Jackpot


Aired
NBC Daytime, January 7, 1974 - September 26, 1975
Run time
30 minutes
Host
Geoff Edwards
Announcer
Don Pardo (1974-1975), Wayne Howell (1975)
Origination
NBC Studio 8H, New York City, New York

Jackpot was the game show where 16 contestants were asked to answer cleverly-written riddles in order to win thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.

Game Format[]

Sixteen contestants competed for an entire week, with one designated as the "Expert", who stood at a circular podium at stage-left. The other fifteen contestants, numbered 1 through 15, were seated in three-tiered bleachers. Each had a special wallet containing a riddle and a varying cash amount (ranging from $5 to $200) or the Jackpot Riddle. The Expert selected a number and the contestant with that number asked a riddle to this player. If answered correctly, the Expert continued picking numbers; otherwise, the two contestants switched places, with the contestant who stumped him/her becoming the new Expert.

The value of the riddle increased the value of the Jackpot. If the Expert selected the contestant holding the Jackpot Riddle (one per game) and answered it correctly, those two contestants split the Jackpot; otherwise, it carried over to the next game until won.

Originally, the player who answered the most riddles in the week won a car. This was later changed to awarding a car to anyone who answered all fifteen riddles in a single game. Also, after a week-long experiment in February 1974 (when it was called "The Valentine Riddle"), most games had a "Double Bonus" riddle which, if answered correctly, won the two players involved a trip, usually to somewhere in Mexico or the Caribbean.

If the last three digits of the Jackpot amount matched a preselected target number (up to $995), the Expert would have a chance to win a "Super Jackpot" by correctly solving another riddle. If it was answered correctly, he/she split the Super Jackpot with the bleacher contestant who posed the riddle that brought the Jackpot amount to the target number. Occasionally, the host would notify the Expert if there was a riddle which would allow the preselected target number to be matched.

To the determine the Super Jackpot, a number ranging from 5 to 50 (in increments of 5) was chosen at random and multiplied with the Target Number to make its value (e.g., $500 × 30 = $15,000). If the Target Number was $995 and the Multiplier was 50, the Super Jackpot was automatically set to $50,000. Later on, each of these multipliers had an equal chance (although 15 and 20 were twice as likely to appear).

The Super Jackpot could be played for in one of two ways:

In the earliest episodes, if a player solved the Jackpot riddle when the last three digits of the Jackpot amount matched the target number, the Super Jackpot was won. This was later changed to having the Expert answer a Super Jackpot Riddle posed by Edwards in order to share the Super Jackpot with the gallery player (analogous to a traditional game show bonus round).
Choosing the player with the Super Jackpot Wildcard and correctly answering the Super Jackpot riddle as posed by Edwards. This feature originally appeared at least once per week, but was soon altered to appear at least once in every ten shows.

The largest Super Jackpot won in this version was $38,750, split between two players on January 3, 1975; a radio interview with Geoff Edwards for Blog Talk Radio claimed that there was an NBC episode with a $50,000 win, though this has never been proven.

Second Format[]

Beginning on June 30, 1975, the format was altered for the last 13 weeks of the run:

The Target number was dropped, and the Super Jackpot was established at random by the Expert pressing a button; it could be worth anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 (in $100 increments).
Riddles were dropped in favor of straight general-knowledge questions (either true/false or multiple choice).
When the Jackpot question was found, the Expert could either answer it or go for the Super Jackpot by answering all remaining questions in the game, saving the Jackpot question for last. If he/she missed any of the remaining questions, the Jackpot was wiped out (making it hard to build a Jackpot), and a new Super Jackpot was established. If, however, the Jackpot question was the last one found, the Super Jackpot was lost.

All weeks were self-contained, meaning that a game in progress on Friday couldn't continue into the following Monday. When time was called in the middle of a game on Fridays, the Jackpot riddle had to be played immediately (referred to by Geoff as an "Automatic Jackpot").

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).

Trivia[]

While hosting Jackpot, Geoff Edwards also hosted The New Treasure Hunt. He had to commute back & forth between New York & California for those two shows. Once Jackpot was cancelled, Geoff stayed in California.

Merchandise[]

Milton Bradley made only one edition in 1974 as TV Jackpot Game, but with two different covers - one with just the logo and one with a drawing of a female contestant. Other than the cosmetic difference, the game is the same in both boxes the gameplay is more closely resembles the 1980s Mike Darrow format.

Photos[]

Press[]

Production Slate[]

Tickets[]

International Versions[]

Main Article:Jackpot/International

Episode Status[]

Two episodes are known to have been saved by NBC, one containing a $38,750 Jackpot win. Additional episodes exist as audio recordings of original broadcasts, including the 1975 finale. An episode from July 1974 allegedly had a $50,000 attempt but is not known to exist.