Fun House (American game show)
Fun House is an American children's television game show that aired from September 5, 1988, to April 13, 1991. The first two seasons aired in daily syndication, with the Fox network picking it up and renaming it Fox's Fun House for its third and final season.[1]
| Fun House | |
|---|---|
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| Created by | Bob Synes |
| Presented by | J. D. Roth |
| Narrated by | John "Tiny" Hurley (Syndication) Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers (FOX) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 375 |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) | Hollywood Center Studios Hollywood, California |
| Running time | approx. 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Stone Television (1988–1990) Stone Stanley Productions (1990–1991) Lorimar Television (1989–1990) Telepictures Productions (1990–1991) |
| Distributor | Lorimar-Telepictures (1988–1989) Warner Bros. Television Distribution (1989–1991) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication (1988–1990) Fox (1990–1991) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | September 5, 1988 – April 13, 1991 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Fun House |
Similar in format to Double Dare airing at the time, the show saw two teams competing against each other answering questions and taking part in messy games, with the winners running through an obstacle course (the titular "Fun House") at the end of the show.
The show was hosted for its entire run by J. D. Roth. He was assisted by twin cheerleaders and sisters Jacqueline "Jackie" and Samantha "Sammi" Forrest, who each cheered for one of the teams, and the announcer. John "Tiny" Hurley announced for both syndicated seasons and actor/breakdancer Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers, referred to on air as "MC Mike", replaced him when the show moved to Fox in 1990.[2]
British Knights was a major sponsor of the show, and every contestant and cast/crew member (including Roth) wore a pair of the company's shoes. This was later changed to La Gear.
The show was created by game show producer Bob Synes, who served as executive producer of the series with his partner, Scott Stone, for the first two seasons. When Synes died in 1990, Stone paired with David Stanley, and what was previously known as Stone Television became known as Stone Stanley Productions. The show remained a Stone Stanley production until its final episode in 1991. Stone's initial coproducer and distributor was Lorimar-Telepictures, which produced the series for much of the first season. Beginning in 1989, Lorimar Television assumed co-production duties and Warner Bros. Television Distribution became the distributor.
A year after the show premiered, a spinoff series called College Mad House was created. Premiering in 1989 and running in weekly syndication for one season, it was hosted by Greg Kinnear and featured teams of college students from various universities around the United States competing against each other.
Game play
As noted above, the show was played with two teams, each comprising a boy and a girl. One wore red uniforms and the other gold. In the third and final season, a contestant was paired with a child or young teen celebrity from a popular TV series. The contestant would play for the prizes and cash with the celebrity helping them.
Stunt rounds
Three stunts/games were played on each episode (in the pilot there were 4). One involved the boys, one involved the girls, and the third involved all four contestants. Several games, such as "Pinhead" and "Dump-O", were races to answer a certain number of questions first, with the losing contestant being covered with disgusting materials (slime, garbage, etc.) by an unusual contraption. The team who won each stunt earned 25 points. In the pilot, the winning team got $25 while the losing team got $1. If the stunt ended in a tie, both teams received the points. After each stunt, play moved to a podium at center stage, where a toss-up question relating to the stunt was asked for 25 points.
Grand Prix race
The Grand Prix race was played as the fourth and final round and involved both teams racing two laps around a track that circled the studio, trading lanes after the first lap.
Two different formats were used for the race depending on how it was set up. One saw the use of vehicles, which would see one teammate propelling the vehicle (usually pushing or pulling) and the other riding inside it. In this case the two teammates would switch positions for the second lap. Other times the race would be run on foot, with traditional relay race rules used (one teammate runs one lap, then switches with the other).
Small challenges were usually set up around the track that each team had to complete during the run, such as gathering and carrying items, running through tires, or squirting targets with a seltzer bottle. Roth signaled the start and finish of the race with the green and checkered flags used in motor racing. The first team to reach the checkered flag won 25 points.
There were also four stations set up along the track where scoring tokens were available for the teams to grab. Each station offered two: a white token worth 10 points and a blue worth 25 points. In the pilot, the blue tokens were $50 and the white were worth $25. The pilot also features red tokens, worth $10, which did not appear in the show. Though taking the tokens was never a requirement - as they did slow the teams down during the race to take them - Roth would highly encourage the teams to do so as they could (and often did) play a crucial role in the outcome of a game. In season two, a fifth station with what was called a "Token Bank" was placed halfway around the track. Inside were handfuls of tokens for the teams to grab. Any tokens that the teams chose to take were placed inside a small bag, which each member carrying it for one lap. If a token touched the floor for any reason, it was discarded. In races involving vehicles, if tokens were dropped from the bag but remained within the vehicle they were counted.
Once the race ended, both teams went back to the podium, where Roth began counting the tokens. The trailing team's tokens were counted first, starting with their white tokens. The opposing team would then have their tokens counted, with Roth stopping the count once they reached and/or passed the first team's score (or if they ran out of tokens before doing so).
The team in the lead after the tokens were counted won the game and got to enter the Fun House. The losing team received a consolation prize and the fun house home game, and, in later episodes, the Fun House Nintendo Game and the Fun House workout video. In the pilot, both teams kept their money. If the game was tied one final toss-up was asked to break the tie.
