Supermarket Sweep (U.S. syndicated game show)

Supermarket Sweep is an American . The format combines an ordinary team-based quiz show with the novel concept of a live, timed race through a supermarket. In the timed race, cameras follow the teams with shopping carts through a large vacated supermarket with several aisles; the value of items thrown into the cart determine the winning team. This show is produced by RKO Television Studios and first aired in Syndication on September 7, 1970. This show basically follows the format of the original 1965 ABC version and it also follows the formats of the 1990 Lifetime and 2000 PAX versions. It still airs new episodes in syndication as of March 2014.
For this version, a mock supermarket was created at RKO Television Studios. It was modeled after a Hughes Market until April 2000, when it was remodeled again after a Unified Western Market until 2006, where it was remodeled yet again after an American superstore. Since 2012, it has been presently modeled after a Salvation Army Super Thrift Store (the one on 1422 Water St in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to be exact).
This show was hosted by Bill Malone from 1970 until 1983, Dick Clark from 1983 until 1990, David Ruprecht from 1990 until 2003, Regis Philbin from 2003 until 2012, Rich Fields from 2012 until 2018, and has since been hosted by Alyssa Milano since 2018.
== Gameplay ==
The gameplay consists of three segments: the question round, the Big Sweep, and the Bonus Sweep. The game is played between three teams of two related individuals, such as a parent and child, spouses, siblings, or best friends. In the last two rounds, the team members wear sweatshirts of the same color: Team 1: Light Blue or Red, Team 2: Red or Light Blue, Team 3: Yellow. The show gives the appearance that pairs were chosen to be contestants based on who in the audience (or in this case, the market) hold pre-distributed grocery items that the announcer calls for at the beginning of the show.
=== Question round ===
At the beginning of the game, all three teams start with a base time of 1:30. The questions answered correctly add time to their clocks. The round is divided into three segments; in the first two segments, one teammate from each team answer a variety of questions and/or play one of several games that involve pricing everyday grocery items, with the teammates switching between segments. The third segment is the Round Robin game, in which the teammates rotate after each question.
==== Question Types ====
Contestants are asked a series of questions, usually with specific brands of grocery items as answers; each question is worth 10 seconds. In each round, the questions follow a specific format, which vary between rounds and shows. The formats used on the show include:
* Guessing which item a series of interesting facts describe.
* Guessing which item goes with a particular or .
* Determining the brand name of a product, the picture of which has the brand name edited out.
* Selecting one or more answers to a series of questions from a bank of six possible choices.
* Filling in blanks to reveal a product's name; contestants are either given clues and/or letters that are progressively added (either randomly, spelled backwards, the starting and ending letters, or a partially filled name with some letters missing).
* This or That- Selecting the correct answer earns 10 seconds; selecting the wrong one gives the other two teams 10 seconds each. A similar variation used is called Fact or Not a Fact, which determines whether a statement about a product is true or false.
* Animal Sounds- Given three to five animals (cow, sheep, pig, chicken, and/or fish) as the answer choices, for which contestants must make the correct animal's sound. If none of the animals fit the correct answer, the contestants must .
* Twisted- Guessing a product's name from synonyms and/or antonyms that replace each word, or giving the word or a phrase that's the opposite or almost the opposite of the product's name. For example, "Cow's Ear" is a clue for .
* Supermarket Trivia - Trivia questions are asked about items found or sold in the supermarket.
* Checkstand Headlines - Facts about a famous person or event that are read about in checkstand tabloids are given to the contestants, and the contestants are to guess what the fact refers to.
* Proverbs - Facts about well-known expressions are given to the contestants, and the contestants are to guess by completing these popular expressions with items found or sold in the supermarket.
==== Pricing Games ====
During each segment, different games are played involving everyday groceries. These games vary from day to day and generally involved the following objectives:
* Selecting which of three items is priced above or below a certain amount, is not a given price, is on sale, is incorrectly priced, is correctly priced, or is the most expensive.
* Determining how much of one item can be bought for a certain amount of money.
* Guessing whether the actual price for a product is higher or lower than the price displayed. A variation also includes the possibility of the shown price being correct.
Other variants that don't involve pricing items included:
* Fat Chance - Three items are shown, and the contestants must determine which item has the fewest grams of fat.
* County Fair - Tests the contestants' sense of knowledge of a particular gadget; the host gives three possible explanations for its use.
If a contestant is correct, the team earns 10 seconds; however, if all three contestants are right, 20 seconds (30 in the "On Sale" game, and for all games since late 1990) is added to all three teams' times.
