The Challengers/Trivia

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• Hey, It's That Guy!:
  • Harry S. Murphy was a contestant on April 10, 1991. He came in second, after the other challenger had a negative score at the end of the main game. The champ outbid him for the triple question, though, sealing his fate.
  • The onstage Judge was a writer for the original Squares, and won an Emmy for his work there.
• Just for Pun: Question topics would often set up a Rule of Three joke, generally with a pun as the punchline.
  • "They Have Pockets" had questions on Pool Tables, Baseball Gloves, and Captain Kangaroo (all three picked the Captain, but couldn't quite say his real last name close enough to suit the Judge).
  • "Wise Guys" had questions on Socrates, Plato, and Don Rickles.
  • "Wonders of Nature" had questions on March Storms, April Showers, and Mae West.
  • "Chilli Dogs" had questions on St. Bernards, Alaskan Huskies, and Mexican Hairless.
  • "It Ain't Over Till..." had questions on Nell Carter, Cass Elliot, and Roseanne Barr.
  • "Things That Fall" had questions on the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Stock Market, and Gerald Ford.
  • "Jack Nicklaus's Favorite Movies" had questions on Driving Miss Daisy, Bye Bye Birdie, and Ironweed.
  • "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" had questions on The Good Mother, The Bad News Bears, and The Ugly American.
  • "Take A Stab At It" had questions on olives, pickles, and Julius Caesar.

Dick Clark: It was a sick, sick man that came up with that one.
The Judge: Thank you.

• • "It Makes Scents" had questions on perfumes, flowers, and skunks.
  • "Ready....Aim...." had questions on firearms, fireworks, and fire science.
  • "They Hold Their Liquor" had questions about bottles, barrels, and Bob & Doug McKenzie.
  • "They're All Ears" gave questions on Dumbo, Mr. Spock, and Clark Gable.
  • The category "Ventriloquist Dummies" gave questions on Charlie McCarthy, Lambchop, and Milli Vanilli.
  • "Dining with Shakespeare" gave us Julius Caesar Salad, The Merchant Of Venison, and Omelette.

The Judge (after both Clark and the Studio Audience start to loudly groan at the puns): I proudly stand behind my writers...very far behind them.

• Keep Circulating the Tapes: It hasn't been seen since its original run, but prominently displaying the airdate in each episode makes collecting pretty easy.
• Talking to Himself: A very odd example. The Home Participation Sweepstakes featured questions that a recorded Dick Clark asks when the viewer calls the 900 number given on the show. During one promo for the contest, Clark admitted to calling the number himself to see what it was like, concluding with "It was a very odd experience to talk to myself."
• Throw It In: Given the format of the game, unless all three contestants pick one question apiece or all three pick the same question and go on to sweep the board, one question per category will go unasked. Generally, Dick will save the question so it can be reused (at least one episode had a category called "Challenger Leftovers"), but every once in a while he'd ask the Judge for permission to ask the leftover question just for fun if he thought it was particularly clever.