History Trivia / Concentration

* NoBudget: Commonly associated with the 1970s Narz version. Usually, there were at least two prizes worth $1,000, and several prizes topped $500, but [[ConsolationPrize consolation-type prizes]] were often main-game prizes (such as boxed spaghetti dinners, Oreo cookies and bar soap); this helped with the low-rent budget (or at least the perception thereof). By the last season, there was an attempt to increase the appeal of the prizes by matching several of the $500-1,000 level prizes together into a single prize package, and then make it available as a prize in the Double Play round's new prize-matching game; $1,000 gift certificates to places like Botany 500 and Western Auto were also common, and some of the prize packages were worth $2,000 or more, and European tours for two worth $4,000 were sometimes offered. Despite the low-level prizes, a lucky contestant winning both rounds and, in the process, matching all the prizes … and then coming away with every prize package available in the Double Play round (there were four per round, one of which was a new car) could have a very nice payday of nearly $20,000.

* NoBudget: Commonly associated with the 1970s Narz version. Usually, there were at least two prizes worth $1,000, and several prizes topped $500, but [[ConsolationPrizes consolation-type prizes]] were often main-game prizes (such as boxed spaghetti dinners, Oreo cookies and bar soap); this helped with the low-rent budget (or at least the perception thereof). By the last season, there was an attempt to increase the appeal of the prizes by matching several of the $500-1,000 level prizes together into a single prize package, and then make it available as a prize in the Double Play round's new prize-matching game; $1,000 gift certificates to places like Botany 500 and Western Auto were also common, and some of the prize packages were worth $2,000 or more, and European tours for two worth $4,000 were sometimes offered. Despite the low-level prizes, a lucky contestant winning both rounds and, in the process, matching all the prizes … and then coming away with every prize package available in the Double Play round (there were four per round, one of which was a new car) could have a very nice payday of nearly $20,000.

** Episodes from the first 20 years that circulate include October 15, 1958; February 9, 1959 (hosted by Art James and surfaced in January 2012); September 12, 13 and 16, 1963; a 12-minute clip from 1966; September 1967; October 2 and 3, 1967; Christmas Eve 1968; September 1969; Christmas Eve 1969; March 23, 1973; early 1978. Also on Website/YouTube are [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7sKVErfTo#t=3m13s the last five minutes of a 1974 show]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBDumKT0lpM the last two minutes of a 1976 show.]]

** Jack Narz, no stranger to the game show genre (''Seven Keys'', ''Series/{{Dotto}}'', ''Series/NowYouSeeIt''), was Tom Kennedy's brother (Tom's given name was Jim Narz) and BillCullen's brother-in-law.

** Jack Narz, no stranger to the game show genre (''Seven Keys'', ''Dotto'', ''Series/NowYouSeeIt''), was Tom Kennedy's brother (Tom's given name was Jim Narz) and Bill Cullen's brother-in-law.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQmbiOphgPk This car round]] where things go awry. First, the board revealed the wrong number so the production staff had to stop the clock and reset both it and the board to where they were before the contestant called her numbers. Then, in the last 15 seconds or so, the main monitor went out and she had to squint at a board ''30 feet away'', losing all her momentum. Alex pointed all of this out to the home viewers and commented that, since he thought she would've won had the technical difficulties not come up, he [[MomentOfAwesome let her take the car of her choice]].

** The show's first announcer, Art James, became an emcee in his own right. He left ''Concentration'' in 1961 to host Goodson-Todman's ''Say When!!'' and do many more (''Blank Check''; ''TheMagnificentMarbleMachine''; ''The Who, What, or Where Game''; ''SuperPayCards!''; ''Series/CatchPhrase'') henceforth. In 1991, things came full circle when he filled in for Gene Wood on ''Classic'' for a week.
** James also appeared in the film ''Film/{{Mallrats}}''; appropriately enough, he played a game show host (Bob Summers) who, unfortunately, could not stop the cast from derailing the show (a DatingGame ripoff) with all sorts of stuff (such as Brodie's story of how his Cousin Walter jerked off on a plane).
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Very few episodes from the first ''20 years'' circulate, and no clips have been seen in blooper specials. Because Goodson-Todman (later FremantleMedia) does not own the rights to the show (NBC does), the Jack Narz era hasn't been rerun. None of the other versions have ever been rerun, either, save for ''Classic'' from 1991-93 on NBC and for a time on the United Kingdom's Sky One. NBC has zero interest in either reviving the show or selling repeat rights to GSN (much less anybody).
** Episodes from the first 20 years that circulate include October 15, 1958; February 9, 1959 (hosted by Art James and surfaced in January 2012); September 12, 13 and 16, 1963; a 12-minute clip from 1966; September 1967; October 2-3, 1967; Christmas Eve 1968; September 1969; Christmas Eve 1969; March 23, 1973; Early 1978. Also on Website/YouTube are [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7sKVErfTo#t=3m13s the last five minutes of a 1974 show]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBDumKT0lpM the last two minutes of a 1976 show.]]
** A few shows from Spring 1971 are at the UCLA Film & Television Archive, paired up with that day's ''Series/SaleOfTheCentury''.

