Revival proposals

Here are some of my ideas for revivals of game shows past.
Card Sharks | Tattletales | Dare Devils | Tic Tac Dough | The Joker's Wild | Hot Potato | Play the Percentages | Press Your Luck | Hit Man | Whew! | Go | High Rollers | Monopoly | Wheel of Fortune (kids' version) | To Tell the Truth | Satellite Squares | Greed

CARD SHARKS

MUSIC: 1978-81 theme and cues
SET: Based on the original Jim Agazzi set, with more of those cards in the backdrop, maybe some neon lights on them
FRONT GAME: Game play is basically the same as it's always been, except to keep the game self-contained, a game is best-of-five. Each round pays $250, with an extra $250 for the game ($1,000 total). If time is running short when a fifth round is needed, that round automatically goes to sudden-death; otherwise, the limit is three questions.
MONEY CARDS: Green deck, cut on camera before the break. $250 to start with, $500 upon reaching level 2 for a potential total of $40,000. One change per line with the next card off the top of the deck. One push is permitted i.e. first tie means no loss, but all ties after that are losses.
VARIATIONS: Before the Money Cards, the winner would have a chance to double their opening stake to $500 by answering a poll question asked of 100 audience members before the show. The question is asked and the player is given two cards which he/she has to arrange to get the correct number. For example, if the player is given a 3 and an 8, the actual number is either 38 or 83.
ADDENDUM: Yes, I know CS has been redone--and nothing like this, I might add. See, if they had just stayed truer to the original...

TATTLETALES

MUSIC: 1982-84 theme
ROUND 1: Instead of celebrity couples, there are three teams of civilians of any relation. This round starts with a revised toss-up. Before the show, each of the six contestants is given the questions and is asked to give a one-word answer. Whoever recognizes their teammates' response wins $100. After 2 questions, two regular questions are played, worth $150 to split among all teams who match.
ROUND 2: One toss-up question, again worth $100 and two regular questions worth $150 plus a $300 bonus question. Each team keeps half of what they win, with the other half divided among their section of the audience; the team and section with the most money at the end of the game divide an extra $1,500.

DARE DEVILS

MUSIC: "Illinois Instant Riches" theme and cues
GAMEPLAY: If you don't recognize the title, this is my new title for CBS's 1977 game show Double Dare (this title has since been trademarked by Nickelodeon). Contestants are in isolation booths and can hear the host, but NOT each other. They can see the clues on a monitor in their booth.
ROUND 1: First one in with the right answer gets 25 points and the option to dare their opponent to answer on the next clue. If the dared player nails the subject, they also get 25 points; if not, the daring player gets 50 points. Play continues until time expires.
ROUND 2: Same rules; points are doubled.
BONUS: The "spoilers" in this version are three audience members, the ones who scored highest on a pre-tape screening test. The contestant selects three of six clues from a video wall. Each clue is worth $100 per spoiler it gets by, $5000 if at least one spoiler comes up with a wrong answer after three clues.

TIC TAC DOUGH

MUSIC: 1978 Hal Hidey theme and cues
SET: 9-monitor video wall for the game board, with an HDTV screen for the pot
GAMEPLAY: If I can convince a packager willing to invest in a show that straddles games, I'd keep it just the way it was during the Martindale days, but with these changes:
- Center box is worth $500, outside boxes are $300. Could be raised to $1000 and $500.
- Two red boxes per game, including one jump-in (yes, like the Patrick Wayne era)
- Contestant stops the shuffle with their lock-in (again, 1990 rules, but it is best when the contestant controls their own fate)
BONUS GAME: The classic bonus round with these amounts: $250, $250, $500, $500, $750, and $1000. It takes $2000 or the combination of TIC and TAC to win a prize package worth in the range of $5000 to $8000. Of course, the contestant will determine the random placement with a plunger a la TTD90 (again, the contestant chooses what lands where).

THE JOKER'S WILD

MUSIC: new theme composed with clips of all three previous themes
SET: large-screen monitors for the slots, flat screen monitors for the contestants' scoreboards
GAMEPLAY: Same as the 1977-86 version, except the amounts are doubled ($100 single, $200 double, $400 triple, $1000 wins). Also, single-value questions are the easiest and triple-value questions (including 3-Joker questions) are the hardest. Also, double-value questions are jump-ins.
BONUS GAME: Similar to the main game, expect the stakes are now $250-$500-$1000. The contestant gets five spins to accumulate $2500 or more. A contestant can pass on any question without penalty, but if they miss any question or run out of spins before they make it to $2500, the game is over and they lose all the money they accumulated. He/she will be given a chance to stop after each question. If they reach $2500, they win $5000; if they spin three Jokers, they automatically win the Joker Jackpot, which starts at $10,000 and increases by $500 each game until won.
VARIATIONS: Any combination of these:
- If a contestant can win their fifth straight game, they automatically win the Joker Jackpot and retire.
- If a returning champion loses, their winnings are cut in half; they can stop after each game.

