The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Bob Zager on June 02, 2022, 11:47:41 AM
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I've seen some familiar set props used on some game shows, carrying over a another show, and I'm not referring to revivals of the same show. Here are some of them:
The familiar playing table on original "Password," moving over to "Snap Judgment."
Wink Martindale's plexiglass podium from "How's Your Mother-in-Law," turning up on "American Bandstand," starting in late 1969.
The number scrambler from Jim Lange's "Twenty-One," pilot, used on Kline and Friends' "Break the Bank."
The dice table from the 1978-1980 "High Rollers," moving to "Las Vegas Gambit," in 1981.
The podium from the "Get Rich Quick," pilot, to the last six months of "$20,000 Pyramid," and the entire "$50,000 Pyramid," run.
Bill Cullen's end game podium from "Hot Potato," moving along with Cullen to "The Joker's Wild."
The contestant wheel from "The Wizard of Odds," becoming the Melody Roulette wheel on "Name That Tune."
The glitzy/flashy lights positioned behind the cars on "Split Second," occassionally turning up on "Let's Make a Deal."
Anything else come to mind?
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A few set pieces from Card Sharks ‘01 made their way to Whammy! a few months later. IIRC it was Pat’s lectern and parts of the backdrop.
I don’t remember seeing it on camera often, but when Hot Potato showed a wide shot of the set, you saw a beige wall that was later used on Break the Bank ‘85.
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More like artwork being recycled, but...
The Gambit face card art being retraced and used in the Hit Me deck on TPIR.
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I don't know about some of these...having worked in TV, unions can be very prickly, so it's likely the NBC props department had to build a new Password desk for Snap Judgement instead of using the one from CBS...unless the question is talking about designs rather than the exact piece of scenery
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Not as major as some other recyclables, but the "forest curtain" backdrop from The Newlywed Game used as the backdrop for the audience seating area for Dick Clark's "It Takes Two".
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-The contestant podiums for Quicksilver were given a slight makeover and re-used for the one-off Grill Me. Both aired on USA.
-A good chunk of the All-Star Secrets set was recycled for Hackett's You Bet Your Life a year later.
-Boggle, Shuffle, and Jumble all shared the same contestant podiums, glass tile walls, and giant telephone keypad prop. (And host, and announcer, and music package...)
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If were counting set
Weakest Link set being used for the pilot of Dirty Rotten Cheater (Cheaters)
The Price Is Right 1994 set and most of the music being used for Cash Tornado Pilot with Jim Perry
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I don't know about some of these...having worked in TV, unions can be very prickly, so it's likely the NBC props department had to build a new Password desk for Snap Judgement instead of using the one from CBS...unless the question is talking about designs rather than the exact piece of scenery
It likely was the same desk. A new desk would have been built by employees represented by the same IATSE stage carpenters' local anyway. A desk is considered carpentry, not a prop. I would bet that the "lightning round" mechanism was outsourced to the same firm that built the old Concentration board.
The Family Feud set was stored outside on the ABC lot when it finished its ABC run, then was transported to CBS Television City and the wooden components were slightly warped.
Some sets were demolished, the show was brought back and an entirely new set had to be built: Tattletales, Blockbusters, Card Sharks.
When The Hollywood Squares was cancelled by NBC and moved to Las Vegas, NBC wanted way too much for the original game board so Heatter Quigley built an entirely new one to take to L.V.
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Nice inside information...this is what I get when I tangle with experts. But didn't the ABC shop have to build a new "$10,000 Pyramid" when the show moved from CBS?
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I believe VS. on Comedy Central and Sports Geniuses on FOX Sports used the same contestant podiums.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIHTzXc3a9s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COa7ozfPwPg&t=4s
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Nice inside information...this is what I get when I tangle with experts. But didn't the ABC shop have to build a new "$10,000 Pyramid" when the show moved from CBS?
