Dotto

"Dotto" was a peripheral series in the quiz-show crush of the 1950s. It was hosted by Jack Narz, of later "Beat The Clock" and "Concentration" fame. But "Dotto" proved the be a fateful series in the budding scandal of quiz-show rigging by networks; during taping of one episode, a standby contestant was waiting backstage when he chanced to notice the show's defending champion reading a book that contained the answers to the show's questions. After this was revealed and "Dotto" abruptly cancelled, the experience led to the much-delayed revelations of "Twenty-One" fall guy Herb Stempel on quiz-show rigging.

As a ten-year-old TV junkie during television's golden age, this show was one of my favorites. It was fun to try and solve the puzzles before either my parents or the contestants could. Sometimes, I actually succeeded. I can even remember the theme music (played by and organist on the daytime version, and a full orchestra on the night-time version). Genial host Jack Narz was a true professional -- a pleasant alternative to the boorish Jack Barry of "Twenty-One" and "Tic-Tac-Dough". But my favorite memory of the night-time version was when they rolled out that big '58 Lincoln convertible on stage for the weekly drawing of postcards sent in by home viewers. "Send in a postcard and you could win it". I sent in five every week, keeping my fingers crossed that one week, I might be the lucky winner. Of course, I never was. Then came that fateful evening when, expecting to see "Dotto", an announcer proclaims "Dotto, usually seen at this time, will never be seen again. In its place will be 'The Colgate Theater'". The show had been hastily pulled and replaced by a temporary series of failed pilots. I was crushed. My hopes of winning that big Lincoln were gone forever.

Dotto, like other game shows of the 1950's, had 2 contestants answering questions to get points that would help them win the main game. The game in Dotto was based on connect-the-dots- correct answers connected some dots and triggered clues to the puzzles identity. The connect-the-dots feature caught on, and Dotto became the most popular show on daytime TV in 1958. A Dotto game sometimes ended in a tie, another feature common in 50's quiz show. And just like the others, Dotto employed measures to "control" the gameplay. Before each show, a few staff members met to decide which contestant should win. That favored contestant got questions in subjects they had knowledge in. That allowed them to connect more dots and get clues before their opponent (the clues were vital-some like "Fireside Chats" virtually gave away the subject). But on other occasions Dotto staff simply gave the favored contestant answers to the questions and the drawing before the broadcast. A disgruntled contestant complained to the FCC, triggering a CBS investigation that ended with Dotto's sudden cancellation with no explanation. The media took up the story, and soon more contestants from Dotto and other quiz shows went public stating they also received answers beforehand.

In addition to contestants being given answers to the game's questions, I am positive that some were provided the solutions to the puzzles to be solved. I distinctly recall seeing an episode as a young teen where a contestant correctly "guessed" a puzzle without answering a single question correctly. There were no dots connected at all, but the contestant "guessed" Charlie McCarthy which was the puzzle solution. Her only response to a flabbergasted audience was that the puzzle "didn't look human." Even as a naive 13-year-old, I sensed coming up with that answer to a 50-dot puzzle without any lines at all had to be fishy....

Bob Shapiro Goleta CA