| Pitfall | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show |
| Presented by | Alex Trebek |
| Narrated by | John Barton |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Syndication |
| Original run | September 14, 1981 – September 1982 |
Pitfall is a Canadian game show that aired in American and Canadian syndication from September 14, 1981 to September 1982. The host was Alex Trebek and the announcer was John Barton (who also served as co-producer). The show was filmed at Panorama Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia and produced by Catalena Productions, with distribution provided by Rhodes Productions.
Contents |
Alex Trebek asked the studio audience a question with four possible answer choices. Each member of the audience voted with a keypad for the answers they believed were correct. Trebek asked one of two contestants to choose one of the four responses as the most common response from the audience. The second contestant chose from the remaining three. Choosing the answer that a plurality of the audience members selected won a point. If neither contestant did so, no points were awarded. Contestants also won a "Pit Pass" on the first, third, and fifth points earned. The first contestant to five points (or the contestant with the highest score after five minutes of game play) won the round and advanced to the Pitfall round.
The object of the "Pitfall" bonus round was for a contestant to cross a bridge in less than 100 seconds.
The bridge consisted of eight sections, three of which were pitfalls. At the beginning of the round the contestant watched a "light show," during which each safe section was lit once and each Pitfall was lit twice. Afterward the player chose however many Pit Passes that they had earned in the front game. The Pit Passes enabled the player to skip over any zone on the bridge, regardless of whether or not there was a Pitfall there. Once the player selected his/her Pit Passes, Trebek and the contestant rode an elevator to the top of the bridge.
Once at the top of the bridge, the clock started and Trebek began asking the player general knowledge trivia questions. In order to proceed to the next section of the bridge the player had to give a correct answer or hand Trebek a Pit Pass if they had one for that section and he asked for it (early on in the series Trebek would not ask for the Pit Pass). If a contestant crossed onto a Pitfall without a Pit Pass, an elevator took them down to the stage floor while the clock continued to run. As soon as the contestant gave another correct answer the clock stopped while the elevator rose to the top of the bridge. In order to pass to the next area, the contestant had to give another correct answer.
Crossing all 8 bridge zones in under 100 seconds won the contestant a $5,000 prize package. Later in the run, the $100 won for passing each section was eliminated; a small prize was won after passing the fifth zone and a $2,500 prize package was won for crossing all 8 zones.
Catalena Productions, which also produced the 1980-1981 syndicated revival of Let's Make a Deal, went bankrupt in early 1982. As a result, most contestants who appeared near the end of the show's run did not receive their winnings, nor was Trebek ever paid for his hosting duties. Because of this, Trebek called the show "one of the great tragedies of [his] life" and keeps the bounced check for his salary framed on a wall in his home office. Trebek also commented that he found it ironic that the only time he has ever been stiffed was by his fellow Canadians.
About two years after Pitfall was cancelled, Trebek went on to host the syndicated revival of Jeopardy! – a position he holds to this day.
On the April 1, 2010 Jeopardy! broadcast, contestant Matt Drury told Trebek he thought the show was the "best thing ever"; Trebek replied, "I didn't, because in all of my years in broadcasting, that's the only time they stiffed me for my salary."[1]