Every Second Counts (U.S. gameshow)

For the British version, see Every Second Counts (UK game show).
Every Second Counts
Directed by Barry Glazer
Presented by Bill Rafferty (host)
Debbie Bartlett (original hostess)
Susie Carr (replacement)
Narrated by Johnny Gilbert
Country of origin  United States
Production
Running time approx. 26 minutes
Production company(s) Charles Colarusso Productions
Group W Productions
Distributor CBS Television Distribution (current)
Broadcast
Original channel Syndicated
Original run September 17, 1984 – September 1985

Every Second Counts is an American television game show that premiered in syndication on September 17, 1984. The series lasted one season and aired in reruns until September 1985. Every Second Counts was a production of Group W Productions and Charles Colarusso Productions.

Real People contributor Bill Rafferty hosted Every Second Counts with Johnny Gilbert announcing. Actress Debbie Bartlett served as the show's hostess for most of the season. Bartlett left the series sometime before March 1985 to join the cast of The Love Boat and she was replaced by Susie Carr.[1]

Although the series lasted only one season in America, it was far more successful in the United Kingdom, where it ran from 1986 to 1993.

Gameplay

Three married couples competed in a game of answering questions, with the object of the game being to earn seconds that would later be used in the bonus round at the end of the show.

Main game

The game was played in two rounds, with the wives playing the first round and the husbands the second.

In each round, three sets of questions were played. Each of these questions were either true/false or this-or-that, and in the latter case the two possible answer choices were revealed before the questioning started. Each set consisted of nine questions, asked in order from left to right. Answering correctly added the amount of seconds to the couple's total, with incorrect answers locking them out for the remainder of the set. A set of questions was played until all nine questions in it were asked or until all three couples locked themselves out. First round questions were worth two seconds, and second round questions four. The team that accumulated the most seconds won the game.

From time to time, a situation would arise in the last set of questions where a couple would have enough seconds to win the game, both of the opposing couples were locked out, and there were still questions to be played. If that happened, the couple was declared the winner and kept playing the remaining questions for bonus time, stopping when they either completed the set or locked themselves out with a wrong answer.

In the event of a tie, one final set of questions was played between the tied teams and a wrong answer ended the game and gave the victory to the opposing team.

Bonus round

The winning couple played the bonus round for an escalating prize package, with four prize levels to play. Each one had a different amount of questions that needed to be answered in order to win the prize(s) on it. The top prize was a new automobile.

Using their accumulated time, the couple tried to answer another series of questions. At the beginning of each prize level, the couple was given a choice of categories and each question had three possible answers to choose from. Answering four questions won the prize(s) on the first level and enabled the couple to play the second level. Here, it took five questions to win whatever prizes were available. The third prize level required six correct answers, and the last level took seven.

The bonus round was played until all four levels were cleared or the couple used up their accumulated time. If they managed to clear all of the prize levels before the clock ran out, the couple won the car and all the prizes on the stage. If they ran out of time, they received the prizes on the levels they managed to clear plus $100 for every question they had answered on the current level when time expired.

Every Second Counts did not feature returning champions.

International Versions

Country local Name Host Network Year Aired
 Bahrain إحسبها صح
Ehsebha sah		 Salah Jinahi Bahrain TV 2010
 Indonesia Detak-Detik Muhammad Farhan SCTV 1997-1999
 New Zealand Every Second Counts Paul Henry TVNZ 1987-1989
 Spain Los Segundos Cuetan Elisenda Roca
Lydia Bosch		 Antena 3 1990-1991
 United Kingdom Every Second Counts Paul Daniels BBC 1 1986-1993

References

  1. ↑ Every Second Counts episode #1133, VTR March 11, 1985

External links