The Big Showdown

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The Big Showdown
Genre	Game show
Directed by	Dick Schneider
Presented by	Jim Peck
Narrated by	Dan Daniel
Theme music composer	Score Productions
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	140
Production
Executive producers	Don Lipp Ron Greenberg
Producer	Shelley Dobbins
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Don Lipp Productions Ron Greenberg Productions MCA TV Ltd.
Distributor	NBCUniversal Syndication Studios
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	December 23, 1974 (1974-12-23) – July 4, 1975 (1975-07-04)

The Big Showdown is an American game show that aired on the ABC television network from December 23, 1974 to July 4, 1975. Jim Peck (in his national television debut) hosted the program and Dan Daniel (then a disc jockey on New York City's WHN) served as announcer.

The series was recorded at ABC's New York studio TV15 on West 58 Street, and packaged by Don Lipp’s Daphne Productions and Ron Greenberg, with assistance by MCA Television.

Gameplay[]

Round 1 (The Big Showdown)[]

Three contestants competed. Before the round began, Peck announced a target score or "payoff point," and selected a dollar value for it by pressing a buzzer on his podium to stop a randomizer ($25, $50, $75, $100, or $500). He then read a one-point toss-up question. The first contestant to buzz-in and correctly answer it chose from one of six available categories, each with a different point value from 1 to 6 as represented by faces of a die. A correct answer to a question awarded the points for the chosen category and allowed the contestant to select the next one. A miss locked the contestant out of that question and gave the opponents a chance to answer. The payoff point had to be reached exactly, and contestants were not allowed to select or answer any question that would put them over that total, being automatically locked out in the latter case. The first contestant to reach the payoff point won the money associated with it. A new dollar value and payoff point were set, the latter raised by several points above the previous one, and Peck asked a one-point toss-up to award control of the board. A toss-up was also asked whenever all players missed a question.

A new set of categories was introduced after the second payoff point had been reached. Four or more payoff points were played during this round, depending on the speed with which the game progressed.

Speed round[]

A 90-second speed round was played to end the Big Showdown, with each payoff point worth $100 after the one currently in play (if any) was reached. Once time ran out, the contestant with the lowest score was eliminated but kept any money accumulated during the game. In the event of a tie for second place or a three-way tie, Peck asked questions from the one-point category until the tie was broken. A correct answer allowed a player to advance to the Final Showdown, while a miss eliminated him/her.

Round 2 (Final Showdown)[]

The two remaining contestants competed to reach a payoff point of seven. Three categories were played, again represented by faces on a die, and point values were 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The scores were reset to zero, and the contestant who had been in the lead at the end of the first round chose the first category. As before, no contestant could choose or answer a question that would put him/her above the payoff point. The first contestant to reach seven points won the game and an additional $250; both contestants kept any money they had accumulated during the game.

Bonus Round[]

The champion now had a chance to win a cash prize by rolling pairs of oversized dice. Model Heather Cunningham joined the proceedings to hand the dice to the champion. The sixes on each pair had been replaced with the words "Show" and Down," and the goal was to have both words appear in a single roll.

The champion was given one free roll to start the round. If "Show-Down" came up, the champion won $10,000 and the round ended immediately. Otherwise, the total showing on the dice became the payoff point; "Show" and "Down" were counted as zero, so the total could range from one to ten.

The champion then had 30 seconds to roll the dice as many times as possible, with Cunningham providing a new pair for each roll and Peck removing dice from the table. Each time the payoff point came up, the champion received $250 and an additional five seconds. A roll of "Show-Down" awarded a further $5,000 and ended the round. Any bonus time was used once the original 30 seconds had run out, with no further time or money awarded for hitting the payoff point.

Champions remained on the show until they were defeated in the main game, rolled "Show-Down" at any time in the bonus round, or accumulated $20,000 in winnings.

Episode status[]

The series is believed to have been wiped due to network practices of the era. An audio clip of the opening to one episode also exists,^[1] as well as audio of the complete series finale. Two episodes also exist on videotape: the 1974 pilot and an episode from 1975 where Jim Peck falls while making his entrance down the stairs (which has made an appearance on The Most Outrageous Game Show Moments).

References[]

External links[]

• The Big Showdown at IMDb