Ruckus (game show)

*Ruckus*
Ruckus
Genre	Game show
Created by	Merv Griffin
Written by	Marc Hershon
Directed by	James Marcione
Presented by	The Amazing Johnathan
Narrated by	Jim Bradley
Theme music composer	Mort Lindsey
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	60
Production
Executive producer	Merv Griffin
Producer	Burt Wheeler
Production locations	Merv Griffin Resorts, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	approx. 26 minutes
Production companies	Merv Griffin Enterprises ; Columbia Pictures Television
Original release
Network	WNBC-TV
Release	September 9, 1991 –; January 3, 1992

Last updated October 23, 2024

Ruckus is an American variety/game show that starred The Amazing Johnathan and was shot at Merv Griffin's Resorts in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Assistants on the program were Helen Incollingo and Charlene Donahue-Wallace.^[2] The format had audience members playing games for cash prizes. In the final round, three contestants played a four-minute stunt round.^[2]

Stunts

The stunts were all similar to Beat the Clock stunts, but they were all designed to be messy. Sometimes Johnathan would perform another magic trick prior to the stunt. Many stunts often awarded around $500 to be split amongst the teams, and some stunts allowed for bonus money.

Reach For the Stars

The final round, titled "Reach For the Stars", involved 3 players trying to win as much money as possible. (Reach for the Stars was also the title of a 1967 game show created by Merv Griffin which featured similar game play). The four-minute timer began counting down as soon as Johnathan began reading the first question. The player who buzzed in and answered it earned $100 and ran over to a board with stars. He/she would grab a star and hand it to Johnathan to answer a question or perform a stunt, all of which were worth anywhere from $100 to $1,000. If they failed to answer a question or perform a stunt before hearing the buzzer, the other two contestants were eligible to answer a toss-up question to get in the game. Some episodes used a variation where another toss-up question would be asked after each stunt regardless of whether the contestant who played it completed it or not. The player with the biggest total won the game and the cash they earned with it when the four minutes expired.

Broadcast history

The show aired from September 9, 1991, to January 3, 1992, on WNBC-TV in New York City, with plans to move it to syndication. However, it did not resurface until the Game Show Network began airing reruns in 1997.^[2] According to the Amazing Johnathan's website, he was embroiled in a contract dispute with joint creator-executive producer Merv Griffin during the off-season and chose not to return; not wanting to continue the show with a different host, Griffin opted to cancel it instead.

Related Research Articles

<i>Hollywood Squares</i> American television game show

Hollywood Squares is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debuted in 1966 on the same network. The board for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The stars are asked questions by the host and the contestants judge the truth of their answers to gain squares in the right pattern to win the game.

Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as three full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with two series before returning to BBC Two for another three series from 2008 until its cancellation in 2011. Created and hosted by double-act Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it uses the panel show format but with the comedians' often slapstick, surreal and anarchic humour that does not rely on rules in order to function, with the pair apparently ignoring existing rules or inventing new ones as and when the mood takes them.

Beat the Clock is an American television game show. Contestants attempted to complete challenges such as physical stunts within a time limit in order to win prizes. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions.

Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show. Griffin also created the game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune through his own production companies, Merv Griffin Enterprises and Merv Griffin Entertainment.

What Would You Do? is a 30-minute television show hosted by Marc Summers shown on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1993. Robin Marrella acted as the on-camera stagehand for the show's first season. Both Summers and Marrella performed their respective duties on Double Dare, also on Nickelodeon. The show was produced in Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios in Florida; some early segments were produced at Universal Studios in Hollywood.

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.

Cram is an American game show which aired on Game Show Network in 2003. The show featured two teams, each composed of two contestants. For 24 hours before taping, the contestants were sequestered and sleep deprived at a storefront. Contestants were then escorted to Raleigh Studios, in Los Angeles, California, where the actual gameplay would commence; with the intent of the contestants staying awake, and "cramming" various material such as trivia questions and jokes, which they would then answer on the show while attempting physical stunts in an attempt to stay awake. Graham Elwood was the show's host, with assistance from Berglind Icey, Arturo Gil, and Andrea Hutchman.

Make the Grade is a children's game show that aired from October 2, 1989, to September 14, 1990, on Nickelodeon.

<i>Fun House</i> (American game show) Childrens television game show, 1988–1991

Fun House is an American children's television game show that aired from September 5, 1988 to April 13, 1991. The first two seasons aired in daily syndication, with the Fox network picking it up and renaming it Fox's Fun House for its third and final season.

Debt is an American game show hosted by Wink Martindale which aired on Lifetime from June 3, 1996, to August 14, 1998. It was produced by Buena Vista Television, a part of The Walt Disney Company. The show featured contestants who were trying to earn money to get out of debt. It had a similar format to Jeopardy!, on which contestants answered trivia. However, it targeted a younger audience and placed a larger emphasis on popular culture.

Peer Pressure is an American television game show where youths performed stunts and answered questions about moral dilemmas. The show aired in syndication from 1997-1998 in first-run, and was hosted by Nick Spano and Valarie Rae Miller.

Memory Game was an American television game show that aired on NBC. The series – hosted by Joe Garagiola – ran from February 15 to July 30, 1971. The show's creator and packager was Merv Griffin, and its announcer was Johnny Olson.

Trashed is a television game show that ran on MTV from February 14 to July 23, 1994, with Chris Hardwick as host.

Video Power is an American television series that aired in two different formats from 1990 to 1992 in syndication. Both formats revolved around video games, and actor Stivi Paskoski presided over both series playing video game master Johnny Arcade.

Temptation: The New Sale of the Century is an American syndicated television game show loosely based on both the original Australian and American Sale of the Century versions, plus the 2005 Australian version, also titled Temptation. The show began airing in syndication on September 10, 2007, with the last first-run episode airing on May 23, 2008. Reruns continued until September 5, 2008.

Merv Griffin's Crosswords is an American game show based on crossword puzzles. The show was created by its namesake, Merv Griffin, who died shortly after beginning production on the series. Ty Treadway was the host, and Edd Hall was the announcer.

Reach for the Stars is an American game show which briefly aired on NBC weekday mornings at 10:00 beginning January 2, 1967 for a total of 65 episodes. The show was produced by Merv Griffin Productions at NBC's New York studios and was hosted by Bill Mazer.

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 6, 1975. Contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those in hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. The current version of the series, which airs in nightly syndication, premiered on September 19, 1983.

Pawnography was an American game show broadcast by History. Hosted by comedian Christopher Titus and featuring Pawn Stars personalities Rick Harrison, Corey Harrison and Austin "Chumlee" Russell as panelists, the series featured two contestants answering questions for a chance to win cash and items for sale from the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. The show premiered July 10, 2014, at 10 p.m. ET, following Pawn Stars and concluded on January 29, 2015.

References

↑ Hershon, Marc. "Marc Hershon". IMDB.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve; Wostbrock, Fred (1999). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3 ed.). Facts on File, Inc. p. 190. ISBN 0-8160-3846-5.

External links

Ruckus at IMDb

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.

[1] Hershon, Marc. "Marc Hershon". IMDB.

[eotvgs-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve; Wostbrock, Fred (1999). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3 ed.). Facts on File, Inc. p. 190. ISBN 0-8160-3846-5.

[1]

[2]