The Shows
(alpha sort | update sort)

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
Shoot for the Stars
Shoot the Works
Shopping Spree
Show Me
Showoffs
Simon Says
$64,000 Question (2000)
Smart Alecks
Smart Money
Spellbinders
Spin-Off
Split Decision
Star Cluster
Star Play
Strictly Confidential
TKO
Talking Pictures (1968)
Talking Pictures (1976)
Tell It to Groucho
Temptation (1981)
$10,000 Sweep
Three of a Kind
Tic Tac Dough
Tie-Up
Top Secret
Twenty One (1982)
Twenty Questions
Twisters
Up and Over
The Waiting Game
We've Got Your Number
What Do You Want?
What's On Your Mind
Wheel of Fortune
Whew!
Whodunit
Whose Baby
Wipeout
Word Grabbers
Write Your Own Ticket
You Bet Your Life (1988)
You Bet Your Life (1991)
You're Putting Me On

The Links

Show a Random Pilot
Show Unreviewed Pilots
Bob Stewart Flow Chart

Talking Pictures (1976)


Producer: Hatos-Hall
Host: Monty Hall
Announcer: Jay Stewart
Celebrities: Arte Johnson, Kaye Stevens, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Lyle Waggoner, Jaye P. Morgan, Soupy Sales, Johnny Brown and Phil Foster
Taping Info: May 11, 1976, presumably Los Angeles
Made it to Air: Nope, as this was the third pilot for this show in a nine year period. There is also a page on the second Allen Ludden pilot.
Availability: UCLA Archive

At first you don't succeed, try, try, wait eight years, try again. After two tries of trying to get his Concentration meets Hollywood Squares game together to no avail, Monty Hall knocks out two celebrities and adds trivia and word game elements. Also, since Let's Make a Deal would be leaving the daytime airwaves soon, Monty hosts this one himself. Note that this review is actually of two pilots of the same show, each one featuring infamous pilot contestants. The first one had Maggie Brown, and the second one had Rochelle Anapolski.

There are eight celebrities that mention some Hollywood-related fact. Each of those celebrities are also associated with a numbered door on a Laugh-In style wall. Coming back from commercial, the positions of the numbers are scrambled and the celebrities are now hidden behind the doors. Monty then reads one of the statements the celebrity said earlier, and one of the contestants buzzes in and tries to remember the door the fact was associated with. If the contestant was correct, the celebrity reveals a letter that fills one space in a trivia question, such as "name this move nominated for 11 Academy Awards: C _ _ _ _ _ _ W _". Once a contestant was able to complete the question, they won the game and other contestant went home.

The bonus game was pretty much a sped up version of the main game minus the puzzle portion. Statements were made by the celebrities, the doors stayed open, and the contestant had 30 seconds to make as many matches as possible. Six matches got the LMAD-approved organ, seven the LMAD-approved set of appliances and all eight got you the LMAD-approved Datsun, provided it did not rust to nothing on the way home. The main game and end game were repeated with the first game champion and one new contestant.

I'm surprised this one didn't make it other than the ABC schedule would have been pretty tight for a new game show, although I can't see how this show was worse than Hot Seat or The Don Ho Show. This also could have been a nice once-a-week syndie, but it didn't come to pass. Or maybe executive noticed the fact that Monty Hall's acrylic see-through podium did not lend itself to having a used question slot, as viewers could be mesmerized by questions falling down a chute.

This pilot has been viewed 12597 times since October 6, 2008 and was last modified on Dec 12, 2009 14:46 ET
Feedback? Contact me at usgs-pilot at the usgameshows dot net domain