Eye Guess

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Eye Guess
Format	Game Show
Created by	Bob Stewart
Presented by	Bill Cullen
Narrated by	Don Pardo (1966-1967) Jack Clark (1967-1969)
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	3
Production
Running time	30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	January 3, 1966 – September 26, 1969

Eye Guess was a television game show that ran from January 3, 1966 to September 26, 1969 on NBC in which two contestants tried to answer questions by remembering the answers hidden on a board (similar to Concentration), with the winner playing for various prizes including a new car.

This was the first game show by Bob Stewart Productions. Stewart, a former producer for Goodson-Todman Productions, created this series and packaged it with Filmways. Bill Cullen was the host, and he would work with Stewart on numerous shows through 1980.

Don Pardo announced for the first year, after which Jack Clark replaced him for the rest of the run.

The show used the Al Hirt tune "Sugar Lips" as its theme song.

Main game

Two contestants faced a nine-space game board, divided into three rows of three boxes, on which eight answers were revealed on the outer boxes for only six to nine seconds, depending on the length and/or complexity of the group of answers, and then hidden from view (the center space, which had the "Eye Guess" logo on it, remained blank). Players had to remember the location of the answers and match them by number to the questions asked by the host. A contestant choosing the correct response earned points and a bonus question. If the bonus question was missed, that contestant's turn ended and the opponent was asked the next question.

A contestant could call for the "Eye Guess" space if they thought that the correct answer was not among the eight revealed choices. In such instances, the answer would be revealed only if it was correct for that question. Otherwise, a blank card would be revealed.

Questions in each round always covered a wide range of topics and were assembled in such a way that choosing an incorrect number for a question could yield some very funny results, which was the main appeal on this otherwise simple show.

Each game consisted of two rounds, with correct answers worth 10 points on the first round and 20 on the second. Although there were nine different answers per round, there were only eight questions; this meant that one of the nine answers was always incorrect (and never placed behind the "Eye Guess" space). Five consecutive correct answers won that player a bonus prize, usually a trip.

The first player to reach 100 points won the game and earned the right to play a bonus round. Later, the producers changed the rules, awarding a prize for each correct answer, with seven as the winning score.

There were no returning champions. Each game featured two new contestants.

Bonus round

Format #1: Celebrity Spouses

The first bonus round was played for the first two weeks of the show's run (January 3 to 14, 1966). In it, the player was shown eight pairs of celebrities (a man and woman). Cullen would read a name, and the player would be required to locate that celebrity's spouse on the board.

Each correct answer awarded the player $25, and a new car was awarded if the board was cleared.

Format #2: Bonus Board

The second bonus round was the longest-lasting, being used from January 17, 1966 to August 30, 1968 plus all four editions of the show's home game.^[1] In it, the player called out numbers on a new board which concealed seven prizes and a "Stop!" card.

If the contestant revealed the "Stop!" card, he or she kept all prizes revealed up to that point and the game ended. However, if the "Stop!" card was revealed on the first selection, the contestant was allowed to choose another number as a consolation prize.

Revealing all seven prizes without finding the "Stop!" card won the car, which was always placed behind the "Eye Guess" space and revealed regardless of the outcome (but last if the contestant won all seven prizes).

Changes

Initially, prizes consisted of cash up to $100 or merchandise. By November 8, 1967 all prizes became merchandise.

At some point after November 8, 1967 a new prize called "Jack's Pot" (named after announcer Jack Clark) was introduced; it consisted of a cash prize that was awarded only if it was revealed on the first selection. If this did not happen, its location was revealed right away and the value was increased (as a progressive jackpot) until claimed, after which it reverted to its starting value.

Format #3: Risk Board

The third bonus round was used for the entire final year of the show's run (September 2, 1968 to September 26, 1969) and used only six of the nine spaces - the top and bottom rows concealed five "Go" cards and the "Stop!" card. The three spaces in the middle row were labeled "The", "Risk", and "Board" (the center space holding the car as it had since the beginning of the run).

Prizes of increasing value were offered after each "Go" card was found, and the contestant could stop at any point. If all five "Go" cards were revealed without finding the "Stop!" card, the contestant won the car.

Notable moments

Main game

• As mentioned above, picking a wrong answer to a question in the main game tended to give a hilarious result. One episode had host Cullen asking "Why did the people elect President Johnson in 1964?" The contestant in control picked a number, behind which was the answer of "To take away the garbage". After the audience erupted into hysterical laughter, Cullen quipped "Yeah, that sounds like LBJ".

Bonus Board

• Cullen would occasionally let the contestant who lost the main game pick a prize off the Bonus Board if the winner hit the "Stop!" card with two or more prizes left unrevealed. On one occasion, he also told announcer Jack Clark to take a number, although jokingly.
• On another occasion, the car's prize card was mistakenly placed in the slot marked "7" (directly below the "Eye Guess" space); unaware of this, the contestant called out number 7 and was as surprised as everyone else – including Cullen – when the car was revealed. Rather than restarting the Bonus Round and editing the tape (which may have preserved the episode for posterity), the episode aired with this mistake and Cullen awarded the contestant every prize on the Board, including the car.

Risk Board

• On the show's finale (September 29, 1969), Cullen encouraged the final winner to keep picking numbers off the Risk Board. After the car was won, Cullen showed that the Risk Board held nothing but "Go" cards – he himself had been holding the "Stop!" card.

Others

• The week of October 17-21, 1966 was a special "celebrity week" where two celebrities played for the duration of the show.^[2]
  • Monday: Joan Fontaine and Darren McGavin
  • Tuesday: Betsy Palmer and Barry Nelson
  • Wednesday: Julia Meade and Mel Brooks
  • Thursday: Marty Allen and Steve Rossi
  • Friday: Bill and Ann Cullen; Jack Clark hosted
• All contestants who played on Eye Guess received the show's home game, which Cullen plugged by showing the audience a Password home game.^[3]
• Toward the end of the show's run, contestants who both missed four consecutive questions in the main game each received a series of at-home memory-improvement books; this makes Eye Guess possibly one of the first shows to call its contestants out for being clueless.

Episode status

The series is believed to be destroyed due to network practices of the era. The November 8, 1967 episode (in color) and a half-episode from the final season (a monochrome kinescope) exist in the hands of collectors. Game Show Network has aired the color episode in the past.

References

External links

• Game Show Utopia: Eye Guess