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Vintage game show books on archive.org
SuperSweeper:
NBC game shows (or maybe just H-Q game shows on NBC?) generally had some hefty consolation prize packages in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. $1000+ packages were not uncommon on Hollywood Squares or High Rollers, and I figure that extended over to Battlestars, as well.
Those packages were generally large (I’d say 8-10 prizes was the norm) and also had some items that were worth a few hundred dollars apiece (I remember seeing cameras and recliners on many of the episodes on YouTube).
TimK2003:
--- Quote from: SuperSweeper on April 01, 2020, 03:23:41 PM ---NBC game shows (or maybe just H-Q game shows on NBC?) generally had some hefty consolation prize packages in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. $1000+ packages were not uncommon on Hollywood Squares or High Rollers, and I figure that extended over to Battlestars, as well.
--- End quote ---
I think it was H-Q in general. ISTR Gambit (the CBS version) also seemed to have a larger-than average amount of parting gifts, and prizes in general.
In the later incarnations of High Rollers, if a winning contestant could clear the board both times in their match, they could theoretically win up to 21 prizes in the front game alone (Winning the max 15 prizes in game 1, lose game 2, then win up to 6 more prizes in game 3). I'm curious to know how close anybody got to that maximum.
BrandonFG:
One other thing I loved about Susan and Cheryl's book is something I feel is missing from most of today's shows: each chapter opened with the announcer's spiel leading up to the name of the show. In today's society, with several fewer minutes per hour, it feels like most intros are simply "It's time for ___!"
/At least most shows have announcers again
//"THIS......IS.....Jeopardy!" still sends chills tho
Casey Buck:
Amusingly, there's a chapter on Pitfall, where it says that:
--- Quote ---The highest amount won by a contestant in the first twenty-six weeks of taping was $17,000, and the show gave away more than $300,000 in the first season.
--- End quote ---
Alex's interview with the Archive of American Television said that he got paid for the first 13 weeks, but not the last 13. So, I wonder how much of that actually got awarded.
It also notes that Pitfall was an alternative to Hollywood-based shows if you lived in the Northwest, since it is located closer by, and that there is less competition to get on.
There's also a chapter on Super Pay Cards (which the book pitches as an option for East Coast-based residents), so it's pretty cool that Canadian game shows got mentioned as well as American shows.
calliaume:
--- Quote from: TimK2003 on April 01, 2020, 11:08:38 PM ---
--- Quote from: SuperSweeper on April 01, 2020, 03:23:41 PM ---NBC game shows (or maybe just H-Q game shows on NBC?) generally had some hefty consolation prize packages in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. $1000+ packages were not uncommon on Hollywood Squares or High Rollers, and I figure that extended over to Battlestars, as well.
--- End quote ---
I think it was H-Q in general. ISTR Gambit (the CBS version) also seemed to have a larger-than-average amount of parting gifts, and prizes in general.
--- End quote ---
That seems right. Based on the prize structure for the first 10 years or so of Squares (and, to a lesser extent, for Gambit and High Rollers, whoever the prize coordinator was probably got great deals for physical prizes, so those were emphasized and cash winnings were de-emphasized (even if you won all five matches you played on Squares, you only got $2,000 in cash).
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