Game Show Pilot Question

[cmjb13]

Would I be correct in saying that contestants on pilots do not receive any winnings from playing the game?

[catkins522]

Yep.  I think that they are paid for 1 day, usually $100.  However, they are not entitled to their winning, ie a car, prizes, and loads of cash.

Charles

[bandit_bobby]

How was "Beat the Computer" played on the 21 Pilot?

[Blanquepage]

I could be wrong, but the contestants are just paid a flat fee in most cases since they're just acting.

In some pilots where the game may not be scripted, contestants that win get to appear on the show if it becomes a series. (e.g. Scott Wyant on Bullseye)

How was "Beat the Computer" played on the 21 Pilot?

...I'd recommened downloading the pilot and seeing for yourself? (wink, wink :-P)
Seriously though, the contestant tried to accumulate as close to 21 as possible without going over by stopping a board with random spinning numbers ranging from 1-11. Before spinning, the player decides whether he / she takes the forthcoming number or gives the number to the computer. The computer freezes at 17 or higher and if the player's score is higher than the computer or manages to bust the computer by causing it to obtain over 21, he / she wins the bonus game.

Simple enough? :-D

--Jamie

[scully24]

I was a pilot contestant on a number of shows in the 80's, and we were always paid a flat fee for our time.  As mentioned above, if the show went to air, we were often given the opportunity to appear on the regular show as well.

One thing to note, a pilot is always created to best showcase the play of the game.  To that end, the outcome of a pilot is often manipulated--perhaps the contestants are supplied with answers to assure a big win, or in some cases technical problems may force them to shoot and re-shoot portions of the game and they simply may not have written enough material to keep providing fresh game material to the contestants.  So the pilot contestants may end up having to act like they've never heard the show material before.  There can be quite a bit of acting involved in being a pilot contestant.

So for those practical reasons, they do not award actual prizes to pilot contestants, not to mention that their budgets on a pilot don't have room for such an extravagance.  Remember, the whole point of a pilot is simply to give a good demonstration of the show to a roomful of executives, so of course it's not necessary to award prizes to accomplish that.

[Blanquepage]

I was a pilot contestant on a number of shows in the 80's, and we were always paid a flat fee for our time

What pilots did you take part in?

--Jamie

[scully24]

I did pilots for "Catch Phrase," a Marty Pasetta Production, and for "Lucky Rollers," (which was an attempt to revive "High Rollers" for ABC, with Alex Trebek still hosting), and also did a word game show for Sande Stewart, which the name of the show escapes me.  That last show was interesting in that it arrempted to use the game play format from the Winner's Circle of Pyramid, but use it as a front game format, and then they added some kind of bonus round, the format of which I can't remember.  I also did a presentation for a show from Dick Clark Productions called "Family Tree" that was very memorable because you had to lie convincingly to a celebrity panel (a la "To Tell The Truth") and I remember there was a lot of pressure not to blow it.

I did a lot of other presentations and run-throughs of various shows, because once you got on the lists of a few contestant coordinators, you would get called a lot if you were available and willing.

How I got on those lists was by appearing on regular shows as a contestant.  I was on:

Whew! in 1979 ( at the tender age of 19)
Wheel of Fortune in 1982
Go! in 1983
Million Dollar Chance of a Lifetime in 1986
and Jackpot in 1989

Game shows were a fun hobby for me all through my 20's.

[Blanquepage]

Lucky Rollers

Wow, those pilots are on the trading circuit. Some of us probably have your pilot for that...

Go! in 1983

You remember the date or the celebs? I'm sure I have your Go appearance too.
-_^

--Jamie

[scully24]

That's cool!  I've never seen the Lucky Rollers tape, although I do have tape of my "Go!" appearances.

The thing I remember about doing "Lucky Rollers" was the incredible energy on the set.  They basically wanted contestants who could scream and yell and act excited for long periods at a time.  I mean the only other skill was throwing a pair of dice.  I always thought it was funny that Alex Trebek was associated with two shows that were so far apart in style.  You have "Jeopardy," which is so cerebral, and he acts like a college professor, and then there was "High Rollers" where he was like a tuxedo-ed croupier.  But it was very fun to do that pilot.  The audiences that attended the taping got into it just as much as if we were playing for real money; I think most of them thought we were.  Nowadays they usually have to get paid extras to sit in the audience for tapings, so the live energy is not as intense.

When I was on Go! the celebrties were Audrey Landers and Jay___?, the ventriloquist who appeared on "Soap."  Our team was partnered with Audrey on the first show, and we won and got to play the bonus round twice and didn't win either of them.  (That bonus round was hard to win!)  Then we came back and played with Jay and got beat on our second day.  I remember we won $2100, and my share was $525, which I used to buy my first VCR!

[Blanquepage]

The thing I remember about doing "Lucky Rollers" was the incredible energy on the set

This just slipped right by me the first time, but the title was Lucky Numbers....unless this is a totally different pilot altogether. :-D
I kinda doubt it's a different one because Lucky Numbers was shot for ABC and was a High Rollers clone attempt...

When I was on Go! the celebrties were Audrey Landers and Jay___?,

Ah. Jay Johnson.

--Jamie

[scully24]

Sounds like that must have been the same pilot.  At the time we taped it, it was definitely called "Lucky Rollers," but they must have changed the name subsequently.  Probably they decided the first name was just too similar.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'scully24\' date=\'Nov 28 2003, 01:39 AM\'] That last show was interesting in that it arrempted to use the game play format from the Winner's Circle of Pyramid, but use it as a front game format, and then they added some kind of bonus round, the format of which I can't remember. [/quote]
 Would this be Cash on the Line?

[Pyramid80]

[quote name=\'scully24\' date=\'Nov 27 2003, 11:44 PM\'] I was a pilot contestant on a number of shows in the 80's, and we were always paid a flat fee for our time.  As mentioned above, if the show went to air, we were often given the opportunity to appear on the regular show as well.

One thing to note, a pilot is always created to best showcase the play of the game.  To that end, the outcome of a pilot is often manipulated--perhaps the contestants are supplied with answers to assure a big win, or in some cases technical problems may force them to shoot and re-shoot portions of the game and they simply may not have written enough material to keep providing fresh game material to the contestants.  So the pilot contestants may end up having to act like they've never heard the show material before.  There can be quite a bit of acting involved in being a pilot contestant.

So for those practical reasons, they do not award actual prizes to pilot contestants, not to mention that their budgets on a pilot don't have room for such an extravagance.  Remember, the whole point of a pilot is simply to give a good demonstration of the show to a roomful of executives, so of course it's not necessary to award prizes to accomplish that. [/quote]
 Thank you scully24 for sharing your information with us.  It is interesting learning about people who have actually taped pilots and been on some game shows.  I know that I would have loved to have been in your shows back in those days.  Unfortunately today there aren't as many great shows as there was back in the 80's.

[scully24]

Would this be Cash on the Line?

To be honest, I'm not sure why my memory of that show is so vague.  I think I came down and was a back-up contestant on that pilot.  I remember being on the set, but not playing the game.

By the way, one last favorite memory...On WOF, I was the winning contestant on Susan Stafford's final show.  They did a big send-off for her during the last few minutes, cutting the game play a little short that day.  And so then I was the returning winner when they tried out her first replacement, who was Summer Bartholomew! Summer did a week's worth of shows, and I think they tried a few other women before they settled on Vanna White.

[J.R.]

Say, how sober was Alex when you attended the "Lucky Numbers/Rollers" Pilot ?

-Joe R.