The Challengers was a one-season current events trivia game show, hosted by the world’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark of The $100,000 Pyramid. The show’s title was derived of the 2 challengers facing off against the champion, hence the titles in their screens.

All contestants were given $200 to start off the game, and host Clark would give rapid-fire questions within a time of 60seconds. Correct answers won $100, while incorrect answers subtracted $100. Early in the run, contestants could buzz-in if a contestant got a question wrong, while in later episodes, like Sale of the Century, incorrect answers forfeited the question with $100 subtracted. At the end of 60 seconds, whoever was ahead would select one of 6 categories on the board, and most questions were current events questions.

The three contestants would look at the video wall configured of 16 screens, and 6 of them would be revealing the categoriesfor that round. In every category was 3 topics, rangingfrom $150 to $250. The higher the amount, the more difficult the question. The contestants would then use a keypad to lock in their topic and respected wager that was attached to that question, and selections would be shown on their screens. Clark would ask the question with the lowest value first. If 3 contestants went for a different category, they would get their questions respectively, with contestants going for harder questions waited to go last. If two go for the samequestion, there would be a jump-in for those contestants. If all 3 contestants go for the samecategory, the values on the board doubleand all 3 would have a chance to answer the question. The one who got the question right would then have an option to play any of the remaining categories to try and increase their total, though bearing in mind that if they miss, their turn is over and the score is penalized with the amount that was attached to that question, but they still select the next category.
Correct answers won the money, while incorrect answers subtracted from the total. In round 2, there were 6 new categories and the values double in that round, making the round more important. At the end of the second round, the game would move into the Final Challenge, but if there was any contestant in the negative position, they were eliminated from the game and cannot move to the Final Challenge.

For the Final Challenge, the contestants would have a look at the video wall and look at the finalsubject of the game. And then, Clark posted categoriesand their odds. The lowest odds were EVEN odds, the second of odds were DOUBLE, and the toughest of all subjects is TRIPLE the odds. The contestants would then have 15 seconds to make their wager with the total they have and go for their selectedcategory. (i.e. if you wagered $1,500 of your current total and went for a TRIPLE odds category, you’d play for $4,500, but be penalized $1,500 if you’re wrong). If two contestants selected the same category and have different wagers, whoever had the higher wager would receive the question. Whoever has the highest totalat the end of the show becomes the champion and returns to play on the next show. All players keep their money.

When The Challengers began, there was an Ultimate Challenge stipulated. For any champion who could win 3 games without being defeated would play the Ultimate Challenge first thing on the next show. Clark would show 2 categorieson the video wall, and the selected category would show 3 subjects, each ranging in difficulty. For every question, the contestant would have fiveseconds to think their answer carefully. If they can answer all 3 questions without a miss, they’d win the Ultimate Challenge jackpotthat started at $50,000 and would grow by $5,000 every time it was not hit. Later on, the Ultimate Challenge would reset to $25,000 and grow by $1,000 for each show until it was won. But then later on, the Ultimate Challenge became a daily run that started at $10,000 and would grow by $1,000 every day it wasn’t won, but there was only one question and it was played at the end of the show. And then in later months, it was dropped for good.

“This is Don Morrow speaking. The Challengers…”

”…is a Ron Greenberg Production, in association with Dick Clark Productions.”

-The Challengers was taped every Friday and was distributed nationwide and aired everywhere in the nation according to the date. And, all current events questions were confirmed by Newsweek magazine.
-In the main game, question totals were futurely dropped by $50, making it $100, $150 and $200 respectively. Round 2 values then doubled to $200, 300, $400. All values would still double if the contestants made their choice a 3-way tie. Also, only a one question toss-up for $100 was asked, replaceing the Challengers’ Sprint round, but it returned due to popular demand.
-Ron Greenberg is a game show creator, who was associated with Barry/Enright shows, such as Bullseye. Greenberg was also the creator of The Big Showdown, a 1970s game show hosted by Jim Peck
-The Challengers was a resemblance of The Who, What, Where Game that was also created by Ron Greenberg
-On April 1st, 1991, judge Gary Johnson pulled a trick on the contestants with the first round categories, one of which Dick Clark could not sound out. When one of the challengers selected one of the categories, the whole video wall went to a birthday celebration-esque screen with APRIL FOOL! on the board. Dick mentioned that the categories didn’t look right and when conferring with Gary about it, Gary admitted that it was appropriate for the day and had wanted to see what the contestants had to say on “The Politics of Burundi,” which was one of the April Fools categories. Dick ended it with, “Go to your room!” Gary is now on the staff of Jeopardy!
-The Challengers is not eligible for re-airing, hence because in most of the show’s run, Don Morrow would announce the date. Although it wasn’t shown in last week episodes, the date was still shown on one of the 4 screens located behind Dick Clark’s podium.
-Citibank, MasterCard and Visa awarded moneycontestants won. It was also mentioned that contestants could also choose to make it out in cash. All-time Challengers winner, Stan Newman said on Game Show Temple LIVE! and Game Show Talk and Fun that all contestants chose the cash option. Stan today makes crossword puzzles that people can do on Yahoo!

MY RATINGS:
This was a show that should’ve lasted longer. Dick Clark really did so well here, learning he left the position of The $100,000 Pyramid to host The Challengers, thus having John Davidson replace him. Ron Greenberg did have a good revival attempt of The Who, What, Where Game as The Challengers, and with this being taped on the Friday prior to next week, it definitely was a challenge to have them go around the country to be aired respectively. I found out about Stan Newman through Matthew Wojis before GST Live!, and it was awesome to talk to Stan and find out how things went for him on The Challengers. You can click HERE to listen to the entire thing. But in either case, a one-year attempt with The Challengers was a good attempt, and I think it should’ve lasted longer

5 stars Click HERE to return to the rulesheet database