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Host
Monty Hall
Announcer
Sandy Hoyt
Broadcast
SplitSec86
Global: 12/15/1986-5/29/1987
Packagers
Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions
Concept Equity Funding Ltd.
Viacom Productions

Split Second was a general knowledge quiz where three contestants answered three-part questions as fast as possible.

Gameplay[]

Main Game[]

Three contestants (one of whom was usually a returning champion) were asked trivia questions, and each question had three parts that each contestant must answer. Contestants got to answer based on how fast they could ring in after all three parts of the question were revealed (obviously the one who rang in first got to answer either part of the question first), but if a contestant rang in before all three parts were revealed, they were locked out and were forced to answer last.

The payoffs for the first two rounds were as such:

Round one

Players Correct Amount
3 $10
2 $25
1 $50

Round two

Players Correct Amount
3 $20
2 $50
1 $100

Countdown Round[]

The Countdown Round was the third and final round which determined the winner of the game. The questions were still in the same format as before, but now any contestant can answer up to all three parts of a question in one turn. Each contestant had a specific amount of correct answers to give in order to win based on their scores at the end of round two: the contestant that ended round two in first place had to give four correct answers to win, the contestant in second place had to give five, and the contestant in last place had to give six. If two players were tied for first or second place, they each had to give the same amount of correct answers to win.

For each question in the Countdown Round, a correct answer allowed a contestant to maintain control of it, but if he/she gave an incorrect answer or failed to answer at all, then control of the question passed on to the contestant who rang in after they did. Each time a contestant gave a correct answer, their quota counted down by one (hence the name "Countdown Round"), and whichever player counted down to zero won the game. All three contestants got to keep the money they scored during the game, regardless of the outcome.

Bonus Round[]

The winner of the match got to play for a new car in the bonus round, either a Pontiac or a Buick. They selected from five numbered screens and if they chose the correct one(s), they won the car.

The bonus round went through two different formats (see below):

Format #1[]

Originally, only one of the five screens had the word "CAR" behind it, while the other four each had a consolation prize behind them (originally a merchandise prize represented by the word "Showcase", this was later changed to $1,000). All the champion had to do to win the car was pick out the screen with the word "CAR" behind it; if he/she did so, the car was theirs and they were retired as an undefeated champion. If he/she picked one of the other four screens, he/she won the consolation prize and returned on the next show to play against two new challengers, and if he/she won the game again, the screen that they had selected the day before would be blacked out, leaving them with one less screen to choose from and thus increasing their chances of possibly winning the car. This process continued until the champion selected the right screen and won the car, was defeated by a new opponent, or won five days in a row, at which point he/she automatically won the car and retired undefeated.

Format #2[]

The bonus round was now changed to where three of the five screens now had the word "CAR" and the other two contained a consolation prize, either a fur coat (represented by the word "FUR") or a vacation for two (represented by the word "VACATION"). The champion had to select the three right screens to win the car; they still would retire undefeated if they won it, but if they selected one of the two screens with the consolation prize behind it, they could either return to play again or take the prize and leave, along with $1,000. This cash offer increased by that much each time the champion failed to win the car; if he/she won four days in a row, then four of the five screens had the word "CAR" behind them, thus increasing his/her chances of winning the car. However, if he/she picked the screen with the consolation prize behind it, they could either leave with that prize and $4,000, or they could elect to return and compete in their fifth and final game, at which point they would still win the car automatically and retire undefeated if they won.

Episode Status[]

Split Second is completely intact and has been rerun on GameTV.

Music[]

Todd Thicke

Creators[]

Stefan Hatos & Monty Hall

Studios[]

CHCH-TV, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (1986-87)
Lakeshore Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1987)

Links[]

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