| Remote Control (game Show) |
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''Remote Control'' was a TV Game Show that ran on MTV for five seasons from 1987 until 1990 . New episodes were made for first-run Syndication in 1989 . It was one of the earliest non-music programs to appear regularly on the music video channel. A version based in Puerto Rico , entitled ''Control Remoto'', had to be axed after only 3 months on Televicentro because MTV threatened a lawsuit for Copyright Infringement . CAST ''Remote Control'' was hosted by Ken Ober and featured Colin Quinn as the gravel-voiced announcer/sidekick. John Ten Eyck played several walk-on parts, joined in later seasons by Adam Sandler , Denis Leary , and Roger Kabler . Steve Treccase provided music; Marisol Massey (Season One), Kari Wuhrer (Seasons Two and Three), Alicia Coppola (Season Four) and Susan Ashley (Season Five) were the hostesses. PREMISE The show's premise was that Ober desperately wanted to be a game show host and set up his basement (at 72 Whooping Cough Lane) as a television studio. The opening theme song sketched the scenario out: ''"Kenny wasn't like the other kids (Remote Control) / TV mattered, nothing else did (Remote Control) / Girls said yes, but he said no (Remote Control) / Now he's got his own game show (Remote Control!)"'' Shows were sometimes interrupted by the disembodied voice of "Ken's mother," and the studio was indeed set up to resemble a basement, complete with a washer and dryer and cheesy bric-a-brac. The basement was a mainstay of the show throughout its run; however its cheesy decor was "rearranged" slightly every season. The contestants sat in leather recliners with seat belts (their purpose explained below), complete with retro kidney-shaped tables and scoreboards, facing host Ober and his "Big Z" (a retro-styled Zenith television.) Behind Ober were autographed pictures of his idols, game show hosts such as Bob Barker , Monty Hall , Bob Eubanks , and Tom Kennedy . Musician Steve Treccase set up his keyboard behind a cluttered Bar , at which Quinn and the hostess usually sat for the duration of the show. More clutter could be found around and behind the audience, very frequently including props used in previous seasons. Additionally, some of the random objects in the basement were also used in the house on Nickelodeon's Finders Keepers , which was also produced by MTV. Finally, the contestants' chairs were placed in front of breakaway walls, through which they were pulled if they were eliminated. THE MAIN GAME Three contestants sitting in lounge chairs would select one of nine channels, each of which represented some topic having to do with pop culture. Sample channels used on the show were "The Jon Bon Jovi Network", " Brady Physics", and " Dead or Canadian ". Contestants answered a series of questions from those subjects to get points. There were three questions in each channel/subject. Scoring Here's how the scoring format worked: Categories/Channels Several categories were performance-driven, such as these:
Penalization Channels There were a handful of "negative" channels in which contestants would be penalized:
Off The Air After round two, a siren went off and the lights would dim on and off. The TV went "Off The Air," and the contestant currently in last place would also be thrown "Off the Air", and eliminated from the game. Contestants were removed immediately, chair and all (hence the seatbelts). The ejections were accomplished in a variety of ways, ranging from being pulled back through a trick wall or wallpaper to being lifted up and out of the room. Beginning in the Spring Break episodes before the second season, the audience would also sing a "goodbye song", typically "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," "Hit the Road Jack," or "Get Off My Show" (to the tune of "Get Off My Cloud"), while said player was being ejected. After a contestant was ejected, he/she would be tormented by stagehands playing various annoyances behind him/her while an unrealistic screaming sound effect played. Lightning Round aka "Think Real Fast" In seasons 2-4, you and your opponent had 30 seconds to answer as many questions as you can, earning 10 points for each one. Typically, this was a fill-in-the-blank or spot-the-errant-word format. For example, Ober would read movie titles that had one word replaced with a snack food, and contestants had to come up with the correction. After this round, the second place contestant was removed and "tormented" in a manner similar to the player going "Off the Air", but without the singing or the special effects. In season 5, all three players played the lightning round but it wasn't the last round in the game (the real final is explained below). They had 20 seconds to rack up as many points as they could; the third place player then went "Off The Air." In this season, all questions usually had one of three answers that Ober would list before the round started. These were usually people or characters who shared a common name, for example: " Andy Taylor , Andy Warhol , or Andy Rooney ." The Final Question (Season Five Only) In the final season, the two remaining players bet any or all of their current score on one final question. Host Ober read a question, usually a math problem, and the players had 20 seconds to write down their answers while a strange act was performed. When time expired, the players' answers and wagers were checked; a correct answer awarded the wagered points to the contestant, while a wrong answer deducted said points. The remaining player after all rounds won the game and advanced to the Grand Prize Round. GRAND PRIZE ROUND MTV Version (first 4 seasons): The contestant was strapped to a Craftmatic Adjustable Bed , in front of a large wall of TV sets playing Music Videos . The contestant had to identify the artist in each video, with a prize being awarded for every correct answer. Correctly identifying all nine artists within 30 seconds won the grand prize (which was usually a car or a trip to a beach resort). Syndicated Version ("Wheel of Jeopardy"): The contestant was strapped to a carnival wheel surrounded by 10 television monitors, and was asked ten further questions (usually about TV). For each question successfully answered, the contestant won a prize, and the corresponding screen would display "Grand Prize." After 10 questions, the wheel was stopped, and if the player's head landed on a screen that had "Grand Prize" displayed, he won the day's top prize. MTV Version (season 5): The "name the artist" round was modified to more resemble the syndicated bonus round. The player was strapped to a metal wheel placed at a 45 degree angle, with a single TV above and below it. The 9 videos were shown in succession, and the player had to guess all nine artists in 40 seconds to win the grand prize. (The metal wheel also replaced the carnival wheel in the syndicated version; because it was lighter than the carnival wheel, it also spun quite a bit faster, making it even harder for the contestant to concentrate.) CELEBRITIES Celebrities from that time appeared on the show such as:
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