Pyramid (game show)

Broadcast history

Dick Clark as host of "The $10,000 Pyramid".

The $10,000 Pyramid, with host Dick Clark, made its network debut on March 26, 1973^[4] and was a ratings hit, sustaining its ratings even when episodes were delayed or preempted by the Watergate hearings. A year later, the ratings temporarily declined (against the original version of Jeopardy! on NBC) and CBS canceled it. The show was quickly picked up by ABC and began airing on that network on May 6, 1974. As per CBS custom at the time with celebrity game shows, three weeks of episodes for CBS were taped in Hollywood at CBS Television City, Studio 31.^[5] The remainder of the 1973–81 episodes originated in New York City at the Ed Sullivan Theater, moving to ABC's Elysee Theatre after Pyramid switched networks.^[6]

Beginning on January 19, 1976, the series doubled its top prize and was retitled The $20,000 Pyramid. From October 1 to November 9, 1979, the series briefly became Junior Partner Pyramid, which scrapped the usual celebrity-contestant pairings in favor of children playing the game with a parent or other adult relative.^[7] Its last episode aired June 27, 1980, with Family Feud subsequently moving up a half-hour to take over the 12:00 noon (EST) slot formerly occupied by The $20,000 Pyramid.

Title card of the 1980s (New) $25,000 Pyramid.

On September 20, 1982, the series returned to the CBS daytime lineup as The (New) $25,000 Pyramid, again with Clark as host, but now taped in Los Angeles full-time at CBS Television City's Studio 33 (currently used for The Price is Right, Like The New Price is Right Until 1995 which recognizes it as the "Bob Barker Studio") and remained there for the entire run up until December 31, 1987. Blackout began airing in the series' 10:00 a.m. timeslot the following Monday, but that show was canceled after 13 weeks of episodes. On April 4, 1988, The $25,000 Pyramid returned to the CBS daytime schedule, but only for 13 more weeks. The show's final episode aired on July 1. The following Monday, the show was replaced by a revival of Family Feud hosted by Ray Combs Until 1996 on June 2016

Concurrent with the network show's run, several nighttime versions of the show were sold to local stations though syndication: the original $25,000 Pyramid and The $50,000 Pyramid were taped in the Elysee Theatre in New York, and the original version of The $100,000 Pyramid^[8] taped at Studio 33 in Hollywood. A revival of The $100,000 Pyramid, hosted by John Davidson, ran from January until December 1991 and taped in Studio 31.^[5] Pyramid, hosted by Donny Osmond, ran from September 16, 2002 to September 10, 2004 and was taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. The Pyramid was taped at the CBS Studio Center. Strahan's The $100,000 Pyramid is taped at the ABC Television Center in New York.

Later developments

Following CBS's cancellation of Guiding Light in September 2009, Pyramid was one of three potential series considered as a replacement for the veteran soap opera. (Let's Make a Deal and The Dating Game as The New Dating Game or The Newlywed Game or The New Newlywed Game were the other two, with a pilot shot for the former series.) During the tapings that took place in June of that year at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York, the top prize was raised to a potential $1,000,000 with a tournament format similar to the $100,000 format. Dean Cain and Tim Vincent were tapped as hosts of the pilots, with $50,000 announcer Alan Kalter returning, and Sony Pictures game show legend Ken Jennings served as a panelist in the pilots.^[9]

CBS passed on Pyramid and opted to pick up Let's Make a Deal, hosted by Wayne Brady, as Guiding Light's replacement. Several months later, in December 2009, CBS announced the cancellation of another long-running soap opera, As the World Turns. Pyramid was once again among the series being considered as a potential replacement.^[10] CBS ordered a third pilot on April 9, 2010.^[11] Andy Richter was identified as a potential host.^[12][13]

On May 18, 2011, TBS announced development of a possible new version of Pyramid, again to be hosted by Andy Richter.^[14] It was later announced that the show was not picked up.

Another pilot, titled The Pyramid, was taped on June 16, 2012.^[15] On July 12, 2012, GSN announced The Pyramid had been picked up and would premiere on the network on September 3, with Mike Richards hosting the show.^[16] The series ran for 40 episodes before being cancelled later in the year.

