Holy Isolation Booth, Batman! -- A Lost Game Show?

[TimK2003]

Just saw this article on the MeTV website:  http://metv.com/stories/burt-ward-adam-west-and-an-orangutan-made-the-craziest-greatest-game-show-nobody-ever-saw

Don't know how or why Burt Ward would think of this show as a potential blockbuster of a hit.  What piques my curiosity is if anyone else had heard of this show before (no info on the Game Show Pilot Light), and if anyone can expand on what other information is out there on this show?  Who were the people who bankrolled this show and presented it to the NAB...poorly (or smartly, in the case of this show's bizarre premise)?

[BrandonFG]

If Burt isn't pulling our legs, I would like to see at least some of this. That said...without the right distributor (read: one with deep pockets or a solid insurance policy), this sounds like a show that would've gone under very quickly.

ETA: I found the People article. Looks like this game show was produced around 1986-87.

[TLEberle]

I was told there would be isolation booths.

(I think the point was that they wanted something to spend money on, and not necessarily something that would go to series.)

[parliboy]

I was told there would be isolation booths.

Don Adams and Barbara Feldon borrowed them for their pilot.  If you haven't heard about theirs, it's because the networks wanted too much control.

[Matt Ottinger]

As much fun as this would be to see, it's interesting that what Ward calls a great idea -- starting with everything and then trying to hold on to it -- is something we've always said is a really bad game structure.  Obviously this was played for laughs, and its ultimate failure had everything to do with marketing and nothing to do with game play, but I thought that bore mentioning.

[SamJ93]

As much fun as this would be to see, it's interesting that what Ward calls a great idea -- starting with everything and then trying to hold on to it -- is something we've always said is a really bad game structure.  Obviously this was played for laughs, and its ultimate failure had everything to do with marketing and nothing to do with game play, but I thought that bore mentioning.

Just curious, what shows (that actually aired) did use this conceit? I can think of three: Million Dollar Money Drop, Distraction (in the bonus round), and the second incarnation of "Time Is Money" on TPiR.

[TLEberle]

19 Keys, which lent its center-piece to The Cube, had a jackpot that rose slowly, reached its peak and then fell dramatically. (You could say that Divided has a grand prize that falls as well.)

I remembered that J.D. Roth as the Gingerbeard Man presided over nine caricatures arguing over which of them would win $1.5 million that ended up being in the $300k range, and that reminded me of Cash Crash, where a team have to keep tens of thousands of Euros from touching the floor, and a new format from MTV: Stranded with a Million Dollars, wherein a group can win the grand prize by surviving forty days, but everything has a cost. ("A canvas tent for only $25,000? We'll take four!")

[BrandonFG]

As much fun as this would be to see, it's interesting that what Ward calls a great idea -- starting with everything and then trying to hold on to it -- is something we've always said is a really bad game structure.  Obviously this was played for laughs, and its ultimate failure had everything to do with marketing and nothing to do with game play, but I thought that bore mentioning.

Just curious, what shows (that actually aired) did use this conceit? I can think of three: Million Dollar Money Drop, Distraction (in the bonus round), and the second incarnation of "Time Is Money" on TPiR.

You Don't Know Jack had a round where the question started off at $1M, with a rapidly declining payout. However, Paul Reubens/Troy Stevens or whatever sketch character would always deliberately stall to the point of where the winner only added a few thousand to his or her score.

[MikeK]

You Don't Know Jack had a round where the question started off at $1M, with a rapidly declining payout. However, Paul Reubens/Troy Stevens or whatever sketch character would always deliberately stall to the point of where the winner only added a few thousand to his or her score.

Just a few.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TllGxhA-Aw4&feature=youtu.be&t=9m13s

[BrandonFG]

I stand (or sit) corrected, and it was also a $2M question. Apparently, I blocked out more of that show than I remembered.

[TLEberle]

I don't recall it ever coming to that, and it was only on for six episodes, but the $2 million question would serve as a tiebreaker.

[Mr. Armadillo]

As much fun as this would be to see, it's interesting that what Ward calls a great idea -- starting with everything and then trying to hold on to it -- is something we've always said is a really bad game structure.  Obviously this was played for laughs, and its ultimate failure had everything to do with marketing and nothing to do with game play, but I thought that bore mentioning.

Just curious, what shows (that actually aired) did use this conceit? I can think of three: Million Dollar Money Drop, Distraction (in the bonus round), and the second incarnation of "Time Is Money" on TPiR.

Does The Wall count?  You obviously don't start with everything, but you need to hold on to what you have through the final few balls.

[MikeK]

Does The Wall count?  You obviously don't start with everything, but you need to hold on to what you have through the final few balls.

Using similar logic, Downfall should qualify as well.

[Joe Mello]

Paranoia was probably one of the better attempts to offer crazy amounts of money and still offer a depleting jackpot.

[BrandonFG]

Does The Wall count?  You obviously don't start with everything, but you need to hold on to what you have through the final few balls.

Using similar logic, Downfall should qualify as well.

IMO, Downfall is a better example. Minus the chimp, it seems similar to what Burt had in mind.