==== Special Games ====
* 30-Second Shootout - At the beginning of the second segment of the question round, both contestants on a team play an individual game, which banks the team 30 seconds of Sweep time. Each team takes turns by playing the game individually. The format usually consists of a contestant guessing a series of words (usually five to seven letters) using the clues given by his or her partner (similar to and ). The first letter of each correct answer is a letter in the name of a brand name or item from the market, which the guesser then has to determine to earn the Sweep time. Each of the teams have 30 seconds to achieve this (40 in the final Lifetime season), and if a word is accidentally blurted out by the clue-giver, the team is disqualified automatically. An original rule was that once a clue was used on one of the words in the list, it was not to be used again (doing so also lead to disqualification of that team), however this rule was later scrapped. On some episodes, an alternative format is used with a picture of a product shown. Each clue changes the product's picture.
* Snack Attack Movie Game - Three questions about movies worth 10 seconds each are asked. The contestant who answers the last of the three questions correctly earns the right to take a of a food item in the market; correctly identifying the item earns that team a $50 bonus for the Big Sweep. If the contestant guesses right on a second chance (multiple choice at that point, and consisting of a maximum three choices), that team earns $25. Originally, the question related to the item only had two choices and only the correct choice earned the $50 bonus.
==== Round Robin ====
For the final segment, the teammates switch after each question. The contestants are shown the scrambled letters of a brand name, common food, or item, and three clues are given for 10 seconds each. If no one buzzes in and then answers correctly after the last clue is given, all three clues are repeated quickly. On some episodes, an alternative format is used with five clues about a product that is given and no scrambled name. The Round Robin originally consisted of four questions and a chance to earn up to 40 seconds, but was lengthened to six, and the chance to earn up to 60 seconds by 1991.
====Mini-Sweep====
Since 1991, a Mini-Sweep is played at the beginning of the first round. A toss-up question (usually a rhyming couplet) is asked with a particular product as the answer. The team that correctly answers the question earns ten seconds, as well as a chance for one team member to run into the market to retrieve the product, which is marked with the show's logo. If the product is returned within 30 seconds, the team wins $50 towards their Sweep total. If the team member returns with the incorrect product, the correct product but it doesn't contain the sticker featuring the Supermarket Sweep symbol on it, runs out of time to find the correct product with the Supermarket Sweep symbol on it, or returns the correct product with the Supermarket Sweep symbol on it after time runs out, no bonus is awarded.
A year after its debut, the bonus was doubled to $100 if the product is brought back within 20 seconds. Starting in 1994, a second Mini-Sweep was added at the beginning of the second round and is used only during special weeks and location-themed episodes.
===Big Sweep===
The "Big Sweep" is the chance for the teams to run throughout the aisles and grab whatever they an off of the supermarket shelves. The clock is set to the highest time earned by one of the teams, and the clock starts when that team is sent into the market. Once the clock displays the amount of time the second place team has earned, that team's runner is sent into the market, and the process repeats for the third place team. If more than one of the teams earn the same amount of time, both runners start at the same time. During the Big Sweep, the show's announcer provides the play-by-play.
The runner can bring their cart back to the team's register at any time, at which point it is exchanged for an empty cart. Any items in the runner's cart when the bell rings are included in their total.
The three main rules for the Big Sweep are:
* The teams can only take up to five of each item.
* Any items dropped and/or upset have to be returned to the shelf or in one's cart, or incur a $25-per-item penalty. Teams are also penalized for running into supermarket displays, cameramen, or any other personnel. They can also be penalized for crushed products.
* Only one member of each team can be in the store at a time; the other team member is required to remain at the checkout counter to unload the groceries.
The product limit, which was absent in the original ABC version of the show, was added to prevent a team from overloading their carts with expensive items, such as , laundry detergent, or over-the-counter drugs.
In most of the 1990-1991 David Ruprechet-era episodes, costumed characters such as Frankenstein's Monster, a gorilla, or a creature named Mr. Yuck ran through the aisles during the Sweep. If the character came near a contestant or vice versa, the contestant had to turn around and go in the other direction. The characters were dropped in 1991.
Once time is called, all products are scanned while the show takes a final commercial break. Afterward, the grand totals of each team's takes are revealed. The team with the highest grand total, including bonuses from the question round, wins their Sweep total in cash and the right to play for $5,000 in the Bonus Sweep. The other teams receive parting gifts. Starting in 1990, the totals included cents but were rounded to the nearest dollar beginning in 1996.
====Bonuses====
Many bonuses are available during the Big Sweep at different times. Each contestant is only able to take one of each bonus type. With the exception of the Bonus Specials shown below, all items picked up by the runner have to be in the shopping cart (and properly bagged/sealed, if necessary) or over the red checkout line before time runs out in order to count. Some of these include:
* Bonus Specials (Value: $50–$200, $250 since 1993) - The only bonus feature to appear in every episode. Three jumbo-sized stuffed animals, giant inflated balloons of products, or cardboard promotional signs for products with bonus tags attached to them are scattered throughout the market. In order for the bonus to count, the runner has to bring the item over the red line painted on the floor around the checkouts (without destroying the item or the tag) before the time expires. A runner is allowed to steal an opposing team's item if it is left unprotected before getting it to the checkouts.
