If you didn’t see this a few days ago, Wink Martindale’s Youtube channel posted a full episode of the 1991 HTV West local adaptation of Press Your Luck, something lots of people have been itching to see for a while (what’s left? A 1984 edition of Jeopardy with Derek Hobson is probably the current Holy Grail).
So lots of things to remark on here, let’s do a list.
- Enjoyed Rick Turk’s reinterpretation of the theme tune, very much in the Australian mould of “basically the same but just different enough to not have to pay for the licence for it” Aussie composers are wont to do. Very Grundy.
- Two HUNDRED Pounds!
- Paul Coia shouting “Whaaaaammm-mmmyyyy!” every few seconds.
- The quiz rounds go on a bit. How much of that is to fill the extra minutes a UK half-hour show is, how much to satisfy the IBA “game of skill” regulation of the time I don’t know. The second half definitely doesn’t need that many questions.
- In lieu of a spinning stage, those turning desk displays are quite fun.
- No Whammy animations. in fact they seemed to have redesigned it a little bit.
- The board calibrated so a choice space could be between a Whammy and some points, or some points and a different amount of points so not really a choice at all.
- It looks like those Whammy pop-ups are on some flimsy pieces of card.
- There are so many spins in play it’s little wonder the show ends the way it does, really.
- UKGameshows suggests this got not one but TWO series, a second one in 1992, so I wonder if they made any improvements to it.