On January 9, 2016, ABC announced a revival of the series, specifically the $100,000 format, had been greenlit and set to air during the summer of 2016. This version also marked the return of the show to New York City, where it had originally been produced in the 1970s. The first season comprised ten hour-long episodes, with Michael Strahan serving as host. Each episode consists of two full games. Two introductions and two closings are taped with ability to air either; as with Celebrity Family Feud and Match Game, each game is its own 30-minute episode, and the introduction and closing aired depends if one game is the first or the second game to air in a single 60-minute block.^[17][18]

The series premiered on June 26 of that year, airing as part of ABC's "Sunday Fun & Games" lineup at 9:00pm ET/8:00pm CT (along with the Steve Harvey-hosted Celebrity Family Feud and the Alec Baldwin-hosted Match Game).^{[19][20][21][22]} On August 4, 2016, ABC renewed The $100,000 Pyramid for a second season.^[23] On June 11, 2017, the show moved to 10/9 central in order to pair it up with the seed-funding reality competition show Steve Harvey's Funderdome along with the third season of Celebrity Family Feud. On August 6, 2017, ABC announced The $100,000 Pyramid was renewed for a third season.^[24] On June 10, 2018, the show moved back to its regular 9:00pm ET time slot. This was also paired up with the fourth season of Celebrity Feud hosted by Steve Harvey, along with the third season of To Tell the Truth hosted by Anthony Anderson. In this format, the host opens each show introducing the celebrity guests, each of whom then introduces his or her partner/contestant by first name only.

Other personnel

Bob Clayton was the series' original announcer and performed these duties until his death in 1979. Alan Kalter and Steve O'Brien shared the primary announcer role until The $50,000 Pyramid ended production in 1981. Substitutes included Fred Foy, John Causier, Dick Heatherton, Scott Vincent, and Ed Jordan.

When the series was revived and production moved to California in 1982, Jack Clark became the announcer and held the position until 1985. Johnny Gilbert became the primary announcer for The $25,000 Pyramid while Charlie O'Donnell took the job for The $100,000 Pyramid when it launched that fall. Both Gilbert and O'Donnell substituted for each other on their respective series; other substitutes included Jerry Bishop, Rod Roddy, Bob Hilton, Charlie Tuna, and Dean Goss. For the 1991 revival, Gilbert and Goss were both featured announcers and frequent panelist Henry Polic II also announced for several weeks.^[1] John Cramer announced the 2002–04 version, and JD Roberto announced The Pyramid (2012).

Mike Gargiulo directed through 1981, with Bruce Burmester replacing him until the end of the 1991 revival.^[1]

The original theme tune was "Tuning Up" by Ken Aldin. In 1982, it was replaced by an original, similarly-styled composition by Bob Cobert, which was also used on the 1991 revival.^[1] Barry Coffing and John Blaylock composed the theme and incidental music for the 2002–04 version, while Alan Ett composed a cover of Bob Cobert's 1982–91 theme for The Pyramid. Bleeding Fingers Music composed a separate cover of Cobert's theme for the 2016 version.

Main game

Two teams compete in the main game, each composed of a celebrity and a regular contestant.

Charles Siebert uses pantomime to describe "lasso" on The $25,000 Pyramid in 1982.

At the beginning of the game, the teams are shown six categories, whose titles gave vague clues to their possible meaning (for instance, "I'm All Wet" might pertain to things found in water). Once the category was chosen, its exact meaning is given (except in certain bonus situations where the meaning was not given and a cash/prize bonus won for completing all the clues). For up to 30 seconds, one contestant conveys to the other clues to a series of items belonging to a category. At this stage, the clue-giver could use whatever language they wanted, with the exclusion of saying any word that was part of the correct answer (for example, using "high up" for "height"); if the clue-giver gave such a clue, they were buzzed and that answer would be forfeited. The clue-giver could also include visual gestures and other non-verbal elements, and could also lead the player towards saying part of the answer to get them to say the correct answer.

One point is scored for each item correctly guessed. If a word is passed, the giver could not go back to that word, but if the receiver knows the word later on and guesses it, the team still earns a point (no sound effect was played, in order to avoid a distraction). Since the 2002 Osmond version, a team that passes on any words could return to them if time permitted, but if a word is guessed correctly after it had been passed, it did not count until the word was returned to and correctly guessed then.

When The $10,000 Pyramid launched on CBS, there were eight possible items in a category. This was reduced to seven when the show moved to ABC, and this became the standard used for every subsequent series with two exceptions. When The $20,000 Pyramid briefly switched to its Junior Partner Pyramid format in November 1979, the time limit was increased to 35 seconds. The Donny Osmond-hosted Pyramid used categories with six items, with 20 seconds given to guess all six. Illegal clues, such as using part of the word in the description, or conveying its essence, results in the word being thrown out (denoted by a rapid "cuckoo" sound).

