- A 'how low can you go'-style game in the tradition of The Gong Show, this program pitted two contestants against each other in a test of wits. A question would be asked of a pair of celebrities, one of whom would give a correct answer, then other giving an incorrect one. The contestant (who had a loved one standing with him in the studio) would then have to choose which one was telling the truth. If correct, he would receive a point, while his opponent's love one would receive some form of punishment. If incorrect, however, his own loved one would be punished while his opponent would receive the point. The winner of this match would go on to the bonus round, where their bonus prize would be decided by which hole the program's pet rat would crawl down first.—Jean-Marc Rocher <rocher@fiberbit.net>
- Two couples competed to win cheap junk prizes and save their loved ones from slapstick "torture," which consisted of the show "taking a cheap shot at" them of some sort, with the winning couple getting the chance to win real prizes at the end of the show. There were three rounds, each consisting of one question. Two celebrities composed a panel; a seat was reserved for a third, who was always a "no-show" for some mysterious reason. For each round, a question was asked to the panel. One celebrity gave the correct answer, while the other gave a bluff. Each couple was divided, with the female at the contestants's podium, and the male trapped inside "The Punishment Pit." The first answering contestant guessed which celebrity was telling the truth. If she was correct, that couple scored one point and a cheap "prize" (such as an old bee smoker or a burned-out hair dryer), while the other player's loved one was "punished" with a pie in his face, or slime, or some other sloppy substance poured over him. If she was incorrect, her own loved one received his punishment and the opposing couple won the point and the "prize." In the second round, the other couple was given the guess, and the same procedure was followed. The first two rounds were worth one point apiece, and the third round was worth 20 points; this rendered the first two useless from a competitive standpoint.
Whichever contestant had the most points "at the end of three rounds" advanced to the bonus round.A wheel was set up in the studio with twelve numbered spaces, each of which correlated to a numbered envelope on a "prize wall." Each space also had a hole. To determine the prize the couple would win, a large white rat, referred to on the show as "Oscar the Wonder Rodent," was placed on the wheel while it was being spun. The hole Oscar crawled into determined the prize that was won. At this stage in the show, no cheap "booby prizes" were awarded as they were in the main game; the winning couple won standard game show fare such as appliances or trips. In addition, the couple was asked before the wheel was spun to guess the hole they thought Oscar would crawl into; if the rat crawled into that hole, the couple won the grand prize (usually a car) in addition to the prize associated with that space.
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