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
Concentration
Producer: Mark Goodson
Host: Orson Bean
Announcer: Gene Wood
Taping Info: 1985
Other Pilots: There's at least a pilot floating around for the Alex Trebek version.
Made it to Air: This particular version did not air. However, other versions were long time staples of the NBC lineup from 1958-1983 and 1987-1993. It was also in 5-a-day syndication from 1973-1978.
Availability: It's on the trading circuit
Concentration, the long time favorite, had now been off the air for seven years, an eternity in the recycled enduring format world. So, in 1985, Orson Bean was given a shot to host this revival. However, there would be a huge twist.
The twist is now that instead of trying to match prizes, you are instead trying to match two related words (such as "Christmas" and "Fruitcake"). Each successful match revealed two puzzle pieces and netted the player $100. There were the three wild cards, but there was no take card. Successfully guessing the puzzle moved you on to the bonus game.
Like on Classic Concentration, the bonus game consisted of fifteen squares and an arbitrary time amount that increased for each game not won. However, instead of matching cars, you were matching prizes. Any matched prizes were the player's to keep, and a successful matching of all prizes added a $5,000 bonus. There was no mention whether it was two-losses-and-out, best-two-of-three, or you stayed on for one show.
Orson Bean is an acquired taste, and that's one taste I've never acquired. Although he was toned down a lot in this game because he had to keep it moving, it just didn't work for me. Plus, the connection thing seemed just wrong, since I could come up with about any connection of two words if I could think hard enough. A return to the classic format and a new host proved to be the tonic two years later.
 The open and set. |
 Orson flanks the contestants. |
 The game board. The numbers and rebus were computer generated, but the words were chyron. |
 Same thing here. |
This pilot has been viewed 16495 times since October 6, 2008 and was last modified on Dec 12, 2009 14:46 ET
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