The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime
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The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime was a short-lived American game show which offered a $1 million grand prize to winning contestants. The show aired in syndication from January 6, 1986 to September 11, 1987. The show was hosted by game show veteran Jim Lange, who was joined in the second season by a co-hostess, Karen Thomas. Except for the first few weeks, when Marc Summers was announcer, the announcer was Johnny Gilbert. The series was produced and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures.
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[edit] Gameplay
Two married couples competed to solve word puzzles in a game show where Wheel of Fortune/Definition meets Scrabble.
The game began with a speedword, similar to that of Scrabble. Each letter was revealed one at a time except for the last letter. The couple that buzzed in and answered correctly won money and the right to pick two letters from a giant keyboard onstage in an attempt to fill in a puzzle, the solution to which the speedwords served as clues. If a player buzzes in and gives a wrong answer, his/her opponent gets to see the rest of the letters, except one.
The keyboard contained all 26 letters, plus a star which was used to represent punctuation marks or numbers. Letters appearing in the puzzle were highlighted on the keyboard, plus one letter not in the puzzle which was called the "Stinger". For each letter revealed in the word, money equivalent to the value of the word was added to a bank. If the Stinger was picked, the couple's turn immediately ended, and another clue was played. The star was seldom, if ever, the Stinger on the actual show; however, it could be the Stinger in the home game.
If a couple solved the puzzle correctly after selecting two letters, they won the money in the bank; if they could not, another speedword was played.
[edit] Scoring
Each round had a different dollar amount per speedword and revealed letter:
Round 1 - $25
Round 2 - $50
Round 3 (and subsequent rounds) - $100
[edit] Winning
Three rounds were played (sometimes more if time allowed). The couple in the lead when time expired won the game and advanced to the bonus round. Only the winning couple kept their money, the losing couple left with parting gifts, and whatever cash they earned in the previous show if they were the champions.
[edit] Bonus Round
The couple was locked into an isolation booth which was wired so they could only hear host Lange. They chose one of three possible categories, and had 60 seconds to guess six words or phrases pertaining to that category. For each word, a letter was randomly filled in once every second and a half. There were no plungers or buttons to stop the clock; once a word or phrase was guessed, the next word or phrase was immediately put into play. Getting all six on their first two appearances (before the clock hit double-zero) won the following take-it-or-leave-it prize:
- Win 1 – $5,000
- Win 2 – $10,000
Giving back the prize allowed the couple to compete the next day. A third successful bonus round attempt won the couple the $1,000,000 grand prize, paid out as follows:
- Spring 1986: All cash, $40,000 a year for 25 years.
- 1986-1987: $900,000 annuity, plus a $100,000 prize package – including two Mazda cars (either an RX7 and a 323; or a 626 and a Cab Plus truck); 20 pairs of round-trip tickets to anywhere in the United States (on Delta Air Lines); three complete rooms of furniture (a kitchen, living room and dining room); and an outdoor spa.
During any bonus round, should the couple fail to guess all six words within 60 seconds, their championship reign was terminated, although they kept any previous front-game winnings.
[edit] Notes
- The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime was based on a late 1970's unsold game show pilot called "The Letter Machine".
- The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime initially had high ratings, but viewer interest quickly sank; as a result, the show lasted only two seasons, although a planned third season for 1987-1988 was to have the show revamped into a shopping game format (similar to Sale of the Century), but was scrapped.
- Nine couples won the grand prize during its 21-month run.
- The first of those nine millionaire couples was Steve and Connie Rutenbar.
- This show was noted for the hysterics the set went into if the million dollar prize was won; sirens, horns, and bells sounded (all of which were later used on another Lorimar-Telepictures game show, Fun House, and also used on Supermarket Sweep), gold confetti (and balloons in the second season) fell from the ceiling or was shot from the "$1,000,000" sign in the background, and a "$1,000,000 graphic" was flashed across the screen in every manner possible. Two of the million dollar wins in the first season also featured fireworks going off from behind the "$1,000,000" sign and explosions going off in other areas of the stage.
- A UK version of the show—with a substantially lower prize budget—called All Clued Up aired from 1987 - 1992, produced by TVS for the ITV network.
[edit] Episode Status
All episodes exist. GSN does not have the rights to air this show.
