Play The Percentages - Premiere (Part 1 of 3)

[@johnissoevil]

I noticed that back when the show was rerun on USA Network. Made me wonder if the show was on NBC, until Geoff himself told me "all 1,000 versions were syndicated." Edwards has that sense of humor, I tell ya!

[@ChuckD79]

Even Bob Hilton, when asked about Pt% in a 1999 phone chat, first responded "Which format?"...LOL

[@70s80s]

OMG, I can't believe I'm watching this!

[@bpot22]

This is awesome, Geoff Edwards is my hero of all game show host.

[@christopherangel6690]

I loved Percentages! I think it would make a good reboot. Only change i would make is to play it with individual contestants

[@johnissoevil]

Wow, first Feud '94, now this gem. Thank you!

[@kenman923]

Funny you should say that. Geoff Edwards was actually considered for the original Family Feud before Richard Dawson was offered the show.

[@danalong1237]

And through the years, Family Feud has had six hosts: Dawson, Ray Combs (my favorite Family Feud host), Louie Anderson, Richard Karn (my other favorite Family Feud host), John O’Hurley and currently Steve Harvey.

[@ericandy88]

I believe Geoff had gotten an inaccurate description of how Family Feud worked & turned it down. Not sure if he regretted it afterwards, but given the hell Richard gave the show's staff, they might have had a better time of it with Geoff.

[@rwboa22]

It would be nice to see this show be revived--especially with the bonus game being a combination of both the original bonus game (using the hydraulic game board) and the single question with six answers (five correct, one wrong).

[@danalong1237]

Or better yet, reboot the show with the original couples format (without the main game jackpot and with returning champions, who continue until 😕, with a 🚗 awarded for every five wins) and the original bonus game (using the 💻-generated hydraulic game board and the "questions which were posed to people everywhere with three possible answers" thang and the "whatever answer you select, we'll give you its percentage points" thang and the "accumulate 💯 points and you win $5000 in 💰, match any answer with the 🎯 percentage number other than zero and you'll win the grand and glorious jackpot (of 💵 and prizes) and select an answer that has zero and you'll lose everything and the bonus game is over" thang, the original recording of the show's theme song and cues, host Andy Samberg and announcer Jason Sudeikis! In addition, the player closer to the percentage-whether high, low or in between-wins those percentage points! Now, that would be fun, wouldn’t it?!

[@danalong1237]

According to the show's IMDB page, the show was taped at Metromedia Square in Hollywood, where many Norman Lear shows were taped there.

[@jesseleelong]

+Dana Long Long before that studio was demolished to make room for a church; That old studio is now on the lot of 20th Century Fox.

[@danalong1237]

The reason PtP was taped at Metromedia was because the John C. Mula-designed set was too big to fit the KCOP-TV studios (the same went for another B&E show Bullseye).

[@nightfly776]

I never understood why Barry & Enright had to jack with the format of this delightful game show. It had the potential to be a very great show, but was tampered with before it could really take off. A fun game, ice set, top shelf host, good production value, and the couples aspect gave it a Newlywed Game fe.

[@lilwill2kold]

this is also similar to family feud as far as families going head to head and the scoring of 300 points.

[@ericandy88]

And Barry/Enright would go back to the Feud well for Hot Potato, making it just different enough to be their own.

[@ChihuahuaboyDH]

I vaguely remember this game show, but don't remember the format. R.I.P. Jay Stewart (announcer)...1918-1989. You are not forgotten!

[@danalong1237]

And RIP Geoff Edwards. You are not forgotten either!

[@Dannymac82]

Jack Barry and Dan Enright produced some of my favorite game shows and this is one of the shows I liked the best

[@danalong1237]

4:19, the "Wah-Wah" guitar sound!

[@jesseleelong]

+Dana Long Like the one Eric Clapton used in "Tales of Brave Ulysses." BTW, Eric is 70! Happy Birthday Eric!

[@danalong1237]

Actually, Eric Clapton is 73 years old.

[@supergamer7473]

Yay! Play The Percentages! One of the short-lived shows ever made. Oh, if only B&E didn't change the format so many times. Do you have more episodes? Maybe the one where a couple won $36,000, perhaps?

[@ChuckD79]

That episode was posted elsewhere on YT, by "Million Colors of Light".

[@DBR00]

I loved this show!

[@marchoffman6878]

i liked this show.

[@danalong1237]

Happy 40th Anniversary, Pac-Man and Play the Percentages!

[@DougTrovinger]

I love this - so many puns and they were all great :)

[@howtube61]

I remember the original format of Play the Percentages and to me it did have an element of Card Sharks when two couples guest how what percentage of people surveyed knew the answer to a question. It was astounding that only 27% knew that Ottawa was the capitol of Canada. Unfortunately, the show would undergo a format change and become a straight Q&A show like the other shows Barry-Enright produced (Joker's Wild, Tic Tac Dough and Bullseye) and that's why it had a short run. Geoff Edwards was outstanding as host and it's a shame he's gone.

