Combination Lock|Marc Summers Pilot

A very rare pilot of a game show that was to be syndicated in 2007. Even though two station groups wanted the show, the studio couldn't come to a financial arrangement that made everyone happy and unfortunately it never happened. Here is the pilot presentation hosted by my good buddy and executive producer of the show, Marc Summers.

[@Almafeta]

I REALLY like the setup of the endgame. The "big prize" and the "biggest prize" have a skill aspect in there - if you see the answers for the Big Prize and feel like you know them cold, you might go for that over the Biggest Prize, putting more than just a bet on the line. Marc Summers is a treasure.

[@passwordplus]

Wow! I was the Contestants Producer on this show over at Sony Pictures Television. Along with the pilot for The New Jokers Wild! Looking forward to seeing this in its entirety :-) Marc Summers was fantastic hosting this show.

[@AnimatedIdiotGuide]

It’s a shame this show never went forward. It looks so promising!

[@GCBlues45]

Why did not show get picked up. It looks good & perfect to be on tv.

[@sha11235]

@@GCBlues45 It says in Wink's description above.

[@danberger3593]

Terrance is a good guy. This pilot deserved to go farther than it did.

[@reedberry]

Marc is an outstanding host. I was fortunate to be on another game show he emceed, Couch Potatoes. As the credits rolled at the end of the first of my three episodes, I mentioned to Mark that I was hosting a radio show and would like to interview him. He invited me back to the studio (KTLA aka Sunset Bronson) the following week and allowed me to record an interview in his dressing room between shows. He couldn't have been nicer.

[@GameShowMike]

What was Marc Summers like?

[@jeffreyking7033]

Wink’s intro to this, as well as all of the other shows in his “vault”, is by way of a vault door opening to reveal...ANOTHER vault door opening! A vault within a vault... 😆 Interesting temporal juxtapositioning of introductions/opening sequences

[@patrickchaney]

Gotta keep that $185,000 EXTRA safe!

[@mauricesnell5886]

If this show ever comes into fruition, I think it would be a Game Show Network original.

[@nintendonerdsvideos4727]

true but the top prize would have to be reduced by at least 80%

[@thewipsportstalkfan3160]

@@nintendonerdsvideos4727 maybe but nearly 20 years ago they had Russian Roulette which offered a top prize of 100k .

[@jasmannygonzalez4376]

I thank you for posting this full episode of Combination Lock with Marc Summers on KZbin +Wink Martindale and I loved it!

[@JZCRAZY]

It has a good play along factor. I'm finding myself trying to answer each question. I like it!

[@sha11235]

Some of them I got. The one with the 357 I sort of cheated and looked at my keyboard, but I was pretty sure of it anyway.

[@BrandonSugiura]

This is not bad of a gameshow. The questions are interesting and the monetary amounts are good, the only suggesstion is the timer needs a redone. Overall, bring this show back!

[@antonspivack3928]

It does merit another chance. However I felt the $185,000 question was a bit easy.

[@joeybaseball7352]

I love Marc Summers.

[@purplefuku]

OH, WOW! Never thought we’d see the full version of this! 😄

[@DrakeFeatherwing]

Boy, I feel old with that Cingular Wireless logo...

[@LittleRockElevators]

Me too. I was with Sprint at that time.

[@jdcnow]

I used to work at a Walmart old school format department store (before they converted them all to supercenters with a grocery wing). We had a sweet natured woman who ran the Cingular kiosk in our store. Miss Etta, wherever you are, I hope you're doing well. 💖

[@AdamJ617]

IKR. It merged with AT&T in about 2007.

[@LittleRockElevators]

@@jdcnow most of our Walmarts in Little Rock back then had Alltel Wireless kiosks until they added the wireless department in the electronics department.

[@Ryanmo97]

Is Joker’s wild next? I’d love to see that pilot

[@pyramidjeopardydude25]

This show is pretty solid too bad kingworld couldn't make a deal with the networks this was really good Marc did a great job as usual as host

[@sha11235]

Marc's a great guy. I also know about his OCD, which I also have so I feel for him. Glad he has been able to work on it.

