and-so, two are imposters and will try to fool the panel," and then after the panelists were introduced, Bud Collyer would walk out - and the curtain would be back down. And after Collyer settled down, and he'd start reading aloud the affidavit and they'd cut to the stage, the curtain would (of course) be up again. I never understood why the curtain was lowered in the interim.
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We never saw the hot-seat area get pushed into place after the Fastest Finger questions or removed on Regis's "Who Wants to Be."
And the sudden-death tie-breaker card and marker caddies on "Match Game PM" came out during the break. And we were never told what would happen if the contestants wrote the same answer. (Thank heavens for this Forum, solving the mystery some 30 years later!)
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Gene Rayburn acknowledged on MG PM once that they played the tiebreaker game 3 times, as a result of the contestants writing the same answer. Thankfully MG/HS resolved that problem by having contestants choose from 4 possible answers.
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[quote name=\'whewfan\' post=\'238171\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 02:02 PM\']Thankfully MG/HS resolved that problem by having contestants choose from 4 possible answers.[/quote]
...and created a new one in allowing someone the advantage of choosing first.
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[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' post=\'238169\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 12:26 PM\'][quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'238147\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 07:38 AM\']On TTTT they lowered the curtain off camera (the one the team of challengers stood behind).[/quote]
Yeah, I always noticed that on Collyer TTTT. The curtain would go up, they'd go through the "What-is-your-name-please?" routine, the announcer would say "One of these people is the real so-and-so, two are imposters and will try to fool the panel," and then after the panelists were introduced, Bud Collyer would walk out - and the curtain would be back down. And after Collyer settled down, and he'd start reading aloud the affidavit and they'd cut to the stage, the curtain would (of course) be up again. I never understood why the curtain was lowered in the interim.[/quote]
Right, but even after the show opening, some time after the challengers took their seats, that curtain was lowered yet you never saw it being lowered on camera.
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[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'238155\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 12:44 PM\']On the 1982-84 version of Tattletales, after about the first three weeks or so, they never turned off the lights indicating a correct answer on camera. After a round they’d change the score on camera, but the lights would remain on for as long as they were on that shot. They’d cut to a close-up of Bert, and on the zoom-out heading to commercial, the lights would then be off.
I could never figure out why they did this – did they think it would have been too much of a distraction having the lights go off and the score changing at the same time? Didn’t seem to be a problem on the ’74-78 version.[/quote]
Wasn't that a "Goodson" quirk in general? As I recall, on most Goodson shows that had chasing lights, the lights would continue to run until they were off camera, and when they were back on camera, the lights would have stopped.
Tyshaun
/Why I do I remember this kind of stuff?
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Interesting part about the changing of the Wheel of Fortune board between rounds--in some years, depending on the background behind the contestants, you could see a reflection of the board being wheeled in from off-set.
Regarding the Jeopardy background change from blue to red, Alex even mentioned it on at least one episode.
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/Why I do I remember this kind of stuff?
Yeah, why? I've got Mark Bowerman, Corey Cooper, Jake Tauber, Elliot Feldman, Joe Kaufmann, Bobby Sherman, Joe Neustein, even Edd Kalehoff as Facebook friends. They all used to work for G-T and probably only Bobby could even begin to remember let alone explain it.
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'238138\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 11:00 PM\']Ditto for Face the Music, which had no podium for Ron Ely during game 1 and the Championship Game, but had it during games 2 and 3.[/quote]
Lots of things seemed to change off camera on Face the Music. The 3rd player's podium after game 2 would also go away. And whole set pieces would change for the flip effects going in and out of commercial. :)
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Changes on the set that don't happen on camera
In the case of Catch 21's first season, it was a change OF set from maingame to bonus round.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'238172\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 05:09 PM\'][quote name=\'whewfan\' post=\'238171\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 02:02 PM\']Thankfully MG/HS resolved that problem by having contestants choose from 4 possible answers.[/quote]
...and created a new one in allowing someone the advantage of choosing first.
[/quote]
In all the episodes I've seen with a tiebreaker, though, the contestant who goes first is the one who didn't get to choose first in Round 1, so they at least tried to make things somewhat equitable.
Brendan
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[quote name=\'pyrfan\' post=\'238190\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 10:52 PM\']In all the episodes I've seen with a tiebreaker, though, the contestant who goes first is the one who didn't get to choose first in Round 1, so they at least tried to make things somewhat equitable.[/quote]That's great, but if the other guy wins because he picked the answer that I want, I'll be a mite pissed.
