Monopoly (game show)
| Monopoly | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Merv Griffin |
| Written by | Sharon Safianoff-Jones |
| Directed by | Kevin McCarthy |
| Presented by | Mike Reilly with Kathy Davis Kathy Karges Michelle Nicholas |
| Narrated by | Charlie O'Donnell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 12 (+1 pilot) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Burt Wheeler |
| Location(s) |
Hollywood Center Studios Hollywood, California |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Merv Griffin Enterprises King World Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | June 16 – September 1, 1990 |
Monopoly is an American television game show based on the board game of the same name. The format was created by Merv Griffin and produced by his production company, Merv Griffin Enterprises.
Monopoly aired as a summer replacement series on ABC along with Super Jeopardy!, a special tournament edition of Griffin's quiz show. Monopoly premiered on June 16, 1990, and aired following Super Jeopardy! for twelve consecutive Saturday nights until September 1, 1990.
Former Jeopardy! contestant Mike Reilly was chosen to host the series, with Charlie O'Donnell as announcer. Three separate women, Kathy Davis, Kathy Karges, and Michelle Nicholas, served as the co-host/dice roller.
Three contestants played, each represented by a color (red, gold, and green).
In the first round, the players attempted to take control of the eight groups of colored properties on a giant Monopoly board. To do so, they had to solve crossword-style clues. The first letter of each answer was given to the players, and each side of the four-sided board, referred to as "blocks" (with the block containing the five properties between the Go to Jail corner and "GO" referred to as the "high rent district"), had a different starting letter for clues. Each clue was a toss-up, and answering correctly won money equal to the value of the property, from $60 for Mediterranean Avenue to $400 for Boardwalk. Answering incorrectly deducted that value from a player's score. In the event that all three players failed to answer a clue, the property value was cut in half and another clue was read.
Each color group, referred to as a monopoly, had to be controlled by one of the players before play moved on to another. Once a player controlled a monopoly, the total monetary value of its properties was added to his/her score. The lowest monopoly value was $120, which was for Mediterranean and Baltic Avenues. The highest was $920, for the three-property monopoly consisting of Pacific, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania Avenues.
If the properties in a monopoly ended up under the control of multiple players, a series of toss-up clues were played between them to determine ownership. A player who owned two properties in a group of three had to give one correct answer in order to take full control, while the player who owned the third had to give two. If all three players each owned one property, the first to give a correct answer challenged one opponent and took over the property of the other, and the remainder of the showdown followed the two-player format. An incorrect answer on the initial toss-up forfeited that player's property, which was then awarded to one of the others through a second toss-up. In the case of the Mediterranean/Baltic and Park Place/Boardwalk monopolies being split between two players, the first to answer a clue correctly took control.
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