Hot Potato (game show)
| (Celebrity) Hot Potato | |
|---|---|
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|
| Genre | Game show |
| Written by | Scott Wyant |
| Directed by | Richard S. Kline |
| Presented by | Bill Cullen |
| Narrated by | Charlie O'Donnell |
| Theme music composer | Hal Hidey |
| Country of origin |
 United States
|
| No. of episodes | 115 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Jack Barry Dan Enright |
| Producer(s) | Allen Koss |
| Location(s) |
NBC Studios Burbank, California |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Production company(s) | Barry & Enright Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | January 23 – June 29, 1984 |
Hot Potato is a television game show that was broadcast on NBC in the United States from January 23 to June 29, 1984. From April 23 until its conclusion, the show was known as Celebrity Hot Potato.
Bill Cullen was the show's host, his final hosting job for a network series, and Charlie O'Donnell was the announcer.
The series was produced by Barry & Enright Productions, the company's first for NBC since the company was a central figure in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Hot Potato was the first game mounted for a network by Barry & Enright since 1976's Break the Bank aired on ABC, the last one the company did not produce exclusively for syndication, and the last original production Jack Barry was a part of; he died on May 2, 1984, a little more than a week after Hot Potato made the switch to the celebrity format.
Two teams of three players competed, one of which consisted of the previous game's champions. The members of each team shared a common trait (hobby, occupation, etc.). All questions used during the main game had at least seven correct answers. Some were trivia questions with a set number of factual answers - for example, naming the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - while others required the players to guess the most common responses to a survey.
In each round, Cullen asked a question and stated the number of acceptable answers. One member of the team with initial control started by either giving an answer or challenging an opponent to do so. If the player gave a correct answer, control passed to the next team member in line. An incorrect response sent the player to a bench behind the team's podium, where he/she had to sit out the rest of the round, and gave control to the opposing team. If an opponent responded correctly after being challenged, his/her team took control and the challenging player was eliminated. If not, the opponent was eliminated and control passed to the player after the one who issued the challenge.
As the players gave correct answers, they were displayed on-screen for the viewers' benefit. Once five answers had been given, Cullen would read them back to the players. A player would be cautioned if he/she repeated a previous answer; doing so twice on the same turn sent him/her to the bench.
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Wikipedia