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[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'238191\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 11:25 PM\']That's great, but if the other guy wins because he picked the answer that I want, I'll be a mite pissed.[/quote]
What Travis said. Picking first in Round 1 means precisely nothing because it's a blind choice.
Matt was being "thankful" (and I use quotes not to mock Matt, but to acknowledge that I am taking that statement in the spirit in which I am sure it was intended) because they fixed a production problem...and my point is that they created a much more egregious problem in doing so.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'238192\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 11:38 PM\']Matt was being "thankful" (and I use quotes not to mock Matt, but to acknowledge that I am taking that statement in the spirit in which I am sure it was intended) because they fixed a production problem...and my point is that they created a much more egregious problem in doing so.[/quote]And depending on if the show is running heavy or light, you can leave in the tiebreaker, watch as Gene gets more exasperated and so on, or cut it out and just have that one winning moment.
I would much prefer that a show be equitable to the contestants if at all possible, and if that means you leave out some inconsequential game stuff, that's fine by me.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'238192\' date=\'Mar 25 2010, 01:38 AM\'][quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'238191\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 11:25 PM\']That's great, but if the other guy wins because he picked the answer that I want, I'll be a mite pissed.[/quote]
What Travis said. Picking first in Round 1 means precisely nothing because it's a blind choice.
Matt was being "thankful" (and I use quotes not to mock Matt, but to acknowledge that I am taking that statement in the spirit in which I am sure it was intended) because they fixed a production problem...and my point is that they created a much more egregious problem in doing so.
[/quote]
How exactly did the tie-breaker work?
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[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'238195\' date=\'Mar 25 2010, 10:22 AM\']How exactly did the tie-breaker work?[/quote]
One Super Match-type question, four pre-written answers on the question toaster. Each contestant picked one, and the panel gave verbal responses one by one until one of the chosen answers was said.
-Jason
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Here's a few to add to the mix:
* Talkabout -- Going into the bonus round, the cover or shade on the Isolation Booth wouldn't wouldn't be removed until right before the contestant partner would enter the booth, and as soon as that person would leave the booth, they would do a tight shot on Wayne &/or the contestants until the cover would be back on.
* Trebek's High Rollers -- In the later years, they would always wait until the camera was off the "Prize Wall" behind the contestants before they would swap out the list of prize slides with the dice icon, which usually was seen during the Big Numbers and show close segments. This way, they could swap out or add any prize slides in between games.
Once in a while though, before they would have the dice logo, you could sometimes make out shadows of the stage crew changing the slides through the screen. It looked like the prize list was on a hinged door that would swing to the side, and the dice logo may have been on an opposite-hinged door of some sort.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but on $ale, with the exception of one blooper in particular , we never got to see the set change where the Instant Bargain was revealed. I believe it was on a turntable where the Fame Game board was.
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Here's a slightly obscure one:
Dawson Feud, when the Fast Money microphone is put in place.
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[quote name=\'SFQuizKid\' post=\'238140\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 01:09 AM\'][quote name=\'ActualRetailMike\' post=\'238122\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 05:32 PM\']One that doesn't count is the individual score displays on the 10k pyramid (and others?). Did anyone else ever notice how, while the contestants walked toward the winner's circle, the numeric displays sequentially cycled back, i.e., they went 33, 44, 55.... 99 then blank? I used to be puzzled why the display could go that high since the contestants could never score that much, even if they got every clue right.[/quote]
Too bad you say that one doesn't count! Signaltron displays had a fixed number of leaves and so each digit had to go 1-2-3-...-9-0-blank. And on the original Pyramid tiebreakers just added to the existing round score. One game score with several tiebreakers went into the 30s or 40s.
[/quote]
Anson Williams vs. Adrienne Barbeau, July 4, 1976. Four tiebreakers, final score 44-43, but I forgot who won. They played three tie-breakers before the commercial break, then coming back Dick mentioned that if nobody won on the fourth tie-breaker the scores would be zeroed and they would just go immediately to the second game. The two teams matched 7s through the first three IIRC. So with 7 total rounds at a possible 7 points each, that would have been a max of 49, so they were well matched.
This game, btw, I think, was the major reason for changing to the later format based on elapsed time to complete 7.
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[quote name=\'Lirodon\' post=\'238148\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 07:40 AM\'][quote name=\'ActualRetailMike\' post=\'238122\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 08:32 PM\']TPiR: putting the labels in the showcase podia indicating which contestant bid on which showcase. Also, inserting the little price tag in the pocket on the side. (On the nighttime Dennis James version, this was done while the second showcase was being shown, since there was no commercial between that and price revelations.)[/quote]
Well, they added an animation on those labels for passes with the new computerized podiums recently.
