Every Second Counts (US game show)

Every Second Counts
Format Game show
Directed by Barry Glazer
Presented by Bill Rafferty
with Debbie Bartlett
Narrated by Johnny Gilbert
Country of origin  United States
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Distributor CBS Television Distribution (current)
Broadcast
Original channel Syndicated
Original run September 17, 1984 – September, 1985

Every Second Counts was a television game show that aired in United States syndication from September 17, 1984 to September 1985. The show was produced by Group W Productions in association with Charles Colarusso Productions.

Bill Rafferty hosted the series, with Debbie Bartlett as hostess and Johnny Gilbert as announcer. This was Rafferty's first game show; he later hosted Card Sharks for syndication and a revival of Blockbusters for NBC during the 1986-1987 season.

Although the series lasted only one season in America, a British version ran from 1986-1993 with Paul Daniels as host.

Contents

Gameplay

Three married couples competed in a game of answering questions to earn time.

Main game

The game was played in two rounds; one spouse from each couple would play in the first round, while the other spouses would play in the second round. Each round has three categories with nine dual-choice questions. On each category, host Rafferty asked each couple a question. A correct answer would earn seconds, while a wrong answer eliminated the couple from the remainder of the category.

The category continued until all nine questions were asked or if all three couples missed a question and were locked out.

Scoring

The couple with the greatest amount of time at the end of the game went to the bonus round.

Bonus round

The winning couple used their winning time to answer a certain number of questions on four levels to win prizes. On each level, two categories were given, and the team picked one. All questions in this round had three possible choices. Each right answer brought one step closer to completing that level.

Levels

Each level required a different number of questions answered correctly to complete:

Each completed level won a prize, and completing all four levels (by getting a total of 22 correct answers) before time expired won a brand-new car. $100 was given per correct answer if time ran out.

See also

External links