Pitfall Game Show - with Special Alex Trebek Clip

[@glennaa11]

I loved this show. I remember spending many a summer day watching game shows when I was a kid

[@bugpadzero]

I loved this show. The light show at the start of bonus round was one of my favorite game show gimmicks.

[@steve760]

The gameplay was awesome, too.

[@JosephPratt1986]

Alex Trebek is one of the best game show hosts ever!

[@donmccullen1973]

Joseph Pratt and the most self centered ones ever...up their with Bob Barker. Sounds like Wink is more of a people person.

[@Scubaguy12]

I truly agree

[@lynettepalecek3141]

@@donmccullen1973 I DISAGREE WITH YOU COMPLETELY! You obviously can't tell the difference between a very humble and intelligent person and one that's selfish and arrogant like you are. 😡🤮👎

[@lynettepalecek3141]

@Joseph Pratt. I AGREE WITH YOU COMPLETELY!!

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

So is Chuck Woolery and J.D. Roth.

[@crlaw75]

Rest in peace, Alex.

[@kgruber17]

What I wouldn't give for a clean copy of the theme song. Probably one of the best theme songs of all time.

[@alexandergarcia6815]

If you have a good ear, you can probably make a MIDI file of it. I did.

[@Kriojenic]

literally on a hunt for it rn and realized I might be hunting for the impossible...

[@wecontrolthevideo]

WWOR Ch 9 in New York used to run this show, we lived in the Detroit area and saw WWOR on our cable. My wife and I used to watch the show together.

[@CrimsonID4]

At 13:38: Holy smokes! I did not know 2015's Chain Reaction was based on a previous iteration of the show, I thought it was a GSN original! It's absolutely amazing just how many different, creative game shows have been broadcast through the decades! Great videos by the way, Wink, thank you so much for sharing!

[@sha11235]

+CrimsonID4 The current CR on Game Show Network sucks. They'll put any dummy on there.

[@MMB18abel]

+CrimsonID4 : CHAIN REACTION started on NBC in 1980 hosted by Bill Cullen, created by Bob Stewart (PASSWORD/PYRAMID) and like those shows, it was Celebrity/Civilian.

[@Tubewings]

10:53; And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why Mr. Trebek later asked for the Pitpasses at the appropriate moments.

[@sha11235]

+Tubewings Oh, I guess they changed it in the later episodes, so the contestant didn't have to remember. Like the contestant had enough shit on his mind.

[@donp55]

And it seems that Alex is STILL ticked off about that one. Thanks, Wink for putting BOTH videos up. I've always wanted to hear the full story of the Pitfall debacle. And now I know The Rest Of the Story...

[@sha11235]

+Don Paschal I didn't even know about that.

[@seanvogt221]

Also don't forget Classic Concentration on NBC along with Jeopardy! Wish he could do that again. That would be awesome. Super Concentration on NBC with the car prizes being a Lexus, Fiat, Chevy Impala, Jeep Wrangler, Ford Mustang, Nissan Pathfinder, Honda Civic, and Kia Optima.

[@tnawcwvictoria]

Happy 75 to Alex Trebek, the man that has hosted many Game Shows like The Wizard of Odds, High Rollers, Double Dare, Pitfall, Battlestars/The NEW Battlestars, Classic Concentration, To Tell the Truth and of course, JEOPARDY! as well as the spin-off Super JEOPARDY! God Bless You Mr. Trebek and Keep on Quizzin'

[@jonathanashbeck3740]

He's 78 now

[@mikevanriel7573]

Jonathan Ashbeck he is 80 years young now.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

@@mikevanriel7573 - He unfortunately is no longer with us.

[@mikevanriel7573]

In the 70’s and 80’s, Alex Trebek looked like a player.

[@DaSuTro]

No wonder Alex called this show "one of the great tragedies of my life." Ouch!

[@phoxgrimm9]

I was on this show, and i still have my ticket,,

[@ddmck1972]

Were you one of the ones who did NOT receive their prizes, assuming you won any?

[@KieranDomney.]

@@ddmck1972 My dad was on and he never got paid 😂

[@bluebear1985]

Alex also made reference to this in an episode about him of a CBC biography series called "Life & Times", which profiled notable Canadians. He even pointed out the bad check on his wall that he received from Catalena.

[@Nooki23]

I wonder if the contestants got stiffed...I remember thinking I would have preferred $800 then to get some of their crappy prizes lol (stay on elevator 8 and just keep guessing incorrectly).

