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The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: gamed121683 on March 17, 2016, 12:07:30 AM

Title: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: gamed121683 on March 17, 2016, 12:07:30 AM
I'm aware this question might sound a bit geeky, but I have a feeling that I've come to the right place to have it answered. I know that there's an episode guide online for Celebrity Hot Potato, but there isn't one for the civilian version of the show that ran from January 23 to April 20, 1984. Below I've compiled a list of the ones that I've been able to identify so far.

If you can help me fill in the blanks and/or have a clue as to which teams played on Episodes 38-65, I'd greatly appreciate it :).

1. 1/23/84 - Moms To Be vs. Teachers

2. 1/24/84 - Teachers vs. Fireman

3. 1/25/84 - Fireman vs. Dental Hygienists

4. 1/26/84 - Dental Hygienists vs. Waitresses

5. 1/27/84 - Waitresses vs. Air Force

6. 1/30/84 - Waitresses vs. Coaches

7. 1/31/84 - Waitresses @ Bonus Game (Subject: Noise)

8. 2/1/84 - Moms of Twins vs. Telegram Singers

9. 2/2/84 - Telegram Singers vs. Redheads

10. 2/3/84 - Telegram Singers vs. Checkers

11. 2/6/84 - Checkers vs. Softball Managers

12. 2/7/84 - Beer Tasters @ Bonus game (Subject: Doctors)

13. 2/8/84 - Flight Attendants @ Bonus Game (Subject: Length)

14. 2/9/84 - Flight Attendants @ Bonus Game (Subject: Animals)

15. 2/10/84 - Phone Reps vs. Computer Reps

16. 2/13/84 - Computer Reps @ Bonus game (Subject: Weight)

17. 2/14/84 - Computer Reps @ Bonus game (Subject: Jobs)

18. 2/15/84 - Computer Reps vs. Bus Operators

19. 2/16/84 - Computer Reps vs. Insurance Agents

20. 2/17/84 - Insurance Agents vs. Moms To Be

21-25. 2/20/84-2/24/84 - Special Celebrity week feat. Miss Americas vs. All American Sportsmen

26. 2/27/84 - Moms To Be vs. Travel Agents

27. 2/28/84 - Clowns @ Bonus game (Subject: Money Making Movies)

28. 2/29/84 - Dentists vs. Air Traffic Controllers

29. 3/1/84 - Dentists vs. Cookie Makers

30. 3/2/84 - Dentists @ Bonus game (Subject: Real Names)

31. 3/5/84

32. 3/6/84 - Little League Coaches @ Bonus game (Subject: The Oscars)

33. 3/7/84

34. 3/8/84 - Private Eyes vs. Paralegals

35. 3/9/84

36. 3/12/84

37. 3/13/84 - Bartenders vs. Beekeepers
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: TLEberle on March 17, 2016, 12:13:52 AM
13. 2/8/84 - Flight Attendants @ Bonus Game (Subject: Length)
People watch this in the daytime, y'know.

/if Bill Cullen was going to stoop to that joke you can bet that it would be clever and not direct. So there's that.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: WarioBarker on March 17, 2016, 12:24:33 AM
I can confirm two more:
64. 4/19/84 - 411 Operators vs. Reporters (next team: Auctioneers)

65. 4/20/84 - Reporters vs. Auctioneers (next team: Artists)
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: TLEberle on March 17, 2016, 12:35:52 AM
More seriously I recall from the reruns a team of Beekeepers (dressed up in the jump suits) failing at the bonus round repeatedly until finally knocking it off for $30,000, so they would have been on for at least a week. Also, a team of Accountants won forty grand, so they would also have to be on for a while.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: Adam Nedeff on March 17, 2016, 01:51:52 AM
More seriously I recall from the reruns a team of Beekeepers (dressed up in the jump suits) failing at the bonus round repeatedly until finally knocking it off for $30,000, so they would have been on for at least a week. Also, a team of Accountants won forty grand, so they would also have to be on for a while.
No, the Beekeepers LOST without capturing the bonus round. Audience audibly deflated when their opponents beat them in the next game. Biggest end game win of the series was episode #7, with the waitresses getting the softest of softball questions to claim $20,000.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: TLEberle on March 17, 2016, 01:54:16 AM
The biggest end game in the series came two weeks in? Huh.

