"One half hour from now, you'll know enough about..."
"...the game shows of Peter Tomarken..." "...and the website of the Game Show Temple..."
"...to win $10,000 in cash...if you were a contestant on..."

"And now, here's the host of Hit Man..."

PETER TOMARKEN!

HOST: Peter Tomarken
ANNOUNCER: Rod Roddy
AIRDATES: January 3rd, 1983 - April 1st, 1983
PACKAGER: Jay Wolpert Enterprises

Hit Man was the show that introduced us to game show legend, Peter Tomarken. We all know him better of hosting Press Your Luck, which he started hosting in September of the same year. Before that, he hosted this show: Hit Man. Only a 13-week show, but a fun game nonetheless. Here was the layout:

ROUND 1

Three new challengers competed. They, along with the previous day's champion offstage, would watch a short video clip of the day's first subject. . Tomarken would ask general knowledge questions referring to the subject towards the 3 challengers, and the one to buzz-inwith a correct answer would move their "answer man" onestep up. If, however an incorrect answer was given, they'd sit outthe next question. 5 answers would be required for their "answer man" to reach the finish line. The first 2 challengers that made it to the finish linewould move on to meet the champion, as the one who didn't make it was eliminated. The first to reach the finish line would win $300, as the second won $200.

ROUND 2

The day's next topic was shownin another short clip to the two challengers and the champion. Then, the champion receives 7 "hit men," while the first challenger that reached the finish line in the previous round got 4, and the other challenger got 3. The winning challengergot to select whether to go first or second, and Tomarken would ask general knowledge questions on the second subject only towards the two players challenging. The one to buzz-in with the right answer eliminatedone of their opponent's "hit men," and if the challenger that buzzed in lost one of their "hit men," control passed to the other challenger. If the champ could eliminate all 7 of the challenger's "hit men," they'd retain their championship. Should a challenger eliminate the 7 champion's "hit men," the championship is theirs.

THE TRIPLE CROWN

The Triple Crown, according to Classic Game Shows, could go down in game show history as one of the most innovative endgames. The champion would now have to remember all of the day's topics, as that is the key to win this game. There were 8 columns, each with a different number of circles, ranging from 1 to 5 circles. The champ is given 60seconds to fill up columns with "Money Men." While looking away from the board, they'd choose a column, and Tomarken would give a general knowledge question from any of the day's topics, and they'd keep goingon a column until it was filled, or if the contestant chose to pass or miss the question, which would result in choosing another column, forfeiting the chosen column from further game play. If one column was filled before time expired, the champ would win $1,000. Two filled columns won $2,000. If 3 columnswere filled before time expired, the champ would win $10,000. Regardless of winning or losing, the champ would return the next day to play again..

FACTS:
-This is where Peter Tomarken and Rod Roddy teammed up, as they later would on Press Your Luck.
-Marc Summers, who hosted Double Dare on Nickelodeon, was a writer of Hit Man.
-Game show announcer, Randy West was on the finale. Though he didn't win the $10,000, he did his best. His endgame try is on the GST Countdown. West would also be a contestant on All Star Blitz, Face the Music, Press Your Luck, and then replace Johnny Gilbert in the announcing position of Supermarket Sweep.
-A very memorable part of the Hit Man finale, when Rod Roddy said, "If you want to be a contestant on Hit Man, forget it!"
-At Classic Game Shows, there is a Hit Man photo gallery, with screenshots from the show, and also promos and Peter with the Hit Man wallgrabs. Everyone is invited there to see those fabulous pictures.
-Unfortunately, like all Jay Wolpert Productions game shows, this one is not applicable for re-running, which surprises me in most of Jay Wolpert shows' situations, though this one had its reasons. The clip segments shown prior to each round were only licensed to show once. The only way to see this short-lived game show is through the trading circuit.

This video, posted by estestim, is the innovative intro of Hit Man
 
MY RATING:
I must admit that Hit Man was very short-lived, but a very probable show to help you become experts on two subjects, giving you the answers before you got to the questions. Peter Tomarken did well for his first hosting show, though being best-known for Press Your Luck, which debuted in September 1983, only 5 months after the cancellation of Hit Man. There was great sense of humor in some parts of every story, and it seemed very technical and all. Rod Roddy, though not heard much like all announcers usually (beside The Price is Right, naturally), did pretty well here, even when he said, "If you would like to be a contestant on Hit Man, FORGET IT!" That is a way to end the series, as well as join Peter for PYL. To this day, I still miss Peter and Rod.
In all honesty, I think Hit Man deserved a better chance than what it got. And, I wish the clips were licensed for re-runs, so maybe we could see it futurely on USA, GSN, or anywhere else to help remember the memory of Rod Roddy and Peter Tomarken.
 
5 stars
 
Click HERE to return to the rulesheet database