In case you didn't know, the 1974 pilot was hosted by Ed Byrnes. 2 pilots were believed to be made. The first 10 minutes of one of them is on Youtube. Charlie O' Donnell was the announcer. Test audiences said that this set was "too busy". Prizes were included, like a piano, a trip to Vegas, a trip to Acapulco, a Dune buggy, a 24-inch Color TV, a brand new (at that time) 1975 coupe, a set of luggage, a fur coat (worth $5,000!), & a sailboat! They were totaled at $20,130! The value was shown when they zoomed out of the overhead shot of the spinning wheel. Ed was introduced, where the shot zoomed back through the middle circle of the wheel, to the camera, where he came out. The white logo was used. The lights above the contestants weren't on, mysteriously enough. There was a circle above with lights surrounding it, another piece that was removed. He introduced Susan, who introduced our contestants, starting from the Blue contestant, then to the red contestant, then to the man on the yellow position. When the show would premiere shortly in a few months, no background music, & Chuck would introduce the contestants--left to right. They didn't add the category word to the puzzle shot. The puzzleboard was seen wheeled onto the stage, then back off the eyeshot after solving. The top dollar was $350 in Round 1. They didn't even use the puzzle reveal sound effect! The lights in the podiums blinked very quickly, in white. They used the first generation trilon light-up & buzzer sounds, also. The displays were seen in white, which wouldn't be feature for the start in 1975. Susan was hired to turn the letters--backwards for the pilot.
Ed was discovered memorizing the vowels backstage, as he said "A-E-I-O-U" on-air. He mentioned the $250 cost. When the contestant guessed a letter, Ed would ask if it was in the puzzle. If there were multiple letters, the sound would be heard quickly one after the other. There were often 2 lit up at once, causing this. The red player racked up $1,475 in Round 1, solving the puzzle:
TELLY
SAVALAS
The second-to-last letter wasn't turned by Susan, which she didn't even turn! The board was quickly wheeled off-stage. She shopped for the Acapulco trip for $750, then the brass bed for $660. Ed said, "Brass bed. You want the brass bed?!" She also purchased the $40 luggage set. With $25, she put "On Account."
In round 2, the top dollar was $500, which brought "ooohs" from the audience. The puzzle was FOOD, but Ed said, "Something good to eat". The red contestant started round 2, another can of worms opened there, because in 1975, they started round 2 with player 2. On player 1's spin #2 in round 2, she hit LOSE A TURN. Player 2 guessed an M for $300, which we hear a buzzer. Player 3 guessed a $350 S. No buzzer here. The video ends here, but I know the puzzle:
SPAGHETTI
A misunderstood phrase he made was "spin the puzzle", when the phrase was mixed up & supposed to be "spin the/that wheel!". Obviously, Ed was drunk, as admitted in his autobiography. It turns out that Chuck Donegan has both pilots, this 1st 10 minutes clip, & the other pilot featuring Byrnes. The rest of the episode was a bunch of mess that led to Chuck doing the show starting in 1975.
Rod Roddy: A new Lin¢oln!
The wrong pri¢e is... Changes: 2 to 1, 1 to 2, 8 to 7, 6 to 5, & 2 to 1.
Contestant: Gentlemen, do I have at least 1 number right?
MRRRP!! TPiR 1ST LOSING HORNS GENERATION.
Bob: Oh! For a moment, I thought you had no numbers right. What? Not 1 number right? She did not have 1 number right. That has never happened.
Bob: Now...
Audience member: GIVE IT TO HER!!
Bob: 'Give it to her.'
audience applauds. camera zooms in on Bob.
Bob: I'm about as apt to give it to her as I am to give her my house!
Audience member (faint voice, but still heard): Give her the house!
During this playing, Bob explained to her that "you can't get a 1 with a 1 with a Lincoln".
During the Celebrity Charity Week in January 2012, there was a bare-footed contestant who lost her chance at winning in the Grocery Game.
Destiny: "I'll start with the soup."
Drew: "How many?"
Destiny: "16."
Neil Patrick Harris: "Ohhhh!!"
Drew: "Each can of soup is..."
Neil: "Oh noooo!"
"...so how much is 16, Rachel?"
Destiny lost a $14,000+ trip to Portugal.
See? If I knew that the soup was $1.69, I'd buy 12 of them, making it a winning total of $20.28, hitting between $20-$21.
Today the dumb lady I'm writing about is the one who bid single digits in Cliffhangers. Yep, she started out fine, but I would've used the "20-30-40" method for the game, & I would've had a better shot at winning.
Drew: "So, how much do you think the measuring cup is?"
Nancy (the dumb lady): "$5!"
Drew: "$5. Is she right?"
(buzzer.)
Drew: "No. Yodely Guy, on your way."
(stops at Step 10.)
Drew: "Yeah, not so bad. You're off by how much?"
(Gwendolyn reveals price.)
Drew: "It's $15. The egg cooker. How much for the egg cooker?"
Nancy: "$7."
Drew: "$7 for the egg cooker. Is she right?"
(buzzer, of course.)
Drew: Yodely Guy on your way."
(Stops on 25.)
Drew: "Wow! How much for the egg cooker?"
(Gwendolyn reveals $22.)
Drew: Well, if you can get the, uh, price of the dispenser exactly right, you win."
Nancy: "$6!"
(Drew laughs.)
Drew: "$6. Is she right?"
(buzzer.)
Drew: Bye, Yodely Guy. You just killed the Yodely Guy.
(Yodely Guy falls, he's just dangling there!)
Whatever do you do, don't kill the Yodely Guy!
Rod Roddy: "It's a pair of surfboards!..."
Bob: "Iila, whaddya bid on the surfboards?"
Iila: "Um, 9000."
Bob: "$9000."
Bob: "Now before I read this; before I go on, Iila, I wanna see you after the show. I have a surfboard I think you'll give a good pricing on. If you think each of those surfboards cost $4,500, because you bid $9,000 on them, I'm gonna give you the bargain of your life, & I'm only doing this because it's you, I'm gonna give you one for $3,900."
Contestant: 420, Bob
Audience member: Oh, c'mon! Ya gotta be kiddin' me!
But that wasn't the only 420 bid I've got here!
Girl: 420, Drew.
Girl: 420, Drew!
"I just wanna bid is 420, that's all I wanna do."--Drew Carey
Girl: "420, DREW!"
(audience member puts head on chair in front of him & groans.)
Girl: "420, DREW!!!"
Audience member: "Oh, come on!!"
Girl: "420, DREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Audience: "STOP IT!"
Girl: "420, DREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Audience member: "STOP BIDDING 420!!! IT'S GETTING ON MY LAST NERVE!!!!"