The Fun House
The Fun House was a structure containing a variety of rooms and obstacles as well as several large tags. Six tags were red, each marked with a different prize; ten tags were green and awarded cash amounts from $50 to $300. All cash tags were placed in plain sight, but the prize tags were sometimes hidden within the rooms. Every room that held a prize tag, hidden or visible, was marked with a placard indicating the prize.
The team had two minutes to collect as many tags as possible. Only one contestant could be inside the Fun House at a time and a limit of three tags per turn was enforced. Once a team member reached this limit, they had to return to the entrance and their teammate got to enter; the process repeated until the two minute time limit expired.
Both members received all prizes and cash picked up by either of them, including any carried by a contestant who was still inside the Fun House when time ran out. One tag was secretly designated as the "Power Prize" and awarded a bonus vacation to both contestants. JD would show the viewers where this was. In the pilot the power prize wasn't a trip; instead, after the team time was up, JD would check how much the prizes were, and if the team total reached $25,000 they would get to keep all the prizes in the fun house.
When the show moved to Fox for season three, a large alarm clock called the Glop Clock was hidden in the Fun House. If it was found, an extra fifteen seconds was added onto the team's Fun House run, which could give them time after the 2 minutes were up.
Prize totals on the show were usually much higher than were available on other children's game shows of the time (such as Nickelodeon's Double Dare or Finders Keepers). A team on either of those two shows could usually walk away with approximately $2,000–$3,000 in cash and prizes, while a team on this one could win cash and prizes that often topped $5,000. It should also be noted that while the main game was played for points, both of the Nickelodeon shows mentioned saw their main games played for money.
The audience was also invited to come down.
College Mad House
College Mad House was a spinoff of Fun House hosted by Greg Kinnear that involved teams of college students playing against each other. The show aired in weekly syndication, mostly on weekends.
In place of cheerleaders, Kinnear was assisted by two referees, Richard McGregor and Donna Wilson. Voiceover artist Beau Weaver replaced Hurley as announcer.
As before, two teams competed. This time, there were four members of the team instead of two. Like on Fun House, there was an equal distribution of males and females.
This version featured much more risqué content and stunts than the children's version, often involving crude college gross-out humor and games that required lewd bodily movements among the contestants.
Stunts were reworked to accommodate the larger teams. The first stunt featured the men, the second featured the women, and the third featured all eight contestants. Scoring remained the same.
The fourth round was the "College Mad House Finals", a ninety-second speed round of general knowledge questions. The two teams would stand in line behind the podium and each member of the team had a pie. Buzzing in with a correct answer won the team 25 points and the contestant got to hit the opponent with his/her pie. After two contestants played, they moved to the end of the line and the next two moved up to face each other. Play continued in this manner until time ran out, and the team in the lead won the game. The losing team receives $500 for their university and a parting gift. If the teams were tied, one more question was played with the next two contestants in line. The tiebreaker was an all-or-nothing question, as buzzing in with a wrong answer resulted in an automatic loss. This game mechanic, minus the pies, was later used on the Stone-Stanley game show Shop 'Til You Drop, which premiered a year after the show went off the air.
The winning team then got to run through the Mad House, which was laid out in the same manner as the Fun House, except with rooms that were more centered on college life than children. One at a time, the winning team would run through the Mad House trying to collect as many of the prize tags and cash tags as possible. A contestant was not limited as to how many tags they could grab, but after thirty seconds elapsed that contestant had to freeze wherever they were, and the next contestant in line was sent into the Mad House. Play continued until all four team members had taken their turn or until all of the tags had been found. There was no Power Prize in the Mad House; instead, the bonus vacation was awarded if the team managed to "clean house" by getting all of the tags before the last teammate into the Mad House ran out of time.
The members of the losing team were also allowed into the Mad House, and used various methods in an attempt to slow down the winning team so that they wouldn't clean house.
Merchandise
Board game
 A box art of Fun House as sold in most major retailers. | |
| Players | 2 to 3 |
|---|---|
| Setup time | < 3 minutes |
| Playing time | < 60 minutes |
| Random chance | Mild (mostly skill) |
| Age range | 3 and up |
| Skill(s) required | Reading/Counting/Answering questions |
Fun House was a board game loosely based on the American children's game show of the same name. It was released in 1988. The game utilized dice, markers, and a board game that plays like a real fun house. It was given as a consolation prize on the show.
Travel game
Tiger Electronics (1989)
A Klix Pocket Travel Game was released in 1989.
Video and computer games
Hi Tech Expressions (1989, 1991)
Games released from the Commodore 64 & MS-DOS were released in 1989, while a version for the NES was released in 1991.
Exercise videos
Warner Home Video (1990)
In 1990, two exercise videos were released under the Fun House Fitness collection hosted by Jane Fonda and J.D. Roth respectively. The first one was called The Swamp Stomp for kids ages 3–7, while the second and final line of exercise videos was called The Fun House Funk for kids ages 7 and up. It was re-issued as part of the Jane Fonda Collection DVD compilation in 2005.
Episode status
References
- Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 169. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- Terrace, Vincent (2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 Through 2010 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 372. ISBN 9780786486410. Retrieved 25 March 2020.