HOT POTATO

MUSIC: original Hal Hidey theme and cues
SET: update of original John Mula set
GAMEPLAY: I think the original game is alright as it was. If it needs to be self-contained, a game will be three rounds, with the winner of each round scoring one point for each correct answer given. In round 3, the points are doubled. Most points wins the game and $1,000.
BONUS ROUND: Same as the original. The only change is a line of text below each screen where the information will appear.

PLAY THE PERCENTAGES

MUSIC: remake of original Hal Hidey theme
SET: Giant percent sign at center stage, with TV monitors in the circles where the percentages and categories will appear
GAMEPLAY: This self-contained format employs both the original game's formats, but this game is one-on-one.
ROUND 1: First format; as many questions are played as time allots.
ROUND 2: Second format; category and level of difficulty (10-90) are randomly determined by the player in control (trailing player starts). This round is also timed; most points at the end of the game wins.
BONUS ROUND: The winner is given an opinionated question and three possible answers, two of which given in the survey. The contestant picks one, the percentage is added to their score, and the next question is asked. If the player reaches 100 points in 40 seconds, he/she wins $5000, otherwise he/she wins $10 per point. If at any time the player picks the answer that scored zero, they lose all their points, but as long as there is time on the clock, the round continues.

PRESS YOUR LUCK

MUSIC: original theme and cues
SET: Game board with 18 video monitors and flashing neon lights and red, orange, yellow and green (player colors from a short-lived and ill-advised four-player version I developed) lights around the board; backdrop flashes red-yellow-blue
GAMEPLAY: Yes, I know this show is being redone, but this is what I would have envisioned. Game play would be exactly the same as in the original version, maybe with a few updated Whammy animations. Amounts in square 4 are $1500-$1750-$2000 in round 1 and $5000-$6000-$7500 (all plus a spin) in round 2, with an occasional prize worth over $10,000! Also, strategic placements of the Whammys can cause "traps" in directional spaces.
VARIATIONS: If you don't want returning champions, then add this bonus round. Like the 1986 Home Player Grand Prize Spin, the winner gets one spin of the bonus board--which contains a few leftover Whammys. If the player gets money in that spin, it'll be mulitplied by the number of spins he/she earned in round 2.

HIT MAN

MUSIC: remake of original theme
SET: video wall for the clips and game boards
ROUND 1: Four players--blue, yellow, green, and red--watch the first clip and start with a hit man on the start line. Correct answer move up one step; wrong answer gives the other three ONE chance to buzz in. Also, any player who answers wrong is out of the next question. Four steps are needed to win; first two to reach the finish line AND the next closest player advance to round 2 (ties are broken by a sudden-death question).
ROUND 2: New clip. First-place finisher from round 1 gets 5 hit men, second-place gets 4 and the "wild-card" entry gets 3. Each question is played between two players; right answer knocks out your opponents' man, while a wrong answer knocks out your own man. Whoever loses a man, their two opponents get the next question. A player who runs out of hit men is out of the game; last player remaining wins.
TRIPLE CROWN: Same rules as the original. $100 for each money man, $1,000 for each column, total of $10,000 for three columns in 60 seconds.

WHEW!

MUSIC: remake of original Alan Thicke theme
SET: video wall or giant screen for the gameboard, series of buttons on blocker's podium for locking in the blocks
FRONT GAME: Same concept and rules as the original, except the format is a three-player round-robin where each player charges against one opponent and blocks against the other. The loser of round 1 plays the player who didn't play round 1 in round 2. If one player wins both of their rounds (head-to-head sweep), they win the game. First tiebreaker is total money won; second tiebreaker is head-to-head. The winner keeps their money, the others receive parting gifts.
GAUNTLET OF VILLIANS: Again, 10 villians, 60 seconds + 1 second per $100 won upfront. Each villian beaten earns $100 or $10,000 for all ten.

GO

MUSIC: original Bob Cobert theme
REVISIONS: Gameplay and scoring are exactly the same as the original, except that to level the playing field, both teams will work from the same packet of answers in each round. While the first team plays, the second team will wear headphones. Also, each team consists of five civilians and no celebrities. As in the original, the two teams play each other for the entire week.

HIGH ROLLERS

MUSIC: my own composition
FRONT GAME: Instead of prizes, two contestants play for points. Whenever a number is closed out, it is added to the player's score for the round. If a column is cleared, their score is doubled; however, only the winner can keep those points. The contestants play as many rounds as time permits.
SPEED-UP ROUND: If time runs out with a round is progress, the last player who rolled decides whether to roll again or pass the dice to their opponent. Then the players take turns rolling and closing out numbers until someone either clears the board or rolls out. Highest score at the end of the game wins.
BIG NUMBERS: To play the Big Numbers, the winner is given big dice! (Just a little gimmick I dreamt up.) $200 a number; $10,000 for all nine.

