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Welcome to 'No Whammy', the fanlisting for the hilarious game show, Press Your Luck. It is such a pleasure to bring this awesome fanlisting to you. Thanks so much to Catherine for letting me adopt it from her collective. |
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What is a fanlisting? A fanlisting is a website that devotes itself to a certain subject matter (TV show, actor/ actress, characters, etc.) and asks others from all over to join in and show the world that they're a fan, too! |
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About the show... Press Your Luck was an American television daytime game show originally broadcast on CBS from 1983 to 1986 where contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions, and then used the "spins" on an 18-space gameboard full of cash and prizes. The person who amassed the most in cash and prizes at the end of the game won. The show was memorable for the "Whammy", a red cartoon creature of indeterminate species wearing a cape. The Whammy's spaces on the game board took away the contestant's money, accompanied by an animation that would show the Whammy taking the loot—but frequently being chased away, blown up, or otherwise humiliated in the process. The animated Whammies were created and animated by Savage Steve Holland and Bill Kopp, and voiced by Kopp. Throughout the show's run, approximately 60 different animations were used, and the Whammy became popular enough that at the end of many episodes, Peter Tomarken, the show's host, would read a "Whammy poem," sent in by a home viewer. "Whammy poems" would also appear after the first round of the big board before going to commercial on occasion. The show's original incarnation was the short-lived show Second Chance, which aired on ABC for nineteen weeks from March-July 1977. Carruthers did some retooling and created Press Your Luck. A pilot was shot in summer 1983 with Peter Tomarken as emcee. CBS agreed to take the show after the success of this pilot, which still circulates among tape traders. Press Your Luck ran from September 19, 1983, to September 26, 1986, on CBS. Peter Tomarken hosted, and Rod Roddy was the regular announcer (John Harlan and Charlie O'Donnell substituted. Press Your Luck replaced Child's Play on the CBS schedule. It ran at 10:30 a.m. EST between The $25,000 Pyramid and The Price is Right for its first two and a half years, but on January 6, 1986, it was moved to 4:00 p.m. EST (one of the last shows to air in this time slot on the major networks) to make room for Card Sharks, replacing Body Language. Clearly, CBS was trying to burn out the show, as only 47 percent of affiliated stations aired the show at this time; the rest opted for syndicated programming. Ratings dropped significantly afterward, leading to major slashing of dollar values on the board in June 1986 and the show's ultimate cancellation that September. (CBS later gave up programming in the 4 p.m. timeslot altogether after the show's demise.) Reruns of Press Your Luck aired on the USA Network from September 14, 1987 to October 13, 1995 and on GSN since September 1, 2001, although all GSN is currently allowed to air are episodes from February 21, 1984 to November 15, 1985 (including Day 20 of the third Home Player Sweepstakes, which ran 25 days). GSN was also notable for airing the Michael Larson episodes for the first time in nearly 20 years; previously, they had not seen the light of day since their initial 1984 CBS airing (as CBS considered the event an embarrassment and refused to give permission to air the episodes). On April 15, 2002, GSN debuted a new updated version of the series as Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck; Todd Newton hosted and Gary Kroeger was the announcer. The show was in production for two seasons. Peter Tomarken hosted a pilot of this version and the question round for a 2003 Michael Larson special. |
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About The Webmaster... My name is Amanda and I live in Brooklyn, NY. I am currently the owner of several websites, several fanlistings and namelistings and 3 forums. You can reach me anytime at Sel416331@aol.com and on AIM. All images, html, and codes are the property of me! Please visit the credits page for more info on those who helped out. |