Truth or Consequences began, as a lot of early television shows did, on radio, launching in 1940. Original host and producer Ralph Edwards has claimed that he got the idea from playing a parlor game that I'd never heard of called Forfeits. Yeah, I'll bet you've never heard of Forfeits, either, but that's another story.
Most of us grew up with the syndicated version that ran from 1966-75 with Bob Barker as host. The format was tweaked just a wee bit with a end-of-show audience game where Barker had a 4-sided box where audience members could conceivably win some big bucks. Just a couple of years later, with The Price is Right airing both in daytime (CBS) and a syndicated night edition, Barker was unavailable for a revival, so Bob Hilton, now better known as an announcer, took over. The New Truth or Consequences lasted 1 season. A similar revival a decade later met the same fate, and Truth hasn't been brought back since.
Let's check out this sample with Jack Bailey, better known for Queen For a Day, as host. He succeeded Edwards in 1954.
The Barker version used a different intro line: "Hello, out there! We've been waiting for you!". To me, that sounds a lot better.
Rating: B+.
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