Blockbusters (U.S. game show)
| Blockbusters | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Steve Ryan and Mark Goodson |
| Directed by |
Ira Skutch (1980-82) Marc Breslow (1987) |
| Presented by |
Bill Cullen (1980–82) Bill Rafferty (1987) |
| Narrated by |
Bob Hilton (1980–82) Rich Jeffries (1982, 1987) |
| Theme music composer |
Bob Cobert (1980-82) Music Design Group (1987) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 372 (1980–82) 85 (1987) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Ira Skutch (1980-82) Robert Sherman (1987) |
| Producer(s) | Robert Sherman (1980-1982) Diane H. Janaver (1987) |
| Location(s) |
NBC Studios Burbank, California |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release |
Original series: October 27, 1980–April 23, 1982 Revived series: January 5, 1987–May 1, 1987 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Blockbusters (United Kingdom) |
Blockbusters is an American game show which had two separate runs in the 1980s. Created by Steve Ryan for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, the first series debuted on NBC on October 27, 1980, and aired until April 23, 1982. In the first series, a team of two family members competed against a solo contestant. Blockbusters was revived on NBC from January 5 to May 1, 1987, but featured only two contestants competing.
Bill Cullen hosted the 1980–82 version, with Bob Hilton as announcer. Johnny Olson and Rich Jeffries substituted for Hilton on occasion, with Jeffries taking over for the final two weeks. Bill Rafferty hosted the 1987 version, with Jeffries announcing the entire run.
Blockbusters and Las Vegas Gambit, which premiered on the same day, were added to the NBC schedule to replace The David Letterman Show. Letterman's show, which NBC had cancelled three game shows to create a space for back in June 1980, did not draw ratings and only managed a total of eighteen weeks of episodes before NBC decided to return to a more traditional morning lineup.
Three contestants played in each game, with a solo contestant playing against a team of two related contestants that was referred to as the "family pair". The solo contestant played behind a red desk while the family pair played from a white one.
The game was played using a 5×4 field of hexagons, and is similar to the board game Hex with an additional quiz component. On each hexagon was a letter representing the first letter in the correct answer to the question in play. For example, if the letter P was chosen, a sample question might be: "What 'P' is a herbivorous North American mammal whose body is covered with thousands of bristles, called quills?", in which case the correct answer would be "Porcupine". Contestants attempted to complete a connection of hexagons to win each round: in red from top to bottom for the solo player, and in white from left to right for the family pair. The solo player was given an advantage in that a connection could be made in as few as four hexagons; the family pair needed a minimum of five to make a connection. In addition, the two members of the family pair were not allowed to discuss questions at any time. All questions had one-word answers.
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