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 | BamboozleProducer: Barris/Fraser Host: Bob Hilton Announcer: Charlie O'Donnell Celebrities: Stuart Pankin, Elayne Joyce Taping Info: Sometime between February 1 and March 26, 1986 for ABC Made it to Air: No, there would have been lawsuits Apparently there were lawsuits Availability: It's available on the trading circuit. The old saying goes that there are only five original stories that can be told, with the rest just being variations. That may also be true in the game show world, but you at least have to try a little bit to be a bona-fide show on your right. Bamboozle does not do this, since it is way too close to To Tell the Truth to be considered anything but a poor rip-off. This version features Bob Hilton, long-time announcer but rarely the host (his gigs previous to this pilot were the failed revival of Truth or Consequences and The Guiness Game. Two celebrities are along for the ride with this pilot featuring Stuart Pankin of Not Necessarily the News and Elaine Joyce from, uh, from, er, The Don Knotts Show? There is also one civilian contestant. Three people are brought out each with a story, whether it's sport-playing pets (game #1) or elderly Tae Kwan Do black belts (game #2). Each panelist, the two celebrities and the one contestant, ask two questions of each of the three story tellers. After the eighteen questions are over, the celebrities each offer their opinion on which of the stories is the correct one. The civilian player then makes her pick. If she's right, she wins $1,000. If she's wrong, the person who "bamboozled" her wins the $1,000. If the player wins five games in a row, they are retired and win a car. Apparently it was such a rip-off of To Tell the Truth that Goodson-Todman sent a threatening letter to ABC, and Barris twice tried twice in court to remove the threat. Barris failed both times, but I think this show would have never had made the air anyway. From it being a blatant rip-off, to the horrible theme and incidental music (think synthesized circus music), the wooden hosting of Bob Hilton, the camera-hogging tactics of Stuart Pankin to the less-than-exciting stories, it was easy to see why this one didn't see the light of day, despite having the pedigree of Chuck Barris.
This pilot has been viewed 10804 times since October 6, 2008 and was last modified on Dec 12, 2009 14:46 ET |