Trivial Pursuit (game show)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trivial Pursuit is a game show loosely based on the board game of the same name.
The show aired on The Family Channel from June 1993 to June 1995 and was hosted by Wink Martindale. Martindale also produced the show along with co-producer Bill Hillier. The announcer was Randy West.
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[edit] Gameplay
The show is played in two halves. The first half is an interactive game show while the other is a traditional game show.
[edit] The Interactive Game
Nine players compete for three spots in the classic version. (In the earliest episodes there were 12 players.)
[edit] Round One
Five questions with four multiple-choice answers are asked by the host and the players have 10 seconds to answer each by pressing a number from 1-4 on a keypad in front of them. They score points based on how fast they answer the question correctly with a maximum of 1,000 points. After five questions, the six players with the highest scores play round two and the other players are eliminated.
[edit] Round Two
This round is played in the same way as round one, except with the six winners from round one and the three highest scoring players win a special prize & a chance to play Trivial Pursuit in the next half hour show.
[edit] The Classic Game
[edit] The Main Game
As in the boardgame, three contestants race to see who fill up their game pie first (five of the colored wedges are the same but one was different). They do this by answering questions from categories that match up the colored wedge, but unlike the board game, it takes two questions to complete a color. The colors are:
- Blue
- Pink
- Yellow
- Red (replacing brown)
- Green
- Orange
In the first three rounds, each player gets two turns which means that they can choose two categories and answer two questions. A correct answer lights up a wedge but an incorrect answer gives the two opponents a chance to steal the wedge.
[edit] Round One
In the first round, the six standard & traditional Trivial Pursuit categories are in play. (Since the release of the Millennium Edition, the categories in the boardgame have changed.) The categories are:
- Geography - blue
- Entertainment - pink
- History - yellow
- Art & Literature - red
- Science & Nature - green
- Sports & Leisure - orange
[edit] Round Two
This round uses either the categories from the Movie Edition or TV Edition.
For movies, the categories are:
- Settings - blue
- Titles - pink
- Off Screen - yellow
- On Screen - red
- Production - green
- Portrayals - orange
For TV, they are:
- Classics - blue
- Sitcoms - pink
- Drama - yellow
- Kids & Games - red
- Stars - green
- Wild Card - orange
[edit] Round Three
Six new subjects from a different topic are used.
In both rounds 2 & 3, there are three special questions known as "Bonus Questions" (one in round two, two in round three, & vice versa). When chosen the player who answers the question correctly has an opportunity to answer a follow-up question. A correct answer awarded the player $100 and another half-wedge of their choice.
[edit] Round Four
This round once again uses the traditional basic categories but played in a different manner. The round starts off with a toss-up question, and the first player to buzz-in & answer correctly controls the round. The player in control can keep on picking categories & answering questions until he/she either fills up his/her pie (thereby winning the game) or misses one at which point the other two players can steal control & the wedge that player was going for. If nobody answers the question, another toss-up is played. The first player to completely fill up his/her pie or the player with the most lighted half wedges when time runs out wins the game, $500, and the right to play for $1,000 & a grand prize.
[edit] The Trivial Pursuit Challenge Round
The winning player has 45 seconds to answer six questions (again from the six basic categories) in order to fill up his/her pie which is now on a monitor. Each correct answer lights up a color in the pie, and moves on to the next question. Along the way he/she can pass and can come back to that wedge if time permits. The winning player gets $100 for each color lit up, if he/she can light up all six colors before the 45 seconds expires, that player will win $1,000 & a grand prize (usually a trip).
[edit] Trivia
- The show premiered a series of "interactive" games called playbreaks, all produced by Martindale and his associates. Originally, 10 "Trivial Pursuit" playbreaks were interspersed throughout FAM's game show block (three of them were during Trivial Pursuit: Interactive Game.
- There were no playbreaks in the original version of Trivial Pursuit, possibly because Martindale didn't want viewers to be distracted from the game. Home viewers were given an opportunity to call a special 1-900 # ($4.95 per call) and play a "TP: Interactive Game" typed, using a slightly modified scoring system, and players answer by usuing their touch-tone telephone. The winner of each "playbreak" wins a prize and compete later that day in a playoff game against the other winners for a vacation.
- Other interactives games premiered on the network, one was another board game adaptation Boggle, another was the list-oriented Shuffle, and one more was Jumble, a newspaper game adaptation. The Trivial Pursuit interactive version was cancelled to make way for Boggle & Shuffle, only to return months later.
- Later on, the Interactive segment was dropped.
- A pilot was produced for syndicated television, but did not sell.
- The show spawned a board game of the show itself like Scrabble did; with some questions from the show. The box cover features a shot from the aforementioned unsold syndicated version's pilot.
- If there was extra time at the end of the show (much like Make the Grade), an audience member would be called onstage and given the opportunity to answer five multiple-choice questions (much like the "Interactive" portion of the show) at $20 apiece, for a maximum payoff of $100.
[edit] Foreign versions
A version more traditional to the board game was produced for the United Kingdom, hosted by Rory McGrath and later Tony Slattery.
Birgit Lechtermann hosted a version for VOX in Germany from 1993-1994.
