All Topics  
Time Machine (game show)

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Time Machine (game show)



 
 
Time Machine was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 game show
Game show

A game show is a type of television program in which members of the public or celebrity, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving problems for money and/or prizes....
 where contestants competed to answer trivia questions about popular culture and recent history to win prizes. The show aired on NBC from January 7 through April 26, 1985. Reg Grundy Productions
Reg Grundy Productions

Reg Grundy Productions was the American wing of the worldwide television production company Reg Grundy Organisation, which was founded by Australian television producer Reg Grundy....
, (now part of FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia

FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of RTL Group, Europe's largest TV, radio, and production company. Its world headquarters are located in London, United Kingdom....
) produced Time Machine, its third game show to premiere on NBC joining its sister shows, Sale of the Century
Sale of the Century (US game show)

Sale of the Century was a television game show format that made its debut in the United States on September 29, 1969 on NBC daytime . The series aired until July 13, 1973, after which it aired in a weekly television syndication version for one additional year....
 hosted by Jim Perry
Jim Perry (television)

'Jim Perry' is a former Canadian-United States television game show host, singer, announcer and performer in the 1970s and 1980s. He has had success on both Canadian and American television, and is most known for his roles as a host on the American game shows Card Sharks and Sale of the Century as well as the Canadian game show Defi...
 and Scrabble
Scrabble (game show)

Scrabble was an United States television game show that was based on the Scrabble board game. The show co-produced with Exposure Unlimited and Reg Grundy Productions ran from July 2, 1984 to March 23, 1990, and again from January 18, 1993 to June 11, 1993, both times on NBC....
 hosted by Chuck Woolery
Chuck Woolery

Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery is an United States game show host. He has had long-running tenures hosting several different game shows. He was the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975 to 1981, the original incarnation of Love Connection from 1983 to 1994, and Scrabble from 1984 to 1990 ....
 .

On the premiere, the show's host John Davidson
John Davidson (entertainer)

John Hamilton Davidson, Sr. is an United States singer, actor and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine , and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of Pyramid in 1990....
 stated the show would "be around for a long time"; on the finale three and a half months later, he claimed the show was a mini-series that was supposed to last only a few months.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Time Machine (game show)'
Start a new discussion about 'Time Machine (game show)'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Time Machine was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 game show
Game show

A game show is a type of television program in which members of the public or celebrity, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving problems for money and/or prizes....
 where contestants competed to answer trivia questions about popular culture and recent history to win prizes. The show aired on NBC from January 7 through April 26, 1985. Reg Grundy Productions
Reg Grundy Productions

Reg Grundy Productions was the American wing of the worldwide television production company Reg Grundy Organisation, which was founded by Australian television producer Reg Grundy....
, (now part of FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia

FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of RTL Group, Europe's largest TV, radio, and production company. Its world headquarters are located in London, United Kingdom....
) produced Time Machine, its third game show to premiere on NBC joining its sister shows, Sale of the Century
Sale of the Century (US game show)

Sale of the Century was a television game show format that made its debut in the United States on September 29, 1969 on NBC daytime . The series aired until July 13, 1973, after which it aired in a weekly television syndication version for one additional year....
 hosted by Jim Perry
Jim Perry (television)

'Jim Perry' is a former Canadian-United States television game show host, singer, announcer and performer in the 1970s and 1980s. He has had success on both Canadian and American television, and is most known for his roles as a host on the American game shows Card Sharks and Sale of the Century as well as the Canadian game show Defi...
 and Scrabble
Scrabble (game show)

Scrabble was an United States television game show that was based on the Scrabble board game. The show co-produced with Exposure Unlimited and Reg Grundy Productions ran from July 2, 1984 to March 23, 1990, and again from January 18, 1993 to June 11, 1993, both times on NBC....
 hosted by Chuck Woolery
Chuck Woolery

Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery is an United States game show host. He has had long-running tenures hosting several different game shows. He was the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975 to 1981, the original incarnation of Love Connection from 1983 to 1994, and Scrabble from 1984 to 1990 ....
 .

