The Big Showdown
| The Big Showdown | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Game show |
| Directed by | Dick Schneider |
| Presented by |
Jim Peck Heather Cunningham |
| Narrated by | Dan Daniel |
| Theme music composer | Score Productions |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 140 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Don Lipp Ron Greenberg |
| Producer(s) | Shelley Dobbins |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Don Lipp Productions Ron Greenberg Productions MCA TV Ltd. |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | December 23, 1974 – July 4, 1975 |
The Big Showdown is an American game show that aired on the ABC television network from December 23, 1974 to July 4, 1975. Jim Peck (in his national television debut) hosted the program and Dan Daniel (then a disc jockey on New York City's WHN) served as announcer. Two pilots, simply titled Showdown, were taped in 1973 and 1974, respectively.
The series was recorded at ABC's New York studioTV15 on West 58 Street, and packaged by Don Lipp’s Daphne Productions and Ron Greenberg, with assistance by MCA Television.
Three contestants competed. Before the round began, Peck announced a target score or "payoff point," and selected a dollar value for it by pressing a buzzer on his podium to stop a randomizer ($25, $50, $75, $100, or $500). He then read a one-point toss-up question. The first contestant to buzz-in and correctly answer it chose from one of six available categories, each with a different point value from 1 to 6 as represented by faces of a die. A correct answer to a question awarded the points for the chosen category and allowed the contestant to select the next one. If a contestant missed a question, he/she was locked out for the remainder of that question, without any score penalty, and the opponents were given a chance to answer. The payoff point had to be reached exactly, and contestants were not allowed to select or answer any question that would put them over that total. The first contestant whose score reached the payoff point won the money associated with it. A new dollar value and payoff point were set, the latter raised by several points above the previous one, and Peck asked a one-point toss-up to award control of the board. A toss-up was also asked whenever all players missed a question.
A new set of categories was introduced after the second payoff point had been reached. Four or more payoff points were played during this round, depending on the speed with which the game progressed.
A 90-second speed round was played to end the Big Showdown, with each payoff point worth $100 after the one currently in play (if any) was reached. Once time ran out, the contestant with the lowest score was eliminated but kept any money accumulated during the game. In the event of a tie for second place or a three-way tie, Peck asked questions from the one-point category until the tie was broken. Players who buzzed in with a correct answer moved to the Final Showdown, but were eliminated for responding incorrectly.
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