On May 19, 1984, an unemployed ice cream truck driver named Michael Larson went on
Press Your Luck and over the course of two episodes, took home more money than had ever been won in the history of television: $110,237 -- to the shock of the show’s producers and host, the late
Peter Tomarken. How did he do it? The show’s game board had only 5 patterns of 18 squares, and Mr. Larson had memorized them all. After the show, CBS tried to disqualify him but couldn’t, because Larson hadn’t done anything illegal. But they
did refuse to allow those episodes to be aired in syndication. So, they didn’t re-air until 2003, when the Game Show Network produced a Tomarken-hosted documentary about Mr. Larson’s incredible win:
Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Apr 3, 2012 -
42 comments
Years after its final broadcast, the award-winning, pond-hopping, cult comedy hit
Whose Line is it Anyway? is returning to television! Sort of! Tonight in just a few minutes,
Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza (
promo,
sample segment) makes its debut on GSN, reuniting Carey with popular "Whosers" Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood, Wayne Brady, and
many more. Though the show will air every weekday, you don't have to wait around for new episodes to get your improv fix -- in spite of the lack of DVD box sets, there's a veritable treasure trove of past content available free from multiple online sources, including
the complete run of the American Whose Line on both YouTube and
fansite WatchWLIIA along with
every episode of the original UK run from Channel4's official YouTube channel and
their streaming video site 4oD. Too much content? Look inside for selections of the show's most hilarious moments as sampled from
the show's burgeoning TVTropes entry. See also:
Fan guide -
American episode guide (
UK version) -
List of game types [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Apr 11, 2011 -
49 comments
As George Carlin once said,
"it is an infinitely more interesting news story for a team to repeatedly fail at the highest level than it is for them to finally win." After ten years and over 1,500 episodes, last night's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (the US version) featured its very first
Top Prize Loser.
Ken Basin, of Los Angeles, incorrectly guessed that LBJ prefered Yoo-Hoo over Fresca, and walked away with $25,000 instead of $1,000,000.
[more inside]
posted by Damn That Television
on Aug 24, 2009 -
81 comments
In 1966, NBC broadcast a
GE College Bowl match between a team from Princeton University (all male, of course—Princeton
wouldn't go co-ed until three years later) and a team from Agnes Scott College, a small women's college in Decatur, Georgia. In one of the most exciting upsets in the history of the program,
after trailing early,
Agnes Scott came from behind to win,
pushed over the edge by Karen Gearreald's final answer, with only one second left on the clock. "That young lady, by the way, was the only person in the theater who could not see the clock," the program's host, Robert Earle,
later wrote. "She is blind."
[more inside]
posted by ocherdraco
on Feb 5, 2009 -
57 comments
Billed as
TV's frst video arcade game show,
Starcade had its contestants battling
each other on video game trivia, as well as actual gameplay. Originally aired in the early 1980's, the show featured games like
Zaxxon,
Congo Bongo,
Star Trek and
Journey, to name
a few.
Ten full episodes are available online, for those of you who want a bit of video game nostalgia. And,
if nothing else, looking at
the contestants is pretty entertaining, in and of itself.
posted by avoision
on Jan 17, 2007 -
28 comments
Rod Roddy Dies at 66 Veteran game show announcer known for his work on the Price is Right and Press Your Luck succumbs to breast and colon cancer.
posted by dr_dank
on Oct 27, 2003 -
11 comments
This is your mission should you choose to accept it. You start at Victoria Peak with bicycles and ride all the way down to the Victoria Harbour without using the pedals, and see how far you can go. The rules are: No pedalling allowed. Keep your feet off the ground. Ride with safety. It's not a time trial. The winner is the one who rides the most distance. Sounds fairly straightforward, but here's the hitch... you'll be competing against Jackie Chan. A
two part mpeg video from a Japanese TV variety show called
Tetsuwan Dash.
posted by riffola
on Apr 12, 2002 -
13 comments
You Are The Weakest Link, Goodbye! Yes, the "Rudest Person on Television" is about to hit American airwaves as NBC desperately tries to catch up to "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and "Survivor". This little BBC profile of Anne Robinson explains it all for us unsuspecting Yanks. Is "YATWLG" about to be the next hot meme?
posted by briank
on Mar 27, 2001 -
38 comments
First UK TV Millionnaire comes, by coincidence, on the same night that another network shows the last episode of its most popular sitcom, in which the main character dies.
Gosh what a coincidence! Or is it a fix?
posted by nico
on Nov 20, 2000 -
11 comments
The "dickie game" is a new feature on the public danish newschannel "DR". Yes - it is a publically owned and funded channel.
The rules are pretty simple: press the "start spillet" button and try to guess what dick belongs to which dude.
Have fun!
posted by joedrescher
on Aug 18, 2000 -
2 comments
All he wants, is a fair, um, hearing. When I first read this, I thought to myself, "It is beginning." Meaning that whenever something, or someone becomes really successful and makes lots of money, the lawyers smell the money, and want it. But after reading this, there are a few valid points. And it isn't as if the man is asking for Multi-Millions... He just wants to win the $1 million prize.
posted by da5id
on Jun 9, 2000 -
15 comments
