The $10,000 Pyramid

My earliest memory of seeing this dynamic game show were when I was a child and saw the $20,000 version on ABC. I've always thought of it as being one of my personal favorite game shows ever made because it was always filled with such fun and excitement. I always thought that Dick Clark did such a dynamic job as the host and I also liked seeing the clips before the show of people making it to the top of the pyramid and winning the big money. My personal opinion is that this is one game show that should never have been cancelled.

"Pyramid" is one of those quiz-show perennials, with a simple format that's held up over time. And its bonus round is one of the most exciting in TV history.

Bob Stewart, creator of the Goodson classics "Password" (as well as "To Tell the Truth" and "The Price Is Right"), reworked his "Password" concept to have celebrities and civilians guess either words or phrases within a preset time limit. In the process, "Pyramid" became one of the few celebrity game shows that didn't dumb down its product -- and has won nine Emmys for Best Game Show as a result.

The basic premise of the game has stayed the same since 1973. The main round prompts one member of a team to have his/her partner guess six words or phrases in a category within a 20-second time limit (the original was eight words in 30 seconds, shrunk to seven in the mid-1970s).

The celebrity/civilian team with the biggest total after six categories heads to the Winner's Circle, where one player has to convey a subject to his/her partner in 60 seconds for his partner to win the jackpot.

Apart from its value as a game, "Pyramid" gave its first and longest-running host, Dick Clark, a new audience beyond his "American Bandstand" constituency. Clark ran the program efficiently and made sure it stayed a serious game show. Bill Cullen, John Davidson and current host Donny Osmond have also been effective emcees of the syndicated edition.

After 4 seasons of winning $10,000 and the title & the value are both changed & raised into $20,000 for "THE $20,000 PYRAMID!" It debuted on January 19, 1976 and the 2 teams are now playing in 2 parts instead of the full Qualifying Round. The 6 subjects on the "Play-A-long Pyramid" was shown. Each subject contains of 7 things to be describe them and also an question for each of the 6 subjects can be read by the host. The Team has 30 seconds to describe number of things to score. However, When the team scores 7 out of 7 that'll be the perfect score of the same number 7. The 1st team scores the most points wins, Otherwise that'll score 21 wins $1000 and going to "The Winner's Circle" for 2 cash rewards. The 1st tryout is worth $10,000 and the 2nd and last tryout was $15,000 and later tried for $20,000. one of each member of the team has 60 seconds to give a list of things from the related subject that collects the value on the pyramid in the following: 3 subjects worth $50, 2 Subjects worth $100 and 1 subject worth $200. The Possible total was $500 as same as the bonus cash of the new feature card called "The BIG 7!" One Member of the team shouldn't use/give a thing into the description in 2 things (Play-Along Pyramid & The Winner's Circle) will might sound a "Cuckoo" and the thing removed from it in several unoccasional ways. ABC-TV finally cancelled the program in 1980.

...I used to love watching this while on summer vacation, always waiting for my favorite actress to star, Loretta Swit. But that wasn't the only reason.

Back then, the game was much more suspenseful and unpredictable. The music was much more hip (especially from 1973 to 1976), and Dick Clark the greatest host. Non-scripted and unrehearsed.

The show jumped the shark when it jumped to $100,000 - and then really got so unfunny and almost predictable when Donny Osmond hosted, much like Louie Anderson and Steve Harvey have done to Family Feud.

The only reason I give this an 8 of 10 is because Bill Cullen brought no excitement like Clark did. Having nothing against Cullen, it was just too wild with Clark.

To bring this back again...

First off, I must say that this was a fun game show. Also, I haven't seen every episode. However, I do know the show very well. I still watch it in reruns on the Game Show Network. Every time I've watched it, I had a lot of fun playing along and watching. When I was growing up, this made me long to be a contestant. The thing I like most about it are the questions. Despite the fact that I don't know all the answers, I still have fun playing along. I hope the Game Show Network keeps it on so I can play along and watch for years to come. If that happens, I will be really happy. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever. Now, in conclusion, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.