[/quote]
Yup, saw that once on camera recently. The contestant chose to pass the first showcase while the showcase graphic was already displayed on his podium. We were then treated to the rare glimpse of watching the graphic slide from one podium to the other.
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You never saw them change the slides for beat the devil on TJW.
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The photograph was taken during the year 1979, as I seem to remember that the set's carpet looked a little brighter at that time. Also, there was an extension (i.e. new addition) of the carpet covering a bit more of the stage floor in a straight line between the bottom edge of the giant pyramid and the triangular arc's end.
Which reminds me...why do two of the Winner's Circle boxes have a slit down the middle? And what's with the line right underneath said boxes? I know the Winner's Circle boxes changed color schemes several times throughout the 1973-81 era, but I've never been able to pin them down.
/see Wikipedia's page on Pyramid's broadcast history (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_%28game_show%29_broadcast_history) for info on the set changes.
//yes, that was me that added the details on the 1991 changes.
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[quote name=\'WhammyPower\' post=\'238213\' date=\'Mar 25 2010, 10:08 AM\']Here's a slightly obscure one:
Dawson Feud, when the Fast Money microphone is put in place.[/quote]
Already mentioned.
You never saw them change the slides for beat the devil on TJW.
I think there's a reason for that ;-)
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[quote name=\'Mr. Bill\' post=\'238231\' date=\'Mar 25 2010, 05:12 PM\'][quote name=\'SFQuizKid\' post=\'238140\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 01:09 AM\'][quote name=\'ActualRetailMike\' post=\'238122\' date=\'Mar 23 2010, 05:32 PM\']One that doesn't count is the individual score displays on the 10k pyramid (and others?). Did anyone else ever notice how, while the contestants walked toward the winner's circle, the numeric displays sequentially cycled back, i.e., they went 33, 44, 55.... 99 then blank? I used to be puzzled why the display could go that high since the contestants could never score that much, even if they got every clue right.[/quote]
Too bad you say that one doesn't count! Signaltron displays had a fixed number of leaves and so each digit had to go 1-2-3-...-9-0-blank. And on the original Pyramid tiebreakers just added to the existing round score. One game score with several tiebreakers went into the 30s or 40s.
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Anson Williams vs. Adrienne Barbeau, July 4, 1976. Four tiebreakers, final score 44-43, but I forgot who won. They played three tie-breakers before the commercial break, then coming back Dick mentioned that if nobody won on the fourth tie-breaker the scores would be zeroed and they would just go immediately to the second game. The two teams matched 7s through the first three IIRC. So with 7 total rounds at a possible 7 points each, that would have been a max of 49, so they were well matched.
This game, btw, I think, was the major reason for changing to the later format based on elapsed time to complete 7.
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Actually, the most-scored points in a tie-breaker game I can recall was on the episode that aired on Friday, July 4, 1975, and the final score was 45-44 with Lucie Arnaz winning versus Anson Williams. Anson had the chance to win the game, but he fell behind instead and his team lost by that one point when the time's-up buzzer sounded. At that point, quick rush to the Winner's Circle and cut to another commercial break.
That game went into five tie-breakers, and Dick Clark did also announce on that episode after the commercial break (and the four tie-breaker played) if the game was not won after the next round played, a new game (the second main one) would be played instead afterward. A $100 cash prize would had been awarded to each of the two civilian contestants.
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[quote name=\'Dan88\' post=\'238242\' date=\'Mar 25 2010, 06:00 PM\'][quote name=\'William A. Padron\' post=\'238160\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 02:47 PM\']The photograph was taken during the year 1979, as I seem to remember that the set's carpet looked a little brighter at that time. Also, there was an extension (i.e. new addition) of the carpet covering a bit more of the stage floor in a straight line between the bottom edge of the giant pyramid and the triangular arc's end.[/quote]
Which reminds me -- why do two of the Winner's Circle boxes have a slit down the middle? And what's with the line right underneath said boxes? I know the Winner's Circle boxes changed color schemes several times throughout the 1973-81 era, but I've never been able to pin them down.
/See Wikipedia's page on Pyramid's broadcast history (http://\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_%28game_show%29_broadcast_history\") for info on the set changes.
//Yes, that was me that added the details on the 1991 changes.