I'm by no means an authority on the subject, and wasn't around, but I'll share what I remember from Usenet days around why Pyramid was an exception:
1) Jim Ryan was an in-house designer at CBS
2) The Sullivan stage was larger in every dimension than the Elysee's, so there was a need to rescale
3) The union blocked the set move from CBS, as building a new set was to their benefit
As an aside, but worth mentioning, there's an episode of Shoot for the Stars floating about that was shot at Sullivan using the NBC set pieces and different staging. If I'm remembering correctly, 30 Rock was under reconstruction at the time.
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The bonus game wall from Play the Percentages was used as a set piece for Nipsey Russell's short lived Juvenile Jury. It was completely repainted, but alert eyes would recognize it.
The numbers from the pricing game Add Em Up were reused for Pathfinder.
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Some sets were demolished, the show was brought back and an entirely new set had to be built: Tattletales, Blockbusters, Card Sharks.
Wrong on the first one, Tattletales in 1982-84 had practically the exact same set as 1974-78. However, the method you described did also apply to Now You See It.
Cordially,
Tammy
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The numbers from the pricing game Add Em Up were reused for Pathfinder.
I wouldn't exactly say they were "reused" -- Add 'em Up and Pathfinder were in the rotation at the same time for about a year and a half.
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Some sets were demolished, the show was brought back and an entirely new set had to be built: Tattletales, Blockbusters, Card Sharks.
Wrong on the first one, Tattletales in 1982-84 had practically the exact same set as 1974-78. However, the method you described did also apply to Now You See It.
Cordially,
Tammy
The original set was demolished upon the cancellation of the first run. A new, second set was built from the same plans as the first set, which is why it seemed "practically exactly the same". In addition, the show moved from studio 41 to 43 and a new music package was produced.
There was a show where the set was saved after the show was cancelled and reused when the show was brought back. Can you name it?
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The original set was demolished upon the cancellation of the first run. A new, second set was built from the same plans as the first set, which is why it seemed "practically exactly the same". In addition, the show moved from studio 41 to 43 and a new music package was produced.
There was a show where the set was saved after the show was cancelled and reused when the show was brought back. Can you name it?
CBS $25,000 Pyramid?
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The original set was demolished upon the cancellation of the first run. A new, second set was built from the same plans as the first set, which is why it seemed "practically exactly the same". In addition, the show moved from studio 41 to 43 and a new music package was produced.
There was a show where the set was saved after the show was cancelled and reused when the show was brought back. Can you name it?
CBS $25,000 Pyramid?
I think you're on the right track, but I think he's referring to the 1991 John Davidson version reusing the same set from the 82-88 run.
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The original set was demolished upon the cancellation of the first run. A new, second set was built from the same plans as the first set, which is why it seemed "practically exactly the same". In addition, the show moved from studio 41 to 43 and a new music package was produced.
There was a show where the set was saved after the show was cancelled and reused when the show was brought back. Can you name it?
CBS $25,000 Pyramid?
I think you're on the right track, but I think he's referring to the 1991 John Davidson version reusing the same set from the 82-88 run.
I'm thinking Wheel of Fortune.
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There was a show where the set was saved after the show was cancelled and reused when the show was brought back. Can you name it?
The shelves might have been new, but the contestant island and the larger signs were all saved after Supermarket Sweep was cancelled in 1995 and made the transition to the 2000 revival.
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Not Pyramid, not WOF, not SS.
After the first version was cancelled, the network told the producer not to destroy the set, and the show was brought back for a second run using the original set, according to the show's emcee.
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Not Pyramid, not WOF, not SS.
After the first version was cancelled, the network told the producer not to destroy the set, and the show was brought back for a second run using the original set, according to the show's emcee.
Battlestars?
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Not Pyramid, not WOF, not SS.
After the first version was cancelled, the network told the producer not to destroy the set, and the show was brought back for a second run using the original set, according to the show's emcee.
Concentration?
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Not Pyramid, not WOF, not SS.
After the first version was cancelled, the network told the producer not to destroy the set, and the show was brought back for a second run using the original set, according to the show's emcee.
Battlestars?
That's the one! Or as I call it, "Hollywood Triangles".
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That's the one! Or as I call it, "Hollywood Triangles".
