50 Grand Slam

[carlisle96]

Had dinner with a cousin and his friend. When my cousin mentioned I was on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, his friend said he tried out for 50 Grand Slam as an expert on art, but the show was cancelled before he could go any further. He was fuzzy on the details of how the show worked...and so was I: I believe nine experts were needed for every category. Two were chosen to compete. The winner of the first round moved on to the second, but if he lost there, a new champion would take over, so it became clear from almost at the start that nobody was going to win $50,000. The only thing I'm sure about is it was a dreary show...no offense of course to anyone who liked it.

[Blanquepage]

Correct, there were nine "authorities" (as Tom referred to them) for each subject. Although my opinion of show is based off of very few episodes, I didn't find it bad at all.
As far as anyone winning the top prize, there was at least one $50K winner with the first happening on 10/18/76.

[carlisle96]

Correct, there were nine "authorities" (as Tom referred to them) for each subject. Although my opinion of show is based off of very few episodes, I didn't find it bad at all.
As far as anyone winning the top prize, there was at least one $50K winner with the first happening on 10/18/76.

It sounds like it would be a hard show to get to appear on because even if you pass the tests, you'd need to hope there would be at least eight other "authorities" available in your category. The one episode I actually remember clearly was the first show because I was home from school. Two women were hitting golf balls. I don't see how you could show that every day without the audience getting bored.

[TLEberle]

It seems like it would have been better suited for the evening. I don’t think it was dreary and Tom Kennedy always draws me in, but it’s a clunky idea done awkwardly.

One problem inherent up with the format is that if your name comes up last you might win just a few hundred dollars on the back of the fickle finger of fate. I suppose we’re I to mount it for current times players could square off in their own disciplines, much like how Mastermind has the specialist subject.

[SRIV94]

Correct, there were nine "authorities" (as Tom referred to them) for each subject. Although my opinion of show is based off of very few episodes, I didn't find it bad at all.
As far as anyone winning the top prize, there was at least one $50K winner with the first happening on 10/18/76.

As I remember from the EOTVGS, five people won the $50K.  (And I believe the final ep which confirmed this is or at least was on YT.)

[JepMasta]

It sounds like it would be a hard show to get to appear on because even if you pass the tests, you'd need to hope there would be at least eight other "authorities" available in your category. The one episode I actually remember clearly was the first show because I was home from school. Two women were hitting golf balls. I don't see how you could show that every day without the audience getting bored.

To combat this, I remember seeing a screengrab of a contestant plug and they mentioned they were looking for experts in certain fields, so I am thinking they had games written specifically for certain subjects and were hoping to find contestants to fill them.

[Jimmy Owen]

$64, 000 Question knock off

[RMF]

Correct, there were nine "authorities" (as Tom referred to them) for each subject. Although my opinion of show is based off of very few episodes, I didn't find it bad at all.
As far as anyone winning the top prize, there was at least one $50K winner with the first happening on 10/18/76.

As I remember from the EOTVGS, five people won the $50K.  (And I believe the final ep which confirmed this is or at least was on YT.)

Correct- quick Google searching also indicates that at least one of them was very much an authority in his field (Stanley Green, the prominent author on American musical theater), which (if representative of the contestant pool at large) may suggest another potential part of the issue.

[Adam Nedeff]

Correct- quick Google searching also indicates that at least one of them was very much an authority in his field (Stanley Green, the prominent author on American musical theater), which (if representative of the contestant pool at large) may suggest another potential part of the issue.

Also not helping was that Stanley Green's $50,000 win was a disaster. From Chuck Donegan's page, here's a tidbit from Tom Kennedy about 50 Grand Slam...

"50 Grand Slam" -- "It was fun, but sloppily put together." He related the story of two experts in musical comedy, both of whom were asked a question about the composer of "Silk Stockings." Both correctly answered Cole Porter, while Tom's card said Irving Berlin. Both contestants gave Tom obviously puzzled looks, but, waiting until the commercial, they then contested the answer; the research department checked and determined they were right.

What Tom didn't mention in that anecdote is that it was a $50,000-level question. So both players come out of their booths, there's a chainsaw edit, and then "By the way, we checked and it turns out that both players gave the right answer...which means Stanley Green has just won $50,000!"

The show's first $50,000 win made the show look bad and it played out anticlimactically.

[carlisle96]

It sounds like it would be a hard show to get to appear on because even if you pass the tests, you'd need to hope there would be at least eight other "authorities" available in your category. The one episode I actually remember clearly was the first show because I was home from school. Two women were hitting golf balls. I don't see how you could show that every day without the audience getting bored.

To combat this, I remember seeing a screengrab of a contestant plug and they mentioned they were looking for experts in certain fields, so I am thinking they had games written specifically for certain subjects and were hoping to find contestants to fill them.

My cousin's friend said he went to the offices as an art expert and was given some "we'll be in touch" paperwork to fill out. He apparently wasn't questioned at that stage about his expertise. He wasn't turned away, so maybe that was one of the subjects offered up late in the run. But as he said, the show was cancelled before anything happened. 

[carlisle96]

It seems like it would have been better suited for the evening. I don’t think it was dreary and Tom Kennedy always draws me in, but it’s a clunky idea done awkwardly.

One problem inherent up with the format is that if your name comes up last you might win just a few hundred dollars on the back of the fickle finger of fate. I suppose we’re I to mount it for current times players could square off in their own disciplines, much like how Mastermind has the specialist subject.

Maybe it wasn't "dreary," but I just remember how slowly it moved the few times I saw it, like the golf contest. Not much you can do to pep that up. I also remember how some of the "authorities" couldn't answer the questions. I agree it would be better as a weekly show, like the $64,000 Question and $64,000 Challenge.

[RMF]

Correct- quick Google searching also indicates that at least one of them was very much an authority in his field (Stanley Green, the prominent author on American musical theater), which (if representative of the contestant pool at large) may suggest another potential part of the issue.

Also not helping was that Stanley Green's $50,000 win was a disaster. From Chuck Donegan's page, here's a tidbit from Tom Kennedy about 50 Grand Slam...

"50 Grand Slam" -- "It was fun, but sloppily put together." He related the story of two experts in musical comedy, both of whom were asked a question about the composer of "Silk Stockings." Both correctly answered Cole Porter, while Tom's card said Irving Berlin. Both contestants gave Tom obviously puzzled looks, but, waiting until the commercial, they then contested the answer; the research department checked and determined they were right.

What Tom didn't mention in that anecdote is that it was a $50,000-level question. So both players come out of their booths, there's a chainsaw edit, and then "By the way, we checked and it turns out that both players gave the right answer...which means Stanley Green has just won $50,000!"

The show's first $50,000 win made the show look bad and it played out anticlimactically.

Oh, dear- that is a rather embarrassing story all around, and the fact that Silk Stockings was by no means obscure in the context of 1976 (it premiered on Broadway 21 years earlier, and would have had some lingering familiarity through its film adaptation) only seems to make Ralph Andrews Productions seem even worse.

(As a side-note: Does that description mean that that episode of 50 Grand Slam, at the least, still exists?)

[That Don Guy]

(As a side-note: Does that description mean that that episode of 50 Grand Slam, at the least, still exists?)

The entire episode is on YouTube, although it appears to have been posted when there were tighter limits on how long videos could be:

[Kniwt]

Hmmmm, here's the premiere (all in one file) that was online as some point, because I saved it in December 2011. Cameo by Allen Ludden.

And yes, it's an FLV file. (Cue ominous organ chords.) Source unknown, but if it's you, thanks. Feel free to steal, convert, etc.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11-CYCXz_oLPdxBTavnVtZEYFg1zXtUtw/view

[ChrisLambert!]

given that those two eps of Slam were saved, it’s surprising we never saw anything from the Daytime Tune that replaced it.