What Might've Been: The Smart Alecks (1977)

Here's an unsold pilot for a game show that probably wouldn't have even lasted 13 weeks.

Michael Hill, who partnered with Bob Eubanks on All-Star Secrets, had tried selling The Smart Alecks to, presumably, NBC, in the spring of 1977. Allen Ludden, in between runs of Password, was tapped to host. After this bomb, Ludden would go on to Stumpers before NBC picked up a Password revival.

So what's the problem? The bizarre ideas being brought forth sound like rejects from The Liars' Club, another series that Ludden had worked on. And, yeah, the key word here is bizarre. Pat Carroll, David Letterman and Don Meredith are the celebrity panelists.



An ultra-sonic husband whistle? I guess Letterman devised "Stupid Human Tricks" a few years later, along with "Stupid Pet Tricks", in response.

Rating: C-.