Caesars Challenge
Caesars Challenge is an American game show that aired on NBC from June 14, 1993 to January 14, 1994 and emanated from the Circus Maximus Theatre inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ahmad Rashād hosted the series and, in keeping with the theme of the show's location, he was assisted by a man dressed as a Roman gladiator. Dan Doherty played the role for most of the show's run, with Chad Brown and Zach Ruby handling the earliest episodes before Doherty joined the show.
| Caesars Challenge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Michael Dubelko Rick Rosner |
| Directed by | Steve Grant[1] |
| Presented by | Ahmad Rashād |
| Starring | Dan Doherty Chad Brown Zach Ruby |
| Narrated by | Steve Day[1] |
| Theme music composer | Stormy Sacks[1] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 155 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Rick Rosner |
| Producer(s) | Harry Friedman |
| Production location(s) | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Rosner Television Stephen J. Cannell Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | June 14, 1993 – January 14, 1994 |
The show was a co-production of Rosner Television and Stephen J. Cannell Productions, and was the only game show that was produced by the latter company.
Gameplay
Three contestants competed in three rounds, attempting to solve scrambled words that were displayed on an onstage slot machine. They did this by placing letters in the proper positions one at a time, earning the right to do so by answering a series of multiple choice trivia questions. After a question was asked, the first contestant to buzz in with the correct answer won money and got to place a letter. If a contestant buzzed in with an incorrect choice, the other two were given a chance. If two incorrect answers were given, the remaining player won the money and the letter selection by default. Each word and series of questions fit a specific category, which initially was revealed to the contestants before a word was played. Later, this was changed so only the home audience could see the category, and Rashād only revealed it after a word had been solved.
When a contestant successfully unscrambled a word, he/she earned additional money based on how many letters had yet to be placed. In the first round, each word was seven letters long and unplaced letters paid off at $100 per letter. In the second round that figure increased to $200, and again increased to $300 for the third round. Each correct answer given was also worth $100, $200, or $300 depending on the round of play.
One random slot in each word had the light border around it lit and was referred to as the “Lucky Slot”. If any of the contestants managed to place a letter in that slot and then immediately solve the word, a cash bonus was added to the value of the unplaced letters and then added to the contestant’s score. The bonus started at $500 every day and increased by that amount for each word it went unclaimed, resetting to $500 once someone claimed it.
Two words were played in each of the first two rounds, while the third round continued until time was called. If a word was in play at the end of the third round, the lucky slot was removed from play and the remaining letters were put in place one at a time until someone buzzed-in and guessed the word, scoring $300 per unplaced letter. An incorrect guess locked the contestant out of the word. If time was called after a word was completed, one final word was played under these same rules.
Originally, a champion bought prizes with his or her accumulated money, but this was later changed to the high scorer being awarded a prize package of equivalent value as their cash total. The other two contestants received parting gifts, including dinner at Caesars and tickets for one of its headlining acts at the time. In the event of a tie, one last speed-up word was played between the tied contestants to determine the winner.
Bonus round
In the bonus round, the champion was given an opportunity to win a new car. Two different formats were used.
First format
The first format used an apparatus resembling a giant bingo calling machine. A cylindrical cage hanging from the ceiling was lowered onto a chute. Inside the cage were 200 plastic balls that each had a letter printed on them.
For each rotation the cage made, one of the balls was drawn and dropped into the chute. The gladiator then examined the ball and called out the letter that was on it. Backstage, a computer kept track of the letters as they were drawn. Once it found a dictionary certified nine-letter word, a loud gong was sounded accompanied by a bellow of “Caesar says stop” to indicate that to the champion.
The nine letters were then placed on the gameboard in the order in which they came out of the cage, and the champion was asked to place one of the letters. He/she was then given ten seconds to unscramble the word, and won the car if successful.
Each champion played until either defeated or they won the car, whichever happened first. For each time they returned to the bonus without winning, champions were allowed to place one additional letter.
When Caesars Challenge first premiered, the drawing of the letters was done in the beginning of the bonus round. Partway through the run, in a time saving measure, some of the letters were drawn during the commercial break before the bonus round. The champion and home audience were shown the letters that had already been drawn before the round began.
Second format
The second bonus format was introduced on November 22, 1993, and continued for the remainder of the run.
A screen was placed in front of the slot machine, with a curtain over it. Once the curtain was drawn, five scrambled words were shown to the champion, displayed in ascending order based upon length, starting from five letters at the bottom upward to nine letters at the top.
Beginning with the shortest word, the champion was given thirty seconds to unscramble all five words. Each word was played in order and the champion could not play another word until correctly unscrambling the one before it. If the champion completed all five words, he/she won the car and retired.
When this format was introduced, the show also placed a limit on how many times a champion could return. If a champion made it to three days and still had yet to win the car, he/she was retired with whatever previous main game prizes won.
Audience game
During the closing credits of every show, Rashād and his assistant moved through the audience, carrying a bowl filled with silver dollars, Caesars Palace casino chips and chocolate medallions wrapped in gold foil. They chose one audience member at a time to unscramble a five-letter word; each person who did so was allowed to take one handful from the bowl.
Broadcast history
Caesars Challenge replaced Scattergories on NBC's daytime schedule when it premiered on June 14, 1993 and inherited its timeslot of 12:30 pm Eastern. Some affiliates did not air Caesars Challenge at its scheduled time due to the affiliates' longstanding practice of preempting programs that the networks aired in the noon hour in favor of news or syndicated programming; this resulted in some stations airing Caesars Challenge in another spot on their schedule while others did not air it at all.[2] In the markets that did air the show at its normal time, Caesars Challenge faced off against CBS' The Young and the Restless, and did not perform well enough against either that series or ABC's Loving, its other competition. NBC cancelled Caesars Challenge after 31 weeks of episodes, and returned the 12:00 pm hour to its affiliates on January 17, 1994. However, NBC took back the noon hour from its affiliates when Sunset Beach premiered in January 1997. Caesars Challenge was NBC's last daytime game show.
Reruns aired on the USA Network from June 27 to November 4, 1994.[3][4]
International versions
References
- Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve; Wostbrock, Fred (1999). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3 ed.). Facts on File, Inc. p. 31. ISBN 0-8160-3846-5.
- "Program Listings". TV Guide. September 4–10, 1993.
- "Program Listings". TV Guide. 25 June – 1 July 1994.
- "Program Listings". TV Guide. 29 October – 4 November 1994.