This is why the internet is great. Thank you for the correction.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: PYLdude on March 17, 2016, 08:32:44 AM
Maybe I'm just being overly cynical, but while Hot Potato was a fine game and one I still enjoy, I never understood the reasoning behind the teams being composed of people with a common occupation.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: MikeK on March 17, 2016, 09:07:08 AM
Maybe I'm just being overly cynical, but while Hot Potato was a fine game and one I still enjoy, I never understood the reasoning behind the teams being composed of people with a common occupation.
All family members had been done and was still on the air in 1984.  I think having three strangers could lead to awkward moments.  It seemed like a good percentage of the teams were co-workers, or at least knew each other through networking.

Also, they're three of a kind.  Charlie O even says it in the open.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: Eric Paddon on March 17, 2016, 01:44:49 PM
The common occupation thing was frankly what made it distinctive to me.    Once it was eliminated the whole show became exposed for its weak format (made weaker with bad celeb play).
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: Dbacksfan12 on March 17, 2016, 02:02:28 PM
Maybe I'm just being overly cynical, but while Hot Potato was a fine game and one I still enjoy, I never understood the reasoning behind the teams being composed of people with a common occupation.
All family members had been done and was still on the air in 1984.  I think having three strangers could lead to awkward moments.  It seemed like a good percentage of the teams were co-workers, or at least knew each other through networking.
I also wonder if Barry & Enright had tried this, say five years earlier, whether it would have lasted longer.  From what Richard Dawson said during his speech on the Feud was on its last legs, even then.  Perhaps people had tired of the team vs team format by this point.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: PYLdude on March 17, 2016, 02:09:11 PM
Maybe I'm just being overly cynical, but while Hot Potato was a fine game and one I still enjoy, I never understood the reasoning behind the teams being composed of people with a common occupation.
All family members had been done and was still on the air in 1984.  I think having three strangers could lead to awkward moments.  It seemed like a good percentage of the teams were co-workers, or at least knew each other through networking.
I also wonder if Barry & Enright had tried this, say five years earlier, whether it would have lasted longer.  From what Richard Dawson said during his speech on the Feud was on its last legs, even then.  Perhaps people had tired of the team vs team format by this point.

I doubt it...outside of their big two, nothing they did seemed to stick except Bullseye and even that didn't make two full years before they effed it up.

/if it wasn't already effed up to start
//how in the hell do you not time the show properly enough to where you have to end DURING the bonus round? (Hi original Lingo!)
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: aaron sica on March 17, 2016, 02:54:08 PM
/if it wasn't already effed up to start

I think it was. When I watched it as a child (I was around 6 when it came on), I always rooted against a 5-question contract as that was boring. Re-watching it as an adult, I felt the same way. It's too long to drag out one turn. I couldn't have been the only one who felt that way.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: BrandonFG on March 17, 2016, 03:27:33 PM
I think it was. When I watched it as a child (I was around 6 when it came on), I always rooted against a 5-question contract as that was boring. Re-watching it as an adult, I felt the same way. It's too long to drag out one turn. I couldn't have been the only one who felt that way.
You weren't...I remember watching one of the Celebrity episodes during one of those GSN marathons, and thought it dragged, esp. since you had to get to $2,000. I don't remember which episode it was, but they didn't even get to the Bonus Island during the episode. That's bad television IMO.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: aaron sica on March 17, 2016, 03:49:15 PM
they didn't even get to the Bonus Island during the episode. That's bad television IMO.

Definitely. I can understand no bonus round due to tie games (a la TTD or MG) but not because one game dragged out that long.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: JasonA1 on March 17, 2016, 06:33:11 PM
.I remember watching one of the Celebrity episodes during one of those GSN marathons, and thought it dragged, esp. since you had to get to $2,000.

Just to tamp down an oft-repeated bit of logic about Bullseye's format - the values on the wheels doubled when they went to the $2,000 goal. So the game was as slow as it ever was, just richer :)

//how in the hell do you not time the show properly enough to where you have to end DURING the bonus round? (Hi original Lingo!)

Match Game says hello. The original Lingo never bothered me, because that was, for its era, more of a big decision game like the Deal or No Deal-era prime time games. "They're risking their $8,000 for $16,000! See if they can do it, next time..." That's a far better cliffhanger than "tomorrow, it will be spin number 4, as the champion risks $800, with one frozen bullseye, on their way to that $2500 living room set."

