Battlestars (game Show)
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''Battlestars'' is an American
game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...
that aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
during the 1980s. The program's concept was developed and produced by
Merrill Heatter Merrill Gabriel Heatter (December 16, 1925 – October 8, 2017) was an American television producer and writer. He was best known for his collaboration with writer Bob Quigley for over 20 years and the formation of their production company Heatt ...
, featuring a six-celebrity panel. The object of the game is to "capture" the celebrities by lighting up numbers positioned around triangle shapes, inside of which sat each panelist. Similar to ''
Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'', later stylized as ''H2: Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a ...
'', which Heatter also co-created and produced, the celebrities are asked questions by the host, and the contestants judge the truth of their answers in order to light up the numbers. The show premiered on October 26, 1981, with
Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian and American game show host and television personality. He was best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 seasons ...
hosting and
Rod Roddy Robert Ray "Rod" Roddy (September 28, 1937 – October 27, 2003) was an American radio and television announcer. He was primarily known for his role as an offstage announcer on game shows. Among the shows that Roddy announced are the CBS game sho ...
serving as the announcer. This marked Heatter's first solo production since his former production partner, Bob Quigley, retired and their company was dissolved. The program ran until April 23, 1982. Less than a year after its cancellation, NBC commissioned another edition of ''Battlestars'' as a replacement for the cancelled '' Just Men!''. ''The New Battlestars'' premiered on April 4, 1983, but ultimately met the same fate as its predecessor and was cancelled after thirteen weeks with the final episode airing on July 1, 1983.


Main game

The six celebrities sat within two rows of triangular frames, oriented so that the lower edge of the top row became the upper edge of the bottom one. The numbers from 1 to 10 appeared at the corners of the frames. Two contestants competed, typically a returning champion and a challenger. To begin the game, the champion pushed a plunger to stop a flashing randomizer and highlight one number associated with a corner of a celebrity's triangle. If the number corresponded to one or more celebrities who could be captured on that turn, the contestant had to choose one of them; otherwise, he/she chose any un-captured celebrity marked by that number. The host asked a question and two answers appeared on a screen visible to the celebrity but hidden from the contestant. The celebrity chose the answer he or she believed to be correct. The contestant retained control by correctly agreeing or disagreeing with the response; otherwise, the turn ended and the opponent played. The celebrity was "captured" once all three numbers around their triangle were lit with the background for that position changing to blue for the champion and red for the challenger. Multiple captures on a single turn were possible. Each number remained lit after it was hit by the randomizer, unless it was needed to complete a capture and the contestant incorrectly agreed/disagreed. In this case, a new question was asked to the same celebrity and the opponent had a chance to capture. The first contestant to capture any three celebrities won the game and advanced to the bonus round. Any contestant who captured all six celebrities in a single game won a bonus (originally a prize, later $1,000 cash). Since the champion played first, it was possible for the challenger to lose without ever taking a turn, in which case he/she returned to play the next game. Champions remained on the show until they were defeated or had played the bonus round 20 times (it was reduced to five in 1983). The rules were changed slightly in 1983. All of the numbers were initially lit and had to be put out in order to capture celebrities. The first question of a contestant's turn used the randomizer, but a correct answer allowed him/her to choose the number at stake for the next question. The two answers for each question were displayed on-screen for the home viewers' benefit, but were still not shown to the contestant.


Bonus game


1981–1982: Battlestars Two/Picture Game

A photograph of a celebrity was hidden behind a grid of 20 squares, with the corners left blank. The remaining squares were numbered from 1 to 16, each corresponding to a different card in a stack. The champion selected three cards, and the host inserted them into an electronic reader to determine which squares they represented. Those three squares were revealed, and the champion was allowed to reveal one more square of his/her choice and then offer one guess at the subject for $5,000. During a week of Christmas shows in December 1981, the top prize was doubled to $10,000. If the champion could not identify the subject after the four squares were revealed, he/she would draw up to three more cards. From this point forward, the six celebrities were also allowed to offer guesses; if the champion was unable to identify the subject by his/her self, he/she could also win the round by having a celebrity identify the person. Doing so after the first draw won the champion $3,000, while the second was worth $2,000 and the third $1,000. If the subject still had not been identified after this, the champion would select another square and the prize was reduced to $500. If still unsuccessful, the champion was allowed to select one last square and the prize was reduced to $250 if the subject was identified. During the first few weeks of the show's run, the champion chose a square to reveal before drawing the three initial cards. If the card for that square was chosen during the round, he/she was allowed to draw again. The free choice was later moved to occur after the three draws in order to save time.


1983: The Main Event

The champion selected any three of the celebrities he/she had captured during the game to participate in this round, and decided the order in which they would play. Each celebrity in turn was asked one question with three answer options, which were displayed to both him/her and the champion. In order to win a question, the champion had to either agree with a correct answer given by the celebrity, or disagree with a wrong answer and then give the correct one from the remaining two choices. If the champion won all three questions, he/she won the Battlestars Bonanza, a jackpot containing $5,000 cash and a collection of prizes that grew in value for every game in which it was not won. Otherwise, the contestant received $500 for each correct decision. The typical starting total value of the Bonanza was usually over $10,000.


Broadcast history

NBC scheduled the first version of ''Battlestars'' at 11:30 a.m./10:30 Central, replacing ''
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'' (which had ended its run in October 1981) and switching places with '' Password Plus''. However, it failed to find ratings against the second half of CBS's ''
The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...
''. NBC decided not to renew ''Battlestars'' after two thirteen-week cycles of episodes and removed both it and '' Blockbusters'' from its lineup to accommodate another of its struggling daytime series, the soap opera ''
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
'', which the network moved to the 11:00 hour. A little less than a year after its cancellation, the now-''New Battlestars'' premiered in NBC's 12pm Eastern/11am Central time slot and replaced the cancelled '' Just Men!'' there. Like many shows before it, ''The New Battlestars'' found ratings trouble due to the popularity of ABC's ''
Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. Two families compete on each episode to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...
'', CBS's ''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
'', and preemptions for newscasts and other programming on various affiliates. Thus, NBC did not renew ''The New Battlestars'' when its thirteen-week contract expired and replaced the series with '' The Facts of Life'' reruns. NBC did not try another game show in the slot until the short-lived '' Go'' premiered later in the year and did not find a hit show until '' Super Password'' premiered in 1984 and stayed on the air until 1989.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battlestars (Game Show) NBC game shows 1980s American game shows 1981 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings 1983 American television series debuts 1983 American television series endings Television series by Heatter-Quigley Productions American television series revived after cancellation American English-language television shows Television shows presented by Alex Trebek