[@Scubaguy12]

​@@sha11235I have OCD like Marc

[@TheATrainShow]

I have been waiting for this! I can't wait to see it.

[@BRadfrommalibu74]

That last question was a gimme. The numbers were right in order.

[@jrjgames]

No one would know that unless you knew the right answers. ;)

[@LittleRockElevators]

This pilot was enjoyable to watch. Syndication would've been okay but the time slot would also been a issue. Game Show Network could've been a alternative but who knew back then.

[@ajk]

Chain Reaction was running around that time wasn't it? I could see it being ran in an hour slot with that maybe. The budget would have to be very much reduced though....which may have hurt it given the high stakes of the end game. Not sure if it'd have played the same.

[@LittleRockElevators]

@@ajk yes Chain Reaction was on GSN in 2006. Seeing this show in a hour format would be nice.

[@ajk]

@@LittleRockElevators No I meant, running it alongside it back to back in a one hour slot.

[@MatchGameProductions]

Wink, I really liked this show.

[@darrenbernard8321]

This may have been the first time that I've watched a pilot and swear that this was not scripted. I don't see why this never sold because it easily could have been on GSN at the time and it sounds like they were doing a pilot of The Joker's Wild since emcee Marc Summers stated to "stay tuned for Joker's Wild." If this was scripted, the "actors" did a terrific job with their performances.

[@jrjgames]

Thanks. The show was not scripted. The only thing that was, was the end game. We wanted to show a win. The whole show was played for real. I had people in my industry slam us because the first question went unsolved by both teams. But we were determined to play it straight, because, as you so wisely noted, you can smell a set-up a mile away. Wish it sold too! ;)

[@KevinMeno2008]

"Combination Lock" was to be paired with a revival of "The Joker's Wild", just like sister shows WOF & Jeopardy

[@PriceRight89]

To think we could have had this instead of Crosswords...

[@ShaqC]

Or Temptation...

[@jeffreybennett323]

This stuff is great, thank for posting.

[@gilwood7530]

Are you cutting back on dining out ? NOT HIM ! That made me LOL REMEMBER WHEN WE ALL USED TO BE ABLE TO LAUGH ???

[@bradstout5107]

Thanks for the upload Wink! Hope you're doing well these days, despite the circumstances.

[@henrytube5333]

I hope that you can discover the Snakes and Ladders Pilot that Bradley Walsh hosted!

[@LeotheTiger1234]

It's just like the old DOS computer game! The United Kingdom also tried a pilot for this format, but they didn't sell it over there either.

[@TheSupersilver2011]

Interesting concept. I'd be surprised if anyone picks this up and revives it with a modified remake.

[@georgef551]

Pretty good concept, but again, it suffers greatly from the "Aughts Staleness". (Industrial lighting/set, projection screens with computer graphics as the whole game, flat-panels a little later on.) Only negative, the question values went too high each time, one can win doing nothing until the very end.

[@jrjgames]

It was just a pilot. The presentation was supposed to just be in the office, when then decided to do it on the Wheel stage.

[@ajk]

@@jrjgames I'm guessing that explains Marc's energy, or sorta almost lack of it a little bit? Particularly at the end with the big $185k win? I felt like it was quite subdued, but it'd make sense as to why. Interesting they used the Wheel stage too..would the big screen they played on have been the same one that was/is otherwise used as a backdrop for the contestants there? I would assume so.

[@henrymurphy3365]

@@ajk I agree with you. The reaction for such a huge win seemed rather subdued by everyone except Angel (who kinda reminds me of Adrienne Houghton from The Real). Even Rico looked like 'I ain't getting excited over fake money' lol

[@ronniepeterson6911]

Legandary host Wink Martindale opens the vault for the Answer on Combination Lock as he opens Wink's Vault......Then..

[@CeleTheRef]

This game was one of the rounds of the first season of Chain Reaction in Italy (2007)

[@genegjr]

Marc Summers looks great there

[@DocTrower1980]

Quite possibly the best game show that never was.

[@jrjgames]

Thank you very much.

[@henrytube5333]

Yep, John Could combine this with both break the bank formats.

