Trivia Trap
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Trivia Trap was a U.S. game show that originally ran from October 8, 1984 to April 5, 1985 on ABC. Hosted by Bob Eubanks, two teams of three players played. One team was the "Juniors", who wore the blue sweaters, and all the players were under 30 years of age. The other team was the "Seniors", who wore the red sweaters, and who were over age 30. These two teams each played games of trivia (whose formats changed drastically as the run went on) while trying to reach $1,000 first. Bob Hilton was the main announcer, after both Gene Wood and Charlie O'Donnell shared announcing duties for the first few weeks.
It was the last Mark Goodson-produced game show that wasn't a revival of a previous format.
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[edit] Original format
[edit] Round One
Originally in the first round, teams were shown two rows of monitors, each with four answers each. The team up to play picked whether they wanted to play the question with the answers on the top or bottom rows. After the host read the question, the object for the team was to take out all the wrong answers. $50 were given for each correct wrong answer given, and if they eliminated all the wrong answers, they won $300. If the team chose the correct answer (the "Trivia Trap"), their question ended. After one team played their question, a new row replaced the one used, and that team chose which question to play. Each team played 2 questions.
Eubanks would play the unused question with the TV audience before and after the commercial break.
[edit] $1,000 Trivia Race
In round 2, also known as the "$1,000 Trivia Race", The team in the lead (or the team that won the coin toss if there's a tie) started the "Race." Three categories were shown and the team in control of the board chose which category they wanted. After a category was used once, a new one replaced it. Bob would read the question, and one at a time, the players would answer. If one answered correctly, they kept control and would choose another category. $100 was awarded for each correct answers, and after the tenth question was asked, each correct answer was worth $200 (that rule started in the second week of shows). If none of the players answered correctly, the other team would get control. Teams would play until they missed, or reached the $1,000 goal. First team to get $1,000 or more wins.
[edit] Second format
[edit] Round One ("Fact or Fiction?")
Later in the run, the front game was changed. The first round was called "Fact or Fiction?". The champions were given the choice of two colored envelopes (Red or Black). Then one player at a time, Eubanks would ask a True/False question, each worth $25 a piece. The other team would then play the other envelope. For the second part, the challengers had the choice of envelopes. Each team played two envelopes.
[edit] Round Two (The Trivia Trap Round)
In the second round, the team in the lead played first and had a choice of two categories. After the category was chosen, four answers were shown. One player would answer, then the other two had a choice to agree with that answer or disagree. Whether the players agreed or disagreed determined the value of a correct answer. If all of them agreed and the answer was right, they'd win $200. If one agreed and it was correct, they'd win $100. If everybody disagreed it would be worth $50. But, if they disagreed correctly, they would then be able to choose the correct answer, in the same way explained above. Like before, the other player could disagree to try to save the team. After the question, the other team played the other category. Two questions each were played, before the "$1000 Trivia Race" which was played in the same way.
[edit] $10,000 Trivia Ladder
The winning team played the "$10,000 Trivia Ladder" bonus round. This time, the players on the winning team played for themselves. The three players played in order by their success in the Trivia Race. Four answers were shown to the best player. They could then play that question or pass it to the next player. That player could then pass to the worst player. If a player answered correctly, they won $1,000. If they missed, they lost and were out but they did return to play the next day. After the first question, the answers were then shown on the second "level" of the ladder. The best player left could answer or pass. On the third question, the player left had to answer. The players who answered their questions correctly then played for the $10,000. Four answers were shown as before, and were asked a question. If more than one player was left, they would have to lock in their answer. If only one was left, they could just say their answer. If answered correctly, the players (depending on how many was left) would split $10,000 (if only one answered correctly they won the whole $10,000 prize).
[edit] Episode status
All episodes exist, and reruns have aired on GSN. The last time they aired was in early 2003.
[edit] Trivia
The sound heard when a wrong answer was cut in the main game was used in Classic Concentration when a number flipped. It was also used in many Saturday Night Live game show sketches as a ring-in sound.
The "Trap" sound from cutting the right answer in the maingame was later used on the Price Is Right game "Pathfinder" when a wrong number was stepped on. It was alo used on the Illinois game shows Illinois Instant Riches and Illinois Luckiest when a bad choice was made.
Bob Eubanks and Gene Wood later went on to become the successful host-announcer team on Card Sharks, just 1 yr. after the show's demise.
