High Rollers - Carol vs. John (1986 Pilot Episode)

[@JL-bv4wg]

I loved this one Wink Martindale did a great job on this game. I remember watching this game show.

[@drewski1535]

I remember that big number board when I was kid this show is still awesome even in my adult years now

[@kristindell267]

This version deserved a longer run than it did!

[@mitchellries256]

Kristin Dell Yeah. So did the original version with Alex Trebek (along with every other game show replaced by that stupid David Letterman show that didn't even last more than 90 episodes).

[@MyGuyJustinH]

I agree

[@brich2929]

I liked the Trebek version better

[@friedchickenicedtea]

Blame Merv Griffin. WOF and Jeopardy! we're becoming juggernauts.

[@wecantfightgravity]

Only had it removed the car mini-games which killed time for the main rounds and bonus rounds, this version would have lasted longer than the first two incarnations combined.

[@tannerrichards8287]

I hope this show comes back, I think it would be perfect for a night time show

[@aaronbruceladner1983]

My Favorite Wink Martindale Game Shows are TIC TAC DOUGH, HIGH ROLLERS, and TRIVIAL PURSUIT

[@candicerobinson5147]

Absolutely loved high rollers and trivial pursuit!!

[@binhkhoiluuuc1718]

And Gambit, don't forget.

[@mauricesnell5886]

How about "Debt"?

[@howardcobb4992]

My favorate wink martindale game show is GAMBIT That aired on cbs.

[@aaronbruceladner1983]

​@@howardcobb4992 It Came Back Later On, as LAS VEGAS GAMBIT on NBC

[@chuckers40]

A "High Rollers" revival would work for ABC's Summer fun of Games. The only tweak would be the Big numbers. Instead of $10,000, it would be $25,000 or $50,000 in cash

[@mitchellries256]

Charles allen jr Yeah. That show along with Hollywood Squares, Tattletales and Password Plus should be brought back next.

[@PKMNwww411_MkII]

Make that $100,000 'cause it's called High Rollers after all.

[@MewtwoStruckBack]

If the revamp of Press Your Luck can give like $200k-400k away an episode, they can put a quarter million on Big Numbers.

[@ricknibert6417]

Who owns the rights, MGM?

[@juan833blue]

@@PKMNwww411_MkII $100,000 for a Big Numbers win or if they lose they still earn $1,000 for each number knocked off.

[@paullarue2010]

I remember this game show, was on KHJ (KCAL) 9.

[@BenJabituya]

I remember watching this on the USA Network.

[@nextbarker2702]

I'm surprised Jack Campion didn't appear in this pilot

[@OGNoNameNobody]

Quite the pilot episode. Very close to how the release version went.

[@bryanloveseighties]

They ought to have a High Rollers channel on Pluto TV. That way I can go through all the episodes of the Wink Martindale version and see which ones had a contestant win and play a mini-game.

[@plushbatfan]

The flashing sequence pattern goes in this order (sort of Milli’s Pattern Power from Team Umizoomi): 4-7-2-9-3-5-1-8-6.

[@JonesDylan874]

Where they got the opening from for the DOS game.

[@drewski1535]

The theme song is still my jam

[@motee2802]

Absolutely!! I have the theme song in my iPod. Now if only I can get some of the music cues from the show too.

[@kenyattasimpson8468]

This pilot the way they filmed it should have been when the 1987 version came back

[@markjones1184]

Liked how the swung table for bonus

[@RJSchex]

For the second round, the colors of the numbers were shifted four places (i.e., purple was moved from 4 to 8).

[@mattcrowley8993]

I would have loved for Alex Trebek to come back to this, if he was aware of it. (Nothing against Wink Martindale, who did good hosting this)

[@therainmakerinsider]

I believe Trebek losing High Rollers was a blessing in disguise.

[@alextorres9832]

Thanks Dean

[@blozier2006]

+tvdude8509 Very observant :-) This pilot was indeed taped at ABC Television Center. Taped on October 21, 1986 to be precise.

[@tnawcwvictoria]

Bryce Lozier That's correct, it was INDEED Videotaped at the ABC Television Center in Hollywood which was not only the home to Dick Clark's American Bandstand and Family Feud w/the late Richard Dawson, it was also the home of Merrill Heatter's All-Star Blitz w/the Master of the Hollywood Squares and Wink's Buddy Peter Marshall It was also the home to The NEW Hollywood Squares with Former Square Himself John Davidson and it was also the home to That's Incredible

[@meishahope5685]

T-Bone Hubbar

[@aaronbruceladner1983]

When the Show was Picked Up, The Show Moved to CBS Television City

[@jokerswildfan1972]

I like how they had a video wall behind the players. It’s too bad this show only lasted one season in syndication.

[@aaronbruceladner1983]

I Went to BOOKS-A-MILLION One Day, and I Got some Golden Dice

[@paullarue2010]

Humpty Dumpty was a Nursery Rhyme.

[@pinedelgado4743]

I shall never understand why THIS incarnation of HR with the "Winker" lasted such a short time. He was a WAY BETTER host for HR than Alex Trebek!! :) :)

[@sabster74]

I have to respectfully disagree. Wink was an excellent host, but I liked Alex too.

[@brycelandon6387]

If High Rollers ever came back, I'd love to see John O'Hurley get the gig.

[@foxmccloud7055]

I think the reason why this incarnation of "High Rollers" lasted a year was because, by this point, talk shows were getting to be the rage, and by 1989 and 1991 they put a lot of game shows in both daytime and syndication (with the exception of "The Price Is Right, Jeopardy, and "Wheel of Fortune") out of business.

[@heatherb5671]

Fiero... sweet!

