Hit Man (American game show)

Last updated
Hit Man
Hit Man.jpg
Promotional photo featuring the Hit Man set.
Created by Jay Wolpert
Directed byJohn "The Fox" Dorsey
Presented by Peter Tomarken
Narrated by Rod Roddy
Theme music composerPaul Epstein for Score Productions
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes65
Production
Executive producerJay Wolpert
ProducersRoger Speakman
Randy Neece
Production locations NBC Studios
Burbank, California
Running time22 minutes (without commercials)
Production companiesJay Wolpert Productions
Metromedia Video Productions
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseJanuary 3 (1983-01-03) –
April 1, 1983 (1983-04-01)

Hit Man is an American television game show. The show aired on NBC from January 3 to April 1, 1983, and was hosted by Peter Tomarken. [1] Rod Roddy was the announcer, and the program was produced by Jay Wolpert Productions in association with Metromedia Video Productions.

Contents

Game play

Four contestants competed on each episode of Hit Man in a quiz based on memory and instant recall. [2] One was either a returning champion or champion-designate, with the other three were challengers who competed for the right to face him/her in the second round. The winner of each game played the bonus round, known as the Triple Crown, for a top prize of $10,000.

Round 1

The three challengers watched a short film narrated by Tomarken. Film topics varied widely and included biographies, behind-the-scenes features about specific movies, professions, hobbies, etc. The film was also shown to the returning champion offstage, since the subject matter would also be used for the Triple Crown.

After the film ended, Tomarken asked the challengers a series of toss-up questions about its content. Each correct answer moved the challenger one step up a five-step ladder behind him/her, while a miss put the question out of play and froze him/her out of the next one. The first challenger to give five correct answers won $300 and sat out the rest of the round, and the second to do so won $200. These two challengers advanced to the second round; the third one was eliminated from the game and received parting gifts.

Round 2

The champion joined the two remaining challengers onstage, and all three contestants were shown a second film and asked a series of toss-up questions about it. The object this time for all three contestants was to defend a series of hit men assigned to them. The champion was given seven hit men, with the first place challenger from the first round receiving four and the second place challenger receiving three.

Each toss-up was played as a head-to-head showdown between the champion and one of the challengers, starting with the winner of the first round. Answering a question correctly caused the opposing contestant to lose a hit man, while answering incorrectly cost the contestant that did so one of his/her own. Each challenger played against the champion until they lost a hit man. Any player who lost all their hit men was eliminated. If either challenger lost all of their hit men, they were eliminated from the game and play continued with the champion and the remaining challenger.

Play continued until the champion had eliminated all seven of his/her opponents’ hit men or until he/she had lost all seven of his/hers. The champion retained in the former case; in the latter case, the challenger that was in control when the champion’s seventh and last hit man was eliminated became the champion.

Triple Crown

A contestant about to start the Triple Crown bonus round. Hit Man game show Triple Crown.png
A contestant about to start the Triple Crown bonus round.

The champion faced a board of eight columns that contained varying numbers of circles. Two columns each had two, three, and four circles, while one column had one circle and one had five circles. The champion turned his/her back to the board, and the columns were scrambled.

The champion had 60 seconds to answer questions based on the day's two films, without turning to face the board. He/she chose a column, and Tomarken began to ask questions. Each correct answer placed a money man in one circle, but a pass or incorrect answer forced the champion to choose a new one. He/she was never told how many answers were needed to fill a chosen column until it had been successfully filled and/or the end of the round. The champion won $1,000 for each of the first two columns filled, or $10,000 for filling three.

Champions remained on the show until they were defeated in the second round of the main game or had played the Triple Crown five times.

Broadcast history

Hit Man premiered on January 3, 1983, as one of three new game shows on NBC's daytime schedule, along with the new Just Men! and a revival of Sale of the Century , that the network commissioned to replace the cancelled serials Texas and The Doctors . Hit Man and its lead-in program, Wheel of Fortune , were moved to the slot Texas had occupied, with Hit Man airing at 11:30 AM Eastern.