On the premiere, the show's host John Davidson
John Davidson (entertainer)

John Hamilton Davidson, Sr. is an United States singer, actor and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine , and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of Pyramid in 1990....
 stated the show would "be around for a long time"; on the finale three and a half months later, he claimed the show was a mini-series that was supposed to last only a few months. The series aired at 10 AM Eastern/9 AM Central & Pacific. Charlie Tuna
Charlie Tuna

Charlie Tuna is a radio personality based in Los Angeles, California currently working at KRTH-FM.Born Art Ferguson in Kearney, Nebraska, he was given his pseudonym while working at KOKC in Oklahoma City, taking over the moniker from Chuck Riley who had used it for one show the week prior to Charlie's arrival....
 handled announcing duties, with Rich Jeffries
Rich Jeffries

Rich Jeffries is a former United States television announcer, who announced on the revival of Blockbusters in 1987. He's also a TV coin infomercial announcer....
 subbing for Tuna on occasion.

Most of the questions used on Time Machine focused on nostalgia
Nostalgia

The term nostalgia describes a longing for the past, often in idealisation form. The word is made up of two Greek roots , to refer to "the pain a sick person feels because he wishes to return to his native home, and fears never to see it again"....
, popular culture
Popular culture

Popular culture is the totality of Distinction memes, ideas, Perspective s and Attitude s that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture....
 and recent (usually post-World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
) history, and more specifically what year a particular event occurred.

Future Card Sharks model Susannah Williams appeared as one of the prize models in this series.

Format one

Three contestants competed in mini-games, similar to pricing games from The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right

The Price Is Right is an United States television game show that is currently owned by the FremantleMedia subsidiary of the RTL Group. It was originally created by Bob Stewart for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions in the United States in 1956, and was significantly revamped by them in 1972....
, to win prizes. The prizes won went into a contestant's "Prize Bank". The returning champion always played the third mini-game.

There were at least six mini-games used in format 1. They were:

  • "Tube Game"The contestant was given the names of two shows, and had to pick which one was airing in a given year. This process was done three times; the first with two ABC shows, the second with NBC shows, and the third with CBS shows. A right answer won the corresponding network, a wrong one lost it. Behind one of the networks was a prize package; if the contestant had that network, it was added to their Prize Bank.


  • "3 In A Row"In each square of a tic-tac-toe board is a different year, all from the same decade. Originally, before the game started, the contestant placed three "Poison Cards" in a row on the board. The contestant was then shown nine events, picked an event, and the year it which it happened lit up. If he/she lit three years across or up-and down, a prize was added to their Bank, with a larger prize awarded for lighting three years in a row diagonally, and nothing added if the three with the Poison Cards lit up. Later, the Poison Cards were eliminated, and the events were drawn from a podium two at a time. The contestant picked an event from the two choices, and the year it happened in lit up. They replaced it with another event, and continued until they got three in a row. Lighting a row across or up-and-down added a prize to the Prize Bank, and a diagonal line added nothing.


  • "As Time Goes By"To begin, the contestant was given one free spin. Then a photo of a celebrity was shown. The contestant had to guess what year the photo was taken. If their guess was within five years of the right answer, they won another spin. This was repeated with two more photos of the same celebrity. They then took their spins to the Money Clock, a spinner made to look like a clock. The area around 12 o'clock was painted red. The pointer moved automatically, and the contestant watched it for a few seconds. They then turned away and hit a plunger, stopping the pointer. If they landed at the red area, a prize was added to their prize bank. If not, they tried again until they ran out of spins, losing the game.


  • "Before Or After"The contestant was given $200. A base year was given, and the contestant had to guess whether an event happened before or after the base year. A correct guess doubled the money, and the year of that event became the new base year. This was repeated two times. Then the contestant was given a choice; they could stop and put their money in their Prize Bank, or go one more time. A correct guess doubled the money and put it in the Prize Bank, a wrong guess lost everything.


  • "Sweet Sixteen"Similar to the Lucky $even
    Lucky $even

    Lucky $even is a List of The Price Is Right pricing games on the United States television game show The Price Is Right . Debuting on August 28, 1973, it is played for a car....
     pricing game on The Price Is Right, the contestant was given sixteen $100 bills. They were then shown an old product, and had to guess which year it was introduced. For each year their guess is off, they gave up a $100 bill. This was done four times. The first three products were given specific ranges to aid the contestant (sometime in the '50s, sometime in the last 10 years), the fourth one had no range. If they still had any $100 bills left after the fourth product, the leftover money and an additional prize package is put in their Prize Bank.


  • "Main Event"A base year is given, along with five categories. The contestant picks the category they're least comfortable with, and they instantly win that category. Then they pick the remaining categories one-by-one. Each category had one question, with two possible answers. Guessing right won the category, guessing wrong lost it. After all five categories were played, the contestant could see the clues hidden behind the categories they won. Each clue pertained to the "Main Event", which occurred in that base year. The clues were revealed one at a time. Guessing the Main Event on the first clue put $5,000 in the Prize Bank; each subsequent clue cut the value by $1,000.


