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''Pick a Box'' was an Australian
game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
s that first aired on radio in 1948 until the early 1960s; subsequently, the concept transferred to TV and was broadcast from 1957 and 1971. The program was hosted by the husband and wife duo Bob and Dolly Dyer


History


Radio program

Beginning initially as a radio program in 1948, it was heard Australia-wide on was then the
Macquarie Broadcasting Service Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company Nine Entertainment Co. and headquartered in North Sydney, New South Wales, the company operates radio stations nationally in the capital citi ...
(now Nine Entertainment Co.). It was originally produced in Sydney, New South Wales at studio 2GB. The program successfully made the move to
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...
, debuting at on Saturday 2 March 1957, less than six months after the new medium had been launched in Australia. Nevertheless, the program continued to be heard on radio for some years.


Television version

The TV version in addition to the radio version was filmed in the studios of Sydney's ATN-7 and was broadcast on ATN-7 and
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...
's
GTV-9 GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands. History GTV-9 was amongst the first television stations to begin regular ...
, which were initially affiliated. This changed, however, when Frank Packer, owner of TCN-9, bought a controlling share in GTV-9 and formed the National Television Network, which later became the
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...
. As a result, in 1963 ATN-7 and HSV-7 came together to form the Australian Television Network, now known as the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...
. The affiliation changes meant that ''Pick a Box'' became part of the newly formed
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...
and its Melbourne broadcast moved from GTV-9 to HSV-7. The program was initially broadcast on Saturday nights and sponsored by the
Colgate-Palmolive Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health ca ...
Company of Australia. Three years later, on 4 July 1960, the show was moved to Monday nights at and was sponsored by BP.


Presenters

Bob Dyer, who produced and packaged the show for the Seven Network, decided in 1969 that it was time to start thinking about ending the show. After approximately 900 episodes, ''Pick a Box'' broadcast its final episode on 28 June 1971. As they owned the program, the Dyers then reviewed most of the archived episodes – kept a few as souvenirs and discarded most of them. The couple then retired to
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
where Bob pursued his other great love,
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...
. In 1971 the show was still the seventh most popular in the country.


Format

The format for each episode consisted of two contestants participating in a multi-question trivia quiz. The contestant who correctly answered a set number of questions, was invited to choose from one of 30 boxes. Without disclosing the box's contents (which could be either valuable or a booby prize), Dyer would offer the contestant a cash payment in lieu of the prize. Here appears one of the program's catch phrases, "The money or the box?" To increase the risk/suspense, he would sometimes offer increasing amounts of cash to contestants who chose the box. After receiving the cash or prize, contestants had the option of leaving the show undefeated, or returning to play for more prizes, at the risk of losing those already won. This format remained largely unchanged throughout its entire run.


Famous contestants

The first contestant to make a name for himself was Ken Eccleston who gained fame over 10 weeks in 1958 when he achieved what was then the longest win on the program. After claiming the official title of "Mr Pick a Box" during a closely fought contest with Melbourne entrant George Morris, Eccleston retired from the game with a total of AU£3873/5/-, or AU$7746.50. ($121,477.99 in 2018 currency, adjusted for inflation) Two other famous contestants were Frank Partridge, the last Australian to be awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, and George Black, who went on to become a question writer for the show. However, by far the program's most successful contestant was Barry Jones, who won a total of 208 episodes spanning eight years between 1960 and 1967, winning over A$58,000. He was known for taking issue with Dyer about certain expected answers, most famously in response to a question about "the first British Governor-General of India", where he pointed out that Warren Hastings was technically only the Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal Presidency. Jones' appearances on Pick a Box lasted from 1960 to 1968. Jones later became a member of the
Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, repres ...
and then of the Federal Parliament, a minister in the Hawke government and president of the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms ...
. He was also chosen as an
Australian Living Treasure National Living Treasure is a status created and occasionally updated by the National Trust of Australia's New South Wales branch, awarded to up to 100 living people. Recipients were selected by popular vote for having made outstanding contributi ...
. ''Pick a Box'' was added to the
National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...
's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2010. An excerpt of Episode 170, featuring Barry Jones, has been published online. The show's later remake, ''Ford Superquiz'', featured Hutton "Red" Gibson as a contestant. Gibson, who had already won thousands of dollars as a Grand Champion on the game show ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given ge ...
'' in his native United States, had a prolonged run of several weeks as champion on ''Superquiz''.


Episode status

Out of the 900+ episodes made, 73 are stored at the
National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...
, including the final episode, according to a search of the archive's website.


Superquiz

*''Ford Superquiz'' was a remake of the show hosted by Bert Newton and his wife Patti Newton and produced by the Reg Grundy organisation for the
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...
. It began in 1981 and ran for two seasons with the number of boxes reduced to 20. It was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company of Australia. *''Superquiz'' was a remake of the show in 1989 hosted by Mike Walsh and Deborah Hutton on
Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
. The number of boxes was further reduced to 12 in this version. *''Super Quiz'' is a series of games and books as well as a syndicated quiz column and online quiz game created by Ken Fisher.


See also

* '' It Pays to Be Funny'', Bob Dyer's other television game show, ran from 26 February 1957 to around November of the same year *
List of Australian game shows The following is a list of game shows in Australia. Current shows Future shows Past shows Longest serving Australian game show hosts See also * List of Australian television series References {{reflist External links A Brief History ...
*
List of Australian television series Future shows Seven * '' The 1% Club'' (Seven Network game show 2023–) * '' Apartment Rules'' (Seven Network reality 2023–) * ''Animals Aboard with Dr Harry'' (Seven Network reality 2023–) * ''Armchair Experts'' (Seven Network sport ...


References


External links

*
''Pick a Box''
at memorabletv.com
'Pick A Box'
o
australianscreen online
{{David Cahill 1940s Australian game shows 1950s Australian game shows 1960s Australian game shows 1970s Australian game shows Seven Network original programming Television shows set in New South Wales 1957 Australian television series debuts 1971 Australian television series endings Black-and-white Australian television shows English-language television shows