-Jason
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: TLEberle on March 17, 2016, 06:39:17 PM
.I remember watching one of the Celebrity episodes during one of those GSN marathons, and thought it dragged, esp. since you had to get to $2,000.
Just to tamp down an oft-repeated bit of logic about Bullseye's format - the values on the wheels doubled when they went to the $2,000 goal. So the game was as slow as it ever was, just richer :)
They also had to win two games out of three. Plus you have the potentiality of celebrities goofing around instead of playing the game, which is how you can have a game start at the top of the show and smack dab into game three as Charlie O'Donnell tells us about Paul Mitchell hair care products.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: Adam Nedeff on March 17, 2016, 06:58:31 PM
I also wonder if Barry & Enright had tried this, say five years earlier, whether it would have lasted longer.  From what Richard Dawson said during his speech on the Feud was on its last legs, even then.  Perhaps people had tired of the team vs team format by this point.
I talked to Allen Koss while I was writing Quizmaster. To hear him tell it, B&E had specifically avoided doing a "Feud" knockoff when "Feud" was at its zenith because the feeling was that "Feud" was so white hot that any remote attempt at doing one would be rejected by the viewing audience immediately. "Oh, it's just like Family Feud, lame." But by late 1983, "Feud" was so established and the audience was so accustomed to it that the feeling was it was finally safe to do a ripoff of it.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: JasonA1 on March 17, 2016, 08:10:32 PM
They also had to win two games out of three.

Very true, I had forgotten about that. The comments about the doubling-to-$2,000 misnomer still stand for the civvy version though :)

My quick fix to Bullseye (short of just not doing the damn show...) was to re-spin if both players missed a question, so at least the fun visual thing that dominates the set design would be used more, and break up some of the monotony. Why make it take a backseat, especially to an almost-nothing game where player 1 banks, and player 2 plays catch-up until they win or lose?

-Jason
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: TLEberle on March 17, 2016, 08:24:21 PM
My quick fix to Bullseye (short of just not doing the damn show...) was to re-spin if both players missed a question, so at least the fun visual thing that dominates the set design would be used more, and break up some of the monotony. Why make it take a backseat, especially to an almost-nothing game where player 1 banks, and player 2 plays catch-up until they win or lose?
Since we're here, from what I've seen from Double Cross I think I'd prefer that on with the Bullseye motif (because of course you're right, you have the spiffy and beautiful prop that is used far too little) than Joker's Wild melded with the Bataan death march.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: BrandonFG on March 17, 2016, 09:27:03 PM
Just to tamp down an oft-repeated bit of logic about Bullseye's format - the values on the wheels doubled when they went to the $2,000 goal. So the game was as slow as it ever was, just richer :)
Somehow, this did escape me, so thanks. :)

I talked to Allen Koss while I was writing Quizmaster. To hear him tell it, B&E had specifically avoided doing a "Feud" knockoff when "Feud" was at its zenith because the feeling was that "Feud" was so white hot that any remote attempt at doing one would be rejected by the viewing audience immediately. "Oh, it's just like Family Feud, lame." But by late 1983, "Feud" was so established and the audience was so accustomed to it that the feeling was it was finally safe to do a ripoff of it.
To me, what's really interesting about this is that Play the Percentages premiered when Feud was hot, and one of its bonus rounds seemed like a reverse Fast Money. The front game had some reverse Feud elements too, IMO, but wasn't as heavily derivative as Hot Potato.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: TLEberle on March 17, 2016, 09:28:35 PM
To me, what's really interesting about this is that Play the Percentages premiered when Feud was hot, and one of its bonus rounds seemed like a reverse Fast Money. The front game had some reverse Feud elements too, IMO, but wasn't as heavily derivative as Hot Potato.
For what it's worth, I had always compared Play the Percentages to Card Sharks. Loved the original article, and even the second-iteration was OK but nothing to write home about. And you're right, the end game of "here's six answers, which five were given by the polling group?" absolutely felt like Slow Money.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: gamed121683 on March 18, 2016, 12:28:40 AM
While we have a great discussion going on here about B&E's attempt(s) to cash in on Feud, I want to get back to what beget this thread in the first place. There's was plenty of talk in this thread about the Beekeepers winning streak on Hot Potato. Curious to find more info on it, I Googled "Hot Potato + game show + beekeepers". While surfing the results, I stumbled upon someone's game show's tape trading site that had a list of all the episodes of HP this person taped. It looks like it's in chronologically because their list is more or less going in the same order as mine. So assuming there's no skipped episodes (they didn't seem to be), here are episodes 42-65 of the regular version:

42. 3/20/84 - Beekeepers vs. Service Reps.

