| Hot Seat | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Created by | Merrill Heatter Bob Quigley |
| Presented by | Jim Peck |
| Narrated by | Kenny Williams |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | ~75 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | The Prospect Studios Hollywood, California |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | July 12, 1976 – October 22, 1976 |
Hot Seat is an American game show which aired on ABC from July 12 to October 22, 1976. The series was created by Heatter-Quigley Productions, which at this point were best known for creating Gambit and The Hollywood Squares.
Jim Peck was the host, with Heatter-Quigley veteran Kenny Williams as the announcer.
Contents |
Two married couples played against each other one at a time. One of the spouses had to guess what the other would say when asked a round of three questions.
The spouse sitting in the "hot seat" would have their emotions measured by an electronic GSR device. Each question would have two choices. The player at the podium would select one answer and the spouse would respond to each choice with a negative response. The arch above the "hot seat" would feature a meter which indicated which answer was more of a lie; the answer that was the most true (the one which had the most lights lit up) was considered the correct answer.
The three questions were worth $100, $200, and $400. The couple with the most money at the end of the show could take either an additional $500 or play the bonus round for a trip and a new car. Whichever option was not chosen went to their opponents.
The pilot, taped on January 17, 1976,[1] was played the same as the series with the exception of the bonus round – the husband sat in front of a turntable, while the wife saw the lie-detector reactions in another isolation booth. The husband would be shown three prizes (in this case, a washer/dryer combo, an expensive sports car, and a cheap iron with ironing board), and (much like the rest of the game) had to say "No, I would not like that prize" for each one. After all three prizes were presented, the wife picked which prize to keep.
This difference would not have been so notable, however, had the show not pulled what was essentially a double-cross – the third prize (the iron with board) was modeled by a young lady wearing a bikini. The wife, obviously not knowing what was going on, chose the third prize based on her husband's reaction (obviously lying greatly about not wanting the model). After the wife came out of the booth, she screamed in agony upon seeing what the show had pulled.[2]
The series is believed to be destroyed due to network practices. One episode, believed to be the Premiere, exists on the trading circuit in fair quality.
The term "Hot Seat" would later be used as the contestant's seat on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