MONOPOLY

MUSIC: original Mort Linsday theme
FRONT GAME: The original game moved way too fast for a half-hour show, but outside of The Price is Right, one-hour game shows were unprecented back then. This format will be one hour, with round 1 (dividing the properties) comprising the first half. Rules otherwise follow the same format of the 1990 version. Here is how I would spread out the six segments (separated by commercial breaks) of the show:
- First segment: First Street (purple and aqua monopolies)
- Second segment: Announcer introduces players; Second Street (pink and orange monopolies)
- Third segment: Player interviews; Third and Fourth Streets (red, yellow, green and blue monopolies) aka "The High-Rent District"
- Third commercial break: Contestant spend their money on houses ($50 each, regardless of where placed) and hotels ($250 each). Per rules in the board game, players must build evenly.
- Fourth and fifth segments: Big Money round; this will allow more time for the host to explain some of the rules and for the players to build up their banks. The warning bell sounds at two minutes.
- Sixth segment: "Once Around the Block" Bonus game
The winner keeps their money; the others receive $1,000 each.
VARIATIONS: Other word puzzles could be used in round 1, a different one each street. The Big Money Round will still use crossword clues.
BONUS ROUND: Same as the original (one Go To Jail space on Second and Third Streets and two on Fourth Street placed by player; corner GTJ space is still in play); extra roll for rolling a double BUT per board game rules, three doubles in a row is an automatic Go-to-Jail. The contestant can stop after any roll and take $500 per space, but if Free Parking is landed on by exact count, he/she is guaranteed $10,000 ($500 x 20). Passing GO successfully wins $100,000; landing on GO by exact count wins $250,000. (These stakes are intended for primetime; they can be scaled back a little for syndication.)

WHEEL OF FORTUNE (kids' version)

THEME: "Big Wheels" (1975-83 theme)
FRONT GAME: One reason Wheel 2000 didn't last long is because it deviated a little too much from the game. In my version, there are still points on the wheel, but no stunts. My only addition is that of a follow-up question related to the puzzle after each round worth 500 points. The contestant who solves the puzzle gets first chance to answer; others can answer in turn. Five rounds, the last a speed-up round for double points, are played and the player with the most points wins $500. Incidentally, the version has only one host; the puzzle board will be electronic.
BONUS ROUND: Same as the current bonus, but not quite as difficult; a win triples the contestant's winnings to $1,500.
VARIATIONS: Since WoF now has toss-up puzzles before rounds 1 and 4, I could add toss-up puzzle worth 500 points as well as control.

TO TELL THE TRUTH

REVISIONS: Yes, I know this one's come and gone, but here's how I would have refined it: After the questioning, the host plays along and votes in addition to the panel and the audience. Each incorrect vote--counting audience ties and recused votes--pays EACH challenger $250. A clean sweep adds a $500 bonus for a total of $2,000 per challenger.

SATELLITE SQUARES

REVISIONS: Literally the very minute I saw the first episode of the current Hollywood Squares a concept of a kids' version of this flashed into my mind. The gimmick: to make more celebrities available (and they wouldn't exactly fly up here to Michigan for any reason, especially in the winter), the stars would actually participate via satellite. Game two is a Secret Square game; if the prize is not won, it will roll over into game three.
SCORING: In the first game, each square is worth 10 points, and a win is worth 100. The points for the second are 20 and 200, third game 30 and 300, and so on. Should time expire with a game in progress, the points for the squares are doubled. NOTE: To place emphasis in 3-in-a-row, a five-square win counts only half the points.
BONUS ROUND: Each star has a two-sided card with two possible answers. A question is asked for those answers, and the stars hold up their card to show their answers without discussion. If the contestant correctly agrees or disagrees without the majority answer, he/she wins a trip; a wrong answer stills wins a consolation prize.

GREED

MUSIC: original theme and cues
REVISIONS: Just as Who Wants to be a Millionaire found life after prime time in five-a-week syndication, the longest-lived of the pre-Survivor competitors could be easily adpated. It would be scaled down, though. Four contestants per group, positions (including captain) determined by lot; six steps on the Tower of Greed, as follows:
$5,000 - four possible answers
$10,000 - four possible answers
$20,000 - five possible answers
$50,000 - four out of six answers; $5,000 bribe
$100,000 - four out of seven answers; $10,000 bribe
$250,000 - four out of eight answers
Terminator challenges pay $2,500. Also, like the syndicated version of Match Game from the early '80s, each week is self-contained rather than each day.

All game shows and titles are trademarks of their respective companies. This site does not, nor will it ever, challenge ownership of these properties. Given what advertisers and executives want today, these concepts won't see the light of day anyway. All of these developments are solely mine, except for The Joker's Wild, which was developed from an alt.tv.game-shows post by Thad Dixon.

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