43. 3/21/84 - Beekeepers vs. Nurses

44. 3/22/84 - Accountants @ Bonus Game

45. 3/23/84 - Accountants vs. Pro Surfers

46. 3/26/84 - Accountants vs. Car Saleswomen

47. 3/27/84 - Accountants vs. Construction Workers 

48. 3/28/84 - Accountants vs. Circus Performers

49. 3/29/84 - Circus Performers vs. Navy Fliers 

50. 3/30/84 -Navy Fliers vs. Mailroom Clerks 

51. 4/2/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Calendar Makers

52. 4/3/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Candlemakers

53. 4/4/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Process Servers

54. 4/5/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Caterers

55. 4/6/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Preachers

56. 4/9/84 - Preachers vs. Beer Tasters

57. 4/10/84 - Hypnotists @ Bonus Game

58. 4/11/84 - Hypnotists vs. Monks 

59. 4/12/84 - Monks vs. Probation Officers

60. 4/13/84 - Rescue Team vs. Interior Designers

61. 4/16/84 - Rescue Team vs. Locomotive Engineers

62. 4/17/84 - 411 Operators @ Bonus Game

63. 4/18/84 - 411 Operators vs. Bartenders

64. 4/19/84 - 411 Operators vs. Reporters

65. 4/20/84 - Reporters vs. Auctioneers

With this finding, it could mean that the dates near the bottom of my first post might be inaccurate :-/.

/In other news, that is my Levis 501 post, woohoo!
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: TLEberle on March 18, 2016, 12:34:24 AM
While we have a great discussion going on here about B&E's attempt(s) to cash in on Feud, I want to get back to what beget this thread in the first place.
Wunderbar. It's a discussion thread. We discuss things. If anyone else can fill in the blanks I'm sure they will.

As to Chris Palmer's question, the "three of a kind" angle satisfies the "through-line" that Jason A. brought up over in the Idiot Savants thread. Without the teams that are linked by hobby or occupation (note that Only Connect is S-M-R-T enough to have teams connected by what they do for fun or profit) it's still a fun game but not something that breaks through when you have "The show where couples can win a house," or "The game show based on Scrabble," or "The game show where you answer questions and buy prizes at a bargain."
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: gamed121683 on March 18, 2016, 12:49:01 AM

...it's still a fun game but not something that breaks through when you have "The show where couples can win a house," or "The game show based on Scrabble," or "The game show where you answer questions and buy prizes at a bargain."

Well, that and the fact that it had the NOON time slot in most markets didn't do the show any favors, either.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: TimK2003 on March 18, 2016, 12:59:38 AM
//how in the hell do you not time the show properly enough to where you have to end DURING the bonus round? (Hi original Lingo!)

Speaking of bad timings: On the newly-posted YouTube Cross-Wits/Tic Tac Dough video on the Audio/Video thread earlier this week had not one but TWO oddly played "Beat The Dragon" rounds.  One TTD episode begins in the middle of the bonus game, and another bonus game breaks for a commercial in the middle of the bonus round.  For the life of me, I don't recall any of those two scenarios happening before on TTD -- especially since you should be able to mow one of those rounds down, with a prize package description, in under 4 minutes.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: aaron sica on March 18, 2016, 08:27:32 AM
Well, that and the fact that it had the NOON time slot in most markets didn't do the show any favors, either.

That's debatable - the next game show to air on NBC in the noon slot (Super Password) lasted there for a little over 4 years.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: splinkynip on March 18, 2016, 08:59:15 AM
About TTD and the split bonus game between shows or commercials... They did that only for a brief period during the 2 seasons Bullseye aired. Not sure why either, since you could get through the bonus game quickly.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: PYLdude on March 18, 2016, 07:35:28 PM
Well, that and the fact that it had the NOON time slot in most markets didn't do the show any favors, either.

