The Joker's Wild

The Joker's Wild was a popular American game show of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Broadcast History

The Joker's Wild debuted on CBS September 4, 1972, incidentally on the same day as the modern incarnation of The Price is Right. It ran until June 13, 1975 on that network. After a syndicated rerun cycle of the last CBS season proved successful in 1976, the show returned to first-run syndication in September 1977 and continued for nine seasons, lasting until September 1986. A short-lived revival ran from September 10, 1990 - September 13, 1991, also in syndication.

Jack Barry, co-creator of this show with partner Dan Enright, hosted all versions of Joker up until his sudden death in 1984; Bill Cullen hosted the remainder of the syndicated run, which proved to be "The Dean"'s last series. Pat Finn hosted the 1990 remake. Jim Peck was an occassional fill-in host while Barry was still alive. Announcers for the series included Johnny Jacobs, Jay Stewart, Bob Hilton, Charlie O'Donnell, and slot machine-style wheels in motion. The wheels contained various categories and Jokers. When the wheels stopped, the player chose one of the displayed categories and had to answer a question from that category.

The value of each question was determined by how many times that category appeared on the wheels. Single categories were worth $50, two of a kind $100, and finally $200 for a triple. Jokers, when they appeared, could be used to match any category, or could be used to go "off the board" and become a category not shown.

The first player to reach $500 or more won the game. If the player was fortunate enough to spin three Jokers, answering one question from any of that game's categories was an automatic win. However, the returning champion had an advantage - even if his or her challenger had reached $500 first, he or she could still take one final spin to see if it was possible to catch up (or to spin three Jokers).

Any contestant who won five consecutive games recieved a new car as a bonus.

Endgame ("Face the Devil")

The wheels now contained various amounts of money (generally ranging from $25-$200) and Devils. The object was to take spins and accumulate $1,000 or more on the wheels, which won a bonus prize package. However, if the Devil came up at any time, the game was over and the player lost whatever money he or she had built up. The player always had the option to stop after every "safe" spin and keep the money earned to that point.

It was also possible to win by spinning a three-of-a-kind of any dollar amount.

Other Versions

Original 1969 pilot

This pilot episode, hosted by Allen Ludden, was very different from the eventual series. Most notable was the fact that categories on the wheels were each represented by a different celebrity panelist, each of whom asked the questions in his or her specific category. A somewhat confusing points system was used for scoring in place of money, with the first player to reach 13 points winning the game.

For a bonus round, the game's winner spun the wheels, each of which contained different prizes of various quality - anything from a five-cent piece of chewing gum to $500 cash. After the spin, the player could elect to keep the prizes shown, or give them all back for a second spin. This offer was then repeated after the second spin, but if a third spin was taken, the player was stuck with whatever prizes came up in that spin. This pilot did not feature returning champions.

1972-1975

Initially, triples were worth $150 instead of $200; this soon changed. Also, three Jokers originally won the game automatically, no additional questions asked.

The bonus round went through a few different permutations. For the first two episodes, it was a variation of the game seen in the 1969 pilot, but with only two spins allowed and most of the gag prizes replaced with decent ones. Additionally, some prizes appeared on the wheels inside of circles; if all three prizes in a spin were thus circled, the player also won a new car. Beginning with the third aired episode, the circles were eliminated and the car became a regular prize on the wheels. Not long after that, the endgame was completely overhauled again - this time, the wheels contained Jokers and Devils. The player was given up to three spins, and each time three Jokers came up, a different prize was won, increasing in value with each spin taken. If a Devil appeared, the player lost it all. Amusingly, for Christmas 1972, the graphics for this game were altered to become "Santas" (Jokers) and "Scrooges" (Devils). By the end of the CBS run, the "Face the Devil" round described above had been implemented.

Early in the show's run, returning champions were competing for a chance to win the "Joker's Jackpot," an accruing jackpot of cash and prizes that started at $2,500. Players won this jackpot if they won four consecutive games. However, if they were defeated, all of their winnings to that point were forfeited to the Joker's Jackpot. Thus, after every game, the champion decided whether to play on for a chance to win the Jackpot, or play it safe and retire from the show with their current winnings. The Jackpot continued to build until it reached $25,000 or more, which was at the time CBS's maximum "winnings cap" for game show contestants.

