Dick Clark's "The Challengers"
lobster
whole Odds thing -- and the graphics were pretty cool...
When it debuted, did any critics accuse it of being a Jeopardy! ripoff?
Michael Brandenburg
8-19-2002:
«««Even though The Challengers and Jeopardy! are very similar, I kinda dug the
whole Odds thing -- and the graphics were pretty cool...
When it debuted, did any critics accuse it of being a Jeopardy! ripoff?
»»»
The only comparison between The Challengers and any other game show I read
about at the time it was on the air was a statement claiming that it was a
revival of NBC's old Who, What, or Where game of the early 1970s -- not
surprising, since Ron Greenberg was the executive producer of both shows.
However, there were some differences between the two:
WWW: 1. Contestants received an initial $150 stake (later reduced to $125).
2. Contestants could not choose the overall question categories -- they had
to take them as they came up in the game.
3. After each question category was announced, the contestants chose one of
three questions available in that category (Who, What, or Where). All
questions carried "odds", with the easiest questions having "even money" odds
and more difficult questions carrying odds of 2:1, 3:1, and on up (I had seen
them go as high as 6:1!). However, the odds for the individual "Who," "What,"
and "Where" questions would vary from category to category (some categories,
for example, might have three even-money questions, others might go "E-2-E";
"3-E-2", etc. for the Who, What, and Where questions, respectively.
3. After choosing a question, the contestant would also secretly enter a bid
of up to $50 for it (except in the final "Pot Limit" round, where they could
bid up to the entire amount of their bankroll). High bidder got the question.
If there was a tie, an oral auction was held between the tying players for the
question, and they could then bid for the question up to whatever money they
had at that point in the game.
4. There were no negative scores in this game -- in fact, if a contestant
lost his entire bankroll as a result of wrong question answers, he was out of
the game. (Late in the run, a "jump-in" question round was added to the game
that gave such contestants money they could get back into the game with.)
5. There was no end game of any kind for the daily winner.
Challengers: 1. No initial stake for the players. A 60-second "Sprint"
round of jump-in questions (worth $100 each) was used to determine which player
would have first selection of the game categories in Round 1. (This round was
reduced to just one question at one point in the run.)
2. Six question categories were available for selection in each round, with
three questions available in each category. ("Subcategories" idendified each
individual question within the category.) These questions were initially worth
$150, $200, and $250, with the difficulty of the question. increasing with
their value. (Later, owing to budget problems, the first-round questions in
the game were reduced to values of $100, $150, and $200.)
3. If a contestant was the only one of the three to select a given question
in a category, he was not penalized for a wrong answer to it. However, if two
(and only two) contestants selected the same question in a category, it was
made a toss-up for both, with a wrong answer costing the contestant the value
of the question.
4. Negative scores for a contestant were both possible and were allowed
during the first two rounds of game play. However, a contestant that ended
Round 2 with a negative score was eliminated from the third "Final Challenge"
round.
5. If all three contestants selected the same question in a category, its
value and the value of the other two questions in the category were doubled.
The question was then "tossed up" to all three contestants in the game and the
first player to signal and answer the question correctly not only received the
doubled value of the question, but could also attempt to answer the other two
questions in the category for additional money. (Again, a wrong answer
penalized the player the value of the question.)
6. After the first round of six question categories was played, a second
round of six categories would be played, with the "normal" question values
doubled from what they were in Round 1. ($300, $400, and $500; later reduced
to $200, $300, and $400.)
7. The concluding "Final Challenge" round was played exactly as the "Pot
Limit" round was on WWW. However, there were _always_ question odds of 1:1,
2:1, and 3:1 available, with the question difficulty increasing with the odds.
(On WWW, the odds on the three questions could vary, just as they could for any
other question in the game.)
8. The Challengers initially had an end game called "Ultimate Challenge" in
which the daily winner attempted to answer an especially difficult question for
the show's grand prize. Initially, this was $25,000, and was increased by
$2,500 a day; later it was reduced to a flat $10,000, and then was eventually
eliminated to make more time (and potential winnings) available to the players
playing the main game.
Michael Brandenburg
(Were you watching The Challengers the day this happened? A winner one day
was asked to name the prime minister of Rhodesa at that time in the show's
"Ultimate Challenge" round. Throwing up her hands, she said, "I don't know --
Smith."
The correct answer to the question was Ian Smith, and she won $10,000 -- the
same amount I could win as a Powerball TGS "at-home" player on November 9!)