[@gordonblack4920]

I used to watch this show in Canada on Global TV

[@qfmarsh64]

For a Canadian show, there were a lot of questions about American presidents.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

I counted three.

[@allewis1376]

The only show in Alex's hosting career that stiffed him

[@crlaw75]

I remember this show well to.

[@kanealson5200]

Apparently almost none of the contestants got their prizes when the show went bankrupt and Alex didn't get paid for a season. Too bad, I loved this show and would watch it again if it were on.

[@Margann1987]

Richard Gundersen worked on "Bumper Stumpers," too.

[@LudoRex]

"Pitfall" was indeed the pits. The bonus was worth suffering through the game show.

[@BiffGreggle]

Alex Trebek's experience should be a cautionary tale to all aspiring artists...no matter how big of a name you become, there's always someone out there looking to screw you over.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

I wished it was Pat Sajak or Bruce Forsyth that hosted this if only to see their checks bounce!

[@pgtcf7806]

"Pitfall," "Definition" with Jim Perry, and "The Mad Dash" with Pierre Lalonde all should have been massive hits here in the U.S. but they weren't and there isn't a clear-cut reason as to why in any of those three situations.

[@sha11235]

Wait, if she had a pit pass, then they shouldn't have had her go down on 1. They should've stopped the clock, brought her up, reset the clock a few seconds, then have her move on to 2.

[@wifferste]

I was shocked to see that too because I remember Alex asking for pass before you moved. Turns out that rule change was later on in the series.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

Very poorly coordinated show. Mark Goodson and Reg Grundy would have not allowed that to happen.

[@MountainHawkPYL]

In this particular episode, Alex broke a couple of rules: 1) He commented/made predictions about where the pitfalls were before the game was complete. 2) In the second bonus round, he prompted the contestant to give him the pit passes.

[@sha11235]

+MountainHawkPYL It doesn't matter him mentioning where they are during the game. See, at that point, the player has already made the choices for pit passes, so the players cannot go back and change them.

[@gameshowfreak2007]

had to watch a couple of times to notice, the 2nd contestant might a slight gesture to show Alex he had the pass. The 1st one didn't.

[@usa02]

Trebek sure regrets working on this show, at least he had better fame by hosting "Jeopardy!".

[@stevesobol9430]

I would, too, if I got screwed like that.

[@mrceleb2006]

Taped at the Panorama TV Studios in Vancouver, the same venue as the 1980 revival of 'Let's Make a Deal'. Catalena Productions was responsible for both of these shows, which ceased to exist in 1982.

[@mushmorant9253]

(12:30) Huh? Vitamin C is correct. She was robbed.

[@JoeyLamontagne]

Despite that you're correct, it wouldn't matter much, since the production company went bankrupt and practically screwed everyone.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

Another problem with that sorry excuse of a human being known as Ian MacLennan. His sorry bunch of workers don't research their material well, unlike a Jack Barry and Merrill Heater.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

@@JoeyLamontagne - You forgot that she missed too many questions anyway to the point that the poorly researched trivia, and falling down pit 1, despite having the pass was not going to make a difference.

[@JustinInAtlanta]

Such a great bonus round. Too bad the host and the contestants didn't get their money. I wish an episode of The Wizard of Odds would surface.

[@kidfrombrooklyn66]

Odds was deleted per NBC standards. May 20 episode exists (the UCLA Film & Television Archive). Some 1974 High Roller episodes can be found on youtube.

[@andrewschroy6368]

Actually, only ONE episode from the '74 version is on KZbin...

[@jonathanashbeck3740]

Can you find it?

[@QHMCQ]

I really dug this show as a kid. I had no idea how "cheap" it actually was!

[@PIXPromosMore]

Too bad the company folded, I could see this game working today.

[@donmccullen1973]

TVTestKitchen Someone could try to buy the rights to the show.

[@sha11235]

+PIX Promos & More Yeah, it was ahead of its time with the light shows. But it has to do with who owns the rights.

[@terracottapie]

Boy, these are some pretty risque questions for daytime TV.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

Well, Canada isn't quite as strict with the censorship as America, but they do tend to not take jokes about the French quite as well.

[@nextbarker2702]

@8:29, reruns of PITFALL was still airing in 1985?

[@TotallyRadical]

When did this episode air?

[@jaydabrown7012]

I want to know how in the world did the production company ended up being bankrupt in the first place?