[/quote]
That "slit" is probably, on each of those two boxes seen in the picture on the giant pyramid, a combination of its triangular logos looking like it may have a slight crease or bulge that could look like a stain to the camera eye. The line that is a few inches away from the trilion boxes, as seen on that board built by ABC-TV, divides the inner center portion of the giant pyramid into two separate parts, with the bottom one being only hollow and nothing else.
The color schemes on the Winner's Circle boxes should be as follows: March 1973-February 1976, shiny gold pyramid logo with no border on orange background; March 1976-January 1978, gold pyramid logo with white border on blue background; and January 1978-May 1981: "glitzy" gold pyramid logo with red border on blue background. The giant pyramid board received its reddish tint paint job on episodes first airing in January 1978, and the color backdrop behind the giant pyramid went from orange to blue around February 1978.
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[quote name=\'tyshaun1\' post=\'238174\' date=\'Mar 24 2010, 05:04 PM\']As I recall, on most Goodson shows that had chasing lights, the lights would continue to run until they were off camera, and when they were back on camera, the lights would have stopped.[/quote]
I remember hearing producer Roger Dobkowitz, in an interview with Stu Shokus, say that changing a light pattern on-camera was a production sin (wins were an exception). This was a standing production rule for The Price Is Right, but presumably for all of the Goodson realm.
As for the off-camera set changes: I am always reminded of that still image from the second ep of Price Is Right in 1972 where the stagehand was installing the showcase podium in the background. Fortunately, it is still preserved on the Wayback Machine (http://\"http://web.archive.org/web/20061208122548/www.tpir.tv/1sttpir/2/72show29.JPG\"). Oops! Thank goodness he wasn't in the plumber's union.
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[quote name=\'William A. Padron\' post=\'238284\' date=\'Mar 26 2010, 10:56 AM\']Actually, the most-scored points in a tie-breaker game I can recall was on the episode that aired on Friday, July 4, 1975, and the final score was 45-44 with Lucie Arnaz winning versus Anson Williams. Anson had the chance to win the game, but he fell behind instead and his team lost by that one point when the time's-up buzzer sounded. At that point, quick rush to the Winner's Circle and cut to another commercial break.
That game went into five tie-breakers, and Dick Clark did also announce on that episode after the commercial break (and the four tie-breaker played) if the game was not won after the next round played, a new game (the second main one) would be played instead afterward. A $100 cash prize would had been awarded to each of the two civilian contestants.[/quote]
After reviewing a few things, I stand corrected. You have it correctly. Guess all I really remembered was July 4 and Anson Williams. I knew it was the day The Big Showdown last aired -- and that was 1975. The rest of it was hazy at best in my memory. As for the score, I couldn't remember if it was 45-44 or 44-43.
As for my previous post, it's obviously erroneous.
Thanks for the correction.
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The color schemes on the Winner's Circle boxes should be as follows: March 1973-February 1976, shiny gold pyramid logo with no border on orange background; March 1976-January 1978, gold pyramid logo with white border on blue background; and January 1978-May 1981: "glitzy" gold pyramid logo with red border on blue background. The giant pyramid board received its reddish tint paint job on episodes first airing in January 1978, and the color backdrop behind the giant pyramid went from orange to blue around February 1978.
You have just made me relive my college years.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but on $ale, with the exception of one blooper in particular , we never got to see the set change where the Instant Bargain was revealed. I believe it was on a turntable where the Fame Game board was.
You are correct...in fact, it wasn't until catching it in reruns on USA in the mid-90s that I realized the Fame Game area was on a turntable that the IBs were also presented from (you can tell by those occasional camera shots from behind the contestant's podium, usually when Jim counts out bonus money).
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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Ooh, here's one:
On PYL, the slides would change from $$/whammies/prizes to solid colors for the question rounds during commercial breaks.
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I can't believe it took me this long to think of...
The "Go!" bonus-round set being moved into place after one team scored 1,500 points -- and, of course, being removed from the stage before Kevin could do his wrap-up.
Also, we may have seen the celebrities' set piece change from "Match Game" to "Hollywood Squares" in "MG/HS Hour," but we never saw the contestants'/host's set piece change. All we saw was the MG seats disappear. Nor did we see the Super Match set appear.
Brendan
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[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'238331\' date=\'Mar 27 2010, 12:38 AM\']Ooh, here's one:
On PYL, the slides would change from $$/whammies/prizes to solid colors for the question rounds during commercial breaks.[/quote]
I saw a clip on YouTube once that showed that happening. It was kind of strange, because the slides did not change all at once, and for a second, they were completely black.