Split Second

Network: ABC, Syndicated (Repeats: Family Channel)

Running Years: March 1972-June 1975 (ABC); December 1986-September 1987 (Syndicated)

Hosts: Tom Kennedy (ABC), Monty Hall (Syndicated)

Announcers: Jack Clark (ABC), Sandy Hoyt (Syndicated)

Producers: Stefan Hatos, Monty Hall

Think of your favorite quiz show. Now think of it on speed. Yep, that was the premise of "Split Second:" traditional quiz show that moves ultra-fast. It has become a cult classic among game show geeks, who wonder why this show wasn't more successful.

RULES (ABC version):

Three contestants competed to answer questions and earn money. Each question was asked along with three sub-questions that the contestants had to answer (eg. "Unfortunately, a lot of leaders were stuck governing a nation during a war. I'll give you the name of a leader, you tell me the main war he was involved in. Ronald Reagan, Louis XVI, Julius Caesar).

Contestants would then try to buzz in after the full question was read to assert their position. The first player to lock-in got first choice of the three questions. He/she picked a question and then attempted to answer it. A correct answer was worth money, and there was no penalty for a wrong answer. The second player then got to choose from what was left, pending the first player was correct, and then the third player got whatever was left, pending the other two were correct. A wrong answer along the way put that question back up for grabs.

The money each contestant received depended on how many of the players were correct on their questions. For example, if all three players were correct, then each player received $5; if two were correct, then each would get $10; if only one was correct, then he/she recieved $25.

A second round was played the same way, but dollar values were increased to $10 if all three were correct, $25 if two were correct, and $50 if one was correct.

After the second round (each round was played based on time), the "Countdown Round" took place. To win the round, each player had to answer a certain number of questions correctly determined by their cash total. Whoever was leading had to answer 3 correct to win, the second-place player had to answer 4, and the last-place player had to answer 5. In this round, though, after answering a question correctly, a player could then select one of the remaining questions and try to answer that one correctly, and, if correct there, could try the last one, so locking-in first here was VERY important.

The first player to get their required number correct won the game, the championship, and got to play the bonus game. All players received their cash, regardless of their finish, though.

BONUS ROUND:

The bonus game had nothing to do with questions, answers, etc. (I'm sure the players were happy about this!). The player selected one of five cars onstage and then attempted to start the car with a key given to him/her by the host. If the car started, then he/she won the car; if not, then he/she received $1,000 as a consolation prize.

If the car didn't start, the player came back the next day as a returning champ, and, if he/she won, the losing car from before was eliminated, thus 5 days won an automatic vehicle. If a car was won, though, the player retired as undefeated champion.

RULES (Syndicated version):

The show tried a brief revival in the 1980s that didn't succeed, unfortunately. It's a shame, though, since the rules didn't change much.

The first two rounds were played the same, except cash values were $10 for all three answering correctly, $25 for two, and $50 for one in the first round. The second round had questions for double the round one amounts.

The "Countdown Round" was played the same way, except each player had to get one more correct answer than in the old version (just look above and add 1 to each rank!)

BONUS ROUND:

Two bonus rounds were played. The first one involved the contestant picking one of five screens. One screen said "CAR," while the others all said "$1,000." Picking the "CAR" won the car and that player retired as undefeated champion, while picking the money won the money and another day on the show. Each day, though, the number that was picked before was eliminated, thus 5 days of winning automatically won the car for a champion.

Eventually, the bonus game changed to where the contestant had to find all three screens with the word "CAR," while the other two had a prize on them. If any of the three screens picked had the prize, then the contestant could take the prize and $1,000 and retire, or try and come back to win another shot at the car.

Finding all three "CAR" screens won the car, and so did 5 days of winning.

SOME UNUSUAL TRENDS:

The reason the show was called "Split Second," besides the importance of locking-in fast, was the fact that a player had about 3 seconds to pick a question AND answer it! Wow, care to run a marathon next?

The judges on the ABC version were REALLY strict, once calling "Maria Antoinette" as wrong where "Marie Antoinette" was the answer. Even host Tom Kennedy thought it should be called correct! When Monty Hall took over, though, he acted as judge. See? Even producers have sympathy on the players!

Usually, there would always be a really easy sub-question, a moderate one, and a really difficult one, which made locking-in even more important!

If a contestant attempted to lock-in during the reading of a question, he/she automatically had to go last! Ouch!

MY REVIEW:

Nowlet'sseeifIcandothisreviewatthesamepaceoftheshow! Um...maybe not. Anyway, this show had a wide range of appeal because it was not only a very fast-paced game, but also had questions to challenge a wide range of abilities. Also, giving more money to contestants who were the only ones in the group to give right answers was pretty ingenious as well as it added a whole new dimension to the game. Tom Kennedy was also great as host: he kept the game moving very fast and still had time to throw in an occasional joke or two; Monty Hall was okay, but a tad slower than Kennedy, and so the show lost a little bit of that "Split Second" decision factor. The sets for each were okay, though nothing spectacular (the first one was very yellow and orange, and the second one looked like the sky!). In my opinion, the front game was nearly flawless, but the bonus games never fit; go from a hard quiz to picking a key or number(s)? What is the deal with that?

My Grades:

Game Play: A (A very fast-paced quiz combined with fast decision-making made for a very entertaining half-hour!)

Host: A (Kennedy), A- (Hall) (Kennedy knew how to get through this game, reading his questions very fast and always keeping a good pace; Hall, though, was a little slower, though still good nonetheless).

Set: B (Kennedy), B+ (Hall) (Man, get some more color in that old set! I know the set shouldn't be distracting from the game, but, man, what an eyesore when you did get to see it! Hall's set was a little more pleasing tot he eye; however, they couldn't seem to decide when to leave the door to the stage open or closed!)

Execution: B+ (What was the need for a bonus round in this game; it was mindless filler that could've easily been done away with!)

Play-Along Factor: A (Feel your heart pound and your brain work itself to death as you try to rip through the questions before those equally-tense contestants do!)

Overall Grade: B+ (Kennedy), B+ (Hall)

Despite my grades, this is still a very fun show to watch. Keep up with the pace, though, or you'll get lost fast! So, to aid you, I would suggest a couple of episodes from Hall's version to get the feel (only one episode of Kennedy's version is known to exist at this time) of this great game with a 250 bpm heart rate!

LET'S GO BACK HOME, WHERE WE CAN BE SLOWER!