Game Show TV Milestones Of The Week

[AaronHandy3]

JANUARY 6, 1975

Wheel Of Fortune, a Merv Griffin-produced game show which involved the tried-and-true word game of Hangman, and a large spinning wheel containing various amounts of cash and several columns that assist ("One Free Spin") or hinder ("Lose A Turn," "Bankruptcy") contestants, had its premiere on NBC Daytime. This came strong on the heels of the cancellation of a previous Merv Griffin production, the Art Fleming-emceed Jeopardy!, after a memorable 11 year-run on The Peacock.

Wheel Of Fortune would tie with The Hollywood Squares as the longest continuously-aired game show on NBC-TV. The show featured, as its original team, Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford in its humble beginnings. Ginny Hubert was the first champion on Wheel's landmark debut telecast.

In late 1981, after 6 years, Chuck Woolery split after the Christmas telecast (Friday, Dec. 25) having reached an impasse in a salary dispute (Woolery wanted a $200,000 salary increase to $500,000/year, whilst Merv was offering only a $75,000 increase). Enter the era of ex-weatherman Pat Sajak, who hosted in Woolery's stead effective the following Monday. Susan Stafford remained as Wheel hostess until her departure on October 22, 1982; other models, such as Summer Bartholomew, Vicky McCarthy, and Vanna White (who was first seen as a contestant on rival The Price Is Right in 1980!!) took turns as hostess before White was given the nod to be hostess full-time on December 13, 1982. In the fall of 1983, King World Productions distributed Wheel Of Fortune for first-run syndication and was an instant hit (so big a hit, in fall 1984 it generated a first-run syndie revival of Jeopardy!!).

On January 10, 1989, Rolf Benirshke replaced Pat Sajak as host; 7 months later, on July 14, 1989, Wheel completed a glorious 14-year stay on NBC, only to defect to CBS the following Monday (Sajak had left to host his own ill-fated late night talk show on the very same network!), and Bob Goen was the new star. After 2 years, Wheel bounced back to The Peacock on January 14, 1991, with Pat Sajak, after the fiasco of his late night show, returning to the helm as host. It soldiered on for 9 months before leaving NBC (and network TV, thus) for good, living on only in firstrun syndication and repeats on Game Show Network.

(Now I think that Chuck Woolery's Wheel Of Fortune episodes on NBC from 1978 to his departure in 1981 have survived and just the first 2 seasons have been erased; either this isn't the case [NBC erased all of them, save for a precious few!], or Woolery refuses to allow GSN to air any surviving Wheel episodes bearing his presence! What do you think? Post your rebuttals!)

The first 8 years of Wheel Of Fortune (1975-1983) were memorable due greatly to it being graced with Big Wheels, that funky, fast-paced theme music composed and conducted by Alan Thicke (Growing Pains, The All-New Three's A Crowd). Of course, as we all know, Merv Griffin intervened with his own composition, Changing Keys (obviously for more money!), but nothing will ever match up to Alan Thicke's original Wheel theme.


JANUARY 6, 1986

The New Card Sharks, a Mark Goodson revival of the popular Goodson-Todman produced 1978-81 NBC game Card Sharks hosted by Jim Perry, premiered on CBS Daytime (replacing the late Body Language, another Mark Goodson Production), but this new version differed in many ways from the original. The set was changed, the music and most notably (in the first four weeks especially), The Money Cards were played differently (concerning the process of changing cards), and there was a new host, Bob Eubanks, and new dealers, models Lacey Pemberton and Susannah Williams!

Later on in the run, 10 people who had something in common began appearing in the front row of an audience, and several times throughout the show, questions were asked about them. In Fall 1986, there was an "Educated Guess" question added, which just played out like a normal Hi-Lo question, except that the person venturing the guess is not limited to 0-99 people. Another feature, the two “Car Games”, was added to the game on October 27, 1986, just after The Money Cards.

