Trivia Trap

Infobox Television
show_name = Trivia Trap


caption = Trivia Trap title logo.
format = Game Show
runtime = approx. 25 minutes
creator = Mark Goodson
starring = Bob Eubanks (host)
Gene Wood, Bob Hilton, Charlie O'Donnell (announcers)
country = USA
num_episodes = 128
rating=TV-G (on GSN)
network = ABC
first_aired =1984
last_aired =1985

"Trivia Trap" was a U.S. game show created by Mark Goodson Television Productions. It originally ran from October 8, 1984 to April 5, 1985 on ABC. The game featured two teams of three players each, who competed against each other to answer trivia questions in various formats; these formats would change throughout the show's run. Bob Eubanks was the host of "Trivia Trap"; Gene Wood, Bob Hilton and Charlie O'Donnell alternated as announcers. It was the final Mark Goodson-produced game show to have an original format; all other game shows that have premiered since have been revivals or produced by Goodson's son Jonathan.

Original format

Two teams of three players played. One team was the Juniors, who wore the blue sweaters, and all the players were under 30 years of age; the other team was the Seniors, who wore the red sweaters, and who were over the age 30. These two teams each played games of trivia (whose formats changed as the run went on) to reach a goal of $1,000.

Round One

Teams were shown two rows of monitors, with four answers in each row. The team in control chose one of the two rows, and then a question was asked pertaining to those answers. The team members took turns selecting an answer that they thought was wrong, until all three wrong answers were eliminated, or the correct answer was chosen. The team received $50 for each wrong answer, doubling their total for eliminating all three, for a possible total of $300. After one team played their question, a new row replaced the one used, and the second team chose which row to play. Each team played two questions.

$1,000 Trivia Race

In round two, known as the $1,000 Trivia Race, control began with the team in the lead; in case of a tie, a coin toss determined control. Three categories were shown, and the team in control of the board chose which category they wanted. After a category was used once, a new one replaced it. Bob would read the question, and one at a time, the players would answer. If one answered correctly, the team kept control and chose another category. $100 was awarded for each correct answer; starting in the show's second week, $200 was awarded for each correct answer after the 10th question (15th question from February 4 - February 6, 1985). If none of the players answered correctly, the other team would get control. The first team to reach the goal of $1,000 won the game and went on to play for a possible $10,000.

econd format

Round One (Fact or Fiction?)

Effective December 17, 1984, the front game was changed. The first round was called Fact or Fiction?. The champions were given the choice of two colored envelopes (Red or Black). Then one player at a time, Eubanks would ask a True/False question, each worth $25. The other team would then play the other envelope. For the second part, the challengers had the choice of envelopes. Each team played two envelopes.

Round Two (The Trivia Trap Round)

In the second round, the team in the lead (or the champions, in case of a tie) played first and had a choice of two categories. After the category was chosen, four answers were shown. One player would answer, then the other two had a choice to agree with that answer or disagree. Whether the players agreed or disagreed determined the value of a correct answer. If all of them agreed and the answer was right, they would win $200. If one agreed and it was correct, they won win $100. If everybody disagreed it would be worth $50. But if they disagreed correctly, they would then be able to choose the correct answer, in the same way explained above. Like before, the other player could disagree to try to save the team. After the question, the other team played the other category. Each team played two questions.

This second format retained the original Trivia Race format in round two, played after the Trivia Trap round.

$10,000 Trivia Ladder

Both formats of the show used the same bonus round, called the $10,000 Trivia Ladder. This time, the players on the winning team played for themselves. The three players played in order by their success in the Trivia Race. A row of monitors rose to the first level of the Trivia Ladder. Four answers were shown to the best player. That player could then play that question or pass it to the next player, who, in turn, could either play that question or pass it to the last player. If a player answered correctly, he or she won $1,000. If the player answered incorrectly, that player was eliminated, but did return to play the next day.

After the first question was asked, the row of monitors rose to the next level of the ladder, and four new answers were shown to the better-ranked player of those remaining. As before, that player could either answer or pass to the last player. For the third question, the remaining player had to answer.

Any player who answered a question correctly on a lower rung of the ladder played for $10,000. Four answers were shown as before, and a question was asked. The players locked in the answer they believed was correct on a hidden panel in their podium. (If only one player was playing for the $10,000, that player simply said which answer he or she believed was correct.) Any player who correctly answered the question won $10,000. If more than one player gave the correct answer on the final question, those players shared the $10,000. Any team that played The Trivia Ladder five times would retire undefeated.

The highest collective total earned during the run was $65,496, won by a Junior team. The highest single player winner was Kandi Doyle, who won more than $40,000.fact|date=February 2008

Pilot

The pilot had several differences in game play & set design, such as:

1. Everyone wore casual clothes, instead of sweaters.

2. In round one, a team could try to find the right answer for $100, or pick the wrong answers for $50 each. The third player would then have to try pick the right answer for $100.

3. In the Trivia Ladder round, the players had to eliminate all wrong answers on each level, earning $100 for the first answer, $500 for the second answer, and $1,000 total for all three; they would then play for $10,000.

ound effects

The sound heard when the first two wrong answers were cut in the original format's first round was used in "Classic Concentration" when a number flipped. It was also used as the sound effect when a game board was revealed in the 1989 version of "Now You See It". It was also used when celebrity panelists cast their votes for a challenger in the pilot for the 1990 edition of "To Tell The Truth". It was also used in many "Saturday Night Live" game show sketches as a ring-in sound. The "Trap" sound from cutting the right answer in the original format's first round, losing control to the other team in the $1,000 Trivia Race, and picking a wrong answer in both the Trivia Ladder and the later format's second round, was later and still used on the "Price Is Right" pricing game "Pathfinder" when a wrong number is stepped on (sometimes referred to as a "trap"). (Ironically, the Season 37 pricing game Gas Money has the concept of the first round -- find the prices that is not the price of the car to win it and the money, and the contest loses if the cut the correct price of the car in the game.) It was also used on the Illinois game shows "Illinois' Instant Riches" and Illinois Luckiest when a bad choice was made, including on another game show "Super Decades" when time ran out on answering questions. The "reveal" sound used in the Trivia Ladder, the original format's first round, and the later format's second round are used to reveal the answers in Fast Money on "Family Feud" since 1988, as well as the buzz-in sound in the "Celebrity Jeopardy!" parody seen on "Saturday Night Live" and on "Super Decades" when a picture was revealed for a question. The sound used for the rising rung on the Trivia Ladder was later reversed and used for when the Star Wheel was lowered in the 1990 edition of "Match Game".

In the final portion of the bonus round, when both or all three contestants lock in their answer choices, the only-vowels-left signal from "Wheel of Fortune" (used before 1989) sounds. This "Wheel of Fortune" sound effect was used for the first three weeks and was replaced by the buzz-in sound effect from "Family Feud".

When all three wrong answers were eliminated, when a team reached $1,000, and when correct answers were given both during the later format's second round and the Trivia Ladder's lower three rungs, the music cue was the last bar of the rarely heard end of the "Family Feud" theme, which is also heard on "The Price Is Right"'s Grand Game.

Episode status

All episodes exist.

As of September 23, 2008, "Trivia Trap" is airing Tuesday through Saturday mornings (Monday through Friday Pacific Time) at 2 a.m. on the Game Show Network.

References

External links

* [http://www.gameshow-galaxy.net/trap.htm Game Show Galaxy: "Trivia Trap"]
* [http://www.xanfan.com/othergrabs/trap.htm Screengrabs of Trivia Trap]