Pitfall (game show)

Last updated
Pitfall
Genre Game show
Directed byGeoff Theobald
Presented by Alex Trebek
Narrated byJohn Barton [1]
Country of originCanada
Production
Executive producer Bill Armstrong
ProducersIan MacLennan
John Barton
Production locations Panorama Film Studios
West Vancouver, British Columbia
Running timeapprox. 22-26 minutes
Production company Catalena Productions
Original release
Network Syndication
ReleaseSeptember 14, 1981 (1981-09-14) 
September 1982 (1982-09)

Pitfall is a Canadian game show that aired in American and Canadian syndication from September 14, 1981, to September 1982. The host was Alex Trebek and the announcer was John Barton (who also served as co-producer). The show featured contestants attempting to predict the outcome of survey questions conducted to the studio audience, and the bonus round required them to cross an elevated bridge by answering trivia questions.

Contents

The show was filmed at Panorama Film Studios in West Vancouver, British Columbia and produced by Catalena Productions, with distribution provided by Rhodes Productions. Due to Catalena going bankrupt in 1981, production of the show ended; as a result, many contestants and staff were never paid.

Game play

Main game

Two contestants attempted to predict how the studio audience answered questions about lifestyle and personal preference. For each question, the contestants and audience were shown four possible answers. Using a keypad, each audience member chose one of the responses, after which Trebek asked each contestant to choose the answer they thought had received the highest percentage of votes. Contestants could not choose the same answer. The champion chose first on the opening question, and control alternated between the contestants on every subsequent one.

One point was scored for choosing the most popular answer to a question. Contestants could also earn "Pit Passes," which would come into play in the Pitfall round. One pass was awarded for a contestant's first, third, and fifth points, for a maximum of three per game.

Play continued for a maximum of five minutes. The first contestant to reach five points, or the one who was in the lead when time ran out, won the game and advanced to the bonus round, known as the Pitfall round. [1]

Pitfall round

The champion attempted to cross a bridge composed of eight numbered sections in under 100 seconds by answering general knowledge trivia questions. Three of the eight sections contained pitfalls, and stepping on one caused the champion to descend via elevator to the floor below the bridge. Before the round began, the champion watched a sequence of flashing lights on the bridge sections in random order; safe sections lit up once, while pitfalls lit up twice. He or she then selected the appropriate number of Pit Passes from a rack of eight numbered cards. [1]

Trebek and the champion rode an elevator up to the left end of the bridge, and the clock began to count down as soon as Trebek started to read the first question. The champion could advance from one section to the next only by correctly answering a question; if he or she answered incorrectly or passed, Trebek gave the answer and read a new one. Handing Trebek a Pit Pass enabled the champion to bypass a section entirely, whether or not it was a pitfall, but the champion had to give the corresponding pass to Trebek before stepping into the section for it to count.

If the champion stepped onto a pitfall without either having the proper pass or giving it to Trebek in time, an elevator lowered the contestant down to the stage floor (taking approximately 10 seconds) as the clock continued to run. Trebek waited to continue asking questions until the champion was at floor level. Giving a correct answer would cause the elevator to ascend again, with the clock temporarily stopped during the ascent, and he/she would have to answer another question in order to advance.

The contestant received $100 for each section reached or bypassed within the time limit, and a prize package totaling approximately $5,000 for reaching the right end of the bridge. Later, a prize was awarded for reaching the fifth section and a prize package of approximately $2,500 was awarded for crossing the bridge.

Cancellation

Catalena Productions, which also produced the 1980–81 syndicated revival of Let's Make a Deal , went bankrupt on August 31, 1981, after the company was sued for not paying Monty Hall or Stefan Hatos, the producers of that series. The bankruptcy became effective before the series even aired; this resulted in stations slated to air the program having difficulty acquiring tapes. [2] As a result of the company's collapse, Trebek only ended up receiving half of his salary [3] [4] and most, if not all, of the contestants that appeared on the show never received their cash winnings or merchandise prizes.