Although NBC was drawing better ratings in the hour, Hit Man suffered from ratings trouble against the second half of The Price Is Right on CBS and reruns of The Love Boat on ABC and the network did not renew the series beyond its original sixty-five episode commitment, with the final episode airing on April 1. On the final episode, instead of doing the usual request for contestants during the final segment, announcer Rod Roddy told the home audience, "If you would like to be a contestant on Hit Man, forget it!" The show was replaced by Dream House hosted by Bob Eubanks. Hit Man and Just Men! both ended their runs on the same day, but Sale continued for another six years, ending in 1989.

Peter Tomarken later hosted Press Your Luck , which debuted in September 1983 (five months after Hit Man ended) and ran for three years on CBS. Rod Roddy reunited with Tomarken as the announcer of Press Your Luck, and later became Johnny Olson's permanent replacement in 1986 as announcer on The Price Is Right after the latter's death the previous year. Roddy held this position until his death in 2003.

International versions

CountryNameHostNetworkDate premiered
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy [3] [4] Babilonia Umberto Smaila Canale 5 September 18, 1989 – December 30, 1990
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom [5] Hitman Nick Owen ITV February 21 – May 30, 1989

Related Research Articles

<i>Press Your Luck</i> American game show

Press Your Luck is an American television game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. Contestants answer trivia questions to earn "spins" on a randomly cycling game board whose spaces display cash, prizes, extra spins, special items, or the show's mascot, a cartoon creature known as the Whammy. Landing on a Whammy eliminates any cash and prizes accumulated while also displaying a short comedic animation. Its format is a revival of an earlier Carruthers production, Second Chance, which was hosted by Jim Peck and aired on ABC in 1977. The original version of Press Your Luck aired on CBS between 1983 and 1986. This version featured Peter Tomarken as host, Rod Roddy as announcer, and Carruthers as both director and voice of the Whammy. The original incarnation of the show gained significant media attention in 1984 for contestant Michael Larson, who won over $100,000 after memorizing the original pattern of the game board.

<i>Trivia Trap</i> American TV series or program

Trivia Trap is an American game show produced by Mark Goodson Productions. It was created by producer Goodson and originally ran from October 8, 1984 to April 5, 1985 on ABC. The game featured two teams of three contestants each competing against each other to answer trivia questions in various formats. Bob Eubanks was the host, and Gene Wood announced during the first two weeks. Charlie O'Donnell announced during the third week and was replaced by Bob Hilton for the remainder of the series.

Remote Control is an American TV game show that ran on MTV for five seasons from 1987 until 1990. It was MTV's first original non-musical program and first game show. A concurrent syndicated version of the series ran during the 1989-90 season and was distributed by Viacom. Three contestants answered trivia questions on movies, music, and television, many of which were presented in skit format.

<i>Wipeout</i> (1988 game show) American first-run syndicated game show (1988-1989)

Wipeout is an American game show that aired from September 12, 1988, to June 9, 1989, with Peter Tomarken as host. The series was produced by Dames-Fraser Productions, and was distributed in first-run syndication by Paramount Domestic Television.

<i>Sale of the Century</i> American game show

Sale of the Century is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being the short-lived game shows Letters to Laugh-In and Name Droppers. The series aired until July 13, 1973, and a weekly syndicated series began that fall and ran for one season.

The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. In the show, contestants answer questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's title refers to the game's slot-machine mechanism also having jokers.

<i>Now You See It</i> (American game show) American TV series or program

Now You See It is an American television game show created by Frank Wayne for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The object of Now You See It is to answer general knowledge trivia questions by finding the answers hidden in a grid, similar to a word search puzzle.

Monopoly is an American television game show based on the board game of the same name. The format was created by Merv Griffin and produced by his production company, Merv Griffin Enterprises.

<i>The Challengers</i> (game show) 1990–1991 US television program

The Challengers is an American game show that aired in syndication during the 1990-91 television season The series was created by Ron Greenberg and was based largely on his 1969 production, The Who, What, or Where Game. Dick Clark presided over the show with Don Morrow announcing. The Challengers was a joint production of Ron Greenberg Productions and Dick Clark Productions, with Buena Vista Television as distributor.