Originally, the celebrity gave the clues in both the first and third rounds, and the contestant in the second round. This changed to having the contestant decide whether to give or receive in the third round (except for the Osmond version, which used the original "celebrity-contestant-celebrity" giving pattern). The teams alternated in the first two rounds, and the team with the lower score played first in the third round. Whoever had the higher score after three rounds advanced to the Winners' Circle. In the 1970s, 1980s and 2016 versions, in the rare event that contestants were mathematically unable to at least tie their opponent before the opponent has had his/her last turn (or even rarer, before that point), the game ends and the remaining categories are left unplayed, unless one of them concealed a bonus.

During the later years of the ABC run, if either team achieved a perfect score of 21, it was worth a $1,000 bonus ($500 during the Junior Partner Pyramid era), later changed to a prize near the end of the run, while the 1977-78 season of the Cullen version likewise offered a $2,100 bonus for a perfect score.

Originally, if a tie occurred after the rounds were completed, the host gave the team who caused the tie a choice between two letters of the alphabet, and the team then played a round with seven words each beginning with that letter. The opposing team was then given seven words with the other letter. Tiebreaker rounds were played until the tie was broken, though the rules were later changed to award the victory to whichever team completed its own seven words faster, if both teams did so. In the 2016 Strahan version, if both teams achieve the same score, the team to do so in the shorter time is declared the winner, with a tiebreaker round being played if the teams match each other for both score and time.

Beginning in January 1984, if both teams managed a "perfect game" by each scoring 21 points, the contestant whose team won the tiebreaker originally received a new car, but this was changed to a $5,000 cash bonus by September of that year. This bonus was also used on the 1980s incarnation of The $100,000 Pyramid.

Winners' Circle

A contestant, restrained in her seat, gives clues to Kathy Najimy in the Winners' Circle on The $100,000 Pyramid in 2016.

The winning team from the main game plays "The Winners' Circle," in which the goal is to communicate six categories of increasing difficulty within 60 seconds, using only lists of words and phrases that fit them. During the show's original run on CBS from 1973 to 1974, hand gestures of any kind were permitted in this round. However, when the show moved to ABC in 1974, hand gestures became strictly forbidden, and some editions of the show included wrist straps attached to the chair to help contestants abide by this rule. One team member gives clues to the category currently in play, while the other tries to guess it. An illegal clue or hand gesture results in the category being thrown out, thus disqualifying the contestant from winning the grand prize; however, the contestant is still allowed to play the remainder of the Winners' Circle, either until time runs out or until the remaining categories have been correctly guessed. If all six categories are guessed before time runs out, the contestant wins the top prize; if not, he/she wins money for the guessed categories.^[25][26][27] The clue-giver can pass on a category and then return to it after playing through all six, if time allows.

The values for individual categories during standard gameplay are shown in the table below. Category numbering proceeds across the bottom row of the pyramid (left/center/right), then the middle (left/right), and finally the single one at the peak.

Returning champions and winnings limits

On the 1970s daytime version, contestants were allowed to remain on the show until they were defeated or won the Winners' Circle. Under the $10,000 format, a contestant who won the Winners' Circle was allowed to keep all earlier winnings. Under the $20,000 format, the contestant's total was merely augmented to the amount won in the Winners' Circle. The syndicated versions featured no returning champions prior to 1985.

After the top prize on the 1970s daytime show was increased to $20,000, the Winners' Circle structure likewise changed, with a champion playing for $10,000 on their first attempt, $15,000 on their second attempt, and $20,000 for their third and all subsequent efforts. During the brief Junior Partner Pyramid era, a team's first visit to the Winners' Circle was worth $2,500, while the second was worth $5,000.

During the 1970s syndicated version, if a contestant won a bonus prize, then went on to win the $25,000 top prize, the value of the bonus (either the additional bonus cash, or the value of the car offered during the final season) was deducted from the champion's total, leaving them with exactly $25,000. This version did not feature returning champions.

On the short-lived 1981 version, the first Winners' Circle was worth $5,000; if the same player made it to the second Winners' Circle, it was played for a total of $10,000. This version also did not feature returning champions.