* MissingEpisode: According to producer Norm Blumenthal, most of the original series was wiped. The Narz era onward is intact.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: LinBolen wanted to cancel all games hosted by middle-aged men on technologically-obsolete sets; on September 4, 1972, Creator/{{CBS}} replaced daytime repeats of ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies'' with ''[[Series/ThePriceIsRight The New Price Is Right]]'', which won over most of the ''Concentration'' audience. The first victim of Bolen's agenda, ''Concentration'' bowed on March 23, 1973.
** To this day, Creator/{{NBC}} owns the rights to the show and refuses to allow reruns of existing episodes. The show ''is'' listed on the network's formats website (alongside ''Twenty-One'' and ''Series/MinuteToWinIt''), though.

** There were many times during the 1958-78 era where the board "malfunctioned", such as a trilon turning the opposite direction from the others after a puzzle was solved.
*** The ''Classic'' computer board "malfunctioned" in an oddly similar way. Near the end of the run, the last four squares in a game were one prize and two Wild Cards. The contestant matched the prize with one Wild Card, revealing those three spaces...however a glitch in the program wouldn't allow the last Wild Card to be removed, and it kept flipping back to the number square. Alex commented that "In the four years we've been presenting this show, that's the first time that ever happened!" (Luckily, the contestant was able to solve the puzzle without that one square.)
** For a themed week, the ''Classic'' set included large neon-lit palm trees. Even after the week was over, the trees stayed because the set designers thought [[RuleOfCool the combination looked cool]]. After this addition, the set designers decided to go further with the "California Fresh" motif by adding more foliage to the set (especially in the "winner's circle" where the bonus round was played) and letting Trebek be more laid back and dress more casually (often with sweaters)
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQmbiOphgPk This car round]] where things go awry. First, the board revealed the wrong number so they had to stop the clock and reset both it and the board to where they were before she called her numbers. Then, in the last 15 seconds or so, the main monitor went out and she had to squint at a board ''30 feet away'', losing all her momentum. Alex pointed all of this out to the home viewers and commented that, since he thought she would've won had the technical difficulties not come up, he [[MomentOfAwesome let her take the car of her choice]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The first ideas bantered about was to have drawings of famous people gradually revealed for each match, then just simple phrases. Neither concept worked, and it was through Blumenthal's drawing talents that the rebus puzzle concept came about.

** James also appeared in the film Mallrats; appropriately enough, he played a game show host who, unfortunately, could not stop the cast from derailing the show (a DatingGame ripoff) with all sorts of stuff (such as Brodie's story of how his Cousin Walter jerked off on a plane).

** James also appeared in the film Film/Mallrats; appropriately enough, he played a game show host who, unfortunately, could not stop the cast from derailing the show (a DatingGame ripoff) with all sorts of stuff (such as Brodie's story of how his Cousin Walter jerked off on a plane).

* HeyItsThatSound: Several sounds on ''Classic'' - the bonus timer beeps were recycled from ''{{Blockbusters}}'', the square-reveal sound from ''TriviaTrap'', and the SpeedRound buzzer from ''Series/FamilyFeud''.

----

** Hugh Downs was already well known as the announcer/sidekick on ''TheTonightShow'' during Jack Paar's tenure as host.

** Jack Narz, no stranger to the game show genre (''Seven Keys'', ''Dotto'', ''NowYouSeeIt''), was Tom Kennedy's brother (Tom's given name was Jim Narz) and Bill Cullen's brother-in-law.

* HeyItsThatSound: Several sounds on ''Classic'' - the bonus timer beeps were recycled from ''{{Blockbusters}}'', the square-reveal sound from ''TriviaTrap'', and the SpeedRound buzzer from ''FamilyFeud''.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: LinBolen wanted to cancel all games hosted by middle-aged men on technologically-obsolete sets; on September 4, 1972, Creator/{{CBS}} replaced daytime repeats of ''TheBeverlyHillbillies'' with ''[[ThePriceIsRight The New Price Is Right]]'', which won over most of the ''Concentration'' audience. The first victim of Bolen's agenda, ''Concentration'' bowed on March 23, 1973.
** To this day, Creator/{{NBC}} owns the rights to the show and refuses to allow reruns of existing episodes. The show ''is'' listed on the network's formats website (alongside ''Twenty-One'' and ''MinuteToWinIt''), though.

** Alex Trebek was already well known as the host of ''{{Jeopardy}}'' Strangely, he seemed much more intimate than usual on this show. He also had a deer-in-the-headlights look when contestants would snipe at each other.

** The show's first announcer, Art James, became an emcee in his own right. He left ''Concentration'' in 1961 to host Goodson-Todman's ''Say When!!'' and do many more (''Blank Check''; ''TheMagnificentMarbleMachine''; ''The Who, What, or Where Game''; ''SuperPayCards!'', ''Series/CatchPhrase'') henceforth. In 1991, things came full circle when he filled in for Gene Wood on ''Classic'' for a week.
* HeyItsThatSound: Several sounds on ''Classic'': The bonus timer beeps were recycled from ''{{Blockbusters}}'', the square-reveal from ''TriviaTrap'' and the SpeedRound buzzer from ''FamilyFeud''.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: LinBolen wanted to cancel all games hosted by middle-aged men on technologically-obsolete sets; on September 4, 1972 Creator/{{CBS}} replaced daytime repeats of ''TheBeverlyHillbillies'' with ''[[ThePriceIsRight The New Price Is Right]]'', which won over most of the ''Concentration'' audience. The first victim of Bolen's agenda, ''Concentration'' bowed on March 23, 1973.
** To this day, Creator/{{NBC}} owns the rights to the show and refuses to allow reruns of existing episodes. The show ''is'' listed on the network's formats website (alongside ''Twenty-One'' and ''Minute To Win It''), though.

** Ralph Branca, the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who in 1951 surrendered the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" home run to New York Giants' Bobby Thomson (sending the Giants to the World Series), was a competitor in 1963 and progressed to the show's first Challenge Of Champions.

** Episodes from the first 20 years that circulate include October 15, 1958; February 9, 1959 (hosted by Art James and surfaced in January 2012); September 12, 13 and 16, 1963; a 12-minute clip from 1966; September 1967; October 2-3, 1967; Christmas Eve 1968; September 1969; Christmas Eve 1969; March 23, 1973; Spring 1978. Also on Website/YouTube are [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7sKVErfTo#t=3m13s the last five minutes of a 1974 show]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBDumKT0lpM the last two minutes of a 1976 show.]]

* LineToGod: Original series producer Norm Blumenthal started a [[http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=21303 thread]] on a popular game show forum, in which he has discussed nearly every detail of the series. However, the thread died out in March 2012.

*** The ''Classic'' computer board "malfunctioned" in an oddly similar way. Near the end of the run, the last four squares in a game were one prize and two Wild Cards. The contestant matched the prize with one Wild Card, revealing those three spaces...however a glitch in the program wouldn't allow the last Wild Card to be removed, and it kept flipping back to the number square. Alex commented that "In the four years we've been presenting this show, that's the first time that ever happened!" (Luckily, the contestant was able to solve the puzzle with out that one square.)

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: LinBolen wanted to cancel all games hosted by middle-aged men on technologically-obsolete sets; on September 4, 1972 Creator/{{CBS}} replaced daytime repeats of ''TheBeverlyHillbillies'' with ''[[ThePriceIsRight The New Price is Right]]'', which won over most of the ''Concentration'' audience. The first victim of Bolen's agenda, ''Concentration'' bowed on March 23, 1973.
** To this day, Creator/{{NBC}} owns the rights to the show and refuses to ether let anyone create a new version or show reruns of existing episodes.

** Episodes from the first 20 years that circulate include October 15, 1958; February 9, 1959 (hosted by Art James and surfaced in January 2012); September 13 and 16, 1963; a 12-minute clip from 1966; September 1967; October 2-3, 1967; Christmas Eve 1968; September 1969; Christmas Eve 1969; March 23, 1973; Spring 1978. Also on Website/YouTube are [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7sKVErfTo#t=3m13s the last five minutes of a 1974 show]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBDumKT0lpM the last two minutes of a 1976 show.]]

