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Hit Man (game show)

Hit Man
Hit Man.jpg
Created by Jay Wolpert
Directed by John "The Fox" Dorsey
Presented by Peter Tomarken
Narrated by Rod Roddy
Theme music composer Paul Epstein for Score Productions
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 65
Production
Executive producer(s) Jay Wolpert
Producer(s) Roger Speakman
Randy Neece
Location(s) NBC Studios
Burbank, California
Running time 22 minutes (without commercials)
Production company(s) Jay Wolpert Productions
Metromedia Video Productions
Release
Original network NBC
Original release January 3 – April 1, 1983

Hit Man is an American television game show that ran from January 3 to April 1, 1983, on NBC. Peter Tomarken hosted this Jay Wolpert production in association with Metromedia Video Productions, while Rod Roddy was the announcer.

Four contestants competed on each episode of Hit Man in a memory-based quiz game. One was either a returning champion or champion-designate, with the other three contestants competing for the right to face the champion in the second round. The surviving contestant at the end of two rounds of play played the Triple Crown bonus round for $10,000.

Each game of Hit Man began with the three challengers, who were sitting behind desks colored blue, yellow, and green, viewing a short film narrated by Tomarken. Film topics varied widely and included biographies, the "making-of" specific films, professions, hobbies, etc. The film was also shown to the returning champion offstage, since the subject matter would later come up in the Triple Crown if he/she advanced to the round.

After the film concluded, a series of tossup questions were asked to the challengers about the film they had just seen. For each correct answer the challengers gave, he or she advanced one step on a ladder displayed behind them. Answering a question incorrectly locked a contestant out of the next question.

It took five answers to climb to the top of the ladder, and the first contestant to do this won $300 and clinched a spot in the second round. The remaining two contestants continued playing until one of them gave a fifth correct answer, and that contestant won $200 and ended the round. The remaining contestant was eliminated from further play and received parting gifts.

For the second round, the champion entered the game and sat behind a red desk that was elevated. A second short film was played. After the film concluded, each contestant was given a series of "hit men". The champion was given seven hit men, the winner of the first round got four, and the second finisher was given three hit men, with each player's hit men corresponding to the color of their desk.

As before, a series of tossup questions pertaining to the film were asked. The object for all three players was to eliminate the opposing hit men, with the champion trying to eliminate both challengers while avoiding losing his/her own hit men. The winner of the first round was given a choice of whether to play against the champion first or allow the runner up to play.


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