Break the Bank

[wdm1219inpenna]

It's now been 25 years since it's been on in first run, but does anybody here remember this version of "Break the Bank"?  I remember hearing about it coming on and at first I thought it was going to be the Jack Barry version with the 20 boxes, and was rather disappointed when I saw it was nothing like that version.  

Rayburn supposedly hated this gig, and then they changed hosts and soon after the format changed somewhat.  I've never been a really big fan of "stunt" shows, which is why Beat the Clock and Minute to Win It never did anything for me.  I know Rayburn's version had the stunts to earn bank cards, and it seemed very lame.  The updated endgame with Farago seemed a bit better, but not too much so.  Many more puzzles used too, rather rapid fire.

Overall a so-so show.  Just wondering who else remembered it, and what your take on the show was.

[Jimmy Owen]

I saw Rayburn's once and the end game was just too bizarre.  Farago's format was run-of-the-mill.  Neither was worth watching on a regular basis.

[BrandonFG]

I saw a few episodes on Youtube. I thought Rayburn's bonus round was ridiculously out of place and took way too long.

Getting rid of the stunts on Farago's version was a good move, but I guess it was too little, too late at that point. There was also that cheesy transition to commercial...

Farago: We'll be back with more "Break the..."
Audience: BANK!!!

It always seemed like something out of a sitcom game show parody.

[Neumms]

It didn't help that Rayburn wasn't all that quick at that point in his life. Maybe if the stunts were the front game it would have helped. Then there'd be more room for mirth and fun. The puzzles could have been the end game; I suppose that would be the same as Sale of the Century's "Winner's Big Money Game" but for bank cards.

[Ian Wallis]

The show wasn't seen in our area.  It was only on a distant station not carried by our local cable.  I saw it listed in TVGuide though, and was wondering if it was a re-do of the mid'70s version.

The only two episodes I've seen have been via tape trades and I wasn't overly impressed with the show.

[The Pyramids]

On my old trading website I called it the worst game show I have ever seen.

[Fedya]

Must have been a pretty old website since I can think of a lot of really bad shows from the past decade.  ;-)

[gamed121683]

I saw a few episodes on Youtube. I thought Rayburn's bonus round was ridiculously out of place and took way too long.

Getting rid of the stunts on Farago's version was a good move, but I guess it was too little, too late at that point. There was also that cheesy transition to commercial...

Farago: We'll be back with more "Break the..."
Audience: BANK!!!

It always seemed like something out of a sitcom game show parody.

I see at as practice for the infomercial market he'd later thrive in.

[The Pyramids]

Must have been a pretty old website since I can think of a lot of really bad shows from the past decade.  ;-)

No, I say the record still stands.

[TLEberle]

No, I say the record still stands.

The Chamber.

The Moment of Truth.

Set For Life.

Temptation.

And you're going to go with an innocuous and inoffensive (albeit admittedly dumb) game show from the mid 1980s. Your sandbox, I guess.

[Neumms]

No, I say the record still stands.

The Chamber.

The Moment of Truth.

Set For Life.

Temptation.

And you're going to go with an innocuous and inoffensive (albeit admittedly dumb) game show from the mid 1980s. Your sandbox, I guess.

Not that I made the original remark, but one might consider Moment of Truth a reality show but not a game, and Temptation did have a good game but undid it in execution. I didn't see enough Set for Life to know if Kimmel's disgust was more apparent than Rayburn's with BtB. And the Chamber, well, good point.

[whewfan]

It's interesting, because on Regis Philbin's show, Gene praises BTB calling Richard Kline a "creative man" and that the show was fun to do.

[TLEberle]

Not that I made the original remark, but one might consider Moment of Truth a reality show but not a game,

There was definitely a game being played: the more someone is willing to psychologically damage their friends and family, the more money they win.

and Temptation did have a good game but undid it in execution.

I would make the case that the "good game" was bastardized to such a degree that you would be hard pressed to link it to the original article.

I didn't see enough Set for Life to know if Kimmel's disgust was more apparent than Rayburn's with BtB.

Whether his disgust was apparent is of little import: people were winning hundreds of thousands of dollars by choosing inanimate carbon rods, only to have much of the prize fund cut down on account of a well-meaning family member. It was foul TV.

[JasonA1]

Call me a masochist, but as I've said before, I think there was potential in making the show something of a You Bet Your Life, where Gene meets two couples, each getting a turn in the vault, with the most successful couple trying their bank cards for the jackpot. The word game was okay, and I liked the whole look and sound of the front game. But the two elements together? Bleh.

-Jason

[Nerdocrumbesian]

I'm not sure if I'm thinking of the right show... this is the end game where people scurried around to random stations doing random things, all the while the clock is running while Gene and the contestants try to figure out what they're supposed to be doing? Apologies to anybody who thinks this is a lost classic, but.... this was the most ridiculous and chaotic thing I've ever seen on a game show.

You know it's not a good sign when the contestant says "It's confusing!" about the end game.

Ah yes, it IS the show I'm thinking of and I found the clip with the confused contestant: