"The $128,000 Question"

[TLEberle]

It's early Sunday morning here in the suburbs of Seattle, and there's almost zero chance that I'm going to get back to sleep, so I figure I might toss up another question to the esteemed elder statesman of the board here.  

After looking through the recap for Game 18 of the Jeopardy tournament, I saw that one of the contestants was on "The $128,000 Question."  I have tried for years to find any information about it that goes more in depth than "It was a revival of '$64k', and big winners got to come back to play for $64,000 more."  There's almost nothing out there.

If anyone remembers anything about the show, I'd love to hear from you.  I presume that the regular games were similar to that of the original show, but have seen nothing about how the returning winners can increase their totals.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Mar 6 2005, 08:45 AM\']If anyone remembers anything about the show, I'd love to hear from you.

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Just like the Hal March era, the questions began at $64 then doubled until you reached $512, increased to $1000 and then doubled to $64000.
Here is where some changes were made. First of all, the outcomes were not "controlled". Also, the consolation prize was $1 if you missed through the $4000 question, a car if you busted on $8000 or $16000 and the consolation prize if you missed at $32000 or $64000 was $16000, so the $32K query was a free question. Depending on what level question being asked, you were allowed to make a mistake on a multi-part isolation booth question and were then asked a make-up question. For the $64K question, no mistakes were allowed.
All $64000 winners (there were four in the 1976-77 season--the only year of the show televised in Cleveland) competed in a season-end tournament. The top scorer in a format which escapes me {forgive me; it has been close to 28 years} won the additional $64K for a total of $128,000. I believe the winner the first season was Don Chu. True Don Chu.
One contestant's name was Susan B. Anthony and her category of expertise was......Susan B. Anthony. I don't recall how she fared.

[The Ol' Guy]

Also, IIRC, many of the low-level questions in the game appeared on a television monitor on stage, the questions sent from a building a short distance away in an effort to assure "security", so no one in the building would have the chance to see the material before air time. The home game cover features Mike Darrow as host, who (for those who aren't familiar with the show) was later replaced by Alex Trebek when the show went from NYC to Canada.

[wschmrdr]

Was it the same "bank vault" used for the questions on Twenty-One?

(Obviously not the same box, since it was a CBS show, and 21 was NBC.

[ChuckNet]

10-time GS contestant Don Benn appeared during the 2nd season w/Trebek, his category being TV trivia...he missed at $32K, and went home w/$16K as a result.

During his 2nd or 3rd ep, there was a factual error w/another contestant, whose category was WWI...the question involved a French pilot who wore a lady's stocking for a helmet, and whatever answer he gave was ruled incorrect. However, the following wk, they discovered that there were a number of French fighter pilots who wore a stocking for a helmet, so they decided to accept his answer as being correct and thus allow him to continue.

And for those who may have forgotten, the guard who handed the big-money questions to Alex was named Michael O'Rourke, but only his hands were ever seen on-camera (prompting a "manicure" joke from Trebek on one ep).

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

[tvwxman]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Mar 6 2005, 09:57 AM\'] I believe the winner the first season was Don Chu. True Don Chu.

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Who went on to greater success as the host of the 1988 revival of "The Gong Show" in China.

All Night. 2 Drinks. Veal.

[Bob Zager]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Mar 6 2005, 09:57 AM\'][quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Mar 6 2005, 08:45 AM\']If anyone remembers anything about the show, I'd love to hear from you.

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Just like the Hal March era, the questions began at $64 then doubled until you reached $512, increased to $1000 and then doubled to $64000.
Here is where some changes were made. First of all, the outcomes were not "controlled". Also, the consolation prize was $1 if you missed through the $4000 question, a car if you busted on $8000 or $16000 and the consolation prize if you missed at $32000 or $64000 was $16000, so the $32K query was a free question. Depending on what level question being asked, you were allowed to make a mistake on a multi-part isolation booth question and were then asked a make-up question. For the $64K question, no mistakes were allowed.
All $64000 winners (there were four in the 1976-77 season--the only year of the show televised in Cleveland) competed in a season-end tournament. The top scorer in a format which escapes me {forgive me; it has been close to 28 years} won the additional $64K for a total of $128,000. I believe the winner the first season was Don Chu. True Don Chu.
One contestant's name was Susan B. Anthony and her category of expertise was......Susan B. Anthony. I don't recall how she fared.

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For the first season, there was a three-week preliminary game, where the four $64,000 winners accumulated points for correct answers to questions in their respective categories.  Each player got an equal number of questions asked, and the correct answers for week number one were worth one point, the second week-- two points, and the third week--three points.  Then, the two highest scorers came back the fourth and final week of tournament play, and had to be the first to get six correct answers, with an equal chance at doing so.