Hmm...in that case, Charlie Tuna was wrong. I saw The New Battlestars in person in April 1983 and I asked about the set. Both Charlie and a stage hand said it was a new set - new Battlestars, new set, new everything. I you look closely, you can see some slight differences.
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The contestant area was different, as there was less neon on the desks. The two‐level celebrity wall was what was likely recycled.
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Alex appeared on a CNN show for which I was the T.D. According to Alex, when Battlestars was first cancelled NBC said, "don't burn the set".
The second iteration was on for only 13 weeks in 1983. It seems like a waste of money to build a whole new set for only a 13-week run. It's possible that they refurbished the original set, removing neon here and there and some design tweaks.
I was the T.D. of a CNN show called "People Now" with a chap named Bill Tush, who took over the show from Mike Douglas. Come to think of it, that version may have run only on WTBS.
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I was the T.D. of a CNN show called "People Now" with a chap named Bill Tush, who took over the show from Mike Douglas. Come to think of it, that version may have run only on WTBS.
It was WTBS (http://youtube.com/watch?v=-_ib2SfCiBo). Bill Tush also had a sketch comedy show (http://youtube.com/watch?v=pveqIxPxjT4) on WTBS in the early-80s that co-starred a pre-SNL Jan Hooks. 3rd Rock from the Sun creators Bonnie and Terry Turner* also appeared on that show.
/I miss "Turner Time"
*//No relation to Ted
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I was the T.D. of a CNN show called "People Now" with a chap named Bill Tush, who took over the show from Mike Douglas. Come to think of it, that version may have run only on WTBS.
It was WTBS (http://youtube.com/watch?v=-_ib2SfCiBo). Bill Tush also had a sketch comedy show (http://youtube.com/watch?v=pveqIxPxjT4) on WTBS in the early-80s that co-starred a pre-SNL Jan Hooks. 3rd Rock from the Sun creators Bonnie and Terry Turner* also appeared on that show.
/I miss "Turner Time"
*//No relation to Ted
Mike Douglas hosted the show on CNN until December, 1982 when he departed for Xmas vacation, never to return.
The show moved to WTBS with Bill Tush as host, who seemed to fancy himself as cable TV's answer to David Letterman.
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I guess this sort-of ties in: I always wondered about the turntable in studio 33, since at the same time NYSI, MG, and TPIR were all using one and it was always, seemingly, in the same spot. I always have assumed there was a "turntable mechanism" which was in the set, so it had to be positioned in that location.
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I guess this sort-of ties in: I always wondered about the turntable in studio 33, since at the same time NYSI, MG, and TPIR were all using one and it was always, seemingly, in the same spot. I always have assumed there was a "turntable mechanism" which was in the set, so it had to be positioned in that location.
I admit I could be wrong, but I rather doubt this is the case -- even within a single episode of TPIR, the Turntable doesn't always stay in the same place. It's moved closer to the audience if something needs brought out from behind it and farther away if they need to provide a clearer view of Door #1.
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I guess this sort-of ties in: I always wondered about the turntable in studio 33, since at the same time NYSI, MG, and TPIR were all using one and it was always, seemingly, in the same spot. I always have assumed there was a "turntable mechanism" which was in the set, so it had to be positioned in that location.
When G-T used studio 33 it had a flat floor with no built-in turntable. The turntables for TPIR, NYSI and MG were built into platforms which could be struck when not in use.
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The original set was demolished upon the cancellation of the first run. A new, second set was built from the same plans as the first set, which is why it seemed "practically exactly the same". In addition, the show moved from studio 41 to 43 and a new music package was produced.
There was a show where the set was saved after the show was cancelled and reused when the show was brought back. Can you name it?
CBS $25,000 Pyramid?
I think you're on the right track, but I think he's referring to the 1991 John Davidson version reusing the same set from the 82-88 run.
Actually, I think Davidson Pyramid was one of those instances where they rebuilt at least parts of the set using the same plans, if not the whole thing. Case in point? The Winner’s Circle trilons. The Clark version’s set design in the 80s still looks like a fourth row could be added to the Winner’s Circle pyramid. The Davidson version does not.
