ABC Carnival '74 Across the Board Baloney Bamboozle Be What You Want Beat The Genius Beat The Odds (1962) Beat The Odds (1975) Bedtime Stories The Better Sex The Big Money The Big Payoff Big Spenders Blank Check Body Language Body Talk The Buck Stops Here Bullseye Call My Bluff Card Sharks (1996) Casino Caught in the Act Celebrity Billiards Celebrity Doubletalk Celebrity Secrets Celebrity Sweepstakes Chain Letter (1964) The Challengers (1974) Change Partners Child's Play The Choice Is Yours Combination Lock (1996) Comedy Club Concentration (1985) The Confidence Game Cop Out Countdown (1974) Countdown (1990) The Couples Race Crossword Decisions, Decisions Dollar a Second Duel in the Daytime The Fashion Show Fast Friends $50,000 a Minute Finish Line (1975) Finish Line (1990) Get Rich Quick Going, Going, Gone! Head of the Class High Rollers Hollywood Squares (1965) Hollywood Squares (1985) The Honeymoon Game Hot Numbers Hot Potato House to House How Do You Like Your Eggs? Jackpot (1984) Jeopardy (1977) Jokers Wild Jumble Key Witness Keynotes (1986) King of the Hill Let's Make a Deal (1963) Let's Make a Deal (1990) The Love Experts M'ama Non M'ama Match Game (1962) Match Game (1973) Match Game (1990) Match Game (1996) MatchGame (2008) Mindreaders Missing Links Monday Night QB Money Words Money in the Blank Moneymaze Monopoly (1987) Nothing But the Truth Now You See It (1986) Oddball 100% PDQ Party Line People On TV Play For Keeps Play Your Hunch The Plot Thickens Pot O' Gold Pressure Point The Price Is Right (1972) Pyramid (1996) Pyramid (1997) A Question of Scruples Quick as a Flash Razzle Dazzle Riddlers Run For The Money Says Who? Scrabble (1990) Second Guessers Second Honeymoon Sharaize Shoot for the Stars Shoot the Works Shopping Spree Show Me Showoffs Simon Says $64,000 Question (2000) Smart Alecks Smart Money Spellbinders Spin-Off Split Decision Star Cluster Star Play Strictly Confidential TKO Talking Pictures (1968) Talking Pictures (1976) Tell It to Groucho Temptation (1981) $10,000 Sweep Three of a Kind Tic Tac Dough Tie-Up Top Secret Twenty One (1982) Twenty Questions Twisters Up and Over The Waiting Game We've Got Your Number What Do You Want? What's On Your Mind Wheel of Fortune Whew! Whodunit Whose Baby Wipeout Word Grabbers Write Your Own Ticket You Bet Your Life (1988) You Bet Your Life (1991) You're Putting Me On Show a Random Pilot Show Unreviewed Pilots Bob Stewart Flow Chart | ABC Carinval '74Producer: Hatos-Hall Host: Tom Kelly Announcer: Johnny Gilbert Assistant: The Beautiful Barbara Taping Info: 1974 Made it to Air: No Other Pilots: One either before or after this one was shot with Wonderama host Bob McAllister, which apparently also included Ruth Buzzi in some undetermined role. Let's Make a Deal was still going strong in 1974. However, at times it looked a little too over the top with the costumes and the naked greed. So, if you were trying to improve it, would you try to make it more cerebral, or would you just amp the volume, make a really busy set and pay Johnny Gilbert by the decibel level? Well, if the latter is your choice, then ABC Carnival '74 is your show. Complete with a carnival set and a live band, local L.A. sportscaster Tom Kelly will give you a chance to win some prizes. Kelly introduces the potential players in the game, 10 on the "midway" and 10 on the "carousel", which were pretty much just an area with bleachers. For the first game, Johnny way, way, way too enthusiastically in carnival barker style introduces to a tattooed woman (but really body paint). Two couples were brought in from the carousel, and had to guess how many tattoos she had. The winning couple got a lovely urine-colored dishwasher, while the losing couple got a kewpie doll. However, "that's not all." The winning couple has the chance to trade in the dishwasher for a chance to win a pool table. A member of the audience was picked by Johnny to hit one of those strength machines (you know, where you use a mallet to hit a bell, whatever they're called), and managed to get only a third of the way up. All the guy had to do was beat that score, which he easily did by going all the way to the top. Coming back from the commercial, Tom picks someone with a "good eye" from the midway. She's going to have a chance to win the a color TV. Well, a chance, because Tom has picked someone else from the audience. And they're essentially going to be playing The Golden Shot. For those of you who didn't live in the UK in the 70s, the game involved instructing a blindfolded cameraman within eight seconds to shoot an arrow, and whoever was closer to the bullseye was the winner. Because blindfolded archery in a crowded studio is always a good idea. The first player picked won, and got her TV set. But wait, "that's not all." She could attempt to beat her shot for a chance at $1,000 and a barbecue. She tried but failed, and lost everything, so in consolation was given a kewpie doll. The loser was then given the same deal, she couldn't beat the first shot, and since "nobody goes away empty handed", she got a kewpie doll as well. In the mid-game fee plug, we finally found out what the kewpie doll buys you - $70 worth of Samsonite luggage. Gorilla not included. Another player was selected from the carousel, and she threw three darts on a 10x10 board, each marked with a number from 51-100. The numbers converted to dollars, and she got $221. She then was given a chance double her money and win a fur jacket by calling either "odd" or "even" on one more throw. She failed here, so the $221 was returned and was given $55 and a kewpie doll. Johnny Gilbert greets us screaming back from a commercial to show us to introduce us to a carnival strongman. The player chosen this time had to pick the one bar that the strongman could not bend. If she guessed correctly, she would win a grand piano. First, she was tempted with a home movie camera to call it quits right away. She declined, and was able to find a bar that the strongman could bend. Tom then offered her a motorcycle and $500 to quit, which she declined. This time, she should have quit because she did not pick the bar the strongman could not bend. So she gets a kewpie doll. A very awkward transition later, we've moved onto Finishing third in the race won kitchenware, second a home entertainment center, and first place a Pontiac Firebird. But wait, portions of the audience were given betting slips that matched one of the horses. If that horse won, they would win luggage as well. Tom placed the card into the machine, and the horses were off, with all of the excitement of the dot race at the ball game. Surprisingly, the horse not picked won, so nobody won the car. This was just way, way too much. Deal was always a bit over the top when on the schedule, always an interesting half hour but always felt a bit uncomfortable watching. ABC Carnival '74 was like Deal, but if Sid and Marty Krofft were the producers. Way too loud -- Johnny Gilbert actually manages to get on your nerves with his over-enthusiasm -- and zero play along. And that horse race was just terrible. Tom Kelly was OK (he had subbed on Deal prior to this) and could have made a decent show that wasn't so complicated, and loud. This pilot has been viewed 14231 times since October 6, 2008 and was last modified on Jan 12, 2010 22:08 ET |