Curt Alliaume
<o...@swbell.net> writes:
A few. Those of us with longer memories thought of it as a revision of The
Who, What, or Where Game -- which aired after Jeopardy on NBC for four years.
-- Curt Alliaume
----------------------
Game Shows '75
http://www.curtalliaume.com/gameshow.html
Myron M. Meyer
"Michael Brandenburg" <mebr...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020819203309...@mb-mf.aol.com...
> (Were you watching The Challengers the day this happened? A winner one
day
> was asked to name the prime minister of Rhodesa at that time in the show's
> "Ultimate Challenge" round. Throwing up her hands, she said, "I don't
know --
> Smith."
>
> The correct answer to the question was Ian Smith, and she won
$10,000 -- the
> same amount I could win as a Powerball TGS "at-home" player on November
9!)
I was indeed watching when this happened, and I was frustrated as hell
because she had defeated a fellow who had been champion for about a week and
couldn't for the life of him get that final question right. I can't
remember his name, but I have one of his games on tape. He later went to
the Challengers Tournament of Champions and went down when he could not come
up with the title of the Frost poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
I really liked The Challengers. Liked it better than Jeopardy!, at the
time.
-Myron
Who will be on that very show (Jeopardy!) September 5, 2002. Don't miss it.
Seriously.
Chris Lemon
Not so, I think early in the run they were given a stake - the Sprint round
was a later addition.
> 3. If a contestant was the only one of the three to select a given
question
> in a category, he was not penalized for a wrong answer to it.
I'm pretty sure there was a hazard regardless. Again, though, I could be
wrong.
> 8. The Challengers initially had an end game called "Ultimate
Challenge" in
> which the daily winner attempted to answer an especially difficult
question for
> the show's grand prize. Initially, this was $25,000, and was increased by
> $2,500 a day; later it was reduced to a flat $10,000, and then was
eventually
> eliminated to make more time (and potential winnings) available to the
players
> playing the main game.
Got your facts mixed up again. The _very first_ Ultimate Challenge started
at $50,000, and jacked up $2500 a day until someone won it: catch was, you
had to win three games in a row to qualify to play for it, which you did at
the top of the following show. (Oh, and you had to answer three questions to
win it.). Subsequent UC's in this format started at $25K. Later in the run
it was dropped to $10,000, jacking $1,000 for each day it wasn't won (I
think), but was played for as a single question at the end of each show.
PupOnTop
while since I've watched any eps...
>> Challengers: 1. No initial stake for the players.
>
>Not so, I think early in the run they were given a stake - the Sprint round
>was a later addition.
>
**** As I remember the Challengers Sprint started at the beginning of the run.
It was after the format change to the daily Ultimate Challenge that the players
started off with $200 with a single toss-up to determine control.
>> 3. If a contestant was the only one of the three to select a given
>question
>> in a category, he was not penalized for a wrong answer to it.
>
>I'm pretty sure there was a hazard regardless. Again, though, I could be
>wrong.
*** If they player chose to answer the question and did so incorrectly, they
were penalized the value of the question. However, the player to elect not to
answer the question.
>
>> 8. The Challengers initially had an end game called "Ultimate
>Challenge" in
>> which the daily winner attempted to answer an especially difficult
>question for
>> the show's grand prize. Initially, this was $25,000, and was increased by
>> $2,500 a day; later it was reduced to a flat $10,000, and then was
>eventually
>> eliminated to make more time (and potential winnings) available to the
>players
>> playing the main game.
>
>Got your facts mixed up again. The _very first_ Ultimate Challenge started
>at $50,000, and jacked up $2500 a day until someone won it: catch was, you
>had to win three games in a row to qualify to play for it, which you did at
>the top of the following show. (Oh, and you had to answer three questions to
>win it.). Subsequent UC's in this format started at $25K. Later in the run
>it was dropped to $10,000, jacking $1,000 for each day it wasn't won (I
>think), but was played for as a single question at the end of each show.
*** I am 99% positive that the Ultimate Challenge started at $25K (with the
possible exception of the first jackpot) and was increased by $1,000 per day
not won. The jackpot was always an odd amount on the tapes I have.
*** Also, IIRC, the Ultimate Challenge format was changed for the Tournament of
Champions and remained the same afterwards: Daily winner played the Ultimate
Challenge for $10K. There was no additional money added if it was not won.
Also, I believe that when this change occured, champs could only remain on the
show for 5 days instead of unlimited wins. Yes, no???
