| Win Ben Stein's Money | |
|---|---|
Logo for Win Ben Stein's Money |
|
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Al Burton Donnie Brainard |
| Directed by | Dennis Rosenblatt |
| Presented by | Ben Stein with Jimmy Kimmel (1997–2000) Nancy Pimental (2000–2001) Sal Iacono (2002–2003) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 715 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Byron Glore Andrew J. Golder |
| Producer(s) | Terrence McDonnell Steve Melcher |
| Location(s) | Hollywood Center Studios Hollywood, California |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Buena Vista Television Valleycrest Productions, Ltd. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Comedy Central |
| Original run | July 28, 1997 – January 31, 2003 |
Win Ben Stein's Money is an American television game show that ran from July 28, 1997 to January 31, 2003 on the Comedy Central cable network with episodes airing until May 8, 2003. It featured three contestants who competed in a general knowledge quiz contest to win the grand prize of $5,000 from the show's host, Ben Stein. In the second half of the show, Stein participated as a "common contestant" in order to defend his money from being taken by his competitors. The show won five Daytime Emmy awards[1]; Stein and Jimmy Kimmel, the show's original co-host, shared the Outstanding Game Show Host award in 2002.
As noted in a disclaimer during the closing credits, prize money won by contestants was actually paid from a prize budget furnished by the producers of the show. Any money left over in that budget at the end of a season was given to Stein. If the total amount paid out during a season exceeded that budget, the production company paid the excess, so Stein was never at any risk of losing money out-of-pocket.
Stein's co-host was Jimmy Kimmel for the first three years of the show's run. Kimmel left in 2000 (though he did make occasional guest appearances afterward and even hosted College week episodes in 2001). Nancy Pimental replaced Kimmel and co-hosted the show through 2001. Kimmel's cousin, Sal Iacono, who took over the role in 2002, was the show's last co-host.
Contents |
The game began with three contestants and $5,000 in Stein's bank. Five categories were always available for players to choose from, with punning (and sometimes raunchy) titles hinting at the questions' content. After a player chose a category, Stein would ask a toss-up question that was assigned a dollar value, depending on the level of difficulty; questions in this first round could be worth $50, $100, or $150.
Players were equipped with signaling devices; the first player to ring in on the toss-up earned the right to answer the question. If the player answered correctly, the question's value was deducted from Stein's bank and added to the contestant's score; if the answer was incorrect, the other two players could ring in and attempt to answer. After a player gave a correct answer, Stein would ask that contestant a follow-up question on the same category for an additional $50. Again, if the player answered incorrectly, either of the other two players could ring in and attempt to answer. If none of the players correctly answered the original toss-up, the follow-up question became a second toss-up on which all three players were eligible to ring in and answer the question correctly for $50. After both questions were asked, a new category replaced the old one and the player who had given the last correct answer got to choose the next category.
At the end of the first round, the contestant with the lowest score was eliminated from the game and that player's money (if any) was added back into Stein's bank. If there was a tie for second place after the first round, a tie-breaker question would be asked to determine which player would advance to the next round. In a tie-breaker, a player who answered incorrectly was immediately eliminated.
In round 2, Stein himself defended his money by becoming a contestant, replacing the player eliminated at the end of the first round and competing against the two remaining contestants. The co-host took over asking the questions, with the disclaimer that "from this point on, Ben has no advance knowledge of any of the questions to be asked."
Like the first round, the second round also contained five categories at a time, but the question values increased to the range of $200 to $500 in increments of $100, depending on difficulty. All questions in this round were toss-ups, with no follow-up questions asked. Stein would choose the first question. As in the earlier round, any money earned by the other two players was deducted from Stein's bank; when Stein answered a question correctly, his bank total simply remained unchanged; since whatever was in the bank was considered to be his total and was already displayed, his podium's scoreboard simply displayed a dollar sign.
At the end of this round the lower scoring contestant was again eliminated from the game, with that player's winnings going back into Stein's bank. The other player kept their money and advanced to the bonus round to compete head-to-head against Stein for the grand prize of $5,000. In the event of a tie, a tie-breaker question was again used to decide which player would advance (without Stein answering).
The bonus round was known as the "Best of Ten Test of Knowledge." Both Stein and the winner of the second round were placed in isolation booths, so that neither could hear the other player's answers. The isolation booth for the contestant was plain, with a hardwood stool and a bare hanging light bulb, while Stein's booth was more luxurious, with a leather wingback chair and other lavish furnishings. In later seasons, the contestant's isolation booth was made to appear in disrepair, with a large crack running down the back wall. The contestant had the choice of playing first or second (whoever played second had headphones on while in their booth); the co-host would ask each of them the same ten questions, and they each had 60 seconds in which to answer as many of them as they could. Any missed or passed questions could not be returned to; though after the first player finished, the co-host went over the missed/passed questions before the second player played. If the contestant answered more questions correctly than Stein did, the contestant won all of the $5,000 that Stein had put into the bank at the beginning of the show. If Stein answered more questions correctly, the contestant kept only the money won in the first two rounds. If both gave the same number of correct answers, the contestant kept their winnings from the first two rounds plus an additional $1,000.
At the end of the fourth season, three of the best players of the season who had earlier won $5,000 returned for a special "Ben Stein's Cup" episode, for a chance to win $25,000. In Round 1, the question values were $200, $400, and $600; with follow-up questions worth $200. In Round 2, the questions were worth $800 to $2,000 in increments of $400. The winner attempted to defeat Stein for the entire $25,000.
Win Beadle's Money, a British version, hosted by Jeremy Beadle, ran in the United Kingdom in 1999. The grand prize was £1,000. It aired on Channel 5.
Win Roy & H.G.'s Money, an Australian version, hosted by Roy Slaven and H.G. Nelson, ran in Australia in 1999-2000. The grand prize was $5,000 (Australian). It aired on the Seven Network.
Various pieces of classical music were used as the themes. The opening theme was the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Ode to Joy, which was repeated to begin the second round, and again if the champion won the $5,000. The closing theme was Ride of the Valkyries, from Richard Wagner's The Valkyrie. (The Ride of the Valkyries was also played in the contestants' headphones in the isolation booth, to prevent them from hearing the other contestant's answers.) Other classical music pieces used on the show included:
| Preceded by Jeopardy! |
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show 1999 |
Succeeded by Who Wants to Be a Millionaire |