The Money Maze | |
---|---|
Created by | Don Lipp Ron Greenberg |
Directed by | Arthur Forrest |
Presented by | Nick Clooney |
Narrated by | Alan Kalter |
Composer(s) | David Sheniak for Score Productions, Inc. |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 135 |
Production | |
Producer(s) | Don Segall |
Running time | 25 minutes |
Production company(s) | Daphne-Don Lipp Productions |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Original release | December 23, 1974 | – June 27, 1975
The Money Maze is an American television game show seen on ABC from December 23, 1974 to June 27, 1975. The show was hosted by Nick Clooney and was announced by Alan Kalter. It was produced by Daphne-Don Lipp Productions, of which Dick Cavett was a principal.
The object of the game was to negotiate a large maze built on the studio floor. A contestant would direct his or her spouse from a perch above the maze; the spouse would need to find his or her way to a push-button on the side of a tower inside the maze.
Clooney hosted Money Maze concurrently with his local daily talk show, The Nick Clooney Show, on then-ABC affiliate WKRC-TV in Cincinnati (now a CBS affiliate). In fact, WKRC scheduled Money Maze on a delay at 10:30 AM, immediately before Nick Clooney at 11:00.
Two married couples played against each other for the right to enter the maze. Three regular rounds were played. Each round had a particular topic, with eight related clues. Two clues would be shown on a screen; one couple would select a clue for the other to attempt to answer. A correct answer scored a point, and that couple would then select from two clues (a new clue plus the one they didn't act on before) for their opponent. An incorrect answer gave the opponents a chance to answer instead. If they did so, they won the round and had a chance to answer as many of the remaining clues as they could; if they were also incorrect, play would continue in the round. If the two couples each answered four clues in the round, a tiebreaker would be played where two additional clues were shown. The first couple to activate a buzzer would select a clue to answer for one point, then try to answer the other for two points. If they were wrong on either, the other couple got a free attempt.
The winning couple in each round would then send one member into the maze, with the other directing from above. The "runner" would have 15 seconds to find a phone-booth-size "tower" with push-buttons on each side. Pressing the lit button before time expired won the prize and three points. Later in the show's run, couples were given the option of trying to also reach a second tower within 25 seconds for a $500 bonus and three additional points; if they accepted the risk but couldn't reach both towers, the prize and the cash bonus were both lost.