Trebek later commented that the show was an unfavorable experience, as the lack of payment came at a time when he "could have used the money" (he was getting divorced and commuting between Vancouver and southern California, where he was hosting Battlestars on NBC concurrently with Pitfall, at significant expense); furthermore, a dispute between Catalena and ACTRA, of which Trebek was a member, caused problems after Trebek had signed the contract, as Catalena was not a signatory of ACTRA's policies at the time. [5] He also remarked about how it was a production based in his native Canada that caused the issue. Trebek also stated that he framed the bounced check from Catalena Productions for his $49,000 salary and hung it up at his home. [6]

Trebek continued to refer to the show as "one of the great tragedies of his life" and has noted that it was the only time that he had not been paid his agreed salary for hosting duties. [3]

Original concept

According to the 2020 Game TV documentary series The Search for Canada's Game Shows, Pitfall was originally pitched by Catalena as a possible fall 1979 entry, with John Barton (who would ultimately serve as announcer for the eventual series two years later) as emcee and a different format that involved celebrities giving answers to Hollywood Squares -style questions; Nipsey Russell and Marty Allen were among those who participated in the pilot. Many years later, staff members recalled that the celebrity format was scrapped after one of the guest stars (Jack Carter) grabbed the cage area atop one of the elevators despite being warned not to, had his fingers crushed in the process and subsequently threatened a lawsuit. As a result, the series was shelved, with both the set and gameplay given considerable revamps over the next two years.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Wizard of Odds</i> 1973 American TV series or program

The Wizard of Odds is an American television game show hosted by Alex Trebek that aired on NBC from July 17,1973, to June 28, 1974, in which people from the studio audience vied in a number of rounds, primarily games revolving around statistical questions. John Harlan announced the pilot; Los Angeles radio personality Sam Riddle was the show's first announcer; towards the end of the run, Charlie O'Donnell replaced him. The title was a parody of the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz and was the first American game show Trebek hosted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1950s quiz show scandals</span> Revelations that contestants on TV quiz shows were secretly assisted by producers

The 1950s quiz show scandals were a series of scandals involving the producers and contestants of several popular American television quiz shows. These shows' producers secretly gave assistance to certain contestants in order to prearrange the shows' outcomes while still attempting to deceive the public into believing that these shows were objective and fair competitions. Producers fixed the shows sometimes with the free consent of contestants and out of various motives: improving ratings, greed, and the lack of regulations prohibiting such conspiracy in game show productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Trebek</span> Canadian-American TV personality (1940–2020)

George Alexander Trebek was a Canadian-American game show host and television personality. He was best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons from its revival in 1984 until his death in 2020. Trebek also hosted a number of other game shows, including The Wizard of Odds, Double Dare, High Rollers, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth. He also made appearances, usually as himself, in numerous films and television series.

<i>Reach for the Top</i> Canadian high school quizbowl

Reach for the Top is a Canadian trivia based academic quiz competition for high school students. In the past, it has also been a game show nationally broadcast on the CBC. Matches are currently aired online through Reach for the Top's official YouTube channel. Teams qualify for national rounds through several stages of non-televised tournaments held at high schools throughout Canada during the year which are known as Schoolreach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Jennings</span> American game show host (born 1974)

Kenneth Wayne Jennings III is an American game show host, former game show contestant, and author. He is best known for his work on the syndicated quiz show Jeopardy! as a contestant and later its host. Jennings was born in Seattle, Washington but grew up in South Korea and Singapore. He worked as a computer programmer before he tried out for Jeopardy! in 2004. During his initial run, Jennings secured a consecutive 74 wins, setting records and bringing significant media attention and viewership.

<i>Now You See It</i> (American game show) 1974 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.

Eddie Timanus is a USA Today sportswriter and game show contestant who grew up in Reston, Virginia, then graduated from Wake Forest University. Timanus has been blind since he was a toddler due to retinoblastoma. He is best known for his five-game winning streak on the game show Jeopardy! and for being the first blind contestant to appear on the show.

Celebrity Jeopardy! is a series of sketches that aired regularly on the television comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live between 1996 and 2002, the years when Will Ferrell was a cast member. It parodies the same-named special event on the television quiz show Jeopardy! that features competition between notable individuals with all winnings going towards charitable organizations, and significant reductions to the game's level of difficulty. Fifteen sketches aired between December 1996 and February 2015: two sketches per season from 1996 to 2002, and one each in 2005 and 2009, when Ferrell returned to the show as host. The sketch was revived for the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special on February 15, 2015.

