The Pop 'N Rocker Game
The Pop 'N Rocker Game was a syndicated weekly hybrid game show/music show produced by Ron Greenberg Productions and Alan Landsburg Productions. The program premiered on September 17, 1983, and aired through September 1984 and combined musical trivia with in-studio performances. Two bands were featured on each episode; as such, the show was touted at the opening of each show as a "Game in Concert".
| The Pop 'n Rocker Game | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show |
| Directed by | Arthur Forrest |
| Presented by | Jon Bauman |
| Narrated by | Phil Hartman M.G. Kelly |
| Theme music composer | Bruce Gary Berton Averre |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Ron Greenberg Alan Landsburg |
| Producer(s) | David Yarnell |
| Production location(s) | ABC Television Center Los Angeles, California |
| Running time | approx. 22-26 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Ron Greenberg Productions Alan Landsburg Productions |
| Distributor | MCA TV |
| Release | |
| Original network | Broadcast syndication |
| Original release | September 17, 1983 – September 1984 |
Jon Bauman, better known as Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na, hosted without the Bowzer persona. This was the first of two game shows that he hosted; the second, Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, premiered just a few weeks after The Pop 'N Rocker Game. Phil Hartman (later with Saturday Night Live) and M.G. Kelly served as announcers.
Gameplay
Three teenagers competed. Five or six pop music trivia questions were asked; some of them having to deal with visual clues (such as pictures or clips from music videos). Each question was worth $50. After the final question was asked, the performer mentioned in the question would come out and perform a song (hence why the show was billed as "a game in concert" in its intro).
After this performance, the Countdown Round was played. The questions started at $50, and increased by $10 for each question. This continued for 60 seconds. Unlike most other game shows, if Bauman was in the middle of reading a question when time runs out, he would finish it and it could still be answered, similar to the BBC game show Mastermind. The contestant in the lead won the game and moved on to the Superstar Round. If the game ended in a two-way tie for first place, or if all three tied, Bauman read one last question, with the person ringing in and answering correctly winning the game.
In the Superstar Round, the contestant had to unscramble the names of bands. Jon would read a clue to each one. If they could unscramble three in 30 seconds, they won a prize package worth over $2,000. After the bonus round, one of the bands mentioned in the bonus round would come out and perform a song.
The show would end with one final song by the first performer.
References
- Encyclopedia of Television Game Shows 1st ed. - Fred Wostbrock, Steve Ryan, David Schwartz