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I think Davidson Pyramid was one of those instances where they rebuilt at least parts of the set using the same plans, if not the whole thing.
Agreed. All of the fabric on set looks a little different, and the player tables are lower to the ground than the '80s series, IIRC.
-Jason
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Nice inside information...this is what I get when I tangle with experts. But didn't the ABC shop have to build a new "$10,000 Pyramid" when the show moved from CBS?
I'm by no means an authority on the subject, and wasn't around, but I'll share what I remember from Usenet days around why Pyramid was an exception:
1) Jim Ryan was an in-house designer at CBS
2) The Sullivan stage was larger in every dimension than the Elysee's, so there was a need to rescale
3) The union blocked the set move from CBS, as building a new set was to their benefit
As an aside, but worth mentioning, there's an episode of Shoot for the Stars floating about that was shot at Sullivan using the NBC set pieces and different staging. If I'm remembering correctly, 30 Rock was under reconstruction at the time.
and from what I've heard, the plywood covering up what was supposed to be the bottom four Pyramid boxes remained in place during the entire CBS run, necessitating a rebuild anyway. Curious why they schlepped the Shoot for the Stars set all the way to the Ed Sullivan Theater instead of using another studio in 30 Rock. I would find it strange that the entire complex was being rebuilt. Wasn't To Tell the Truth still in production at this time? and certainly SNL was active.
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I think Davidson Pyramid was one of those instances where they rebuilt at least parts of the set using the same plans, if not the whole thing.
Agreed. All of the fabric on set looks a little different, and the player tables are lower to the ground than the '80s series, IIRC.
-Jason
The Winner’s Circle light borders were a little thicker as well. The giant pyramid itself looked a little shorter, but that could be because there wasn’t as much space under the bottom row.
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I would bet that the "lightning round" mechanism was outsourced to the same firm that built the old Concentration board.
Not so sure about that, Chris! I have a copy of the original drawings for the Lightning Round system. It was designed and built by the great Ted Cooper. The Concentration board was built — at considerable expense — by a company whose name escapes me, but which was best known for building electromechanical parts for parade floats and corporate displays.
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The Concentration board was built — at considerable expense — by a company whose name escapes me, but which was best known for building electromechanical parts for parade floats and corporate displays.
I believe that was Messmore and Damon.
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I would bet that the "lightning round" mechanism was outsourced to the same firm that built the old Concentration board.
Not so sure about that, Chris! I have a copy of the original drawings for the Lightning Round system. It was designed and built by the great Ted Cooper. The Concentration board was built — at considerable expense — by a company whose name escapes me, but which was best known for building electromechanical parts for parade floats and corporate displays.
Messmore and Damon is the firm that designed and built the old Concentration board.
Ted may have drawn a picture of the lightning-round mechanism but the actual mechanical engineering was not in Ted's wheelhouse, so I stand by my assertion that he probably outsourced it to Messmore and Damon as he outsourced so many other electronic and mechanical devices.
Would you care to upload your picture of the lightning-round mechanism to the Archive? I don't have a copy.
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While talking about the original Concentration game board, if the blueprints are still around it would be nice if they become part of the Game Show Memorabilia Exhibit at the Strong. Even nicer than that is if they could try to rebuild it using modern day electrical ideas. Probably still be expensive to do that, but another idea is rebuilding the original Jeopardy! game board. No electrical wiring was need for that, so it would be less costly, for sure!
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CBS Card Sharks used TPiR's Hawaii trip skins for Young People's Week.
One of Classic Concentration's lighted car arches was used as a prop on Days of Our Lives.
When multiple shows were taped at CBS or NBC, I wonder if the same Christmas and other holiday decorations were reused. A poinsettia is a poinsettia. Use them today while taping $otC, then change the bows and use them tomorrow on WoF.
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Fresh off the Boat did a Who wants to be a Millionaire episode a few years ago. Did they use set pieces from the syndicated set?
https://youtu.be/9Pq-i2kD2Wg
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I know when the show was in Vegas, it was still the original network set (with changes/upgrades throughout). It could have been that set for the entire syndie run, but I'm not a scholar of that show's history.
-Jason