* LineToGod: Original series producer Norm Blumenthal started a [[http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=21303 thread]] on a popular game show forum, in which he has discussed nearly every detail of the series.

** A few shows from Spring 1971 are at the UCLA Film & Television Archive, paired up with that day's ''SaleOfTheCentury''.

** Bob Clayton was the host of a short-lived {{ABC}} game show, ''Make a Face'', in 1961.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: LinBolen wanted to cancel all games hosted by middle-aged men on technologically-obsolete sets; on September 4, 1972 {{CBS}} replaced daytime repeats of ''TheBeverlyHillbillies'' with ''[[ThePriceIsRight The New Price is Right]]'', which won over most of the ''Concentration'' audience. The first victim of Bolen's agenda, ''Concentration'' bowed on March 23, 1973.
** To this day, {{NBC}} owns the rights to the show and refuses to ether let anyone create a new version or show reruns of existing episodes.

** Episodes from the first 20 years that circulate include October 15, 1958; February 9, 1959 (hosted by Art James and surfaced in January 2012); September 13 and 16, 1963; a 12-minute clip from 1966; September 1967; October 2-3, 1967; Christmas Eve 1968; September 1969; Christmas Eve 1969; March 23, 1973; Spring 1978. Also on YouTube are [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7sKVErfTo#t=3m13s the last five minutes of a 1974 show]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBDumKT0lpM the last two minutes of a 1976 show.]]

* WordOfGod: Original series producer Norm Blumenthal started a [[http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=21303 thread]] on a popular game show forum, in which he has discussed nearly every detail of the series.

** Episodes from the first 20 years that circulate include October 15, 1958; February 9, 1959 (hosted by Art James and surfaced in January 2012); September 13 and 16, 1963; a 12-minute clip from 1966; September 1967; October 2-3, 1967; Christmas Eve 1968; September 1969; Christmas Eve 1969; March 23, 1973; Spring 1978. Also on YouTube are the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7sKVErfTo#t=3m13s the last five minutes of a 1974 show]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBDumKT0lpM the last two minutes of a 1976 show.]]

** Episodes from the first 20 years that circulate include October 15, 1958; February 9, 1959 (hosted by Art James and surfaced in January 2012); September 13 and 16, 1963; September 1967; October 2-3, 1967; Christmas Eve 1968; September 1969; Christmas Eve 1969; March 23, 1973; Spring 1978. Also on YouTube are the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7sKVErfTo#t=3m13s the last five minutes of a 1974 show]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBDumKT0lpM the last two minutes of a 1976 show.]]

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Just 11 episodes from the first ''20 years'' circulate, and no clips have been seen in blooper specials. Because Goodson-Todman/FremantleMedia does not own the rights to the show (NBC does), the Jack Narz era hasn't been rerun. None of the other versions have ever been rerun, either, save for ''Classic'' from 1991-93 on NBC and for a time on the United Kingdom's Sky One. NBC has zero interest in either reviving the show or selling repeat rights to GSN (much less anybody).
** Episodes from the first 20 years that circulate include October 15, 1958; September 13 and 16, 1963; September 1967; October 2-3, 1967; Christmas Eve 1968; September 1969; Christmas Eve 1969; March 23, 1973; Spring 1978. Also on YouTube are the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7sKVErfTo#t=3m13s the last five minutes of a 1974 show]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBDumKT0lpM the last two minutes of a 1976 show.]]

