Now that GameTV has completed the run of Pass The Buck, some comments on the series.

It's a neat little show that had some funny game play from time to time.  It really challenged your memory skills especially when it came to not repeating an answer. 

The bonus was interesting that all four contestants remained on the show until someone won, then that person stayed to face three new competitors.  I think in some ways that was a bit of a flaw.  There were times where the same people were on the show for five or six straight days because nobody could win the bonus, where other times contestants came on and got to play one quick game only.  I can imagine future contestants waiting to get on where thinking "when I am going to get my chance" - especially on the last taping day.

The final episode ended mid-way through a game with $575 in the jackpot and two players left.  I expected Bill to say that they were splitting the money evenly between the final two contestants but he never did.  It seemed that they made the bonus round quite hard on the last few episodes.  All four players on the last shows won at least four-digit sums even though they couldn't win the bonus.  They had already been on for several shows.

That's two series Game TV has completed that GSN never did - Tom Kennedy's Break the Bank and this.  Hopefully there's more to come.  I'd still like to see more of the Jack Barry Break the Bank.

Looking through newspapers.com, Allen Ludden hosted these “Stop Arthritis” telethons every year from 1976 to 1980 in late January or early February. Wayne Rogers was a regular participant as well. The only year when Susan Blakely was mentioned was 1977 (LA Times, 2-5-1977, page 27). If that’s the correct year, Rosalind Russell’s photos were there to memorialize her; she had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis in her later years and advocated for research and funding.

BTW, I should have pointed out that this is actually a "Getty Fail" and also discourage you from buying from this seller for anything.  This Australian seller merely steals the smaller, un-watermarked images off the Getty Images pages and sells them as his own.  So what you would receive is, in the first place, blatantly ripped off, and in the second place, an 8x10 blowup of a relatively small jpg, so you can just imagine the quality.  Even in the listing you can see how low-res his copy is.

But anyway, it's a Getty Fail because that's how Getty identifies the two stars  The seller just copied that information too. 

Is the framed picture of Rosalind Russell?

The one over Allen's left shoulder (slinky black dress) is definitely Russell.  It's from Auntie Mame.  I'm not convinced all four posters are of her.  The telethon lived and breathed "old-school Hollywood glamor."  Jane Wyman was a long-time host and chairman.  These could be lots of different stars.  They also might be all Russell, I'm just not sure.

A close source has said that Just Play Products board game based on Pop Culture Jeopardy! will not be released until Fall 2026!