The Object Is
July 4th, 2009| The Object Is… | |
| Format | Game show |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Dick Clark |
| Country of origin | |
| No. of episodes | 65 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | The Object Is, Inc. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | December 30, 1963 – March 27, 1964 |
The Object Is was a game show which aired on ABC from December 30, 1963 to March 27, 1964. The series was the first game for host Dick Clark.
Contents
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Gameplay
Three celebrities and three contestants competed in a game in which they tried to identify people (either celebrities, historical figures, or fictional characters) from objects typically associated with that person. Each contestant played with two celebrities - one who gave a clue and one who received it.
For example, if the person was “Charles Lindbergh” a clue from the first celebrity might be “transatlantic airplane”; if the contestant guessed correctly, it was worth ten points; if not, the contestant gave a clue to the second celebrity for seven points. Clues were worth ten points, then seven, then five, then three. If the subject was not guessed after the three-point clue, the subject was thrown out.
The first contestant to score fifteen points won $75 and the right to team with a celebrity in the “Winner’s Game”, in which they attempted to identify as many celebrities associated with a particular object as possible in thirty seconds.
Rule changes
By the end of the show’s run, the format had changed to two celebrity-contestant teams (similar to Password) who tried to identify the person in a maximum of three clues; they now played a two-out-of-three match with each game worth $100.
Afterword
After The Object Is was canceled, Clark began hosting the new ABC version of Missing Links, which moved from NBC to ABC on March 30, 1964. Clark replaced Ed McMahon, who was under contract to NBC, however his new series did not fare well against NBC’s replacement - Jeopardy!
Episode status
All 65 episodes exist and are in the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Three shows are in the trading circuit - the premiere, the finale, and the second-to-last episode (in which Stubby Kaye promotes the debut of Shenanigans).
References
- ^ David Schwartz, Steve Ryan, Fred Wostbrock - “The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows”, third edition