Choose Up Sides
Encyclopedia
Choose Up Sides was a children's television
game show
that aired on NBC
Saturday mornings from January 7 to March 31, 1956. It was hosted by Gene Rayburn
and announced by Don Pardo
and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions
The teams were named "Space Pilots" and "Bronco Busters". Each team had an adult assistant who dressed as a space commander or cowboy, respectively. The assistants introduced each contestant to Rayburn. Each team selected choose a postcard from a pool which had been sent in by children from all over the country. The team that won also won a prize for the child whose postcard they had drawn.
The children competed against each other doing stunts. The stunts were the type one might have seen on Beat the Clock
(another Goodson-Todman Production). The winning team for each stunt scored 100 points. The losing team was allowed to do something else to earn 25 or 50 points. Their consolation stunt was dictated to them by a character called "Mr. Mischief", a crude figure that had been drawn on a wall that had ears and eyelids that moved. The time limit for the stunt would be set by a balloon in his mouth which would inflate until it burst.
Finishing up the show was a contest called the Super Duper Doo stunt. Each week a child was chosen to compete in an additional stunt for the possibility of winning a grand prize at the end of a several week period. Because the show was so short-lived, the only stunt that was done for the Super Duper Do was having contestants blow 16 sheets of paper off a podium, trying to get them to land in a wastebasket that was set in front of them. The prize promised was a television set.
If time allowed, there was the possibility that there would be a team stunt at the end of the show to allow a team to catch up on points.
The four children on the winning team won such prizes as watches or bicycles for their effort.
aired an episode of an earlier version produced for CBS
with Bob Kennedy hosting. The teams were called the "Space Rangers" and the "Cowboys", with each team having a large bleacher of children on its side.
A child from each team competed in stunts, and then gained points on a ring-toss board with each peg marked with a number of points. The child who won the stunt would throw two rings for their team and the child who lost would throw one. The show had three "magic numbers" each show, which if the team's point total match would win them 10 extra points, and a special prize for the child who tossed the ring. The process repeated with different children from each team until the show ran out of time.
All children on both teams received a "sportsmanship prize", such as a camera
, and the members of the winning team, along with several home viewers chosen from a pool of write-ins, won a grand prize, such as a watch.
, which was still on the air at the time.
GSN
has aired one CBS episode and the first five NBC episodes in the past.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
that aired 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...
Saturday mornings from January 7 to March 31, 1956. It was hosted by Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the popular American television game show Match Game for over two decades....
and announced by Don Pardo
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions
NBC version
The show had two teams of children compete for points with the winning team earning a prize. Each side was represented by four children, usually three boys and one girl. The boys competed against each other and the girls competed against each other.The teams were named "Space Pilots" and "Bronco Busters". Each team had an adult assistant who dressed as a space commander or cowboy, respectively. The assistants introduced each contestant to Rayburn. Each team selected choose a postcard from a pool which had been sent in by children from all over the country. The team that won also won a prize for the child whose postcard they had drawn.
The children competed against each other doing stunts. The stunts were the type one might have seen on Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman game show which has aired on American television in several versions since 1950.The original show, hosted by Bud Collyer, ran on CBS from 1950–1958 and ABC from 1958–1961. The show was revived in syndication as The New Beat the Clock from 1969–1974, with Jack Narz...
(another Goodson-Todman Production). The winning team for each stunt scored 100 points. The losing team was allowed to do something else to earn 25 or 50 points. Their consolation stunt was dictated to them by a character called "Mr. Mischief", a crude figure that had been drawn on a wall that had ears and eyelids that moved. The time limit for the stunt would be set by a balloon in his mouth which would inflate until it burst.
Finishing up the show was a contest called the Super Duper Doo stunt. Each week a child was chosen to compete in an additional stunt for the possibility of winning a grand prize at the end of a several week period. Because the show was so short-lived, the only stunt that was done for the Super Duper Do was having contestants blow 16 sheets of paper off a podium, trying to get them to land in a wastebasket that was set in front of them. The prize promised was a television set.
If time allowed, there was the possibility that there would be a team stunt at the end of the show to allow a team to catch up on points.
The four children on the winning team won such prizes as watches or bicycles for their effort.
CBS version
On April 23, 2005 and November 27, 2007 GSNGame Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
aired an episode of an earlier version produced for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
with Bob Kennedy hosting. The teams were called the "Space Rangers" and the "Cowboys", with each team having a large bleacher of children on its side.
A child from each team competed in stunts, and then gained points on a ring-toss board with each peg marked with a number of points. The child who won the stunt would throw two rings for their team and the child who lost would throw one. The show had three "magic numbers" each show, which if the team's point total match would win them 10 extra points, and a special prize for the child who tossed the ring. The process repeated with different children from each team until the show ran out of time.
All children on both teams received a "sportsmanship prize", such as a camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
, and the members of the winning team, along with several home viewers chosen from a pool of write-ins, won a grand prize, such as a watch.
Stunts
The stunts used throughout the run were devised by Bob Howard and Frank Wayne; the same two men also did the stunts for Beat the ClockBeat the Clock
Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman game show which has aired on American television in several versions since 1950.The original show, hosted by Bud Collyer, ran on CBS from 1950–1958 and ABC from 1958–1961. The show was revived in syndication as The New Beat the Clock from 1969–1974, with Jack Narz...
, which was still on the air at the time.
Episode status
The series may or may not be destroyed; this is uncertain because, although Goodson-Todman usually kept their shows, NBC would usually destroy anything they didn't think was worth keeping - children's shows were no exception unless companies (such as Hanna-Barbera) dictated otherwise.GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
has aired one CBS episode and the first five NBC episodes in the past.