That's debatable - the next game show to air on NBC in the noon slot (Super Password) lasted there for a little over 4 years.


But how many shows found that kind of sustained success there in that day and age. Certainly an exception to the rule, like Feud and Pyramid were on ABC.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: calliaume on March 18, 2016, 10:01:20 PM
Well, that and the fact that it had the NOON time slot in most markets didn't do the show any favors, either.

That's debatable - the next game show to air on NBC in the noon slot (Super Password) lasted there for a little over 4 years.


But how many shows found that kind of sustained success there in that day and age. Certainly an exception to the rule, like Feud and Pyramid were on ABC.
It's also possible, after six different programs in the slot in two and a half years since they'd cancelled Password Plus, NBC said, "Look, this show is a guaranteed passing grade, and we're not going to beat The Young and The Restless anyway, so let's counterprogram with something that we can be reasonably happy with going forward."  Much like they did with Three on a Match after five flops in two and a half years in the 1970s.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: aaron sica on March 18, 2016, 10:05:57 PM
But how many shows found that kind of sustained success there in that day and age. Certainly an exception to the rule, like Feud and Pyramid were on ABC.

That's very true - CBS had not had the noon slot for around 4 years by that point*, and the longest-lasting ABC show at the noon time slot until it was discontinued (Ryan's Hope) lost viewers because of it. I was basically saying that SP was a much better game than Hot Potato was. It might have felt safe to try it, but I thought it was too much like Feud, and I would imagine there were others that did as well.

* Citing Nicholas and Greg's awesome website on that - 4pm was the official CBS timeslot, but stations like WCBS ran the 4pm offering at noon starting in, I want to say, 1982 or 1983.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: SRIV94 on March 21, 2016, 01:05:49 PM
I believe I had written about this on Usenet back in the day.  Between the end of J!'s original run in 1975 and the start of SP in 1984, only one show lasted as long as 15 months in the 12N ET slot (Perry CS).  Most shows in the slot didn't even get as long as nine months in those years.  (And to the original topic, HP got less than six.)

I would say Tartikoff/Tinker showed a lot more patience with SP.  It also helped that when SP premiered, NBC was debuting shows that would take them out of third place in prime-time.  So that allowed them to be less "desperate" (for lack of a better word).  Silverman was throwing stuff to the wall hoping something would stick.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: BrandonFG on March 21, 2016, 01:54:08 PM
I would say Tartikoff/Tinker showed a lot more patience with SP.  It also helped that when SP premiered, NBC was debuting shows that would take them out of third place in prime-time.  So that allowed them to be less "desperate" (for lack of a better word).  Silverman was throwing stuff to the wall hoping something would stick.
I wonder if it also helped that it was also a veteran format based on a modest hit they canceled a few years prior.

In other words, I wonder how much patience NBC has if SP were the first version of Password, or even if there were no Password+. Didn't the latter still have respectable ratings when NBC canceled it?
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: whewfan on March 22, 2016, 10:22:08 PM
TV Guide, I remember, did a Jeer about the cancellation of Super Password in favor of more soaps. Man, I remember the last Super Password, I was very upset about that. Maybe if the new Pyramid proves to be a hit, a new Password, closer in format to PW+ and SP wouldn't be too far behind.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: aaron sica on March 23, 2016, 10:07:56 AM
TV Guide, I remember, did a Jeer about the cancellation of Super Password in favor of more soaps. Man, I remember the last Super Password, I was very upset about that.

Did SP get cleared in Baltimore? I don't remember it airing there.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: Scrabbleship on March 23, 2016, 05:30:22 PM
TV Guide, I remember, did a Jeer about the cancellation of Super Password in favor of more soaps. Man, I remember the last Super Password, I was very upset about that.

Did SP get cleared in Baltimore? I don't remember it airing there.


I know WMAR never cleared it so if anyone did, it was probably WNUV. I know past the very early 80s WBFF never pivked up any castoff shows in Baltimore.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: ivoryman1986 on March 23, 2016, 07:05:02 PM
While we have a great discussion going on here about B&E's attempt(s) to cash in on Feud, I want to get back to what beget this thread in the first place. There's was plenty of talk in this thread about the Beekeepers winning streak on Hot Potato. Curious to find more info on it, I Googled "Hot Potato + game show + beekeepers". While surfing the results, I stumbled upon someone's game show's tape trading site that had a list of all the episodes of HP this person taped. It looks like it's in chronologically because their list is more or less going in the same order as mine. So assuming there's no skipped episodes (they didn't seem to be), here are episodes 42-65 of the regular version:

42. 3/20/84 - Beekeepers vs. Service Reps.

