40 Years Ago This Month: Split Second Debuts

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Monty Hall along with co-creator and producer Stefan Hatos brought us Split Second, a fast-paced quizzer than put a nice, new twist on a standard Q & A format.

Split Second deubted on ABC-TV originally airing alongside ABC's Password for most of its 3-year run from 1972-75 and was hosted by Tom Kennedy, the brother of the late Jack Narz and announced by the late Jack Clark. In 1986, the series returned in 1st-run syndication w/ "Mr. Deal-Maker" Monty Hall and announced by the late Sandy Hoyt and production moved from L.A. to Toronto and was distributed by Viacom.

On each version three contestants, one a returning champion (or designate), competed.

Each question Kennedy or Hall asked had three possible correct answers. Some questions took a form such as "Name the three films for which Katharine Hepburn won the Oscar for Best Actress." For most questions, three words, names, or phrases were displayed on a board which acted as clues, and the question took a form such as "Pick a word from the board and give its plural." Approximately once each day on the ABC version there was also a "Memory Buster", in which Kennedy gave a list of items and asked which three of them were common to each other.

Contestants rang in by pushing a button on their podiums. The first person to ring in was permitted to provide the any of the three answers. The second-fastest provided one of the remaining answers, and finally the slowest player got whatever was left, by default. If a person rang in too soon (before the choices were revealed), he or she got locked out of the first two parts and had to take whatever was left.

Bob Synes, producer of the 1970s Split Second, took a very strict stand regarding contestant's answers; he required contestants to guess the answers exactly right, meaning mispronounced answers were ruled incorrect. When Hall took the reins of the 1980s version he acted as judge himself, giving the player credit for the correct answer if he/she mispronounced the answer or was close enough to the right answer.

Each player received money for a correct answer. The value of each answer was determined by the number of people supplying a correct response, and no money was deducted for answering incorrectly.

Round 1 - $5 ($10 on the 1980s version) if 3 players were correct, $10 ($25 on the 1980s version) if 2 players were correct and $25 ($50 on the 1980s version) if only 1 person was correct.

In Round 2, these amounts were doubled.

And on the later years of the ABC version w/ Tom Kennedy, if the first player of the day was first to be the lone player with a correct answer, aka Singleton, then they also won a bonus prize which was his/hers to keep.

The Countdown Round - this round determined the winner of the day's game. Each contestant now had a set number of correct answers to give, and the first person to meet his or her quota won, regardless of how much money he or she won in the game to that point. The leader going into the round had the lowest number of correct answers to give to win (three on the ABC version and four on the syndicated version), while the second place contestant had to give one more than the leader, and the third place contestant two more. If two players tied for the lead, their quotas were set to the lowest number. If two players tied for second place, those players each had to fulfill the middle number. If all three players tied, they all had to give the lowest number.

If a contestant rang in and got an answer right, he or she could continue on and answer the other two parts of the question. On the ABC version, a contestant who led at the beginning of the Countdown Round could win by answering just one full set of questions. An incorrect answer gave the other two players a chance to answer, depending again on how fast they rang in. The winner advanced to the bonus round, while the losers took home whatever they earned and consolation prizes.

The Bonus Round:

ABC Version: The champion attempted to start one of five cars. All but one of the cars were disabled and would not start. If the contestant started the car, he or she won it and $1,000 plus $500 for each day with no car won. Originally, a champion who won a car also won $200 for each day a car was not won. If he or she was unsuccessful but won the next day, the contestant selected one of four cars. If a contestant won five games in a row without winning the bonus round, upon winning the Countdown Round, he or she automatically won the jackpot and selected his or her choice of the five cars.

1986-87 Version:

The 1980s versions had 2 different variations of this endgame:

Version 1:
The first version had the contestant face five windows, one of which read "CAR" on the back of it. If the contestant picked the window that said "CAR", the car was his or hers and he or she retired. If not, he or she won $1,000 and returned to play on the next show. An additional "CAR" card was added behind a new window for each game the champion won, and a five-time champ automatically won the car.

Version 2:
The later version had the same five windows, but this time three said "CAR" behind them. The object was for the contestant to pick all three of them for a match to win the car (the other two had another prize); If the other prize was found, Hall offered the prize plus $1,000 cash for each day the contestant had appeared to leave the show, or return the next day as champion. On the fourth try at the bonus round, four screens had "CAR" behind them, and one had the other prize. Five wins still won the car automatically.

When Split Second was airing on ABC, ABC still had the original Kung Fu w/ the late David Carradine, The Streets of San Francisco w/ the late Karl Malden, Michael Douglas and Richard Hatch, The Rookies w/ Kate Jackson, The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, The Odd Couple, The Six Million Dollar Man w/ the ex-Mr. Farrah Fawcett in Lee Majors, That's My Mama! w/ Clifton Davis, Harry O w/ the late David Jaansen, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and Barney Miller.

When Split Second was returning in 1st-run syndication in 1986, Webster, Mr. Belvedere, Who's the Boss?, Moonlighting, Hotel, Dynasty, Spenser: For Hire and Growing Pains was still airing on ABC, while Head of the Class and Sledge Hammer! debuted on ABC-TV. HUNTER, The A-Team, St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, Cheers, Family Ties, Night Court, The Golden Girls, 227, Miami Vice, Highway to Heaven, Gimme a Break! Valerie/Valerie's Family/The Hogan Family and The Cosby Show were all still airing on NBC, while Amen, L.A. Law and Our House debuted on NBC-TV. Dallas, Knot's Landing, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Newhart, Kate and Allie, The Equalizer, Murder, She Wrote, Falcon Crest, Cagney & Lacey, Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon were still airing on CBS, while My Sister Sam and Pee-Wee's Playhouse debuted on CBS-TV.