My question about the 1974 pilot is: Why was it called Shopper's Bazaar and not just simply what it was, Wheel Of Fortune? I mean I have heard it through audio clips and the announcer (which I think was Charlie O' Donnell) saying the name of the game was Wheel. I somehow didn't understand that.

I think I just found out when E! THS of Wheel came on!

Two separate sets of pilots. First was Shopper's Bazaar, with Chuck Woolery hosting and Michael somethingorother announcing. Next (about a year later) came the Wheel of Fortune pilots, with Edd Byrnes hosting, Charlie O'Donnell announcing, and the genesis of the set and wheel we all know and love, to varying degrees.

The odds are slim, but there had already been a tv game called Wheel Of Fortune back in the 50s, rewarding solid citizens for good deeds. Maybe the producers at Griffin were using preliminary titles while they were researching the availability of WOF? Interesting, though - within the space of just a few years, three different tv shows - one a drama - all used the title Double Dare. I know there are ways around it, but does anyone know how Nickelodeon managed to use the name Double Dare only ten years after G-T used it? You can't call a new game Password or Play Your Hunch without trouble from Fremantle, right? Who determines and maintains rights to titles? Can you use a similar title if the game idea is radically different, such as the two Dares?

In addition, there were also three Break The Bank's (1948-57, 1976, 1985) and two Strike It Rich's (1951-58, 1986), each one completely different from each other. Also, this is especially since the last 2 BTBs were only 9 years apart.

In my opinion, since the titles are not trademarked and the previous show is out of production with no plans of revival or broadcast, the next producer would be free to use the title, provided that the new show is not a blatant ripoff of the previous show.

In addition, the upcoming "50 Grand Slam" will be different from the 1976 version (according to previous posts here).

I'll have to pull out my videotapes, but I was under the impression that there had to be either some royalties or acknowledgement that the original BtB and SiR formats had been created by Ed Wolf and Walt Framer, respectively. According to a 1977 letter, Dan Enright stated he and Jack leased the rights to the title Break The Bank from Ed Wolf's son Herb and another woman. How Rich Kline wound up with it later, I'm not sure. Perhaps he had been involved with the negotiations when Rich was with B&E and did his own "in" with the rightsholders? Somehow I thought I saw a Framer family member name in the credits for Kline's SiR. Perhaps it all depends on how aggressively a company or individuals pursue and renew copyright protection on certain titles and service marks.

Yes; you can find the answers right here in this thread:

http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?show...c=322&hl=bazaar

Seriously now, I'm guessing that the title was changed because of its homophonic potential.

"Did you see the lady who won on Edd Byrnes's show yesterday? Man, that Shopper's Bizarre!"

Oh, yes...Shopper's Bizarre. I loved it when they sang "Feelin' Groovy"....
Whatever became of them?










Oh. Never mind....

They're turning Gilligan's Island into a reality show. You don't suppose they'll ever make George of the Jungle into a game show, will they? I can just imagine: the object is to swing into as few trees as possible.

AAAAAAHHHHHHH...[crash]


You know, when you think about it, Pitfall was sorta like that.