Blank Check (game show)
| Blank Check | |
|---|---|
| Created by | William T. Naud, Rich Jeffries |
| Directed by | Richard S. Kline |
| Presented by | Art James |
| Starring | Judy Rich |
| Narrated by | Johnny Jacobs |
| Theme music composer | Alan Thicke |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of episodes | ~130 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Mike Metzger |
| Location(s) |
NBC Studios Burbank, California |
| Running time | approx. 26 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Jack Barry Productions |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | January 6 – July 4, 1975 |
Blank Check is an American game show that aired on NBC from January 6 to July 4, 1975. It was promoted as "television's first ESP game". Art James was host, with Johnny Jacobs as announcer (though Johnny Gilbert would fill in on occasion).
Created by Jack Barry, this short-lived game was the first one produced by Barry on NBC since the quiz show scandals of the 1950s, and the first of three games Barry produced at NBC (the other two were the syndicated Bullseye and NBC's Hot Potato, both under the Barry & Enright Productions brand).
Six players competed for an entire week of shows, trying to fill in a four-digit check.
One contestant played as the "check writer" and stood behind a podium positioned stage left. That contestant hit a plunger that stopped five spinning numbers, which could be used to write the check. If the contestant spun a straight (e.g., 1-2-3-4-5) they won a bonus prize. Host James asked the other five contestants, seated in a gallery at stage right, a question requiring a response containing a common relation between two things. The contestant who rang in with the correct answer attempted to guess what number (from the five spun at the start of the game) the check writer chose as the ones digit in their check. Guessing correctly meant they switched places with the check writer and started a new check for themselves, and the check writer won the amount for which the check had been completed up to that point.
If the contestant answering the question was unable to guess which number the check writer had selected, the selected number became the ones digit in the check and play continued for the tens and hundreds digits as described above.
If the check writer was able to complete three digits in their check, the check writer played a game against a studio audience member. The audience member was shown four prizes and their values, and asked to pick one. The check writer had to guess the prize the audience member selected. If incorrect, the audience member won that prize, and the process repeated with the remaining prizes. If the check writer incorrectly guessed three times, the check writer lost their position and the audience member won all four prizes.
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