ABC Carnival '74
Across the Board
Baloney
Bamboozle
Be What You Want
Beat The Genius
Beat The Odds (1962)
Beat The Odds (1975)
Bedtime Stories
The Better Sex
The Big Money
The Big Payoff
Big Spenders
Blank Check
Body Language
Body Talk
The Buck Stops Here
Bullseye
Call My Bluff
Card Sharks (1996)
Casino
Caught in the Act
Celebrity Billiards
Celebrity Doubletalk
Celebrity Secrets
Celebrity Sweepstakes
Chain Letter (1964)
The Challengers (1974)
Change Partners
Child's Play
The Choice Is Yours
Combination Lock (1996)
Comedy Club
Concentration (1985)
The Confidence Game
Cop Out
Countdown (1974)
Countdown (1990)
The Couples Race
Crossword
Decisions, Decisions
Dollar a Second
Duel in the Daytime
The Fashion Show
Fast Friends
$50,000 a Minute
Finish Line (1975)
Finish Line (1990)
Get Rich Quick
Going, Going, Gone!
Head of the Class
High Rollers
Hollywood Squares (1965)
Hollywood Squares (1985)
The Honeymoon Game
Hot Numbers
Hot Potato
House to House
How Do You Like Your Eggs?
Jackpot (1984)
Jeopardy (1977)
Jokers Wild
Jumble
Key Witness
Keynotes (1986)
King of the Hill
Let's Make a Deal (1963)
Let's Make a Deal (1990)
The Love Experts
M'ama Non M'ama
Match Game (1962)
Match Game (1973)
Match Game (1990)
Match Game (1996)
MatchGame (2008)
Mindreaders
Missing Links
Monday Night QB
Money Words
Money in the Blank
Moneymaze
Monopoly (1987)
Nothing But the Truth
Now You See It (1986)
Oddball
100%
PDQ
Party Line
People On TV
Play For Keeps
Play Your Hunch
The Plot Thickens
Pot O' Gold
Pressure Point
The Price Is Right (1972)
Pyramid (1996)
Pyramid (1997)
A Question of Scruples
Quick as a Flash
Razzle Dazzle
Riddlers
Run For The Money
Says Who?
Scrabble (1990)
Second Guessers
Second Honeymoon
Sharaize
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Shoot the Works
Shopping Spree
Show Me
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$64,000 Question (2000)
Smart Alecks
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Talking Pictures (1976)
Tell It to Groucho
Temptation (1981)
$10,000 Sweep
Three of a Kind
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Top Secret
Twenty One (1982)
Twenty Questions
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We've Got Your Number
What Do You Want?
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Wipeout
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Write Your Own Ticket
You Bet Your Life (1988)
You Bet Your Life (1991)
You're Putting Me On
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Bamboozle
Producer: Barris/Fraser
Host: Bob Hilton
Announcer: Charlie O'Donnell
Celebrities: Stuart Pankin, Elayne Joyce
Taping Info: Sometime between February 1 and March 26, 1986 for ABC
Made it to Air: No, there would have been lawsuits Apparently there were lawsuits
Availability: It's available on the trading circuit.
The old saying goes that there are only five original stories that can be told, with the rest just being variations. That may also be true in the game show world, but you at least have to try a little bit to be a bona-fide show on your right. Bamboozle does not do this, since it is way too close to To Tell the Truth to be considered anything but a poor rip-off.
This version features Bob Hilton, long-time announcer but rarely the host (his gigs previous to this pilot were the failed revival of Truth or Consequences and The Guiness Game. Two celebrities are along for the ride with this pilot featuring Stuart Pankin of Not Necessarily the News and Elaine Joyce from, uh, from, er, The Don Knotts Show? There is also one civilian contestant. Three people are brought out each with a story, whether it's sport-playing pets (game #1) or elderly Tae Kwan Do black belts (game #2).
Each panelist, the two celebrities and the one contestant, ask two questions of each of the three story tellers. After the eighteen questions are over, the celebrities each offer their opinion on which of the stories is the correct one. The civilian player then makes her pick. If she's right, she wins $1,000. If she's wrong, the person who "bamboozled" her wins the $1,000. If the player wins five games in a row, they are retired and win a car.
Apparently it was such a rip-off of To Tell the Truth that Goodson-Todman sent a threatening letter to ABC, and Barris twice tried twice in court to remove the threat. Barris failed both times, but I think this show would have never had made the air anyway. From it being a blatant rip-off, to the horrible theme and incidental music (think synthesized circus music), the wooden hosting of Bob Hilton, the camera-hogging tactics of Stuart Pankin to the less-than-exciting stories, it was easy to see why this one didn't see the light of day, despite having the pedigree of Chuck Barris.
 From the cheezy 80s graphics department, its Bamboo3le |
 And your host, Bob Hilton |
 Camera hogger Stuart Pankin |
 And good game player Elaine Joyce |
 One of these three people own a pet who plays a sport |
 While one of these grannies has a black belt in Tae Kwan Do |
This pilot has been viewed 10306 times since October 6, 2008 and was last modified on Dec 12, 2009 14:46 ET
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