Shopping Spree
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- This article is about the game show that aired on The Family Channel. For the unrelated pricing game featured on the game show The Price is Right, see Shopping Spree (pricing game).
Shopping Spree was a game show on the Family Channel. It was hosted by Ron Pearson and announced by Burton Richardson. The show lasted for two seasons on The Family Channel from September 30, 1996 to August 14, 1998. It was produced by Jay Wolpert Productions & MTM Enterprises.
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[edit] Premise
Two teams of two players who have never met each other went on a shopping spree at six stores, each with four prizes, on a fictional street on stage. The object of the game was to match the desired prizes with visual clues given by the contestant in the quickest amount of time.
[edit] Main Game
Prior to the show, one contestant from each team was shown the six stores, and from each store chose one prize they would like to have. At the beginning of the round, one player was isolated while the other stood on a pedestal in the "town square" (center of the stage) wearing various objects on his/her body that would give clues to the other partner about the prizes he/she selected. The player and host Pearson went over the items the contestant was wearing.
At this point, a randomly selected member of the studio audience helped to reveal the six stores for that day's show. This audience member was always referred to as "Denise DuJour" (or in the rare case of a male audience member, "Dennis DuJour.") After the reveal, the contestant was asked to strike a pose, after which the contestant's partner was brought out. The partner was given 20 seconds to analyze the items on the posing contestant. When the 20 seconds expired, the contestant was released from his/her pose and met his/her partner for the first time. However, if the dressed contestant makes a certain gesture, which is against the rules, their teammate gets a 10-second penalty (it only occurred once).
On Pearson's cue, the partner ran to the first store, took down a picture of one of the four prizes, and ran back with it to show what prize he/she chose. If the prize the partner chose matches the first contestant's choice, a bell rang, the partner put the prize in the shopping bag (which was also the show's logo) and moved on to the next store. If the partner is wrong, a buzzer sounded, he/she had to listen to a clue posed by Pearson, then returned to that store and chose another prize. The first team established a time for the second team to beat, and the clock stopped after all six stores were completed. In Season 2, if the runner got all 6 stores without making a mistake they won $500 cash.
After the first team's run, their time was announced. After a commercial break, the second team did the exact same thing (except with no store description). If the second team beat the first team's time, they won the game; however, if time ran out, the first team won. The runner received a $500 shopping spree, and the strangely dressed contestant kept his/her chosen prizes. In addition, the winning team advanced to the "Birthday Party" bonus round.
[edit] Bonus Round
The show's bonus round was the Birthday Party, in which contestants had to choose from among a selection of "gifts" for which celebrities might have a particular use. The game was played for a trip and a cash prize.
[edit] Denise/Dennis DuJour's Double Up Derby
Beginning halfway through the first season, the winning team played a mini-game called "Denise/Dennis DuJour's Double Up Derby" to determine how much money they would play for at The Birthday Party. Before the show, that day's Denise/Dennis selected a prize from one of the six stores. The team was given a description about that day's Denise/Dennis, and was then asked to guess which prize they believe Denise/Dennis picked. If the team guessed correctly, Denise/Dennis won that chosen prize and the team played for $2,000 and a trip at the Birthday Party. If they were incorrect, the team played for $1,000 and the trip.
Win or lose, Denise/Dennis received a $100 salary for the day.
[edit] The Birthday Party
After the team listened to a description of the potential bonus prize, the three pieces of the store setup rotated 180 degrees to reveal the Birthday Party setup (the background also changed from blue to orange). The left panel revealed the playing area, the center piece held a large representation of a birthday cake, and the rightmost panel held a wall of 12 to 14 items labeled the "Birthday Board".
In the end game, one team member "bought" presents for the other contestant to "wrap". Host Pearson showed the contestants each item on the Birthday Board. The game began with a caricature of a famous celebrity (real or fictional and past or present) appearing at the end of a table. The buyer took down an item from the board that he/she thought was connected to the celebrity in some way and threw it to the wrapper. The wrapper then placed it in the box and slid it down the table to the celebrity. If the team was correct, the gift was accepted and another celebrity appeared; otherwise, the celebrity would "reject" the gift and push it back to the contestant. A contestant could pass; however, the passed celebrity could come back to "haunt them", which meant that they would have to go back to that celebrity if there was any time remaining. Each correct answer was worth $100; getting all seven right in 75 seconds awarded each team member a trip & $1,000 cash (the trip + $2,000 if the team won the Double Up Derby).
During the second season, the "buying" contestant could not cross a line on the floor when throwing gifts to the "wrapper." If this happened, a five-second penalty was assessed (enforced by Pearson counting down from five, a technique that was also employed on Whew!, another Wolpert show).