<i>Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck</i> American game show

Whammy! is an American television game show that aired new episodes on Game Show Network (GSN) from April 15, 2002, to December 5, 2003. The series was produced by Fremantle North America, in association with GSN. The main goal of the game is to earn as much money and prizes as possible through collecting spins by answering trivia questions correctly, then using those spins on a gameboard to win various prizes and cash amounts while attempting to avoid the show's eponymous character, the "Whammy." Contestants who do land on a Whammy lose all their prizes accumulated to that point; four Whammies eliminates a contestant from the game. The program is an updated version of Press Your Luck, which originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1983, to September 26, 1986. The series was taped at Tribune Studios and was hosted by Todd Newton, with Gary Kroeger announcing. The show aired in reruns on GSN until 2017, and came back on May 11, 2020, up until October 1, 2021.

<i>Stump the Schwab</i> American sports trivia game show

Stump the Schwab is an American game show that aired on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic from July 8, 2004 to September 29, 2006. The show featured three contestants trying to defeat Howie Schwab, ESPN's first statistician, in a sports trivia contest. Stuart Scott was the show's host. The show also appeared on Canada's The Score Television Network.

Trump Card is an American syndicated game show that aired from September 10, 1990, to May 24, 1991, hosted by Jimmy Cefalo. Debi Massey served as hostess and Chuck Riley was the announcer. The show was produced by Telepictures Productions, Createl, Ltd., and Fiedler-Berlin Productions, with Warner Bros. Television distributing. It was based on the British game show Bob's Full House, which consisted of contestants trying to answer questions to fill up a 15-square bingo board.

<i>Dream House</i> (game show) American TV series or program

Dream House is an American game show that saw contestants competing to win, as the title of the show indicates, a new house. The show originally premiered in primetime on ABC on March 27, 1968, with a daytime edition premiering on April 1, 1968. The primetime series aired weekly until September 19, 1968, and the daytime series aired daily until January 2, 1970, when it was replaced with All My Children. The daytime series was revived for NBC's daytime schedule and premiered on April 4, 1983, running until June 29, 1984.

<i>Wordplay</i> (game show) TV series or program

Wordplay is an American game show which ran on NBC from December 29, 1986 to September 4, 1987. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy, with Jamie Farr substituting for Kennedy for one week of shows, and announced by Charlie O'Donnell. The show was produced by Scotti Bros.-Syd Vinnedge Television in association with Fiedler/Berlin Productions and Rick Ambrose Television.

<i>Battlestars</i> (game show) American television series

Battlestars is an American game show that aired on NBC during the 1980s. The program's concept was developed and produced by Merrill Heatter, featuring a six-celebrity panel. The object of the game is to "capture" the celebrities by lighting up numbers positioned around triangle shapes, inside of which sat each panelist. Similar to Hollywood Squares, which Heatter also co-created and produced, the celebrities are asked questions by the host, and the contestants judge the truth of their answers in order to light up the numbers.

<i>The Big Showdown</i> American TV series or program

The Big Showdown is an American game show that aired on the ABC television network from December 23, 1974 to July 4, 1975. Jim Peck hosted the program and Dan Daniel served as announcer.

<i>Small Talk</i> (American game show) American TV series or program

Small Talk is an American game show hosted by comedian Wil Shriner and produced by Reg Grundy Productions that aired on The Family Channel from September 30, 1996, to January 3, 1997. Reruns continued until January 17. The series aired as part of an original game show block, alongside The New Shop 'Til You Drop, Shopping Spree, Wait 'til You Have Kids, and The New Family Challenge.

Hitman is a British game show that aired on the ITV from 28 February to 30 May 1989 and was hosted by Nick Owen. The program was based on the US version, which aired on NBC in 1983 and was hosted by Peter Tomarken.

Love Me, Love Me Not is a Canadian game show based on the Italian game show, M'ama non m'ama, which in English means "love me, love me not". Both shows were created by Steve Carlin, the producer of The $64,000 Question in the 1950s. In 1988 there was a British version of the show, with the same name.

Paranoia is a game show that aired on the Fox Family channel from April to May 2000. The show was hosted by Peter Tomarken, and the first game show since the 1950s to be recorded live with contestants playing in the studio, by satellite, over the phone, and on the show's website.

References

  1. ↑ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 213. ISBN   978-0823083152 . Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  2. ↑ Baber, David (2009). Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars. McFarland & Co. p. 251. ISBN   9780786445738 . Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  3. ↑ Pino Corrias (1989). "Fininvest, la tv è quiz". La Stampa . p. 7. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Laura Delli Colli (1990). "Un '91 con Giuliano Ferrara". la Repubblica . Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Book Nick Owen, Event Host and Facilitator".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.