On all versions from 1982-onward, all main game bonus winnings remained intact in the event of a $25,000 win. On the $25,000 and $100,000 versions of the show, the same two contestants competed for both halves of the episode. A contestant who won the first of the two games on the episode played the Winners' Circle for $10,000. A contestant who won both games played the second Winners' Circle for a total of $25,000 (e.g., if a contestant won $10,000 in the first Winners' Circle, the second was worth an additional $15,000 to the contestant). On all versions from 1982 to 1991, a contestant who won both games of an episode became the champion and returned on the next show. If each contestant won one game, the contestant who won the higher amount in the Winners' Circle became champion (winnings from the various main game bonuses were not considered as part of the "score" winnings). If both contestants won equal amounts of money in the Winners' Circle (including $10,000 wins), both returned on the next show.

From 1982 to 1991, contestants were allowed to remain on the show until defeated or a maximum of five episodes. Champions on the CBS version also retired after exceeding the network's winnings limit. This was originally $25,000, but was increased to $50,000 on October 22, 1984 (episode #0542) and to $75,000 on September 29, 1986 (episode #1041). Contestants were allowed to keep a maximum of $25,000 in excess of the limit.

On Pyramid, the goal was once again to try to win $25,000. However, this required a contestant to get to and win the Winners' Circle twice. If the contestant made a second trip without having won the first, he/she was given another chance at $10,000. If the contestant managed to win both, he/she won the $25,000 and automatically qualified for the $100,000 tournament.

On The Pyramid, each Winners' Circle was played for a base of $10,000. For each category that the contestant and celebrity swept, an additional $5,000 was added to the potential prize, with the maximum prize for a trip to the Winners' Circle being $25,000 for each contestant.^[28] Both Pyramid and The Pyramid did not have returning champions.

The 2016 ABC format consists of hour-long episodes, each containing two complete pairs of games. The contestant who wins the first game of a pair plays the Winners' Circle for a prize of $50,000. If the same contestant wins both games, he/she plays the second Winners' Circle for an additional $100,000, leading to a potential maximum total of $150,000.^[29] Two new contestants compete in each half of an episode; there are no returning champions.

Tournaments

On The $50,000 Pyramid, tournaments started with eight past "Players of the Week" competing over the course of a week. The quarterfinals were played on Monday and Tuesday, with two different contestants in each half, and the winner of each game would advance to the semi-finals after playing the Pyramid for $5,000. On Wednesday and Thursday, each match would have two semi-finalists playing two games against each other, with players winning one game playing for $5,000, and players winning both games in the same show playing for a total of $10,000 (as it was during regular play). The two players who won the most money would compete in the finals, while the losing contestants from the semi-finals competed in a "wild card" match on Friday to determine who would join them. Starting the following Monday, two finalists played one game, and the winner played the Winners' Circle for $50,000. If the grand prize was not won, that player played the next game against the finalist who sat out the previous game, continuing in this manner throughout the week until someone won in the Winners' Circle. When playing for $50,000, an illegal clue immediately ended the round, and no money was awarded for each individual category.

On the 1985–91 version of The $100,000 Pyramid, the three contestants who completed the Winners' Circle in the shortest lengths of time qualified for a $100,000 tournament, which was held every few weeks. During the tournament, all front game bonuses were removed except the $5,000 bonus for breaking a 21–21 tie. The first contestant to complete the Winners' Circle won the $100,000 grand prize, ending the tournament. If neither contestant did so on a particular episode, the one who accumulated more money in the Winners' Circle returned on the next show to compete against the contestant who had not played on that episode (in the event of a tie, a coin toss determined who returned). If one of the three contestants won the $100,000 in the first Winners' Circle of an episode, the other two played against each other in the second half and that winner played for $10,000 in the Winners' Circle.

On the Osmond version, tournaments lasted for exactly three episodes, and rules varied depending on whether four or six champions had qualified. During a six-player tournament, each contestant's first attempt at the Winners' Circle was worth $25,000. If $25,000 was won in the first half and the same player returned to the Winners' Circle, that contestant played for an additional $75,000 and the tournament title. If the tournament ended with no players having won both Winners' Circles in one show, either the contestant who won $25,000 in the fastest time or the player who won the most money would have his or her tournament winnings augmented to $100,000. In a four-player tournament, the first two semi-finalists competed on day one and the other two semi-finalists on day two, with each Winners' Circle attempt worth $25,000. The top two winners then returned to compete in the finals, where each Winners' Circle victory was worth an additional $50,000, for a maximum payoff of $150,000 if any of the contestants managed a clean sweep.

Unlike the Clark and Davidson versions, the "Super Six" bonus remained in play during the Osmond era tournaments and was played for larger prizes than usual.

Sources