| The Big Showdown | |
|---|---|
The Big Showdown logo. |
|
| Genre | Game show |
| Directed by | Dick Schneider |
| Presented by | Jim Peck |
| Narrated by | Dan Daniel |
| Theme music composer | Score Productions |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 140 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Don Lipp Ron Greenberg |
| Producer(s) | Shelley Dobbins |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | December 23, 1974 – July 4, 1975 |
The Big Showdown is a game show that aired on the ABC television network from December 23, 1974 to July 4, 1975. Jim Peck, making his national television debut, was host with Dan Daniel, then a disc jockey on New York City's WHN radio, as announcer.
The series was recorded at ABC's New York studios and packaged by Don Lipp and Ron Greenberg, with assistance by MCA Television.
Contents |
Three contestants competed. Before the round began, a "payoff point" was announced and a dollar value selected from a randomizer in Peck's podium ($25, $50, $75, $100, or $500). Peck read a one-point toss-up question, with the player who answered the question correctly choosing from one of six available categories, ranging in point values from 1-6, represented by faces of a die. Play continued with contestants answering tossup questions from the categories and earning the associated point values. Contestants who answered a question incorrectly were locked out for the remainder of that question and their opponents were given a chance to answer. Contestants were also locked out from answering if the question's value would put them over the current payoff point, as it had to be hit exactly. The first player whose score reached the payoff point won the dollar value and a new payoff point was determined, raised proportionally to several points above the leading contestant's score.
The first round consisted of at least four payoff points (sometimes five, depending on the amount of time used before going into the speed round; see below). A new set of categories was introduced after the second payoff point had been reached.
A 90-second speed round finished the first segment. During the speed round, each payoff point after the one currently in play was worth $100. At the end of the round, the player with the lowest point score was eliminated but kept any money accumulated during the game. In the event of a tie for second place or a three-way tie for first place, Peck asked questions from the one-point category until the tie was broken. Players who buzzed in with a correct answer moved to the Final Showdown, and incorrect responses eliminated that player from the game.
The two remaining contestants competed to reach a payoff point of seven. Three categories were played, again represented by faces on a die, and point values were 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The same rules from Round 1 applied, with a player being locked out of a question that would cause his/her score to exceed seven. The first player to reach seven points won the game and an additional $250.
The champion now had a chance to win $10,000 by rolling dice. The dice were oversized (but otherwise standard) six-sided dice, but the sixes were replaced with the word "Show" on one die and "Down" on the other. Model Heather Cunningham joined the show at this point to assist the contestant by handing him or her the dice to roll.
The player rolled the dice on a long table with a well and a trap door at its end. If "Show-Down" came up on the first roll, the contestant won $10,000. If not, the total of the numbers shown on the dice (between one and ten, with "Show" and "Down" counting as zero) served as the payoff point. The contestant then had 30 seconds to roll the dice as many times as possible, with Cunningham handing off new pairs of dice for each roll and Peck removing a completed roll from the well by pushing the dice into the trap door. Each time the player hit the payoff point, they won $250 and an extra five seconds of rolling time after the conclusion of the original 30 seconds. If "Show-Down" came up, the contestant won $5,000 plus any money won by hitting payoff points.
If after the initial 30 seconds the player had not rolled "Show-Down", but had hit the payoff point at least once, s/he would receive whatever bonus time earned (five seconds per point) to roll "Show-Down". The payoff point went out of play at this point. If the player rolled "Show-Down" during the bonus time, s/he won the $5,000 in addition to whatever payoff point money was accumulated in the initial 30 seconds.
Every champion who rolled "Show-Down" retired undefeated. Otherwise, s/he returned on the next episode.
One noteworthy $5,000 winner was former Mickey Mouse Club cast member Lonnie Burr.
The pilot, titled Showdown, featured a different theme and slightly different set plus Dirk Fredericks as announcer (he also handled these duties on the original Beat the Clock). The rules were slightly different to that of the actual show in that:
When ABC bought the show, the producers added "The Big" to the title due to a 1966 NBC game show that had already been called Showdown; that series was produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions and hosted by Joe Pyne.
ABC debuted The Big Showdown on the day before Christmas Eve, a day when most of the traditional homemaker audience for afternoon shows were likely to be busy making last-minute preparations for the upcoming holiday. Since a network almost always promotes a show most heavily at the time of, and immediately prior to, its debut, this meant that many people, after the holidays had passed, knew little about Showdown.
Showdown ended just six months after arrival, as did its sister show The Money Maze, on July 4, 1975. Part of this was due to the aforementioned debut date and relative lack of promotion following the premiere, but Showdown's chances had been further impaired by its competition on NBC – the long-running serial The Doctors, which was then at the height of its popularity.
The final episode of "Showdown" began with an almost 2-minute standing ovation from the audience for host Jim Peck (introduced on the finale by his full birth name, James Edward Peck).
Showdown and Maze were two of the five games that were removed by ABC in the span of two weeks – the previous Friday (June 27) saw the end of Blankety Blanks, Password, and Split Second. Rhyme and Reason, hosted by Bob Eubanks, replaced Showdown.
The series is believed to have been wiped due to network practices of the era. The 1974 pilot and Episode #67 (aired March 25, 1975) are the only surviving episodes. A clip of a full bonus round circulates among collectors.
Also known to exist are three bonus round wins, totaling 33 seconds; these are seen in the opening montage of Episode #67.
An audio clip of the opening to one episode also exists[1], as well as audio of the complete series finale.