[@matthewulanski217]

As soon as the producers saw Lucky Numbers and figured out that this was what Alex Trebek wanted to bring back, they put this together instead. Good choice.

[@matthewulanski217]

Many of the ideas that this pilot used were also put into the home game.

[@bryanloveseighties]

If I had it my way, I would suggest that they would revive High Rollers for ABC's prime time game show block and have all the mini-games be available for play if one person wins a main 2 out of 3 game match instead of having the mini-games be in columns that players would have to take down numbers for. Also, for the Big Numbers round, I would have the cash prizes be $250 for each number taken down and $25,000 for all nine of them.

[@willmack5909]

It's the Big Numbers on speed!

[@JAldrich73]

I like those 21st Century phones!

[@DaveRod76]

Funny how they made a profitable “legal” game show out of a game that they made “illegal” to play on the sidewalk with your buddies.

[@freddiemartin699]

Something only a true ghetto person would know

[@nextbarker2702]

Would this had been the only game show Wink did for ABC?

[@fredmckinney8933]

This was actually a syndicated show.

[@tnawcwvictoria]

Well just so ya know, 1986 was the year that Winker finished off his 1 year stint as host of his own creation Headline Chasers, but in 1987, Winker had a Heavy Schedule as he pulled Triple Duties that year While hosting High Rollers, he was also busy in Canada producing 2 Game Shows: 2nd Honeymoon which aired in the USA on Pat Robertson's CBN (1 year before it became The Family Channel) and Bumper Stumpers for USA Network (Co-Produced by Barry & Enright Productions of Tic Tac Dough, The Joker's Wild, BULLSEYE and Hot Potato among others) Alex Trebek who hosted the show in the 70's was busy pulling Double Duties as host of JEOPARDY! (which he still does to this day) and Classic Concentration for NBC Daytime I can understand if Winker had a Heavy Schedule b/c going back to forth from L.A. to Canada was tough Plus, the show didn't last long b/c of Heavy Competition against other Syndicated Shows like Nighttime Wheel of Fortune, the revived JEOPARDY!, The People's Court, Superior Court, Entertainment Tonight, Star Search, Donahue, Sally, Geraldo, Oprah, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other cartoons, Soul Train, It's Showtime at the Apollo and America's Top 10 w/Winker's Late Friend Casey Kasem among others Plus, another problem with this version is that the Dice on Wink's Version were not as round as the 70's Version, plus the mini games took up too much time, however, the Golden Dice was a great concept for the Big Numbers, plus K.C. Winkler was a Great Model for the show and finally, this marked the final collaboration between Orion Television and Century Towers Productions who Co-Produced Just Men! w/Betty White and THE NEW Hollywood Squares w/John Davidson (both produced by "CHiPs" Creator Rick Rosner) and Merrill Heatter who produced HR had NOTHING to do with the John Davidson version of Squares as he called it a circus

[@howardcobb4992]

he sure did... high rollers, tic-tac-dough and a revived gambit.

[@RJSchex]

Most noticeable change for the series was on the Big Numbers-the "2" became darker red, and the "4" was changed to yellow. Also changed was the sequence of the flashing numbers at the opening: here, it was 8-6-4-7-2-9-3-5-1; for the series, it was 4-7-1-9-2-8-5-3-6.

[@ericandy88]

Also, a big change was no holdover of prizes from previous games. There would be new prizes in each game & only one for each column. I am guessing once this could only get syndicated, without the larger network budget, they had to scale back.

[@blozier2006]

RJSchex wasn't the flashing number pattern here MUCH faster than seen in the series?

[@tnawcwvictoria]

+Bryce Lozier Yes indeed, I wish that it was Videotaped @ ABC Television Center instead of CBS Television City, but also, I wish that abc had picked this show up instead of Bargain Hunters

[@cevancarr]

Would have fit nicely between The $25,000 Pyramid and The Price is Right on CBS Daytime (even though it would have been at Card Sharks expense unless they replace the Bold and the Beautiful with an extra game). Or between Sale of the Century and Wheel of Fortune or Wheel of Fortune and Super Password on NBC (move Classic Concentration to 11:30AM if it's on after $OTC).

[@drummingdanny84]

You think so? I does have an ABC feel probably because of the cinematography and the stock sound effects.

[@rmknicks]

I didn't like the cheap set with the CGI game board but it's still High Rollers which is fantastic.

[@bluebear1985]

It's decent for a pilot though. For most pilots, they want to show stations an idea of what the show will be like, even if it's not exactly to the detail of what viewers will see once it's on the air.

[@josiegildersleeve1432]

High rollers season 1 episode 1

[@tvdude8509]

Where was this pilot taped? I know the series taped at CBS Television City; this has an "ABC" feel to it, though. Or possibly Hollywood Center Studios.

[@tnawcwvictoria]

This was at the ABC Television Center in HOLLYWOOD the home to All-Star Blitz with Peter Marshall, Family Feud with the late great Richard Dawson and of course, Dick Clark's American Bandstand

[@joeford860]

Where can I get those phones?

[@rmknicks]

Beam back to 1986! They're fabulous.

[@KiddBloo86]

An estate sale these days.

[@aaronbruceladner1983]

I'd Like to Know Where I Can Get the Dice

[@yaphettvazquez9796]

$10,000!!!!!

[@drewconway7135]

All her gasping and moaning is really grating after a while.

[@davemurphy9695]

I think I like Wink as host instead of Alex Trebek.

[@1TexasTV]

Wink and Alex are both the best of of High Rollers, and don't nobody forget it!

[@christineswartz8693]

I wanted him to win. She's annoying and got upset when she would lose.

[@yaphettvazquez9796]

$10,000 In Cash!!!!!!

[@jon2849]

Rigged? 😂