The Riddlers


THE RIDDLERS (Unsold pilot)
David Letterman
Tape date: November 4, 1977
Host: David Letterman
Announcer: Jack Clark


GAME PLAY
Joyce Bulifant reads a riddleFive celebrities and five contestants, held together by a common bond (“Teachers” for example), competed. The celebrities played for five home players. The team that lost the last game (or contestants if it were the start of the week) started with its first member answering a riddle from Dave’s card. If they got that right, they moved the indicator down the line. The first player then drew a riddle from the indicator and read it to the next player down the line. This continued as long as they were right. If they were wrong, they lost control and the other team had a chance to try and move their marker. When the indicator reached the end, it turned the other way. If they got back down the line, or 9 correct answers, that team won $500 and went to the bonus round.

The celebs rank according to intelligence and prepare for the end gameIn the bonus, the winning team arranged themselves with the first player getting the easiest riddle and the fifth player getting the hardest. For the bonus, these were “Crazy Quotes,” things that might have been said by some famous figures. The first question posed to the first winner was worth $100, the second $200, then $300, then $400 and $1,000 for the fifth quote. Teams played all week against each other.



NOTES
David Letterman, of course, for over 20 years has been seen on daytime and late night TV, currently on CBS’ “Late Show.” He was a guest on several game shows including “Password Plus” and “The Gong Show.”

The celebrities on this pilot were Jo Anne Worley, Robert Urich, Joyce Bulifant, Michael McKean, Debralee Scott.

The music used on this pilot was overheard on “Get Rich Quick” and “Caught in the Act,” two other Bob Stewart pilots.

MY THOUGHTS
Actually pretty decent, but David Letterman absolutely steals the show and makes this pilot memorable. He’s pretty much non-stop funny on it, and makes up for all the shortcomings. Might have sold, but I’m sure somebody looked at it and wondered if Dave could keep it up enough for even a 13-week run.

JAY SAYS...
Cast - 2.0
Game - 1.0
Bells and Whistles - 2.0
Prize - 0.5
Tilt - 2.0

[ 07.5 ]

Points off for the oddly distributed money and low stakes.

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