[@theodorehsu5023]

Of course, Mark got more traction from Food Network with Unwrapped and the "Impossible" series of shows with Robert Irvine: "Dinner Impossible" and the follow-up, "Restaurant Impossible." Since then Mark has done production more than hosting.

[@nextbarker2702]

Marc didn't have to take a "physical challenge" with this show

[@JonesDylan874]

I actually liked this show. Would've been a nice one to pick up.

[@daviatorcustoms3168]

I think this could have been a more successful idea if they had 3 or 4 contestants instead of 2 teams and instead of just taking turns, the players should have to buzz in. The set looked really lazy and weak too. Everything else was great.

[@LittleRockElevators]

Usually when the show sells, they do change part or all of the set. It would've worked back then.

[@Netstryke]

I follow the guy who invented this game! It's great to finally see the pilot!

[@MewtwoStruckBack]

There should be a law that even if the show isn't aired, they still have to get paid somehow if they win in the pilot.

[@jrjgames]

That's the dumbest thing I ever heard! LOL. It's a test show, are you serious?

[@wschmrdr]

They are paid... ...actor's wages, because that is what pilot contestants are.

[@marcpower4167]

Sometimes they still get paid.....just nowhere near the announced prizes.

[@andrewschroy6368]

Is that Lora Cain doing the announcing here?

[@wschmrdr]

It's not a bad show, but it just seems to me like they'd break the budget with that format, assuming they gave questions more difficult than that bonus round slam dunk (understandable, it's a pilot, want to show the win). I was getting a little bored with it after round 3 as well, but more based on the pacing of the delivery than the strict format of the show.

[@ajk]

I felt like the whole "Did they do it" thing from Marc got a little repetitive personally, as far as the delivery/pacing of things went. And as to the Rounds......I think a speed round format coulda been interesting to close. Have the 3 categories as normal, but instead of 3 numbers with each one corresponding to one of the numbers in the combination, have 2 already put in place for the contestants, and then 3 other numbers for them to choose from and attempt to complete it. First team to buzz in and correctly do that, would get the cash value of the code in that round. Then you'd move on to the next one, and the next one and so on until either time ran out if they used a clock, or a signal was heard to indicate the game was over.

[@thewipsportstalkfan3160]

On the prize budget. Especially if the series was like a GSN original or a web series ( possible in todays enviroment) If the show became a thing i would make the main game stakes half and the bonus round 10k with the jackpot beginning at 25k with 1,000 added until won. However the piilot format with these stakes COULD work as a weekly offering as part of ABC Fun and Games during the summer.

[@comedyfan74]

Finally

[@michaeloptv]

Idk what year this was but based on 2020 answers vs...maybe 2007 or so I’m just striking out 😐

[@sha11235]

2007 as it says in the description. Maybe you don't have enough smarts. I got some of the stuff right.

[@christophercotton9048]

4:54 Oh be now Angel 😇!

[@jamesgibson5818]

This show would’ve been a hit if it had been picked up simply because Marc summers was host

[@peanut112501]

I don't understand how the main prize was $185,000 for the pilot episode and goes back down to $100,000 for the next episode. I honestly doubt that those people actually won.

[@jrjgames]

It's a pilot.

[@LittleRockElevators]

@@jrjgames a great pilot on top of that. I wonder if it did made it to series, would the show be on daily or weekly like primetime?

[@ajk]

Marc explains if you had paid attention, that it was a rolling jackpot. Would start at $100,000 and go up $5,000 each day till won. Nothing more to it than that.

[@gameshowgospel]

@@LittleRockElevators It was meant to be a daily show.

[@LittleRockElevators]

@@gameshowgospel cool.

[@digiblader1]

$3/gallon gas? Boy.. the economy's bad right now when gas is about 1/2 to 2/3rds that right now--13 years later.

[@rodney1279TheFlip]

Great game but a tough game show. I get it why it did not pick up. Only 4/10 Correct answers in the main game.

[@MrRayKoma]

If $5000 Is Deposited Each Day, This Episode Is #18, Not The First Episode, Since The First Episode Started On $100k

[@WinkMartindaleGames]

It's a pilot