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Blockbusters (US game show)
Encyclopedia
Blockbusters is an American game show which had two separate runs in the 1980s. Created by Steve Ryan
for Mark Goodson
Productions, the first series debuted on NBC
on October 27, 1980 and aired until April 23, 1982. In the first series, a team of two family members competed against a solo contestant. Blockbusters was revived on NBC from January 5 to May 1, 1987, but featured only two contestants competing.
Bill Cullen
hosted the 1980–1982 version, with Bob Hilton
as announcer. Johnny Olson
and Rich Jeffries
substituted for Hilton on occasion, with Jeffries taking over for the final two weeks. Bill Rafferty
hosted the 1987 version, with Jeffries announcing the entire run.
The game was played using a 5×4 field of hexagons. On each hexagon was a letter representing the first letter in the correct answer to the question in play. Contestants attempted to complete a connection of hexagons to win each round: in red from top to bottom for the solo player, and in white from left to right for the family pair. The solo player was given an advantage in that a connection could be made in as few as four hexagons; the family pair needed a minimum of five to make a connection.
Each game started with a letter chosen at random. When a contestant gave a correct answer, the hexagon lit up in their team's color and that team chose the next hexagon. If a contestant answered incorrectly, their opponent was given an option to respond (if the solo contestant missed, only one member of the family pair could attempt to answer the question). Questions were asked using the same letter until the hexagon was claimed.
Originally winning the first round earned the team no money but allowed the winning team to play the bonus round for $2,500. A second win allowed a return trip to the bonus round for an additional $5,000. Later, each round earned the winning team $500, and teams advanced to the bonus round only after winning two rounds. If the family pair advanced to the bonus round, the team captain determined which one of the two family members played the bonus round.
From the beginning until the change in the front game format, the longest a champion could stay on the original Blockbusters was eight matches. Following the change, each champion was permitted to stay up to ten matches. Later, the limit was doubled to twenty. To coincide with this, Blockbusters began inviting its previously-retired ten-time champions back to the show.
"; the contestant would need to respond with Art Carney
to be credited with a correct answer).
A correct answer turned the hexagon gold and an incorrect answer or a pass turned the hexagon black and blocked the contestant's progress. The contestant would need to work around any blocks to make the side-to-side connection.
The bonus round was originally known as the "Gold Rush" and played after each game in the match. A contestant/family team's first attempt was worth $2,500 if successful, and an additional $5,000 for the second attempt (dubbed the "Super Gold Rush"). Contestants earned $100 per correct answer if they failed to make a connection. When the format changed to a best-of-three match with $500 awarded per game, Gold Rush was no longer played after each game and instead played the end of the match for $5,000.
In the show's 19th week on the air, the round's name was changed to "Gold Run".
Again, the game was best two-out-of-three, with the advantage alternating between contestants in the first two games. If a tiebreaker game was needed, the board was reduced to a 4×4 field, with neither contestant having an advantage. Each win was worth $100. Contestants stayed until they won ten matches or were defeated.
The Gold Run was played exactly as before, with the contestant having to connect the paths within 60 seconds. Originally, a contestant played for $5,000 each time they won a match, but partway through the run a jackpot was added to the Gold Run that started at $5,000 and increased by that amount each time a champion failed to win the round. Whenever a new champion was crowned, the Gold Run jackpot reset to $5,000.
The 1987 theme music was a stock music piece called "Run, Don't Walk" from the KPM
music library, composed by British composer Richard Myhill but credited to the Music Design Group.
published a single edition in 1981. The front gameplay was the same as the show (with six possible board configurations to play with). The Gold Run was also played with one of these boards, using only single-letter definitions rather than the multi-letter combinations frequently used on the television show.
Steve Ryan (author)
Steve Ryan is an American author and former staff member of Goodson-Todman Productions, where he was notable for creating the game show Blockbusters...
for Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
Productions, the first series debuted on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on October 27, 1980 and aired until April 23, 1982. In the first series, a team of two family members competed against a solo contestant. Blockbusters was revived on NBC from January 5 to May 1, 1987, but featured only two contestants competing.
Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
hosted the 1980–1982 version, with Bob Hilton
Bob Hilton
Robert "Bob" Wesley Hilton is an American television game show personality. He hosted The Guinness Game, a revival of Truth or Consequences and the 1990 revival of Let's Make a Deal, and announced on several other shows....
as announcer. Johnny Olson
Johnny Olson
John Leonard "Johnny" Olson was an American radio personality and television announcer. His work spanned 32 game shows produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman from the late 1950s through the mid 1980s...
and Rich Jeffries
Rich Jeffries
Rich Jeffries is a former American television announcer, who announced on the revival of Blockbusters in 1987.Jeffries also was the first announcer of Super Password until November 23, 1984, and would substitute sporadically afterwards, while regularly assisting main announcer Gene Wood in warming...
substituted for Hilton on occasion, with Jeffries taking over for the final two weeks. Bill Rafferty
Bill Rafferty
William "Bill" Rafferty is a comedian and impressionist who hosted the game shows Every Second Counts , Card Sharks , and Blockbusters .Rafferty was born in Queens, New York...
hosted the 1987 version, with Jeffries announcing the entire run.
1980–1982
Three contestants competed in each game. The white team consisted of a family pair (relatives, but never married couples) competing against a solo contestant, who was designated as the red player.The game was played using a 5×4 field of hexagons. On each hexagon was a letter representing the first letter in the correct answer to the question in play. Contestants attempted to complete a connection of hexagons to win each round: in red from top to bottom for the solo player, and in white from left to right for the family pair. The solo player was given an advantage in that a connection could be made in as few as four hexagons; the family pair needed a minimum of five to make a connection.
Each game started with a letter chosen at random. When a contestant gave a correct answer, the hexagon lit up in their team's color and that team chose the next hexagon. If a contestant answered incorrectly, their opponent was given an option to respond (if the solo contestant missed, only one member of the family pair could attempt to answer the question). Questions were asked using the same letter until the hexagon was claimed.
Originally winning the first round earned the team no money but allowed the winning team to play the bonus round for $2,500. A second win allowed a return trip to the bonus round for an additional $5,000. Later, each round earned the winning team $500, and teams advanced to the bonus round only after winning two rounds. If the family pair advanced to the bonus round, the team captain determined which one of the two family members played the bonus round.
From the beginning until the change in the front game format, the longest a champion could stay on the original Blockbusters was eight matches. Following the change, each champion was permitted to stay up to ten matches. Later, the limit was doubled to twenty. To coincide with this, Blockbusters began inviting its previously-retired ten-time champions back to the show.
Gold Rush/Gold Run
The left and right sides of the board were colored gold, and the object was to make a path across the 20-hexagon board from left-to-right within 60 seconds. However, each hexagon now contained one or multiple letters representing a multi-worded response (e.g., with a hexagon labeled "AC", a question might be "He played Ed Norton on The HoneymoonersThe Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
"; the contestant would need to respond with Art Carney
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
to be credited with a correct answer).
A correct answer turned the hexagon gold and an incorrect answer or a pass turned the hexagon black and blocked the contestant's progress. The contestant would need to work around any blocks to make the side-to-side connection.
The bonus round was originally known as the "Gold Rush" and played after each game in the match. A contestant/family team's first attempt was worth $2,500 if successful, and an additional $5,000 for the second attempt (dubbed the "Super Gold Rush"). Contestants earned $100 per correct answer if they failed to make a connection. When the format changed to a best-of-three match with $500 awarded per game, Gold Rush was no longer played after each game and instead played the end of the match for $5,000.
In the show's 19th week on the air, the round's name was changed to "Gold Run".
1987 changes
When NBC revived Blockbusters in 1987, the solo-vs.-family pair contest was changed to two individual contestants competing. The champion represented white while the challenger represented red. Also, this version used a computer-generated board.Again, the game was best two-out-of-three, with the advantage alternating between contestants in the first two games. If a tiebreaker game was needed, the board was reduced to a 4×4 field, with neither contestant having an advantage. Each win was worth $100. Contestants stayed until they won ten matches or were defeated.
The Gold Run was played exactly as before, with the contestant having to connect the paths within 60 seconds. Originally, a contestant played for $5,000 each time they won a match, but partway through the run a jackpot was added to the Gold Run that started at $5,000 and increased by that amount each time a champion failed to win the round. Whenever a new champion was crowned, the Gold Run jackpot reset to $5,000.
The 1987 theme music was a stock music piece called "Run, Don't Walk" from the KPM
KPM Musichouse
KPM Musichouse is a company which provides library music, formed by the merger of KPM and Musichouse .-History:KPM music has been used in many films and television programmes worldwide...
music library, composed by British composer Richard Myhill but credited to the Music Design Group.
Home game
The Milton Bradley CompanyMilton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
published a single edition in 1981. The front gameplay was the same as the show (with six possible board configurations to play with). The Gold Run was also played with one of these boards, using only single-letter definitions rather than the multi-letter combinations frequently used on the television show.