[@danalong1237]

And it was also outstanding that 100% knew that WAVE 3 in Louisville carried the show every weeknight at 7:00pm, replacing the Jim Peck-hosted 3's a Crowd, before being replaced by Face the Music in the same timeslot.

[@roysanders2080]

I was 1 1/2 years old when this episode aired its debut on Monday, January 7, 1980 on CBN.

[@danalong1237]

And when the show debuted on WAVE 3 on January 14, 1980, replacing 3's a Crowd, my son wasn't even born yet!

[@thaivong6620]

Karla and John also appeared on the pilot of Play the Percentages.

[@danalong1237]

3:28, “Let’s Play the Percentages!”-Geoff Edwards.

[@sha11235]

She should've signed Emile Autouri's line, "Yes, I did."

[@someguy23475]

The couples format wasn't bad. Changing it to Twenty One with survey questions killed a watchable show.

[@ericandy88]

Not sure why they changed it, but yes. The couples version was unique enough to stand out. Format changes are a touchy thing & it is hard to accomplish one without alienating your audience.

[@ChuckD79]

I agree, although the saving grace of the solo format was Geoff's banter with "Judge Von Erik".

[@Tubewings]

Does anyone notice that the thingy concealing the "correct percentage" display kind of looks like the current NBC logo?

[@ryan8211982]

Tubewings yes, that looked resemble to the current NBC peacock logo which was introduced six years later.

[@torchkit]

The only game show I've seen where a contestant names "sex" as a hobby during their intro.

[@stevejones6247]

i kinda remember this game

[@dmoppins1980]

This show rocks! Even though it's a cult classic, PTP could be revived today.

[@mitchellries256]

Geoff Edwards said he would never work for Jack Barry again after a dispute the two had on Hollywood's Talking but obviously those two must've worked out there differences because here he is again.

[@danbarker4857]

We just lost Geoff, RIP, you'll be missed.

[@GandSAfan]

Geoff ISN'T a pervert! Suffice to say though, he is a hit with the ladies. I remember him from the original JACKPOT, when he wore open-necked shirts & turtlenecks.....and I was just 11, at the time!

[@ericandy88]

It WAS the '70s, after all. But glad to see the casual look did not last past maybe the latter half of the decade & suits that were not leisure were back in with game show hosts. When you had Bill Cullen in an open collar on Winning Streak, something was wrong with that picture. The old guard just did not look right in the new fashions.

[@paullarue2010]

Barry and Enright get show.

[@danalong1237]

GSN should air this show full-time, or better yet, have some other network air it!

[@jesseleelong]

+Dana Long My then-3-year-old son used to watch that show all the time, long before he started his first day of his 13 years at school.

[@Rlotpir1972]

It's actually all of the above. The problem with this game is that there were too many versions. I assume that the people from Barry/Enright Productions were avoiding possible lawsuits with Goodson/Todman Productions.

[@Chris778]

I Knew The First Question Right Off The Bat, The Capital Of Canada, But Then Again Im from Canada So Of Course It Would Be Easy For Me

[@bpot22]

I would like to meet him in person.

[@nightfly776]

In 1980, NBC was using a MUCH different looking peacock design than the one of present. Not at all similar or coincidental... but a nice design nonetheless.

[@danalong1237]

And speaking of NBC, NBC affiliate WAVE 3 carried the show every weeknight at 7:00pm right after NBC Nightly News, replacing the Jim Peck-hosted 3's a Crowd, before it was replaced by the Ron Ely-hosted Face the Music on September 15 of the same year after rival station WHAS carried FtM for 9 months!

[@BenJabituya]

This game show reminds me of “Card Sharks”.

[@marchoffman6878]

play the percentages

[@sommerssmith]

Tip: Never ask anybody you're not familar how old they are. You can tell them your age if you want.

[@streetcarjay]

Answer: OTTAWA!!

[@streetcarjay]

The Ottawa-Hull area. The St. Lawrence Seaway.

[@zachhoran]

Brian Smith was on $25K Pyramid on the 11/30/82 episode and least the 12/1/82 episode after that, as his appearance aired on GSN today. He won $150 in the WC, his opponent won $100.

[@whirliebird74]

@Rlotpir1972 Especially the poll questions, ripped off from Card Sharks.

[@kevinhoward9593]

it didn't last long.

[@danalong1237]

But I remember watching it first-run every weeknight at 🕖 on WAVE 3 in Louisville and in reruns on USA Network in the late 80’s.

[@marchoffman6878]

play the percentages