<i>High Rollers</i> American game show

High Rollers is an American television game show created by Merrill Heatter. Two contestants compete to answer trivia questions and gain control of an oversized set of dice, which they then roll to eliminate the numbers 1 through 9 from a game board in order to win cash and prizes. It is an adaptation of the standard dice game shut the box.

"What Is... Cliff Clavin?" is the fourteenth episode of the eighth season of the American television sitcom Cheers, co-written by Dan O'Shannon and Tom Anderson, and directed by Andy Ackerman rather than James Burrows, who directed most of the other episodes of the series. It originally aired on January 18, 1990, on NBC. In this episode, Cliff Clavin appears on the game show Jeopardy! and game show host Alex Trebek guest stars as himself. Cliff racks up an insurmountable lead during the game, only to lose it all in the final round. The episode received praise from critics for its concept and its guest star.

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.

Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given general knowledge clues in the form of answers and they must identify the person, place, thing, or idea that the clue describes, phrasing each response in the form of a question.

Jeopardy! is an American media franchise that began with a television quiz show created by Merv Griffin, in which contestants are presented with clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in the form of a question. Over the years, the show has expanded its brand beyond television and been licensed into products of various formats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Chu</span> American television personality (born 1984)

Arthur Chu is an American columnist and former contestant on Jeopardy!, a syndicated U.S. game show. Chu first became known for the unusual style of play he adopted during his eleven-game winning streak on Jeopardy!. When the shows aired, Chu attracted criticism from many for jumping from category to category rather than selecting clues in sequential order, a strategy known as the "Forrest Bounce", named for former champion Chuck Forrest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Holzhauer</span> American game show contestant and poker player (born 1984)

James Holzhauer is an American game show contestant and professional sports gambler. He is the third-highest-earning American game show contestant of all time. Holzhauer is best known for his 32-game winning streak as champion on the quiz show Jeopardy! from April to June 2019, during which he set multiple single-game records for winnings, and for winning the following Tournament of Champions that November.

<i>Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time</i> American game show tournament

Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time is a special tournament limited-run series of the game show Jeopardy! that took place in January 2020. The tournament was produced for ABC and aired on the network in prime time. This was the second time a Jeopardy! competition aired on network television ; the first occurred in 1990 when the special tournament series Super Jeopardy! was carried by ABC.

Jeopardy! is an American quiz game show in which contestants use certain strategies and skills to increase their chances of winning each game, win the most games, and ensure large winnings.

Catalena Productions was a Canadian television production company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It produced several notable television programs in the late 1970s and early 1980s before being forced into receivership in 1981.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve; Wostbrock, Fred (1999). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3 ed.). Facts on File, Inc. p.  173. ISBN   0-8160-3846-5.
  2. "KCPQ is coming". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. September 9, 1981. p. C2. Retrieved February 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 Host: Alex Trebek (2010-04-01). "Jeopardy!". Jeopardy!. 6:04 minutes in. Syndicated. Contestant Matt Drury comments that he thought Pitfall was the "best thing ever"; Trebek replied, "I didn't, because in all of my years in broadcasting, that's the only time they stiffed me for my salary."
  4. "Pitfall Game Show - with Special Alex Trebek Clip". 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2022-11-08. Trebek states, "...and then we did 13 weeks of programming, and they paid me; and then we did another 13 weeks of programming, and they didn't pay me."
  5. "Pitfall Game Show - with Special Alex Trebek Clip". 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2024-02-08. So, now I get offered a job in Canada, and they send me the paperwork, and it said, 'You must be a member of the Canadian union, otherwise we can't hire you,' and I was a member of the Canadian performer's union, ACTRA.... So then I get up there, and I'm approached by one of the Canadian union people in Vancouver, who says, 'You can't work this show.' And I said, 'Why?' He said, 'They're not signatories.' I said, 'What do you mean they're not signatories? Part of my contract says that I have to be a member of the union. I assumed that they must be signatories in order to put that provision in there.' So, there was a big fight. The head of the show came to me and said, 'If you don't perform, we're gonna sue you, because we have a contract,' and the union said, 'If you perform, you're gonna be in deep trouble with the union because they're not signatories.' Finally, at the eleventh hour, they resolved their differences....
  6. Baber, David (14 June 2015). "Alex Trebek". Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars. pp. 264–265. ISBN   9781476604800.