Author Topic: 30 Years Ago Today... (Read 6689 times)

GSWitch · « **on:** January 07, 2004, 05:48:00 PM »

JACKPOT!!!

NBC debuts a new game show that shifted Jeopardy! over to 9:30 while it occupy it's 11:00 time slot!

Geoff Edwards now had something in common with Dick Clark. They commuted from LA to New York. Geoff was doing The New Treasure Hunt @ the time.

The theme song would later go on to become This Week in Baseball!

16 contestants played for a week, answering riddles & winning jackpot/super jackpot amounts.

In a bloopers book I have, here's something that Jerry Springer would like...

GIRL: For $200, this is my riddle. First you make the sale, then you open the
drawer. What am I?
GUY: A hooker?
GIRL: A cash register, you LOUSE!

NBC's Jackpot lasted 1 1/2 years & in the summer of 1975, moved to 11:30 to make room for Magnificent Marble Machine.

10 years later, the show moved to Canada & to USA cable where it had the longest run, 3 years. The USA version was hosted by Mike Darrow & was taped in Toronto.

The 3rd incarnation brought Geoff back while he was doing Chain Reaction in Montreal. The 1989-90 syndicated series didn't attract audiences because of the talk show fad.

Happy 30th anniversary to Jackpot! And remember, the next time you watch This Week In Baseball, you'll never know when some fan who caught a home run ball will stand up & yell...

"JACKPOT!"

BrandonFG · « **Reply #1 on:** January 07, 2004, 06:34:50 PM »

[quote name=\'GSWitch\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:48 PM\'] The 3rd incarnation brought Geoff back while he was doing Chain Reaction in Montreal. The 1989-90 syndicated series didn't attract audiences because of the talk show fad.
[/quote]
Is it true that Jackpot '89 was supposed to get a second season, but the company went bankrupt or something to that effect?

ChuckNet · « **Reply #2 on:** January 07, 2004, 06:37:59 PM »

Quote

Is it true that Jackpot '89 was supposed to get a second season, but the company went bankrupt or something to that effect?

Seems that way...besides, the talk show fad didn't start until fall 1991, after every GS which premiered during the previous season flopped.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

zachhoran · « **Reply #3 on:** January 07, 2004, 06:38:10 PM »

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 06:34 PM\']
Is it true that Jackpot '89 was supposed to get a second season, but the company went bankrupt or something to that effect? [/quote]
Geoff said the show got good enough ratings to run through the 1989-90 season at least, but the syndicator, Palladium Entertainment, ran out of cash and went belly up. 13 weeks of shows were made, and then the 13 weeks were repeated.

Card Shark · « **Reply #4 on:** January 07, 2004, 08:14:47 PM »

[quote name=\'GSWitch\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:48 PM\'] In a bloopers book I have, here's something that Jerry Springer would like...

GIRL: For $200, this is my riddle. First you make the sale, then you open the
drawer. What am I?
GUY: A hooker?
GIRL: A cash register, you LOUSE!
[/quote]
Was this bit by chance on some kind of recording? I ask because when I was a lot younger, I used to listen to rap music. I had a tape from 2 Live Crew and I specifically remember this bit being heard word for word from people who were NOT part of the group.

Winkfan · « **Reply #5 on:** January 07, 2004, 08:31:56 PM »

If you'd like to, you can help commemmorate the occasion by visiting my Jackpot fanpage at my site.

Cordially,
Tammy Warner--the 'Elaine Fulkerson of the Big Board!'

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #6 on:** January 08, 2004, 09:09:09 AM »

Quote

Seems that way...besides, the talk show fad didn't start until fall 1991, after every GS which premiered during the previous season flopped.

That may be true, but it was quite common as far back as the mid-80s for some network affiliates to pre-empt certain game shows during the day to run syndicated talk shows. My area was specifially bad for that. The fad started to build around that time.

zachhoran · « **Reply #7 on:** January 08, 2004, 09:42:47 AM »

[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 06:37 PM\']

Seems that way...besides, the talk show fad didn't start until fall 1991, after every GS which premiered during the previous season flopped.

[/quote]
The only 1990-91 season rookie syndie game show that did get renewed was Davidson $100K Pyamid, but it only made it halfway through the 1991-92 season.

ChuckNet · « **Reply #8 on:** January 08, 2004, 11:42:51 PM »

Quote

That may be true, but it was quite common as far back as the mid-80s for some network affiliates to pre-empt certain game shows during the day to run syndicated talk shows.

