Friday, March 16, 2018

What Might've Been: Temptation (1967)

Up until the time Bob Quigley retired, he & Merrill Heatter sold just 4 game shows to ABC. The Saturday morning series, Shenanigans, was the first, and it was a retooling of CBS' Video Village. The first sale to ABC for their weekday lineup was Temptation, which ran for 13 weeks in 1967-8.

Over the course of five rounds, contestants chose prizes. The three options resembled the Big Deal segment of Monty Hall's Let's Make a Deal, but that was the only quirk. Actually, it wasn't. Temptation was one of two H-Q games that Kenny Williams didn't announce. NBC's Magnificent Marble Machine, which came along a few years later, and, like Temptation, emceed by Art James, was the other.

Another H-Q game, Funny You Should Ask, ultimately replaced Temptation, but after Funny was dropped, it'd be a few more years before H-Q would try again.

Here's a sample episode. Mind the shaky video quality.



As a 4 year old, I barely remember seeing this at home. I remember the logo, and little else. The game-play is unique in a way, and James attempting to be a little unassuming was a nice change from the norm.

Rating: B.

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