Shoot For The Stars
Encyclopedia
Shoot for the Stars is a game show
created and produced by Bob Stewart
, and aired on the NBC
television network. The show aired from January 3 to September 30, 1977, and was produced in New York City
. During most of its run, it had originally videotaped at NBC's headquarters in Rockefeller Center
, but some weeks of episodes were recorded at Studio 50 at CBS, also known as the Ed Sullivan Theater
.
Shoot for The Stars was the last NBC game show to originate from New York City. Geoff Edwards
hosted the show, with Bob Clayton
as announcer. Frequent celebrity players included Nipsey Russell
, Anita Gillette
, Tony Randall
, and Bill Cullen
.
Each team began with $100. The challengers selected a box first, the money amount was revealed and the team attempted to decipher an awkward phrase. For example, the team was presented with the phrase "Sizzling/Canine" and attempted to translate it to "Hot/Dog". One member of the team translated the first part of the phrase and their partner translated the other. A correct response earned that team the amount shown. If they missed, they earned nothing.
If a team selected one of the four stars, that team could wager any or all of their current score. A right answer added that wager to their score, and a wrong answer subtracted that amount.
Control alternated between the teams until one team reached $1,500 or more and won the game (and exactly $1,500). Unlike shows such as The Joker's Wild
on which full turns are used, the game ended if the challengers reached the $1,500 mark before the champions had an opportunity for at least one final turn to catch up. Contestants kept whatever they earned, regardless of the game's outcome.
Any contestant who won five games in a row was awarded a new automobile and retired with his/her winnings.
One team member attempted to communicate a series of phrases, using a synonym associated with each underlined word as part of the description, while the other team member attempted to guess what the phrase is. If their partner successfully guessed the required number of words within 60 seconds, the contestant won a cash jackpot that began at $1,000 and increased by $500 each time it was not won.
-hosted Stumpers
. It faced Happy Days
reruns on ABC
and Love of Life
on CBS
until April 25, when ABC placed Family Feud in that slot.
On June 13, NBC moved Shoot to 12:00 Noon (11:00 AM, Central), where the series promptly sank against CBS' hit soap opera The Young and the Restless
.
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
created and produced by Bob Stewart
Bob Stewart (television)
Bob Stewart is a former American television game show producer. He was active in the TV industry from 1956 until his retirement in 1992....
, and aired on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television network. The show aired from January 3 to September 30, 1977, and was produced in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. During most of its run, it had originally videotaped at NBC's headquarters in Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
, but some weeks of episodes were recorded at Studio 50 at CBS, also known as the Ed Sullivan Theater
Ed Sullivan Theater
The Ed Sullivan Theater, located at 1697-1699 Broadway between West 53rd and West 54th, in Manhattan, is a venerable radio and television studio in New York City...
.
Shoot for The Stars was the last NBC game show to originate from New York City. Geoff Edwards
Geoff Edwards
Geoffrey Bruce Owen "Geoff" Edwards is an American television actor, game show host and radio personality. Over the past decade and a half, he has been a writer and broadcaster on travel. He was born in Westfield, New Jersey....
hosted the show, with Bob Clayton
Bob Clayton
Bob Clayton was an American television game show announcer and host of several shows...
as announcer. Frequent celebrity players included Nipsey Russell
Nipsey Russell
Julius "Nipsey" Russell was an American comedian, best known today for his appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth and Pyramid...
, Anita Gillette
Anita Gillette
Anita Gillette is an American actress, most notable for her work on Broadway and as a celebrity guest on various game shows....
, Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
, and Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
.
Game play
Two teams competed, each consisting of a civilian player and a celebrity player. The game board consisted of 24 numbered boxes. The boxes contained either money values ranging from $100 to $300, a $500 money card, a "double your score" card or four stars.Each team began with $100. The challengers selected a box first, the money amount was revealed and the team attempted to decipher an awkward phrase. For example, the team was presented with the phrase "Sizzling/Canine" and attempted to translate it to "Hot/Dog". One member of the team translated the first part of the phrase and their partner translated the other. A correct response earned that team the amount shown. If they missed, they earned nothing.
If a team selected one of the four stars, that team could wager any or all of their current score. A right answer added that wager to their score, and a wrong answer subtracted that amount.
Control alternated between the teams until one team reached $1,500 or more and won the game (and exactly $1,500). Unlike shows such as The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times during the 1970s through the 1990s. Contestants answered questions based on categories that were determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine....
on which full turns are used, the game ended if the challengers reached the $1,500 mark before the champions had an opportunity for at least one final turn to catch up. Contestants kept whatever they earned, regardless of the game's outcome.
Any contestant who won five games in a row was awarded a new automobile and retired with his/her winnings.
Bonus round
The winning team hit a plunger which stopped a randomizer on a number between five and nine. The number represented the number of correct answers needed to be communicated to their partner.One team member attempted to communicate a series of phrases, using a synonym associated with each underlined word as part of the description, while the other team member attempted to guess what the phrase is. If their partner successfully guessed the required number of words within 60 seconds, the contestant won a cash jackpot that began at $1,000 and increased by $500 each time it was not won.
Broadcast history
NBC first slotted Shoot at 11:30 AM (10:30 Central), replacing the Allen LuddenAllen Ludden
Allen Ludden was an American television personality, emcee and game show host, perhaps most well known for hosting various incarnations of the game show Password between 1961 and 1980.-Early years:...
-hosted Stumpers
Stumpers (game show)
Stumpers! was a game show hosted by Password emcee Allen Ludden that aired on NBC from October 4 to December 31, 1976. Lin Bolen, former head of NBC Daytime Programming, developed the show. Bill Armstrong was the program's regular announcer, with Charlie O'Donnell filling in for several episodes...
. It faced Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
reruns on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and Love of Life
Love of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
until April 25, when ABC placed Family Feud in that slot.
On June 13, NBC moved Shoot to 12:00 Noon (11:00 AM, Central), where the series promptly sank against CBS' hit soap opera The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
.