Especially on the Group W stations, since they basically had to show all syndicated talk shows that the company had in production.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

zachhoran · « **Reply #9 on:** January 09, 2004, 08:20:55 AM »

[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jan 8 2004, 11:42 PM\']

Especially on the Group W stations, since they basically had to show all syndicated talk shows that the company had in production.

[/quote]
KYW in Philly did preempt a couple 80s NBC game shows due to Hour Magazine IIRC, but KDKA in Pittsburgh preempted only 1.5 CBS game shows that I can recall, the 1986 episodes of PYL and the first half of the hour long Feud. Both those shows were replaced with reruns: Hart to Hart and 3's Company IIRC.

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #10 on:** January 09, 2004, 01:19:20 PM »

[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jan 8 2004, 11:42 PM\']

Quote

That may be true, but it was quite common as far back as the mid-80s for some network affiliates to pre-empt certain game shows during the day to run syndicated talk shows.

Especially on the Group W stations, since they basically had to show all syndicated talk shows that the company had in production.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby") [/quote]
Were they also forced to carry "Couch Potatoes"? (and just who was Group W anyhow?)

aaron sica · « **Reply #11 on:** January 09, 2004, 02:16:10 PM »

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Jan 9 2004, 01:19 PM\'] Were they also forced to carry "Couch Potatoes"? (and just who was Group W anyhow?) [/quote]
Group W had to do with Westinghouse, whose stations all had the same font (someone else can clarify which it was), they had stations including, but not limited to:

KDKA, Pittsburgh (CBS)
KYW, Philadelphia (NBC)
WJZ, Baltimore (ABC)
KPIX, San Francisco (CBS)

These stations ran the same syndicated fare, and they also had "PM Magazine", except on those stations, it was called "Evening Magazine" for some reason or another.

When Westinghouse and CBS teamed up in 1995, the stations that weren't CBS (and I'm sure there are more of them than the ones I included) became CBS. WJZ became CBS on 1/2/95 (setting off the Baltimore Network Musical Chairs), and KYW became CBS on 9/10/95.

uncamark · « **Reply #12 on:** January 09, 2004, 02:24:34 PM »

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Jan 9 2004, 02:16 PM\'][quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Jan 9 2004, 01:19 PM\'] Were they also forced to carry "Couch Potatoes"? (and just who was Group W anyhow?) [/quote]
Group W had to do with Westinghouse, whose stations all had the same font (someone else can clarify which it was), they had stations including, but not limited to:

KDKA, Pittsburgh (CBS)
KYW, Philadelphia (NBC)
WJZ, Baltimore (ABC)
KPIX, San Francisco (CBS)[/quote]
And WBZ Boston, "The Spirit of New England," as Tom Bergeron can readily tell you (NBC affiliate back then).

In the 80s, I believe they acquired WRET Charlotte from Ted Turner and affiliated it with NBC. Forget which call letters they changed it to--but Belo owns the station now after it was sold to the network, I believe.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #13 on:** January 09, 2004, 02:26:04 PM »

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Jan 9 2004, 02:16 PM\'] [quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Jan 9 2004, 01:19 PM\'] Were they also forced to carry "Couch Potatoes"? (and just who was Group W anyhow?) [/quote]
Group W had to do with Westinghouse, whose stations all had the same font (someone else can clarify which it was), they had stations including, but not limited to:

KDKA, Pittsburgh (CBS)
KYW, Philadelphia (NBC)
WJZ, Baltimore (ABC)
KPIX, San Francisco (CBS)

These stations ran the same syndicated fare, and they also had "PM Magazine", except on those stations, it was called "Evening Magazine" for some reason or another.

When Westinghouse and CBS teamed up in 1995, the stations that weren't CBS (and I'm sure there are more of them than the ones I included) became CBS. WJZ became CBS on 1/2/95 (setting off the Baltimore Network Musical Chairs), and KYW became CBS on 9/10/95. [/quote]
Didn't Group W also have a hand in "Every Second Counts?" I think I remember seeing that in the Encyclopedia...either that or "Dream House."

uncamark · « **Reply #14 on:** January 09, 2004, 02:29:59 PM »

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jan 9 2004, 02:26 PM\']Didn't Group W also have a hand in "Every Second Counts?" I think I remember seeing that in the Encyclopedia...either that or "Dream House."[/quote]
They produced both and syndicated "Every Second Counts," under the direct or indirect control of Bob Rubin, the man who actually ran "J!" for Merv for the entire original network run.

I would assume that King World as successor to Group W Productions still owns format rights to both shows, unless Don Reid took "Dream House" back.

Author Topic: 30 Years Ago Today... (Read 6689 times)

GSWitch

uncamark

uncamark