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 | The Big MoneyProducer: Andrews/Yageman Host: Monty Hall Announcer: John Harlan Celebrity: Ken Venturi Music: Rex Koury Taping Info: January 20, 1966, probably Los Angeles Made it to Air: No, although elements of this show would appear in 1976's 50 Grand Slam, which was produced by Ralph Andrews. Availability: UCLA Archive Monty Hall in 1966 was hot. Hot enough that he was tapped to host a show from another production company, this one a prime-time effort from Ralph Andrews/Bill Yagemann, the brain-trust behind You Don't Say. Part $64,000 Question and part That's Incredible, this effort involved people who could do unusual or complex stunts for varying amounts of money. As a prologue to the show that becomes very clear once you understand the format, Monty Hall explained that even though this is a pilot, for demonstration purposes, we're supposed to pretend that this is the eighth show of the series. Whatever, Monty. The first contestant comes out and his skill is ax throwing. For $12,500, he would have three chances to hit a very small target from 20 feet. To continue with the fiction Monty explained earlier, he had done this on the last show from 15 feet for $6,000, and would be gambling this money for the $12,500 shot. The axeman agrees to do it, and is successful. The next contestant is professional golfer and recently retired golf broadcaster Ken Venturi. He won the U.S. Open in 1964, but suffered from crippling carpal tunnel syndrome that forced him to retire in 1967. Since this was his first show, he would do both the intro stunt for $1,500 and his second stunt for $3,000. The intro involved sinking a 7 foot putt (with three tries) while the second stunt involved a 15 yard chip within 3 feet of the green. He nailed them both. No mention was made whether his winnings were going to charity. The third contestant was the only one to decline his next stunt and keep the money. A precision nailer, he had nailed five two inch nails totally into a 2x4 with just eight hammers for $25,000. He then could try 5 for 5 for the final prize of $50,000, but he declined. The final player's stunt was rifle assembly. Dear reader, you should appreciate the pain I went through to get you the recap of this pilot. I was watching the pilot for Shopping Spree when I really should have been heading to the airport from UCLA to my flight back to Michigan. As a habit, while at UCLA, I always check to see if there is something after the listed show on the tape for a hidden gem. And, this time it worked, with this pilot being the gem. However, since I spent this time watching the pilot, I missed my flight and had to wait 10 hours for the next one. Donations are always appreciated. This pilot has been viewed 12748 times since October 6, 2008 and was last modified on Dec 12, 2009 14:46 ET |