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 | Beat the GeniusProducer: Ross/Danzig Productions Host: Art Baker Assistant: Jane Langley Announcer: Tom Hudson Celebrities: Commander Heath Murray, Kenneth Shanks, Major Betsy Parker, Marian Seldes, Hugo Friedhofer Taping Info: late 50s, KTTV Studios, Los Angeles (a TV listing with this panel dates it as October 16, 1959, but there could have been other episodes with the same panel) Made it to Air: This was an attempt to make a local show go national. This aired on KTTV in Los Angeles on Thursday nights at 7:00 PM from June 28, 1955 to sometime later in the 50's. It did not make national distribution. Availability: It's available on the trading circuit. Recently, Jeopardy! allowed the chance for an unlimited returning champion. Imagine a show where this was the concept, a single player who would play the game, week in, week out and would win most of the time, despite the fact he was playing five other people who were playing as a team known as the Brain Trusters. This was the premise of Beat the Genius, a four-round quiz where five very intelligent semi-celebrities attempt to beat Mr. Genius, a player who came in with a mask on his face and wearing an academic gown. The host is Art Baker, a long-time Los Angeles radio personality and known nationally at this time as the host of You Asked for It on ABC. The celebrities on this episode featured:
Assisting was Jane Langley, who handled the lockout system. The game is pretty simple. Art reads a question, a player buzzes in, if you're right, you get a point. If you're wrong, you lose a point and the question is over. The first and fourth rounds were several minutes of general knowledge questions, in which Mr. Genius cleaned up the opposition. The second round was pictures, which the panel was able to conquer Mr. Genius, while the third round were questions allegedly in the field of expertise of the Brain Trusters. The highest scorer in the Brain Trusters receive a $50 savings bond, and if the team could beat Mr. Genius, they would each receive a $100 savings bond. I loved this game, it's a shame I really couldn't find out much about it. I was able to find this reminiscence of the show where the author did find out the identity of Mr. Genius as an anonymous accountant. There would be no problem getting a new Mr. Genius, I know several people on the academic quiz circuit who could fit the bill nicely.
This pilot has been viewed 15079 times since October 6, 2008 and was last modified on Dec 12, 2009 14:46 ET |