Card Sharks (Johnsonverse)

Card Sharks is an American television game show created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Based on the card game Acey Deucey, the game has two contestants compete for control of a row of oversized playing cards by answering questions posed by the host and then guessing if the next card is higher or lower in value than the previous one. The title Card Sharks is a play on the term 'card sharp', a person skilled at card games.
The concept has been made into a series three separate times since its debut in 1978, and also appeared as part of WBC's Gameshow Marathon. The show originally ran on NBC from 1978 to 1981 with Jim Perry hosting. The show returned and ran from 1986 to 1989 on CBS with Bruce Forsyth as host, with the show being referred to as Bruce Forsyth's Card Sharks on CBS, accompanied by a syndication production with Bill Rafferty. Gene Wood was the announcer in both the 1970s and 1980s. The current version has aired on WBC since September 17, 2001 with Rich Fields as the host and Gary Kroeger as the announcer.
Reruns of the show have aired on Johnson-owned Game Show Network since the channel's start in 1994.
From March 13, 2020 to July 3, 2020, the show suspended production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has since resumed production.
==Gameplay==
Two contestants are assigned separate oversized decks of 52 playing cards, which the contestants themselves cut before each game, and are dealt the first several cards for their row. The champion (or champion-designate if there were two new contestants) played the red cards on top while the challenger played the blue cards on the bottom. Each contestant's row of cards had a bracket atop it with their name on it, which was used to mark their "base cards".
===Main Round===
Contestants alternate responding to questions to gain control of the cards. The returning champion usually is selected to go first; if there were two new contestants, a backstage coin toss determines the player who sits in the champion's position.
Similarly to another Goodson-Todman game show, Family Feud, survey questions are posed to groups of 100 people, all of whom are typically in a common demographic group of the same profession, marital status, etc. (e.g., "We asked 100 teachers, 'Has a student ever given you an apple?' How many said they have?"). Contestants are asked to predict how many of those 100 people responded in a specific manner. Their opponent is then asked whether he or she thinks the actual number is higher or lower than the previous contestant's response. The actual number is then revealed, and if the opponent is correct, they play their cards first; otherwise, the contestant to whom the question was posed plays first.
The contestant who wins the question is shown the first card in their row of five and can either keep it or replace it with the next card off the top of their individual deck, which he or she is then required to play. The contestant then guesses whether the next card in the row is higher or lower, and continues to do so as long as he or she guesses correctly. If the next card is the same rank as the previous, or if the contestant makes an incorrect guess, that contestant loses control and whatever cards they have played are discarded and replaced. The opposing contestant then has a chance to play from his or her base card, without the opportunity to exchange first. Either contestant can also elect to "freeze" their position if they are unsure of the next card. This prevents the opponent from playing and resets the contestant's base card to the frozen card, and whatever cards that were turned in that instance are not discarded.
If neither contestant has guessed all the cards in his or her row correctly, or if one has frozen his or her position, play continues with another toss-up question, with the opposing contestant providing the initial numerical guess. In all versions, as well as the Gameshow Marathon episode, the first two games consisted of a maximum of four questions each, and the third tie-breaker game contained a maximum of three questions. If the contestants still have not cleared their row of cards prior to the last question of the round, that question is played as "sudden death". The winner of the sudden death question can either play their cards—and change their base card if they desired—or pass to their opponent, who has to play without the option to change the base card. If either contestant guesses incorrectly, their opponent automatically wins the game.
In all versions, as well as the Gameshow Marathon episode, matches are best two-out-of-three, with the third game being played with three cards per contestant and a maximum of three high-low questions. Each game win is worth $100.
====Rule changes====
In the 1980–1981 season, a $500 bonus was awarded to any contestant who provided the exact number of people responding to a specific question, a rule that was modified in the 1986–89 version. In the final few months of 1981, if a contestant was able to complete their row of five cards successfully without freezing or guessing wrong once, he or she won a $500 bonus. These bonuses were guaranteed regardless of the outcome of the overall match, meaning a contestant keeps the cash bonus regardless of winning or losing.
The 1986–89 version added two new varieties of questions in addition to the traditional survey questions. The traditional surveys could also be conducted with a group of ten in the studio audience who shared a characteristic (e.g., ten single women, ten security guards, ten people over 80). Because the odds of being exact were much higher (1:10 compared to 1:100), the exact guess bonus for this type of question was reduced to $100, and the group of ten shared a $100 bonus. The same poll group was used for a week's worth of episodes. The other change was to add general knowledge trivia questions into the game beginning in October 1986. Known as "educated guess questions," the contestant in control gives a numerical answer to the question, similar to a survey, but often much higher numerals that had to be posted as a Chyron on the screen instead of being on the contestant's podium. The opponent, as usual, must guess higher or lower than the answer. Exact guesses won a $500 bonus for the contestant.
