The $10,000 Pyramid (TV Series 1973–1991) Poster

(1973–1991)

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6/10
Bubble Gum For the Tired Mind
DKosty1232 July 2007
This was the perfect type of game show for the person coming home from work at the end of a long day. While it was a challenging game for the contestants, the viewer could just sit & watch & be mind numb when necessary.

Dick Clark made his first move from being America's teenager into being Americas game show host with this show. Actually he is pretty good at it as he would always keep things moving along at a brisk pace.

Each program would have two contestants & two celebrities teamed against each other & competing for the right to get into the winners circle. The team that got to the winners circle (after winning some cash for winning the game) would have a chance to climb a 6 subject pyramid in 60 seconds & win $10,000 (later 20, 25, 50 & then 100). The rules were more stringent on the pyramid than during the regular game.

Certain celebrities were excellent at playing the game. Some were not, which in a way was telling as the celebrities were exactly the same as the contestants. To me, it was always exciting watching a team win the 60 second round. Think the best ever done was around 25 seconds which was amazing.

This game was word association, & actually took the concept from a previous game, Password, only put it into hyper speed by trying to do everything in 30 second or 60 second bites. It worked really well considering it ran non-stop pretty much for 19 seasons & recently has been revived with new syndicated versions again & again.
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8/10
Back when it was better...
aeowen-0339812 August 2018
...I used to love watching this while on summer vacation, always waiting for my favorite actress to star, Loretta Swit. But that wasn't the only reason.

Back then, the game was much more suspenseful and unpredictable. The music was much more hip (especially from 1973 to 1976), and Dick Clark the greatest host. Non-scripted and unrehearsed.

The show jumped the shark when it jumped to $100,000 - and then really got so unfunny and almost predictable when Donny Osmond hosted, much like Louie Anderson and Steve Harvey have done to Family Feud.

The only reason I give this an 8 of 10 is because Bill Cullen brought no excitement like Clark did. Having nothing against Cullen, it was just too wild with Clark.

To bring this back again...
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The New $25,000 Pyramid
Danorgan8 April 2000
I guess this is the place to comment on The (New) $25,000 Pyramid. I think this is a neat game and I like seeing all the panelists and alot of them are from the old reruns that I like to watch! I have never seen a listing for the $10,000 Pyramid on Game Show Network but have seen listings for $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids and I think both of those are neat games to watch.
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10/10
Fun game show
Catherine_Grace_Zeh19 July 2006
First off, I must say that this was a fun game show. Also, I haven't seen every episode. However, I do know the show very well. I still watch it in reruns on the Game Show Network. Every time I've watched it, I had a lot of fun playing along and watching. When I was growing up, this made me long to be a contestant. The thing I like most about it are the questions. Despite the fact that I don't know all the answers, I still have fun playing along. I hope the Game Show Network keeps it on so I can play along and watch for years to come. If that happens, I will be really happy. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever. Now, in conclusion, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.
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10/10
My TV show review: "The $100,000 Pyramid..."
sethn1728 September 2006
Television has produced many kinds of "The (insert big amount here) Pyramid," but the most notable version of all is the one that had given away $100,000, and that had taken place from 1985 to 1988 with "The $100,000 Pyramid," hosted by Dick Clark (there was also a 1991 version with a different host). Anyways, there were two teams, each consisting of an Average Joe or Plain Jane contestant alongside a celebrity (most of them have already used up their 10 seconds of fame; LOL). It's almost like "Password," except there are six categories, each having word clues that one must read out while the other tries to guess!!!!! The winner with the most points goes on to the "Winner's Circle," for a chance at 100 grand!!!!!

GSN shows this Monday through Friday at 10:30 in the morning. Despite those stupid split screens, you can see the original 10 second commercials retained!!!!! And now, to close, a funny moment from the show:

Dick Clark: "We're playing for a 1958 Chevrolet Chevette!!!!!"

Man in back: "85! 85!"

(Dick Clark dies of laughter) LOL

10/10
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9/10
TV's Most Durable Word Game
hfan7715 January 2013
Since Bob Stewart left Goodson-Todman in the mid 60s to form his own production company, he has had successes such as Eye Guess, Personality and Three on a Match. But in 1973, he had the biggest hit of his career with The $10,000 Pyramid.

Derived from Password, Stewart loosened up the main game by allowing a player descriptive clues to get their partner to guess the word without revealing part of the answer. The winning team goes to The Winner's Circle where the clue giver faces the giant pyramid and gives clues to their partner so they can identify six subjects in 60 seconds. This is what makes Pyramid one of TV's greatest game shows. It is the best bonus round of any game show ever invented because it's 60 seconds of drama and suspense, two important elements needed for a successful game show.

Another element that made Pyramid a hit was host Dick Clark. The American Bandstand host brought to the proceedings something no other host has done. If a contestant loses the big money, he would give clues that would have helped the contestant win. He was the type of host who cared about the players and wanted them to win. Also hosting the various versions were Bill Cullen, John Davidson, Donny Osmond and Mike Richards. They did a really good job as hosts.