43. 3/21/84 - Beekeepers vs. Nurses

44. 3/22/84 - Accountants @ Bonus Game

45. 3/23/84 - Accountants vs. Pro Surfers

46. 3/26/84 - Accountants vs. Car Saleswomen

47. 3/27/84 - Accountants vs. Construction Workers 

48. 3/28/84 - Accountants vs. Circus Performers

49. 3/29/84 - Circus Performers vs. Navy Fliers 

50. 3/30/84 -Navy Fliers vs. Mailroom Clerks 

51. 4/2/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Calendar Makers

52. 4/3/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Candlemakers

53. 4/4/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Process Servers

54. 4/5/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Caterers

55. 4/6/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Preachers

56. 4/9/84 - Preachers vs. Beer Tasters

57. 4/10/84 - Hypnotists @ Bonus Game

58. 4/11/84 - Hypnotists vs. Monks 

59. 4/12/84 - Monks vs. Probation Officers

60. 4/13/84 - Rescue Team vs. Interior Designers

61. 4/16/84 - Rescue Team vs. Locomotive Engineers

62. 4/17/84 - 411 Operators @ Bonus Game

63. 4/18/84 - 411 Operators vs. Bartenders

64. 4/19/84 - 411 Operators vs. Reporters

65. 4/20/84 - Reporters vs. Auctioneers

With this finding, it could mean that the dates near the bottom of my first post might be inaccurate :-/.

/In other news, that is my Levis 501 post, woohoo!
Actually, the starting episodes from Beekeepers vs. Service Reps. to Monks vs. Probation Officers are off by a day. Before GSN began rerunning the entire series, GSN stopped at the April 5, 1984 episode that began with Mailroom Clerks vs. Preachers. Quite ironically, the cable company that was once known as MediaOne didn't have GSN at the time GSN stopped at the Mailroom Clerks vs. Preachers episode but added GSN to its basic cable lineup while TPIR was still on in reruns on GSN(but right after WinTV premiered).
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: chrisholland03 on January 01, 2019, 05:50:50 PM
Bumping this thread because it was semi-useful, and is the only thing that comes up when searching for Hot Potato episode guide.  It had a few errors that needed to be corrected.  If someone could (factually, correctly) fill in eps 35-40 it would be appreciated.

Week 1:

1. 1/23/84 - Moms To Be vs. Teachers
2. 1/24/84 - Teachers vs. Fireman
3. 1/25/84 - Fireman vs. Dental Hygienists
4. 1/26/84 - Dental Hygienists vs. Waitresses
5. 1/27/84 - Waitresses vs. Air Force

Week 2:

6. 1/30/84 - Waitresses vs. Coaches
7. 1/31/84 - Waitresses @ Bonus Game (Subject: Noise)
8. 2/1/84 - Moms of Twins vs. Telegram Singers
9. 2/2/84 - Telegram Singers vs. Redheads
10. 2/3/84 - Telegram Singers vs. Checkers

Week 3:

11. 2/6/84 - Checkers vs. Softball Managers
12. 2/7/84 - Beer Tasters @ Bonus game (Subject: Doctors)
13. 2/8/84 - Flight Attendants @ Bonus Game (Subject: Length)
14. 2/9/84 - Flight Attendants @ Bonus Game (Subject: Animals)
15. 2/10/84 - Phone Reps vs. Computer Reps 

Week 4:

16. 2/13/84 - Computer Reps @ Bonus game (Subject: Weight)
17. 2/14/84 - Computer Reps @ Bonus game (Subject: Jobs)
18. 2/15/84 - Computer Reps vs. Bus Operators 
19. 2/16/84 - Computer Reps vs. Insurance Agents
20. 2/17/84 - Insurance Agents vs. Moms To Be

Week 5:

21-25. 2/20/84-2/24/84 - Special Celebrity week feat. Miss Americas vs. All American Sportsmen

Week 6:

26. 2/27/84 - Moms To Be vs. Travel Agents
27. 2/28/84 - Clowns @ Bonus game (Subject: Money Making Movies)
28. 2/29/84 - Dentists vs. Air Traffic Controllers
29. 3/01/84 - Dentists vs. Cookie Makers
30. 3/02/84 - Dentists @ Bonus game (Subject: Real Names)

Week 7:

31. 3/5/84 - Little League Coaches @ Bonus game (Subject: Marriage)
32. 3/6/84 - Little League Coaches @ Bonus game (Subject: The Oscars)
33. 3/7/84 - Little League Coaches vs Private Eyes
34. 3/8/84 - Private Eyes vs. Paralegals
35. 3/9/84

Week 8:

36. 3/12/84
37. 3/13/84 - Bartenders vs. Beekeepers (unconfirmed)
38. 3/14/84
39. 3/15/84
40. 3/16/84

Week 9:

41. 3/19/84 - Beekeepers vs. Service Reps.
42. 3/20/84 - Beekeepers vs. Nurses
43. 3/21/84 - Accountants @ Bonus Game
44. 3/22/84 - Accountants vs. Pro Surfers
45. 3/23/84 - Accountants vs. Car Saleswomen 

Week 10:

46. 3/26/84 - Accountants vs. Construction Workers  
47. 3/27/84 - Accountants vs. Circus Performers
48. 3/28/84 - Circus Performers vs. Navy Fliers  
49. 3/29/84 - Navy Fliers vs. Mailroom Clerks  
50. 3/30/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Calendar Makers 

Week 11:

51. 4/2/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Candlemakers 
52. 4/3/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Process Servers 
53. 4/4/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Caterers 
54. 4/5/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Preachers 
55. 4/6/84 - Preachers vs. Beer Tasters 

Week 12:

56. 4/09/84 - Hypnotists @ Bonus Game
57. 4/10/84 - Hypnotists vs. Monks  
58. 4/11/84 - Monks vs. Probation Officers
59. 4/12/84 - Monks vs Rescue Team
60. 4/13/84 - Rescue Team vs. Interior Designers

Week 13:

61. 4/16/84 - Rescue Team vs. Locomotive Engineers
62. 4/17/84 - 411 Operators @ Bonus Game
63. 4/18/84 - 411 Operators vs. Bartenders
64. 4/19/84 - 411 Operators vs. Reporters 
65. 4/20/84 - Reporters vs. Auctioneers 
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: Blanquepage on January 01, 2019, 10:54:35 PM
Filling in the blanks, see bold entries.

Bumping this thread because it was semi-useful, and is the only thing that comes up when searching for Hot Potato episode guide.  It had a few errors that needed to be corrected.  If someone could (factually, correctly) fill in eps 35-40 it would be appreciated.

Week 1:

1. 1/23/84 - Moms To Be vs. Teachers
2. 1/24/84 - Teachers vs. Fireman
3. 1/25/84 - Fireman vs. Dental Hygienists
4. 1/26/84 - Dental Hygienists vs. Waitresses
5. 1/27/84 - Waitresses vs. Air Force

Week 2:

6. 1/30/84 - Waitresses vs. Coaches
7. 1/31/84 - Waitresses @ Bonus Game (Subject: Noise)
8. 2/1/84 - Moms of Twins vs. Telegram Singers
9. 2/2/84 - Telegram Singers vs. Redheads
10. 2/3/84 - Telegram Singers vs. Checkers

Week 3:

11. 2/6/84 - Checkers vs. Softball Managers
12. 2/7/84 - Beer Tasters @ Bonus game (Subject: Doctors)
13. 2/8/84 - Flight Attendants @ Bonus Game (Subject: Length)
14. 2/9/84 - Flight Attendants @ Bonus Game (Subject: Animals)
15. 2/10/84 - Phone Reps vs. Computer Reps

Week 4:

16. 2/13/84 - Computer Reps @ Bonus game (Subject: Weight)
17. 2/14/84 - Computer Reps @ Bonus game (Subject: Jobs)
18. 2/15/84 - Computer Reps vs. Bus Operators
19. 2/16/84 - Computer Reps vs. Insurance Agents
20. 2/17/84 - Insurance Agents vs. Moms To Be

Week 5:

21-25. 2/20/84-2/24/84 - Special Celebrity week feat. Miss Americas vs. All American Sportsmen