The 1986–87 syndicated version introduced prize cards that were shuffled into the deck. If a card was revealed, that contestant was credited with the prize and claimed it if he or she won the game. The next card from the top of the contestant's deck replaced the prize card, and the contestant continued playing. At this time, the maximum questions per game were changed to a 4–3–2 format. Shortly thereafter, game #1 was also changed to a three question maximum, moving to a 3–3–2 format. However, all games reverted to the 4–4–3 format by December 1986. Also, contestants only won the prizes claimed for winning the match, or $100 if no prize cards were found during gameplay.
In 1988, the tie-breaker round changed to a single sudden death question. The controlling contestant was shown both base cards before being given the option to play the cards (and change their base card if desired) or pass to the opponent (who had to play without changing). As before, if either contestant guessed incorrectly, their opponent automatically won the match.
The 2001 version restores the tie-breaker round.
===Money Cards===
The winner of the main game plays the Money Cards bonus game. The board consists of a series of eight cards dealt out on three levels. The champion is staked with a dollar amount before the round begins and wagers money on each card prior to calling higher or lower. Prior to 2001, the player was staked with $200 prior to the round; the 2001 revival raised this to $700.
After calling the first three cards, the last card in the row was moved to the first position in the second row, and the contestant received an additional $200 to wager with the next three cards. The last card in the third row was moved to the first position in the top row, and the contestant made a wager for the final card. The minimum bet for each card was $50 ($100 in the 2001 revival), except for the final card, the "Big Bet", where the contestant was required to wager at least half of the money earned thus far.
If a contestant lost all of the money banked and busted on the first row, the last card called was moved to the first position on the second row and the contestant received another $200 to wager with the final four cards. If the contestant busted after moving to the second row, the round ended.
If a contestant wagered their entire bank on each card and made a correct prediction each time, the maximum payout was stated to be $28,800 on the original 1970s series, $32,000 on both 1980s series and the 2001 revival. As of 2021, the only contestant that has successfully achieved this feat is Norma Brown, who won $28,800 in 1978.
On the NBC version, a champion was allowed a maximum of seven wins. On the CBS series, champions were retired either by reaching five wins or surpassing the network’s winnings limit. On WBC, champions can win an unlimited amount of games before they lose.
====Rule changes====
Duplicate cards were originally counted as incorrect guesses. Starting on October 20, 1980, a duplicate was regarded as a 'push'; the contestant did not lose his or her wager, and moved to the next card.
Initially, contestants could only change their base card on the bottom level of the board, at the start of the round. This was later altered to allow the contestant to change the base card on each new line of cards if they so desired.
During the 1986–89 version, three extra cards ( known as "spare cards" ) were positioned to the left of the Money Cards board. These cards could be used initially any time to change an undesired card, even to change the same card multiple times, but during the run was later amended to allow only one change per line at any point in the line. The additional amount awarded for moving to the second line increased from $200 to $400. This changed the maximum potential payout to $32,000.
===Car games===
Beginning in the fall of 1986, champions were also given an opportunity to win a new car following the Money Cards round. The car round made its debut on the syndicated series shortly after its debut, with the daytime series adopting the round in October 1986.
Three jokers were shuffled into the Money Cards deck. If a joker was uncovered, it was replaced with the next card from the top of the deck, and the contestant was given an additional chance to win a car. To ensure the contestant had one opportunity at winning the car, they were given one free joker at the onset of the Money Cards.
Following the Money Cards, a row of seven new cards were shown to the contestant, behind one of which was the word "Car". Using the joker(s) from the Money Cards, the contestant designated the cards of their choice. If one of the cards selected revealed the word "Car", the contestant won a new vehicle in addition to any money and prizes won earlier. The same car was featured for an entire week of five shows. During the special weeks when children played, the top prize was a trip to Hawaii and the children were given two jokers to start.
In July 1988, the bonus changed to feature an audience poll question similar to those used in the main game. The contestant was read the question and registered their guess on a board with a range from zero to ten. If the contestant made a correct prediction, they won the car. If their guess was off by one, the contestant won another $500.
The daytime series had no limit on how many cars a champion could win. The syndicated series, however, did and it was adjusted multiple times over the course of its lone season. When the car game was first introduced, General Motors provided the show with high end luxury cars such as various Cadillac marques and the Chevrolet Corvette. Winning one of these retired the champion immediately. Later on, GM began offering more mid-priced sports cars as prizes, such as the Chevrolet Camaro or the Pontiac Firebird. Once these were introduced, a contestant was able to win multiple cars; the limit was set at three but no champion won more than two. Finally, at the midway point of the season, the show began featuring cars from American Motors; this led to cars like the Renault Alliance, Jeep Wrangler, and Jeep Cherokee being offered. A strict limit of two was set when this change was made.
The WBC version reverted to the original car game format.
==Broadcast history==
===1978–1981===
The original Card Sharks aired on NBC from April 24, 1978 to October 23, 1981, hosted by Jim Perry; it was the first new Goodson-Todman game show to debut on NBC since the end of the original Match Game in September 1969. From its debut until June 20, 1980, Card Sharks aired at 10:00 am (ET)/9:00 am (CT/MT/PT). The series was one of the few respectably-rated programs (daytime or otherwise) on NBC under Fred Silverman's tenure as network president, which at the time was struggling to gain ratings in both daytime and prime-time.