IIRC, the Susan B. Anthony contestant, by name and by category; tried for, but failed to win on her $64,000 question.

I don't recall how the second season tournament played, but I think only TWO contestants made it to the playoffs.

[GSFan]

I am confident the contestant was Barbara Ann Eddy.  I recall that she won the jackpot on $128K Question in the second season.  I think she was a five time champion on Jeopardy in the mid 1980's.  I don't remember if she won the TOC.

I remember her from "Question" because Alex made mention of her being a Canadian citizen who did not have to pay taxes on her winnings.

David

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'GSFan\' date=\'Mar 7 2005, 10:03 AM\']I am confident the contestant was Barbara Ann Eddy.  I recall that she won the jackpot on $128K Question in the second season.  I think she was a five time champion on Jeopardy in the mid 1980's.  I don't remember if she won the TOC.

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She did win five games of J! and $52K in 1987-88, and as stated in Andy's J! spoiler for Friday's game, will be back for the Ultimate TofC tonight. She didn't make it past the quarter finals the 1988 TofC. Mark Lowenthal won that TofC.

[Ian Wallis]

10-time GS contestant Don Benn appeared during the 2nd season w/Trebek, his category being TV trivia...he missed at $32K, and went home w/$16K as a result.

Don's episodes are the only ones we have in the trade curcuit.  They originally aired in late 1977-early 1978.

I love the theme song from this show!

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'The Ol' Guy\' date=\'Mar 6 2005, 10:14 AM\']Also, IIRC, many of the low-level questions in the game appeared on a television monitor on stage, the questions sent from a building a short distance away in an effort to assure "security", so no one in the building would have the chance to see the material before air time.

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The first four were typed out on a Xerox electronic typewriter.  The model would take the cassette that held the questions from the "Tree of Knowledge" category board (although they already knew what the category was going to be beforehand) and hand it to Mike.  He'd pop it in the slot on the typewriter and hit the button and the question would type away and stop.  When the contestant gave their answer, he'd hit the button again and the answer typed.

The $1-4K questions were on the Chyron--oops, Vidifont--from "our broadcast center a half-mile away from our studio"--the studio being the Ed Sullivan Theater and the broadcast center the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th.  Never saw the Trebek season, so I don't know how far away the Chyrons were at the CFTO studios in Toronto.

[Bob Zager]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Mar 7 2005, 05:05 PM\'][quote name=\'The Ol' Guy\' date=\'Mar 6 2005, 10:14 AM\']Also, IIRC, many of the low-level questions in the game appeared on a television monitor on stage, the questions sent from a building a short distance away in an effort to assure "security", so no one in the building would have the chance to see the material before air time.

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The first four were typed out on a Xerox electronic typewriter.  The model would take the cassette that held the questions from the "Tree of Knowledge" category board (although they already knew what the category was going to be beforehand) and hand it to Mike.  He'd pop it in the slot on the typewriter and hit the button and the question would type away and stop.  When the contestant gave their answer, he'd hit the button again and the answer typed.

The $1-4K questions were on the Chyron--oops, Vidifont--from "our broadcast center a half-mile away from our studio"--the studio being the Ed Sullivan Theater and the broadcast center the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th.  Never saw the Trebek season, so I don't know how far away the Chyrons were at the CFTO studios in Toronto.

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Actually, for at least half of season one, the first four questions were handled as described above, but later those four questions were just read from cards given to Mike Darow by the model.

For season two, all questions ranging from $64 to $2,000 were read from cards contained in a packet handed to Alex Trebek by an unseen Michael O'Rourke, and this time, the $4,000 was asked with the contestant in the isolation booth.

[Ian Wallis]

Never saw the Trebek season, so I don't know how far away the Chyrons were at the CFTO studios in Toronto.

I'm pretty sure the Trebek season was taped at Global, as it was carried by Global during the second season.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Mar 7 2005, 05:05 PM\']Never saw the Trebek season, so I don't know how far away the Chyrons were at the CFTO studios in Toronto.

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Half a kilometer.

[ChuckNet]

I love the theme song from this show!

Yeah, it's pretty cool...basically, a slightly slowed down, disco-fied version of the $64K theme. It also used new recordings of the original "booth entrance" and "think" cues.

One item of note: Although production moved from NY to Toronto for the 2nd season, they kept their original NY contestant address (a PO Box in Grand Central Station, IIRC).

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")