[@foxmccloud7055]

If you are going to bring back "Pitfall", actually pay your host and contestants.

[@mathiasmilne]

Was thinking of how I enjoyed watching this as a kid when I heard about Alex’s pancreatic cancer. What a loss that would be. Jeopardy could never be hosted by anyone else.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

That's the same thing that was said when Alex replaced Art Fleming!

[@crlaw75]

If the public knows him only for Jeopardy!, they should know about this clip.

[@shawnattwells5355]

I enjoyed seeing this show back then. The concept is good; sadly the powers-that-be that put it together, not so much. If someone picked it up today, and did it correctly, they might have a good thing going.

[@sha11235]

Bob Barker wouldn't have liked the moment at 8:56.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

Harder to say when it comes to toys, but yes, he would probably have a talk with Alex at least.

[@JamieJamez]

I wonder how much that framed cheque would be worth today?

[@andrewschroy6368]

Out of curiosity, what stations (in America) carried Pitfall? I know I saw mention of WOR carrying it for New York...

[@epaddon]

It was on WOR in New York.

[@jerryhorn4697]

In 1985, a new television station from Riverhead, Long Island, New York, briefly showed episodes of "Pitfall". That station was WLIG, Channel 55. At the time, I worked at the advertising agency that designed the station's printed promotions and newspaper advertisements.

[@loutenore33]

correct me if im wrong but I read somewhere that defention had a brief run here in the us

[@jamesklatt]

Robert Lopresti it was aired on KHJ 9 in Los Angeles around 1986 just before Break the Bank.

[@JohnK086]

Robert Lopresti "Pitfall" was syndication-only. "Battlestars" did begin airing on NBC at 11:30 weekdays come late 1981.

[@nicka727]

+Robert Lopresti Trebek also hosted Battlestars on NBC during this time and this game was produced in Canada. How did Alex Trebek get to Canada to host Pitfall while he hosts Battlestars on NBC in Burbank.

[@JohnK086]

Tapings were scheduled separately.

[@nicka727]

+John Kleiner like how if Trebek was hosting Battlestars and when did he go to Canada for scheduled takings for Pitfall?

[@freakfoxvevo7915]

For some reason I thought this would be a game show version of Pitfall the video game

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

Funny you should say that as the game show preceded the video game by about a year.

[@MDCSWildcats86]

Wasn't Bill Armstrong also associated with REEL-TO-REEL PICTURE SHOW?

[@sha11235]

How did they walk across the bridge when the things were down?

[@chuckdsall-newclassictvclu3870]

I think there was a stationary area in front of the elevators.

[@BlaqC]

You are correct. Watch, when the announcer starts reading network promos ("Wednesday,…"), you can see Alex and the champion walk in front of the #8 elevator before it has cleared the top platform.

[@briansullivan1281]

wor tv aired this show too

[@sha11235]

This was a good game. Although they never got five points.

[@digiblader1]

Too bad Sharon will never see all the money she won..

[@sha11235]

+Gregory Pearsoll Yeah, that's what I wonder.

[@jonathanashbeck3740]

The show went bankrupt and toward the end the contestants never received their prizes

[@sha11235]

Well, I guess Alex didn't work with that producer again.

[@johnissoevil]

+sha11235 I don't think Catalena Productions existed beyond Pitfall. Alex more than made up for his losses with previous and future shows.

[@sha11235]

Oh, I guess the contestant has to remember that they have a pit pass. If they don't give it, too bad.

[@sha11235]

13 is a teenager.

[@fynnthewhisper1995]

sha11235 she was ALMOST 13. so she was 12

[@terracottapie]

I feel like the pit pass shouldn't have just let you skip over that question completely; rather, just let you stand there and answer the question safely without falling.

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

It's already a tough bonus round as it is already. You want the Pitfall bonus round to be like the BS Carmen Sandiego bonus rounds?

[@someguy23475]

The answers aren't even correct! Scurvy is caused by the lack of vitamin C, not A! Also, the question about wild cards in poker is a terrible trap.

[@KiddBloo86]

Unless the contestant is an avid poker player.

[@gameshowfreak2007]

I think that was one of the show's gimmicks, I've seen an episode where they asked "how many periods in a baseball game?" the answer: none (they're called innings)

[@Freethought73]

:-)

[@sha11235]

Did anyone ever get 5 damn points or 3 pit passes?

[@juicyfartsofjimcornette1154]

I'm sure it probably happened at least once.