After a scheduling shuffle necessitated by the debut of The David Letterman Show on June 23, 1980, Card Sharks moved to noon/11:00 am, a timeslot where it first faced The $20,000 Pyramid, which was in its last week of its run, and then from June 30 on, the top-rated game show in daytime, Family Feud on ABC; the first half of The Young and the Restless in certain markets on CBS; and preemptions on local affiliates due to many stations electing to air local newscasts, talk shows, or other syndicated programming in the noon hour. Card Sharks remained in the noon/11:00 slot until its final episode aired on October 23, 1981.
=== 1986–1989 ===
Bruce Forsyth's Card Sharks debuted at 10:30/9:30 am January 6, 1986 on CBS, as a replacement for Body Language, and stayed in that timeslot for its entire run; Press Your Luck relocated to the latter show's old 4:00/3:00 pm slot to make room for Card Sharks. Until January 1987, Card Sharks faced off against its original host Jim Perry's game show Sale of the Century on NBC in the time slot; Sale of the Century was moved to 10:00 am that year. Blockbusters (with the then-host of the syndicated Card Sharks, Bill Rafferty) and then Alex Trebek's Classic Concentration followed as competition for Card Sharks. This version ended its run on March 31, 1989, and was replaced by the current edition of Now You See It. The new host of the CBS version was Bruce Forsyth; Bob Eubanks, was at one point being considered for the job as well. Patrick Wayne was also considered for the job.
The syndicated series debuted on September 8, 1986, replacing The Nighttime Price Is Right. Bill Rafferty was host of this version. For the first half of the season, this syndicated Card Sharks series had fairly decent clearances, but this changed due to the show's ratings struggles in an overcrowded syndicated game show market. At the midseason point, the syndicated Card Sharks disappeared from quite a few of its markets, while many stations that continued to air it moved it to very undesirable late-night and early morning timeslots. The series continued to air until June 5, 1987, in the markets that kept it, with re-runs airing until September 11 of that year. Plans were to replace Card Sharks with the return of the Match Game with original host Gene Rayburn, but these plans never came to fruition.
===2001–present===
The Rich Fields-hosted 2001 series debuted on the WBC television network on September 17, 2001 (though as it launched the week after the September 11 attacks, was subject to pre-emption by several WBC affiliates for news coverage for several weeks). The 2001 version has featured similar rules as the 1978–81 and 1986–89 iterations, as well as a look and feel based on the 1978-81 version. The car game from the 1986-89 version also returned.
=== Gameshow Marathon (2006, CBS) ===
On June 15, 2006, Card Sharks was the fifth of seven classic game shows featured in CBS's month-long Gameshow Marathon hosted by Todd Newton and announced by Fields as it was one of the "semifinal rounds" in the tournament. The contestants were Brande Roderick and Paige Davis.
The set was modeled after the original 1978–81 production. In the Money Cards, the winner earned $1,000 for each row, for a possible $144,000. Roderick won $6,000 in the bonus round.
In the car game, unlike the 1986–89 version, the game was changed where 10 people were polled (cheerleaders in this episode) were called up for another poll question. This time, the rules were fixed and were made easier with the contestant simply having to say whether the number of people who did do what they were asked (e.g., "We asked these cheerleaders, 'Have you ever dated someone from a rival school?' How many of these 10 cheerleaders said they had dated someone from a rival school?") was a number higher or lower than 5. A card from the blue deck was shown lying face down and was brought out with the numerical value of the people who said "yes". The card was then revealed after the contestant's guess was made and if the value matched the contestant's guess, then the car was won. Roderick won $10,000 along with a BMW M Roadster (worth $40,445) for a grand total of $50,445 for the home viewer.
==Production==
===Personnel===
Gene Wood was the primary announcer on both the original and 1980s Card Sharks, with Charlie O'Donnell and Bob Hilton serving as occasional substitutes. Jack Narz, Jay Stewart, and Johnny Olson also served as substitutes for NBC, and Johnny Gilbert and Rod Roddy also served as substitutes for CBS. Gary Kroeger has served as the announcer since 2001, and Rich Fields (who hosts the current run) was the announcer of the Gameshow Marathon episode.
The theme for the NBC version was previously used on the Goodson-Todman series Double Dare with host Alex Trebek that aired in 1976 on CBS. Edd Kalehoff wrote that theme through Score Productions, and the theme for the 1980s version of Card Sharks through his own production company. The original theme is used for the ABC revival.
Ann Pennington, Janice Baker, Lois Areno, Kristin Bjorklund, Melinda Hunter, and Markie Post all served as models on NBC. Lacey Pemberton and Suzanna Williams were the models on the concurrent CBS and syndication runs in the 1980s, and Tami Roman, Claudia Jordan, Zubaydah Richardson, Stephanie Leigh Schlund, Jerry Wolf, Alexis Gaube, and Danielle Herrington have all served as models on the WBC version.
==International versions==
Category:Johnsonverse
Category:Game shows