Line #17 Series/TheBigShowdown


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tbs.PNG]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Let's roll those dice! [[FridgeLogic No wait, they're too big.]]]]
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4	GameShow produced by Don Lipp and Ron Greenberg for Creator/{{ABC}} from 1974-75 and hosted by Jim Peck, in which three contestants answered questions to achieve a "Payoff Point" for a cash award ($25, $50, $75, $100, or $500) determined by a randomizer on Peck's podium.
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6	The contestant in control after a one-point tossup chose one of six categories for a tossup question worth that many points. The main strategy was that the Payoff Point had to be met ''exactly'', and no player could choose or answer a question that would cause them to exceed it; this added a layer of intuitive counter-blocking between the players. Following the second Payoff Point, six new categories were introduced. This round ended with a 90-second SpeedRound, during which every Payoff Point following the current one was worth $100; once time expired, the contestant in third place was eliminated.
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8	The two remaining contestants played ''Final Showdown'' for a Payoff Point of 7, which awarded $250. Three categories were played with point values being from 1-3. First to reach the Payoff Point became champion and played the bonus round.
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10	''Showdown'' debuted on December 23, 1974 (as did its sister show ''The Money Maze'') and lasted a mere six months against Creator/{{NBC}}'s popular series ''The Doctors'', ending on July 4, 1975. Despite its scarcity and obscurity, it is a cult classic revered by those who have seen it.
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13	!!This show provides examples of:
14	* TheAnnouncer: Longtime New York TV/radio personality Dan Daniel, in his only game show role. ABC staff announcer Dirk Fredericks held these duties for the pilot.
15	* BonusRound: The champion rolled standard dice with the sixes replaced by "Show" and "Down" to set a Payoff Point, then rolled as many more pairs as they could in 30 seconds; $250 was awarded each time the Payoff Point was hit, with $5,000 for Show-Down...but if the contestant rolled Show-Down instead of setting a Payoff Point, they won $10,000. If time expired, the contestant received five seconds for each Payoff Point they hit to continue rolling just for the $5,000.
16	* BonusSpace: The Payoff Point.
17	* GameShowWinningsCap: Champions retired undefeated after they either rolled Show-Down in the bonus round or accumulated $20,000 or more.
18	* LovelyAssistant: Heather Cunningham, who only appeared in the bonus round and merely served to hand the dice to the contestant.
19	* OpeningNarration:
20	** '''First opening:''' "These three players will compete in a classic battle of knowledge and strategy, and one of them will have a chance to win the top prize of $10,000, today, on ''The Big Showdown''! And here's your host, Jim Peck!"
21	** '''Second opening (following a montage of endgame wins from previous episodes):''' "Welcome to ''The Big Showdown''! And here's your host, Jim Peck!"
22	* {{Pilot}}: Taped in 1974 and simply called ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Giq7_4hm5l8 Showdown]]''. Different theme, somewhat different set, and different rules:
23	** The Payoff Point began at $25 and increased in $25 increments.
24	** Final Showdown awarded $200 to the winner. (Amusingly, or perhaps not, the only category ''not'' chosen is the two-point "Politics '74".)
25	** In the BonusRound, hitting the Payoff Point stopped the clock and added five seconds to it ''immediately'' (although this rule did not come into effect).
26	** Absolutely ''no mention'' was made of the $10,000 top prize until just before the contestant set the Payoff Point in the bonus round. During the rest of the show, the top prize was consistently stated as being $5,000.
27	** Returning champs were ''always'' in effect, regardless of whether the bonus round was won.
28	** An earlier pilot was taped in 1973 (also titled ''Showdown''), and had a completely different bonus round, involving opening a large safe filled with over $10,000 in cash and prizes via the right combination. That bonus round was judged "too boring", and we got the bonus round we're familiar with.
29	* UnexpectedGameplayChange: Congratulations, you've won our straight quiz, now let's roll dice!

Context Series / TheBigShowdown