Three for the Money
Encyclopedia
Three for the Money was a short-lived American game show
produced by Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions
that aired on NBC
for nine weeks from September 29 to November 28, 1975. Sports broadcaster Dick Enberg
(still doing Sports Challenge
at the time) was the host, with Jack Clark announcing.
After the three categories were played came the "Catch-Up Round", a two-minute rapid-fire speed round. The Catch-Up Round was played similarly to the first part of the game, but there were no categories. During the round, if they were trailing, the captain could call a time-out and stop the clock to switch players on either or both teams to compete for the duration of the round; each captain was alloted one time-out. A correct answer would stop the clock if the trailing team overtook the opponents, therefore allowing the other team to make their decision for new players. If the game ended in a tie, Enberg read one last question with a three-on-three challenge, and the team who rang in got to answer, and if correct, won the game, but otherwise, the opponents had a chance to answer.
The team with the higher score kept their money and played the bonus round, where the three players picked a category from three and alternated turns and identified subjects based on revealing one letter at a time, with the team having to get seven right answers in 45 seconds. If a teammate gave a wrong answer, he or she was knocked out, though the other teammates could continue to answer. The jackpot started at $1,000 and increased $1,000 every day during the week, up to $5,000 on Friday (thus, winning all five bonus rounds throughout the week would earn a team $15,000).
The two civilians stayed together all week (celebrity captains alternated teams daily), and the scoring money progressed through the course of the week, with the civilian players splitting winnings equally. In addition, the two civilians on the team which earned the most money during the week each received a new car.
by NBC in the 1970s. Only six episodes are known to exist, two of which are available via the trading circuit. The UCLA Film and Television Archive holds both pilots plus the November 13 and 21 episodes.
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...
produced by Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions
Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions
Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions was a television production company responsible for producing several American game shows in the 1970s and 1980s...
that aired on 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...
for nine weeks from September 29 to November 28, 1975. Sports broadcaster Dick Enberg
Dick Enberg
Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...
(still doing Sports Challenge
Sports Challenge
Sports Challenge was a sports-centered game show that aired in weekly syndication from 1971 to 1979, with a separate version that aired briefly on CBS weekends from May 20 to September 9, 1973. Dick Enberg was host...
at the time) was the host, with Jack Clark announcing.
Gameplay
Two teams of two studio contestants and one celebrity captain competed all week in a question-and-answer game. The team trailing in score at the start of the game (or the team that won a coin toss, if it's the first game of the week) chose how many of the opposing team they wanted to challenge. They then chose from one of three categories which presented three general knowledge questions in the form of three clues displayed on an electronic board. Each player from the offense played one category and the captain picked one, two, or all three players from the other team to play against the single player on the offense. Any player playing in the round can buzz in anytime to guess the correct answer. For each player on the defending knocked out with a correct answer from the offense, the cash values were as the following: one player for $100, two for $200, and all three for $300; a correct answer from the defending team earned that team $100. A wrong answer gave the other team the remaining clue(s) without opposition.After the three categories were played came the "Catch-Up Round", a two-minute rapid-fire speed round. The Catch-Up Round was played similarly to the first part of the game, but there were no categories. During the round, if they were trailing, the captain could call a time-out and stop the clock to switch players on either or both teams to compete for the duration of the round; each captain was alloted one time-out. A correct answer would stop the clock if the trailing team overtook the opponents, therefore allowing the other team to make their decision for new players. If the game ended in a tie, Enberg read one last question with a three-on-three challenge, and the team who rang in got to answer, and if correct, won the game, but otherwise, the opponents had a chance to answer.
The team with the higher score kept their money and played the bonus round, where the three players picked a category from three and alternated turns and identified subjects based on revealing one letter at a time, with the team having to get seven right answers in 45 seconds. If a teammate gave a wrong answer, he or she was knocked out, though the other teammates could continue to answer. The jackpot started at $1,000 and increased $1,000 every day during the week, up to $5,000 on Friday (thus, winning all five bonus rounds throughout the week would earn a team $15,000).
The two civilians stayed together all week (celebrity captains alternated teams daily), and the scoring money progressed through the course of the week, with the civilian players splitting winnings equally. In addition, the two civilians on the team which earned the most money during the week each received a new car.
Episode status
The series was likely wipedWiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
by NBC in the 1970s. Only six episodes are known to exist, two of which are available via the trading circuit. The UCLA Film and Television Archive holds both pilots plus the November 13 and 21 episodes.