* HeyItsThatGuy:
** Hugh Downs was already well known as the announcer/sidekick on ''TheTonightShow'' during Jack Paar's tenure as host.
** Bob Clayton was the host of a short-lived {{ABC}} game show, ''Make a Face'', in 1961.
** Ed [=McMahon=] was, in 1969, known across the country as Johnny Carson's sidekick on ''The Tonight Show''.
** Jack Narz, no stranger to the game show genre (''SevenKeys'', ''{{Dotto}}'', ''NowYouSeeIt''), was Tom Kennedy's brother (Tom's given name was Jim Narz) and Bill Cullen's brother-in-law.
** Alex Trebek was already well known as the host of ''{{Jeopardy}}'' Strangely, he seemed much more intimate than usual on this show. He also had a deer-in-the-headlights look when contestants would snipe at each other.
** Ralph Branca, the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who in 1951 surrendered the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" home run to New York Giants' Bobby Thomson (sending the Giants to the World Series), was a competitor in 1963 and progressed to the show's first Challenge Of Champions.
* HeyItsThatVoice:
** Johnny Olson and Gene Wood were prolific announcers for Goodson-Todman over many years; Johnny is most well-known for ''ThePriceIsRight'', while Gene announced the 1976-95 versions of ''FamilyFeud''.
** The show's first announcer, Art James, became an emcee in his own right. He left ''Concentration'' in 1961 to host Goodson-Todman's ''Say When!!'' and do many more (''Blank Check''; ''TheMagnificentMarbleMachine''; ''The Who, What, or Where Game''; ''SuperPayCards!'', ''Series/CatchPhrase'') henceforth. In 1991, things came full circle when he filled in for Gene Wood on ''Classic'' for a week.
* HeyItsThatSound: Several sounds on ''Classic'': The bonus timer beeps were recycled from ''{{Blockbusters}}'', the square-reveal from ''TriviaTrap'' and the SpeedRound buzzer from ''FamilyFeud''.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Just 11 episodes from the first ''20 years'' circulate, and no clips have been seen in blooper specials. Because Goodson-Todman/Fremantle does not own the rights to the show (NBC does), the Jack Narz era has not been rerun. None of the other versions have ever been rerun, either, save for ''Classic'' from 1991-93 on NBC and for a time on the United Kingdom's Sky One. NBC has zero interest in either reviving the show or selling repeat rights to GSN (much less anybody).
** Episodes from the first 20 years that circulate include October 15, 1958; September 13 and 16, 1963; September 1967; October 2-3, 1967; Christmas Eve 1968; September 1969; Christmas Eve 1969; March 23, 1973; Spring 1978. Also on YouTube are the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD7sKVErfTo#t=3m13s the last five minutes of a 1974 show]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBDumKT0lpM the last two minutes of a 1976 show.]]
** A few shows from Spring 1971 are at the UCLA Film & Television Archive, paired up with that day's ''SaleOfTheCentury''.
* ThrowItIn:
** There were many times during the 1958-78 era where the board "malfunctioned", such as a trilon turning the opposite direction from the others after a puzzle was solved.
*** The ''Classic'' computer board "malfunctioned" in an oddly similar way. Near the end of the run, the last four squares in a game were one prize and two Wild Cards. The contestant matched the prize with one Wild Card, revealing those three spaces...however a glitch in the program wouldn't allow the last Wild Card to be removed, and it kept flipping back to the number square. Alex commented that "In the four years we've been presenting this show, that's the first time that ever happened!" (Luckily, the contestant was able to solve the puzzle with out that one square.)
** For a themed week, the ''Classic'' set included large neon-lit palm trees. Even after the week was over, the trees stayed because the set designers thought [[RuleOfCool the combination looked cool]]. After this addition, the set designers decided to go further with the "California Fresh" motif by adding more foliage to the set (especially in the "winner's circle" where the bonus round was played) and letting Trebek be more laid back and dress more casually (often with sweaters)
** This [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQmbiOphgPk car round]] where things go awry. First, the board revealed the wrong number so they had to stop the clock and reset both it and the board to where they were before she called her numbers. Then, in the last 15 seconds or so, the main monitor went out and she had to squint at a board ''30 feet away'', losing all her momentum. Alex pointed all of this out to the home viewers and commented that, since he thought she would have won had the technical difficulties not come up, he [[MomentOfAwesome let her take the car of her choice]].
** Originally, Alex would insist in the car round that contestants select one number at a time. As the series went on, contestants started selecting two at a time and Alex decided not to fight it.
* ScrewedByTheNetwork: LinBolen wanted to cancel all games hosted by middle-aged men on technologically-obsolete sets; on September 4, 1972 {{CBS}} replaced daytime repeats of ''TheBeverlyHillbillies'' with ''[[ThePriceIsRight The New Price is Right]]'', which won over most of the ''Concentration'' audience. The first victim of Bolen's agenda, ''Concentration'' bowed on March 23, 1973.

** Alex Trebek was already well known as the host of ''[=~Jeopardy!~=]'' Strangely, he seemed much more intimate than usual on this show. He also had a deer-in-the-headlights look when contestants would snipe at each other.

** For a themed week, the ''Classic'' set included large fake palm trees. Even after the week was over, the trees stayed because the set designers thought [[RuleOfCool the combination looked cool]]. After this addition, the set designers decided to go further with the "California Fresh" motif by adding more foliage to the set (especially in the "winner's circle" where the bonus round was played) and having Trebek dress in more casual outfits.