Chris Lemon
"PupOnTop" <pupo...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020819232810...@mb-cf.aol.com...
> **** As I remember the Challengers Sprint started at the beginning of the
run.
> It was after the format change to the daily Ultimate Challenge that the
players
> started off with $200 with a single toss-up to determine control.
they
> were penalized the value of the question. However, the player to elect
not to
> answer the question.
Right on both counts. Mea culpa.
> *** I am 99% positive that the Ultimate Challenge started at $25K (with
the
> possible exception of the first jackpot) and was increased by $1,000 per
day
> not won. The jackpot was always an odd amount on the tapes I have.
I have no tapes, so I'll spot you. I can PROMISE the first jackpot was $50K,
tho, 'cuz it carried over from the special "preview" show, that aired the
weekend before.
Greg Diener
> Even though The Challengers and Jeopardy! are very similar, I kinda dug the
> whole Odds thing -- and the graphics were pretty cool...
> When it debuted, did any critics accuse it of being a Jeopardy! ripoff?
Not that i know off, but i do remember my parnets dissing it as such
but i didn't care since that was one of my favs at the young age of 6
Years old, and yes the Monitors for the Categories and the Odds Round
at the end rocked the school.
Greg
Brandon Brooks
"Chris Lemon" <clem...@NOSPAMattbi.com> wrote in message
news:ddj89.106420$me6.14650@sccrnsc01...
<snip>
NOW I know why this show didn't last that long... the freaking format was
ever changing. Hell, *I'm* confused on the rules to all the rounds of the
game.
Brandon Brooks
Randy West
> whole Odds thing -- and the graphics were pretty cool...
> When it debuted, did any critics accuse it of being a Jeopardy! ripoff?
I remember working The Challengers for Dick Clark and Ron Greenberg; I
did warm-up while Don Morrow did the announce. I don't recall any
specific comparisons to Jeopardy!, but the show bore a far greater
resemblence to an earlier Greenberg creation, The Who What or Where
Game. I still think both were a very creative twist on presenting Q&A.
For the record, Ron was a joy to work for ;-)
Randy
tvrandywest.com
Don Howard
$1000 a show until a few weeks into the run. Before that, it was a flat
amount which increased by $5000 whenever someone played the Ultimate
Challenge and failed to answer all three questions correctly.
For Randy West, did Don Morrow wear a suit and tie for the shows he
announced on or did he dress casually? Just one of those things I keep
track of.
Kathy's Guy Since 6/16/02
"Chris Lemon" <clem...@NOSPAMattbi.com> wrote in message
news:ddj89.106420$me6.14650@sccrnsc01...
>
$50K,
> tho, 'cuz it carried over from the special "preview" show, that aired the
> weekend before.
It did, indeed.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
Randy West
Dear Don,
Mr. Morrow wore a lovely spring ensemble with flowing lines that
draped from the raglan sleeve to mid-calf. ;-) You keep track of
what off-camera people wear?
Don was casual in freshly pressed pants, open neck shirt and sweater.
He's a very cool guy who is a joy to talk with. I remember that at the
time I took note of his casual approach to the work; he sat calmly
reading a paperback book between his VO reads.
For the record, every time I see Burton he's sartorially splendid in a
suit and tie. Johnny Gilbert is casual, Charlie O. shed his tie years
ago, and Rod is... Rod! I like dress pants with an open neck shirt and
a vest, but sometimes wear a Hawaiian shirt so loud that you can hardy
hear the show ;-)
Randy
tvrandywest.com
RDS43685
>in
>which the daily winner attempted to answer an especially difficult question
>for
>the show's grand prize. Initially, this was $25,000, and was increased by
>$2,500 a day; later it was reduced to a flat $10,000, and then was eventually
>eliminated to make more time (and potential winnings) available to the
>players
The first few "Ultimate Challenge" jackpots started at $50K and the player had
a choice of 2 categories in which to answer the 3 questions. The first 2
questions was worth $1,000 each and the final question was worth the jackpot.
The pot at first was raised $5,000 everytime someone makes it to the ultimate
challenge and then it was changed to $1,000 each day until it was won. Later
on in the season the grand prize was reduced to $25K but it still had the
additional $1K/day in effect. IIRC, close to the end of the series, the
Ultimate Challenge was completely eliminated and the day's champion stayed on
until he/she was defeated in the main game.
There was a $10K bouns awarded to the winner of a "Teacher's Tournament" and
the second "Challenge of Champions" added on to their winnings during the
tournaments.
RDS