Trivial Pursuit (game show)

Infobox Television
show_name = Trivial Pursuit


caption =
aka =
genre = Game Show
creator =
writer =
director =
creat_director =
developer =
presenter = Wink Martindale
starring =
voices =
narrated = Randy West
theme_music_composer =
opentheme =
endtheme =
composer =
country =
language =
num_seasons =
num_episodes =
list_episodes =
executive_producer =
co_exec =
producer =
sup_producer =
asst_producer =
cons_producer =
co-producer =
editor =
story_editor =
location =
cinematography =
camera =
runtime =
channel =
picture_format =
audio_format =
first_run =
first_aired = May 31, 1993
last_aired = September 29, 1995
preceded_by =
followed_by =
related = Trivial Pursuit (UK version)
website =
production_website =
imdb_id =
tv_com_id =

Trivial Pursuit is a game show loosely based on the board game of the same name. A syndicated version of the show entitled "" launched in fall of 2008 and is hosted by Christopher Knight. Its format differs from the format below.

Format

The show is played in two halves. The first half is an interactive game show while the other is a traditional game show.

The Interactive Game

Nine players (originally twelve) compete for three spots in the second half of the show.

Round One

Five questions with four multiple-choice answers are asked by the host. The players have 10 seconds to answer by pressing a number from 1-4 on a keypad in front of them. They score points based on how fast they answer the question correctly, with a maximum of 1,000 points available. After five questions, the six players with the highest scores play round two and the other players are eliminated.

Round Two

This round is played in the same way as round one, except the three highest scoring players win a special prize & a chance to play "Trivial Pursuit" in the next half hour show.

The Classic Game

The Main Game

As in the board game, three contestants raced to complete their game pie first by answering questions from categories that match the colored wedge. Unlike the board game, however, it took two questions to complete a wedge, and no board or die was used. Red replaced the brown-colored wedge.

In the first three rounds, each player received two turns consisting of a category choice followed by a question posed by host Martindale. A correct answer lit up a wedge but an incorrect answer gave the two opponents a chance to steal the wedge.

Round One

In the first round, the six traditional Trivial Pursuit categories were used.

Round 2 included three special questions known as "Bonus Questions". When chosen, the player who answered the question correctly had an opportunity to answer a follow-up question which awarded the player $100 and another half-wedge in the color of their choice.

Round Three

Round three again used the traditional basic categories as in Round 1, but the round was played in a different manner. The round started with a toss-up question, and the first player to buzz-in & answer correctly controled the round. The player in control kept choosing categories & answering questions until he/she either filled his or her pie (thereby winning the game), or missed a question, at which point the other two players could steal control & the wedge. If nobody answered the question another toss-up was played. The first player to completely light up the entire pie (or the player with the most lit wedges when time ran out) won the game, $500, an additional prize, and played the bonus round.

The Trivial Pursuit Challenge Round

The winning player had 45 seconds to answer six questions (again from the six basic categories) in order to fill up a pie shown on a monitor. Each correct answer lit a color in the pie. A wrong answer automatically moved to the next category. After the first six questions the player went back to questions from the categories missed. The player could pass and can come back to that wedge if time permitted. The winning player received $100 for each color lit and if they could light up all six colors before the 45 seconds expires, that player won $1,000 and a grand prize (usually a trip).

Trivia

* The show premiered a series of "interactive" games called playbreaks, all produced by Martindale and his associates. Originally, 10 "Trivial Pursuit" playbreaks were interspersed throughout FAM's game show block (three of them were during "Trivial Pursuit: Interactive Game.") A question would be shown on the screen, along with four choices, and the answer would be revealed 10 seconds later.
* There were no playbreaks in the original version of "Trivial Pursuit", possibly because Martindale didn't want viewers to be distracted from the game. Home viewers were given an opportunity to call a special 1-900 # ($4.95 per call) and play a "TP: Interactive Game" typed, using a slightly modified scoring system, and players answer by using their touch-tone telephone. The winner of each "playbreak" wins a prize and compete on Friday in a playoff game against the other winners for a vacation. The ad would last about 100 seconds, as seen by an on-screen clock (even though the clock read ":99" as it faded in).
* Other interactives games premiered on the network, one was another board game adaptation "Boggle", another was the list-oriented "Shuffle", and one more was "Jumble", a newspaper game adaptation. The Trivial Pursuit interactive version was cancelled to make way for Boggle & Shuffle, only to return months later.
* The show spawned a board game of the show itself like Scrabble did; with some questions from the show. The box cover features Wink and a shot from the aforementioned unsold syndicated version's pilot.
* If there was extra time at the end of the show, an audience member would be called onstage and given the opportunity to answer five multiple-choice questions (much like the "Interactive" portion of the show) at $20 apiece, for a maximum payoff of $100.
* The Family Channel has never had ratings as spectacularly high as it did while "Trivial Pursuit" aired. Fact|date=August 2008

UK Version

ee also

*Trivial Pursuit
*Board game
*Game show

External links

* [http://70.85.192.194/~loogsla/gameshow/rules/pursuit.shtml The Trivial Pursuit Rules Page]
* [http://www.tpamericaplays.com Trivial Pursuit America Plays]