1977-1986

There were a few alterations to the syndicated show over the years. One of the most notable was the addition of a "Natural Triple Jackpot" in the early 1980s. This was an accruing prize package offered to a contestant who had spun a triple of any category, without Jokers.

Beginning with the 1981-82 season, an audience game was played at the close of every show. This gave three pre-selected members of the studio audience a chance to win bonus money and prizes. Each audience player was given one spin to get as much money as possible (the wheels here contained dollar amounts from $10-$50), with the high score getting the chance to play "Face the Devil" for a bonus prize package. When Bill Cullen took over the reins of Joker in 1984, the third contestant became a home viewer playing from his or her touch-tone telephone.

Joker! Joker! Joker! (1979-1981)

This was a special once-weekly version of The Joker's Wild with children for contestants and appropriately themed subject matter for questions. The format was basically the same, with only some slight alterations. The childrens' parents played the bonus round, presumably to avoid giving the kids the vice of gambling.

1990-1991

When The Joker's Wild returned to syndication in 1990, virtually everything about the show had been changed.

In the first round, three contestants (one a returning champion) competed to be the first to reach $500. The wheels contained various dollar amounts (generally $5-$50 in each window), with a Joker in the third window tripling the value of the first two if it came up. After spinning, the player was given a series of rapid-fire definitions and had to figure out what those definitions referred to. Each correct answer earned the current value of the wheels. When one player reached $500, the low-scoring contestant was eliminated.

The two remaining contestants advanced to the second round, which was played much like the first, with higher dollar amoounts on the wheels. The first to reach $2,000 won the game.

In the bonus round, the champion was given up to three definitions to different words starting with the same letter. Each correct answer given within sixty seconds earned one spin of the wheels. The wheels, this time, contained prizes and Jokers. The object was to get three of a kind of any prize in order to win it. Jokers could be used to match any prize showing; spinning three Jokers won a "Joker Jackpot" that started at $5,000 and increased by $500 each day until won.

About halfway through this show's run, the front game format was reworked to incorporate elements of the original Joker's Wild game. Although still played with the "definition" format, categories at least had returned to the wheels - $25 for a single, $50 for a double, $100 for a triple. Spinning three Jokers here won an automatic $250 bonus. The winning score for the first round was increased to $1,000 at this point.

Notes

• In the mid-1990s, Philips produced two games for its ill-fated CD-i platform based on The Joker's Wild. These games featured "real" hosts and were based more or less on the first syndicated series. Wink Martindale "hosted" the first and best-known of these games, while Marc Summers could be found on a special "Junior" edition of the game.
• Board game manufacturer Milton Bradley produced four editions of The Joker's Wild home game, the fourth of which was actually branded for Joker! Joker! Joker!.
• Although Joker is commonly named by several game show historians as the first series Jack Barry was part of follwing the diastrous quiz show scandals, that isn't actually true. Barry had hosted two earlier series (The Generation Gap and The Reel Game) prior to the premiere of Joker, and some evidence suggests he and partner Dan Enright were "silent partners" in several game shows of the 1960s, defying their unofficial blacklisting by the industry.
• In 1980, The Joker's Wild became the first television program to advertise that it was giving away $1,000,000. It was the total purse for a special tournament of champions; the eventual winner recieved $500,000 of that total, half of which went to the charity of his or her choice. The remainder of the money was divided among the other participants in the tournament, depending on how they performed, with once again half of their winnings going to charity.
• The 1990-91 version of The Joker's Wild paid tribute to Jack Barry with a memorial plaque placed on that version's slot machine.
• The theme music of the show's first incarnation was titled "The Savers." It originally appeared on the 1967 release, Spotlight On The Moog (Kaleidoscopic Vibrations) by electronic music arists Perrey and Kingsley.