Also, there were many celebrities who were outstanding at the game. Some of the best Pyramid players were Soupy Sales, Anita Gillette, Betty White, Nipsey Russell and Henry Polic II.

Since its debut in 1973, the top prize has risen to 25, 50 and 100 thousand and there was also a version simply titled Pyramid and also The Pyramid. It's TV's most durable word game and it will put you in The Winner's Circle.
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Very easily one of the greatest game shows of all time
Jerry Ables23 June 2003
My earliest memory of seeing this dynamic game show were when I was a child and saw the $20,000 version on ABC. I've always thought of it as being one of my personal favorite game shows ever made because it was always filled with such fun and excitement. I always thought that Dick Clark did such a dynamic job as the host and I also liked seeing the clips before the show of people making it to the top of the pyramid and winning the big money. My personal opinion is that this is one game show that should never have been cancelled.
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10/10
My most favorite game show!!!
matt_tawesson-110 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I first saw Pyramid many years ago when I was a little kid (it was the $25,000 show) back when Dick Clark had it. I might have seen it several times on CBS back when it was in production, but I saw it a lot more when the reruns of that and the $100,000 version were on the USA channel. The parts of the show I love to see are the winner's circle rounds, because that is where more excitement is at. It is so wonderful to hear Dick Clark say, "For $10,000/$25,000, here is your first subject. Go!" or "For $100,000, here is your first subject. Go!" if it was during the $100,000 tournaments. I always got a big smile on my face when a contestant won in the winner's circle. When a contestant won $10,000 or $25,000, his or her relatives would come up on stage to congratulate the winner, but when a contestant won $100,000 during the tournament, it would be the entire audience scrambling out of their seats and racing up to the winner's circle. I had learned that the audience never cared about the contestant winning the $100,000, but that they wanted some camera time. But, whatever the reason for it, it was a great way to make the $100,000 wins more exciting. I had just learned that the show has been removed from the GSN lineup. That is very sad to know. I hope it comes back by popular demand; I would love to see a $100,000 win on TV (as it was years ago when I witnessed one on TV). There was a revival of it in 1990 or 1991 with John Davidson as host, but I never saw that and I learned that it wasn't that great. There was another revival of it from 2002-04 with Donny Osmond as host. I loved that one also, even though several of the rules differed from Dick Clark's version and that it was pulled after its 2nd season. I thought Donny Osmond was great as host, also. GSN needs to get this show back on the lineup so that it will be enjoyed by fans for many more years to come.
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"Password" plus a clock equals a classic
dfmock15 March 2003
"Pyramid" is one of those quiz-show perennials, with a simple format that's held up over time. And its bonus round is one of the most exciting in TV history.

Bob Stewart, creator of the Goodson classics "Password" (as well as "To Tell the Truth" and "The Price Is Right"), reworked his "Password" concept to have celebrities and civilians guess either words or phrases within a preset time limit. In the process, "Pyramid" became one of the few celebrity game shows that didn't dumb down its product -- and has won nine Emmys for Best Game Show as a result.

The basic premise of the game has stayed the same since 1973. The main round prompts one member of a team to have his/her partner guess six words or phrases in a category within a 20-second time limit (the original was eight words in 30 seconds, shrunk to seven in the mid-1970s).

The celebrity/civilian team with the biggest total after six categories heads to the Winner's Circle, where one player has to convey a subject to his/her partner in 60 seconds for his partner to win the jackpot.

Apart from its value as a game, "Pyramid" gave its first and longest-running host, Dick Clark, a new audience beyond his "American Bandstand" constituency. Clark ran the program efficiently and made sure it stayed a serious game show. Bill Cullen, John Davidson and current host Donny Osmond have also been effective emcees of the syndicated edition.
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The $20,000 Pyramid (1976-1980)
BHallums5 September 1999
After 4 seasons of winning $10,000 and the title & the value are both changed & raised into $20,000 for "THE $20,000 PYRAMID!" It debuted on January 19, 1976 and the 2 teams are now playing in 2 parts instead of the full Qualifying Round. The 6 subjects on the "Play-A-long Pyramid" was shown. Each subject contains of 7 things to be describe them and also an question for each of the 6 subjects can be read by the host. The Team has 30 seconds to describe number of things to score. However, When the team scores 7 out of 7 that'll be the perfect score of the same number 7. The 1st team scores the most points wins, Otherwise that'll score 21 wins $1000 and going to "The Winner's Circle" for 2 cash rewards. The 1st tryout is worth $10,000 and the 2nd and last tryout was $15,000 and later tried for $20,000. one of each member of the team has 60 seconds to give a list of things from the related subject that collects the value on the pyramid in the following: 3 subjects worth $50, 2 Subjects worth $100 and 1 subject worth $200. The Possible total was $500 as same as the bonus cash of the new feature card called "The BIG 7!" One Member of the team shouldn't use/give a thing into the description in 2 things (Play-Along Pyramid & The Winner's Circle) will might sound a "Cuckoo" and the thing removed from it in several unoccasional ways. ABC-TV finally cancelled the program in 1980.
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