The network version stayed in town until March 31, 1989; there was also a syndicated primetime edition on the side, launched in fall 1986 and lasting for a year, hosted by Bill Rafferty.

(Source of info: The New Card Sharks Episode Guide)


JANUARY 8, 1979

"It's more than 'Password', it's 'Password+Plus'!"

Password+Plus, a fourth incarnation of Goodson-Todman’s tried and true War Of The Words, premiered @ 11:30 a.m. Eastern on NBC Daytime (following the debut of All-Star Secrets, a Bob Eubanks-hosted vehicle). Originally announced in Variety as Password '79, a decision was made two weeks before the debut to change the title to Password+Plus. 59-year-old Allen Ludden was back in the saddle as emcee, as Gene Wood was tapped to be announcer; Elizabeth Montgomery and Robert Foxworth, both topnotch Password players of the past, were the first-week celebrities. (John Harlan [who announced ABC’s Password], Bob Hilton and Johnny Olsen also took their turns at announcing during the run.)

Here, 2 celebrity/contestant teams compete. The object here is to solve a "Password Puzzle", a famous person, place, thing, or title. Up to 5 Passwords are geussed by the teams, with each Password working as a clue to The Password Puzzle. Teams alternate giving clues, with each team receiving 2 chances. When a team guesses a password, they are given a chance to solve The Password Puzzle to win the round. Teams alternate playing first and giving/guessing as in the classic Password game. Rounds 1 & 2 are worth $100 each, rounds 3 & 4 $200 each. The first team to amass or exceed $300 wins the match and earns the right to play the bonus round: "Alphabetics," a revamped edition of the old “Lightning Round” in the Passwords of the past (and borrowing a bit from ABC’s The $20,000 Pyramid).

Alphabetics is played with ten passwords that start with ten consecutive letters of the alphabet. The celebrity has 60 seconds to convey the passwords to the contestant as in The Lightning Round. Each Password must be solved or passed before the next Password is revealed, and a celebrity can only go back to those words he/she passed on after revealing all ten. Each Password solved is worth $100, and completing all ten Passwords wins the contestant $5,000. If the celebrity gives an illegal clue, the potential jackpot was lowered by $1,000.

The game managed to survive the loss of Allen Ludden, who, due to illness, was forced to retire from the show in October 1980 and was superceded by Tom Kennedy. (Ludden took a 4-week sabbatical in April 1980 to have surgery done on him, and Bill Cullen hosted in his stead.) An all-celebrity week was scheduled for the first Kennedy week of shows in order to ease the transition, which was comprised of Jim Perry from Card Sharks, Greg Morris, Judy Norton-Taylor and Nancy Walker. Tom said some heartfelt words about Allen before the start of his first show, and then moved right into the game. Kennedy did indeed guide Password+Plus and its viewers through its most trying transitional period, even in the wake of Ludden’s passing in June 1981 (which was never mentioned on the show).

Rich Jefferies had replaced Gene Wood as announcer by this point. Near the end of the run, in March 1982, Jack Narz, Tom Kennedy’s brother, swapped places with him for one game during his week playing Password+Plus. Jack hosted and Tom played. On March 26, Password+Plus wrapped up a shaky yet nice 3 ½-year run, after 807 shows. The final celebrity panelists were Audrey Landers and Tom Poston. Tom Kennedy mentioned his late friend and colleague in the show’s fading moments:

"This is the last in our series of Password+Plus. Even though our dear friend Allen Ludden is not with us at this particular moment, as you well know he hosted this show as only as he could do for something like 18 years. I was very proud to have the last year and a half here at the helm. All I can say is you know the show is going to be back soon..."

Sure enough, 2 years later, in September 1984, Password was back on NBC…in the form of the newly revamped Super Password, emceed by Bert Convy.

(Sources Of Info: The Rules Of The Game: "Pasword", The Allen Ludden Page-Password Plus: 1979-82)