"...as one of these 3 contestants win the chance to drive home..."
"...in this brand-new Pontiac *model name* in just a..."
"And now, here's the star of our show..."
MONTY HALL!
Split Second was a lightning fast show that involved buzzing in at anytime. This was a one-year revival from the original Split Second with Tom Kennedy, complete rulesheet at Game Show Galaxy. Three contestants competed, one a returning champion. Hall would read a question
that would involve 3 choices
in relation to the question. A contestant can buzz-in
at anytime when the answers are revealed (a lockout to have to answer last if they buzzed during the question), and they give an answer and tell how they're in relation to the question. If all contestants were correct, they would score $10 apiece. Two contestants who answered correctly won $25
apiece, but one person with a right answer won $50. This would continue numerous times until a signal sounded. In round 2, stakes were doubled meaning correct answers for all 3 players was $20 apiece, 2 correct answering-contenders won $50 apiece, and a single correct-answer
contestant won $100. At the end of this round, the players moved on to the Countdown Round, where it determined the champion of the game. In the Countdown
Round, a player can answer until they missed or completed the question. First place player had to answer 4 answers correctly to win, second place
player needed 5, and the last place finisher needed 6. Every correct answer took their number down by 1, and the first player to hit 0
won the game. Players who didn't win kept the money they accumulated in the main game as the champion went to play for a car.
CAR ROUND:
The car round went through 2 different formats. The first format, you were looking at 5 screens, 4 of which had $1,000, as the other said CAR on the back. The idea was to turn one screen around, hoping it's the CAR screen. If it's not, the contestant would add the $1,000 to their winnings and come back on the next show with the CAR moved to a different screen and the chosen screen(s) out of play, increasing odds of finding the CAR. If you found the car screen, you'd retire.
The second format had the 5 screens, but this time, 3 CARS
were behind 5 of the screens. If you found all 3 of them, you'd win the car and retire. If not, you'd
decide to take the bribe of a fur coat or a vacation (depending on what was said prior to the car game) and $1,000 (added on for each subsequent day) and retire, or return
to play the next day. If you returned to the car game on the 4th day, 4 of the screens contained the CAR and one would have the fur coat/vacation. If you turned 3 CARs around, you'd win the car. If not, same options as above.
If you won 5 days in a row, you automatically won the car.
FACTS:
-This was a one-year revival from the first 1972 - 1975 version hosted by Tom Kennedy, though it was always produced by Stefan Hatos/Monty Hall Productions.
-Monty Hall acted as a judge himself as host, accepting answers if they were mispronounced or close enough to a right answer, unlike the 70s version when Bob Synes gave in a strict rule that it HAD to be said correctly.
-After returning from commercial breaks, the show would test your knowledge by giving you a question
and time you 5 seconds to think about it, and then showing the correct
answer when time's up. They would usually show 3 questions.
-Monty Hall is better known to be the host of Let's Make a Deal.
-Announcer Sandy Hoyt was a veteran DJ of Toronto. Hoyt died of a brain tumor in 2002.
-The original Split Second with Tom Kennedy that aired on ABC is said to have been destroyed due to compliance and practices back then, though only two of those shows still survive to this day and can be found in the trading circuit, and one of those 2 episodes is the 1975 season finale. But Hall's version is still known to exist, as it re-aired on The Family Channel.
-Split Second was the second best game show of Hatos/Hall Productions behind its more popular show, Let's Make a Deal, which lasted more than 2 decades. Kennedy's version lasted 3 years and 3 months on ABC, when Hall's lasted only roughly a year. Only a few stations picked up Hall's Split Second, even though it aired in New York following Jeopardy!.
-Stefan Hatos passed away of a heart condition in 1999, 12 years later after Split Second was cancelled. When Monty Hall appeared on the Today Show on its Game Show Legends week talking about Let's Make a Deal, Monty talked about how he and Hatos had lunch together and discussed thinking of Let's Make a Deal. That basically explains how Hatos/Hall Productions got started with its long run before disbanding after Split Second's cancellation.
-This version of Split Second was distributed to the United States by Viacom Enterprises, not to be confused with Viacom associated with Nickelodeon with the same name. Viacom Enterprises disbanded on December 31st, 2005 and is now CBS Distribution.
MY REVIEW:
It was definitely a show for the record books! Albeit Monty Hall is more known for making deals on Let's Make a Deal, he did very well here, though handing the reins to Tom Kennedy from 1972 - 1975. This show was doused after one year because of cheap prizes, despite the fact it was taped in Toronto, Ontario Canada. Monty was great here, and you gotta admit that Split Second is a lot of fun.
5 stars
Click HERE to return to the rulesheet database