Week 6:

26. 2/27/84 - Moms To Be vs. Travel Agents
27. 2/28/84 - Clowns @ Bonus game (Subject: Money Making Movies)
28. 2/29/84 - Dentists vs. Air Traffic Controllers
29. 3/01/84 - Dentists vs. Cookie Makers
30. 3/02/84 - Dentists @ Bonus game (Subject: Real Names)

Week 7:

31. 3/5/84 - Little League Coaches @ Bonus game (Subject: Marriage)
32. 3/6/84 - Little League Coaches @ Bonus game (Subject: The Oscars)
33. 3/7/84 - Little League Coaches vs Private Eyes
34. 3/8/84 - Private Eyes vs. Paralegals
35. 3/9/84 Magicians vs. Private Eyes

Week 8:

36. 3/12/84 - Magicians vs. 411 Operators 
37. 3/13/84 - 411 Operators vs. Bartenders
38. 3/14/84 - Bartenders vs. Beekeepers
39. 3/15/84 - Beekeepers @ Bonus Game
40. 3/16/84 - Beekeepers vs. Waiters

Week 9:

41. 3/19/84 - Beekeepers vs. Service Reps
42. 3/20/84 - Beekeepers vs. Nurses
43. 3/21/84 - Accountants @ Bonus Game
44. 3/22/84 - Accountants vs. Pro Surfers
45. 3/23/84 - Accountants vs. Car Saleswomen

Week 10:

46. 3/26/84 - Accountants vs. Construction Workers 
47. 3/27/84 - Accountants vs. Circus Performers
48. 3/28/84 - Circus Performers vs. Navy Fliers 
49. 3/29/84 - Navy Fliers vs. Mailroom Clerks 
50. 3/30/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Calendar Makers

Week 11:

51. 4/2/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Candlemakers
52. 4/3/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Process Servers
53. 4/4/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Caterers
54. 4/5/84 - Mailroom Clerks vs. Preachers
55. 4/6/84 - Preachers vs. Beer Tasters

Week 12:

56. 4/09/84 - Hypnotists @ Bonus Game
57. 4/10/84 - Hypnotists vs. Monks 
58. 4/11/84 - Monks vs. Probation Officers
59. 4/12/84 - Monks vs Rescue Team
60. 4/13/84 - Rescue Team vs. Interior Designers

Week 13:

61. 4/16/84 - Rescue Team vs. Locomotive Engineers
62. 4/17/84 - 411 Operators @ Bonus Game
63. 4/18/84 - 411 Operators vs. Bartenders
64. 4/19/84 - 411 Operators vs. Reporters
65. 4/20/84 - Reporters vs. Auctioneers
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: BrandonFG on January 01, 2019, 10:59:42 PM
I see some professions played on one date, then that same profession played on a later show (411 Operators, Bartenders, Beer Tasters). Were they brought back on a technicality, or did Barry-Enright Productions have a database of several people fitting a particular profession? I'm guessing the latter, with standby contestants playing on a later show.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: Blanquepage on January 01, 2019, 11:13:34 PM
I see some professions played on one date, then that same profession played on a later show (411 Operators, Bartenders, Beer Tasters). Were they brought back on a technicality, or did Barry-Enright Productions have a database of several people fitting a particular profession? I'm guessing the latter, with standby contestants playing on a later show.

There weren't any instances of "same team name, different contestants;" there were a few that were brought back for some unspecified reasons.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: chrisholland03 on January 02, 2019, 09:38:09 AM
Thanky mucho.  It was a fun little excursion through the episodes to confirm/put the list together.

As far as bringing folks back, I didn't realize how often FF brought contestants back/carried contestants over due to errors.  I just finished cataloging the '77 and '80 daytime seasons and it was about once every 4-6 weeks.
Title: Re: (Non-Celebrity) Hot Potato Episode Guide
Post by: gamed121683 on January 24, 2019, 07:41:29 PM
Thanky mucho.  It was a fun little excursion through the episodes to confirm/put the list together.

As far as bringing folks back, I didn't realize how often FF brought contestants back/carried contestants over due to errors.  I just finished cataloging the '77 and '80 daytime seasons and it was about once every 4-6 weeks.

Thanks for finishing the list! I didn't know you were logging a Family Feud episode guide also! I love to see it, any place where one can access it?