Steal (game show)
Steal is a Saturday evening game show that was produced by Central Television and aired on ITV in 1990 and lasted for 20 episodes and was hosted by Mark Walker, who was the son of Roy Walker first & longest ever host of Catchphrase, with Stephen Rhodes as announcer. It featured an animated and computerised 'catburglar' called Jools who also featured in mini computer game challenges throughout the game. Other features of the game were the squares on the grid that had prizes such as cash, swag and the burglars mask which allowed the contestants to steal any prize from the other contestants.
Main game
Two male-female teams (married, engaged, siblings, good friends, etc.) competed in two rounds of gameplay to steal cash and prizes.
To start the game off, Walker read a toss-up question. The first to buzz-in with the right answer gained control of a 16-square grid with different squares on them, playing a memory game of sorts:
- Green cash squares: When found, the couple hit a button to stop a randomizer containing amounts going from £0 to £25 in round 1 and £10 to £50 in round 2.
- Red cash squares: Only used in round 2. If found, the couple would have to forfeit money to their opponents via a randomizer, like with the green cash squares, unless "0" was hit.
- Swag bag: When found, the couple won a bonus prize. Some prizes were worthy (such as a pocket translator), while other were not (such as a teacup broken into 12 pieces for a "12-piece tea set").
- Mask: If found, the couple could steal a prize from their opponents, if they had any.
- Jail: If found, the couple lost control to their opponents. In round 2, they also lost £5.
- Jools: The show's mascot, an orange cat. When he was found, the couple could play various mini-games based around him.
In round one, the teams would have 10 seconds to study the board before going blank and rotating 90 degrees clockwise. In round two, they only had 5 seconds to study the board, which would now rotate 180 degrees. The green cash squares, swag bags, and Jools would only work if Mark asked for them to be found and were successful in doing so. If they were discovered by accident, they would not work and were "dead squares", as the host put it.
Jools' arcade games
Some of the exampled games like:
- Buried Booty: Jools would have to dig up gold under some pegs. Each time he did so, the team won £5. If he encountered Boxer (a guard dog serving as his arch-enemy), he would be knocked out for a few seconds and wouldn't be able to dig during that time. Gameplay lasted for 50 seconds, and only one player on the team played it.
- Open and Shut Cases: Jools would have to grab prizes out of windows from a flat that were constantly opening and closing, hence the title, while climbing a ladder. Once so, he would drop them to his sidekick, Scruff. If Scruff caught the item, the couple earned £5. If Jools encountered Boxer, he fell off and would have to climb all over again. Gameplay lasted for 50 seconds.
The team with the highest score won the game and played the bonus round. If the game ended in a tie, Walker read another toss-up question, with the first to buzz-in with the right answer winning the game.
Bonus round
The couple sent one of its members down to center stage to play the bonus game. Here, they would have 60 seconds to find five symbols-- a key, a bank, an alarm, a vault, and a safe, and being allowed only 8 chances to find all five. Also included were cash squares worth £5, £25, and £50, as well as a police bell, which if found, cost five seconds from the timer. If all five symbols were found within the 8 chances or the 60 seconds, the couple won the jackpot, which started at £1,000 and went up £500 each time it wasn't won, up to a max of £3,000. New couples competed each episode.
Episode Dates
Series 1 - 17 February 1990 - 30 June 1990 - 20 Episodes