After three mini-games, the three contestants competed in one final game, the Time Capsule. Davidson read a list of five events, all of which occurred in a specific year. (The final event was always a song popular in that year, and a clip was played for the contestants). Each contestant guessed what year they believe all the events are from. The contestant who came closest was declared the champ, won whatever was in their Prize Bank, and played the bonus round. The other two lost their Prize Bank and left the show with only parting gifts.

Format two

The format was completely overhauled beginning on February 11. Many mini-games underwent rule changes to fit the new format, while others were retired. Two contestants competed for the right to face the current champ. They played three mini-games, each one worth a prize. (The Prize Bank was scrapped; the contestants now kept their prizes regardless of how well they did.) The first two mini-games were worth one point, the last one was worth two. The one with the most points after three games won.

Six mini-games were used in this new format. Unlike the old format, the same two lineups were used for every episode, alternating each day. The first lineup went as follows:

  • "Game 1: As Time Goes By"A photo of a celebrity was shown. Similar in format to Card Sharks, one player guessed when the photo was taken, and the other one guessed whether the right answer is higher or lower. Whoever was right won a spin. This was repeated with two more photos of the same celebrity. Each player then took their spins to the Money Clock, which now had four spaces. The four spaces read zero, $100, $300, and $1,000, with the $1,000 space much smaller than the rest. As before, the contestant watched the pointer for a few seconds, then turned away to stop it by hitting a plunger. The space they landed on was the amount of dollars they won. The player with the highest score won the game, but both players kept whatever they earned on the Money Clock.


  • "Game 2: Tube Game"Davidson described an ABC show that was on in a given year. Players buzz in to guess what show he's describing, and a right answer wins a point. Davidson then describes an NBC show from the same year, then a CBS show. After that, Davidson asked questions pertaining to the three shows. First to answer five questions correctly won the game and a prize.


  • "Game 3: Jukebox Game"Four jukeboxes were shown, each emblazoned with a different year from a certain decade. A song is played, and two possible artists are given. Buzzing in with the right artist won the right to match the song with the year it was released. If they got a match, they got a point. If they missed, their opponent got one chance to pick the right one and steal the point. The jukebox with the right answer was eliminated from play regardless. If all the jukeboxes were eliminated, then the contestants just had to identify the song's artist to get the point, without having to match the song to a year. First to three points won the game and a prize.


This was the second lineup:

  • "Game 1: On The Button"An event was given, and one player guessed what year the event happened in. Getting it exactly right won a point for that player. If they guessed wrong, Davidson would say whether the event happened before or after that year, and the other contestant had a chance to guess. This continued until one player got three points, winning the game and a prize.


  • "Game 2: 3 In A Row" Just like before, each square of a tic-tac-toe board had a different year from the same decade. One player was given two events. The contestant picked an event from the two choices, and the year it happened in lit up. A new event takes the selected one's place, and the other contestant picked one. This continued until three spaces in a row were lit up. The person who lit up that last space won the game and a prize.


  • "Game 3: Main Event"A base year was given. Davidson would ask a question about an event that happened in that year. Buzzing in with the right answer put $200 in a pot and revealed a clue pertaining to the "Main Event". If the contestant could figure out the Main Event, they won the game and any money in the pot. If not, play continued as before until the Main Event was guessed.


The winner of the mini-games faced the champion in the Challenge Round. Aside from the fact that this used two players, this was the exact same game as the Time Capsule. Again, the contestant who came closest won.

Bonus round

The bonus round had to do with the year involved in the Time Capsule/Challenge Round. Two different bonus games were used during the show's run.

  • Bonus Round #1Four events were given, and only one of which happened in the given year. If the contestant picked the right event, they won a growing Jackpot of prizes. This was only played if the contestant got the answer in the Time Capsule on the nose; what happened if no one did is currently unknown.


  • Bonus Round #2A target year is given, and up to four questions were asked. The contestant's job was to guess whether the event occurred before or after the given year. Four correct answers won the bonus round, a prize package and a cash jackpot that began at $1,000 and increased $1,000 every day until hit. The game ended if the player missed a question.


  • Bonus Round #3Questions were asked relating to whether a certain event happened before or after the given year. Enough correct answers won the player a new car, while an incorrect answer stopped the game.


When a champion started their reign, they had to answer four questions to win the car; for each day afterward, they had to answer one less, and if a champion lasted five consecutive days, they won the car automatically.