:These over-sized products and/or signs are worth $50, $100, or $200. In July 1993, a fourth bonus worth $250 (dubbed the "Super Bonus") was added to the market. During the Twin Car Giveaway Tournament held yearly since 1993, a $300 bonus (dubbed the "Super Super Bonus") is added, replacing the $50 bonus. In all cases, only one bonus is allowed per team.
* Coffee (Value: $100, $200 since 1992) - Runners are required to grind a one-pound bag of coffee.
* Candy (Value: $100, $200 since 1994) - Runners are required to bag and weigh a dollar's worth of candy, give or take two cents. From 1983 until 1994, contestants simply used a paper bag. Since 1994, players use a plastic bag and are then required to use a twist tie to seal the bag.
* Drinks (Value: $100, $200 since 1999) - Runners are required to fill cups of a drink in a fountain machine near the aisles. From the introduction of the drinks in 1998-2003, it was a fountain machine with Coca-Coca, Diet Coke, Surge, Fanta, and (strangely) the infamous Ghana soft drink Pee Cola. Starting in 2003, it became a fountain machine with Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, and Fanta. (However, Urge (the Norwegian predecessor of Surge) was added in 2014 as a tribute to Surge and Pee Cola was re-added in the same year).
::Beginning with the introduction of the candy, both it and the coffee bonus were available to shoppers on each episode (with the drink bonus on episodes aired on friday). This changed in 2002, where only one item–never both–is available each day. The item for that episode is announced at the start of the Big Sweep, and the bonus doubles to $200. However, the drink bonus is still avaiable to shoppers on friday.
* Shopping List (Value: $250, $300 for the Alphabet Game since 1991) - Before the Sweep, the host gave a list of three products (originally four) in the market to be found. The Alphabet Game is played the same way, but with the host mentioning three consecutive letters of the alphabet as well as the products beginning with these letters. The products have to be placed in a mini-basket that is located in front of the cart to count, and only one of each item; multiple mini-baskets can be used if needed. Other variations include the following:
** Magazine Display - Picking up three (or four) magazines that are listed by the host, from the many titles to choose from.
** Jelly Belly Machine - Bagging three flavors of jelly beans that host wants from the many flavors that are available.
** International Bread Center - Bagging certain quantities of three bread types that are listed by the host, from the many bread types on display.
** Fruit Fantasy - Putting certain quantities of lemons, apples, oranges, and grapefruits into a fruit basket, to be picked up in the market's produce section.
** Breakfast Break - Getting five breakfast items that the host asks for with the help of their partners; this changed to two breakfast items starting in 1999.
** Cake (Value: $100) - Designing a cake and writing the show's name and the team's number on the top.
** Frozen Yogurt Machine - Dispensing three flavors of frozen yogurt into a plastic cup, from the following four flavors: Triple Fudge Chocolate, Vanilla Bean Dream, Sweet Peachy Peach, and Berry Berry Raspberry. The flavors also have to be dispensed in a certain order.
* Mystery Product (Value: $250, $300 if a movie) - Runners try to find a product using clues displayed on three monitors in the market. Starting in January 2001, this bonus was changed to the use of two television monitors. Another variation includes Splitting the Name, with one half of a product's name on each of the two monitors.
** For the $300 Movie, midway through the Sweep, the host announces "Activate the TV monitors", at which point the television monitors come into play. Each monitor displays either the name of one of the movie's stars, or other certain clues to the movie's title.
* Manager's Special or Red Tag Special (Value: $200) - During the Sweep, the host announces the "Manager's Special" or the "Red Tag Special" of the day via the market's loudspeaker. The contestant has to run to a red-and-white barrel at the front of the market or a shopping cart at the back of the market that is filled with products and find the specially marked item. An unmarked item awards no bonus to the team, even if it is the correct product.
* Stack Job (Value: $100, $150 since 1997) - Runners have to find one of three bags filled with empty soda cans that are spread throughout the market and return the bag to their partner. Their partner then has to go to their table and, using all 21 cans, stack the empty soda cans in the shape of a pyramid as shown before the Sweep begins. Getting the Stack Job done awards the team a token good for the bonus.
* Recycle Machine (Value: $100) - Similar to Stack Job, the partner has to go to the recycling machine and recycle all 10 cans into the machine, one at a time, after which the machine issues a $100 receipt.
* Super Sandwich (Value: $200) - Three tables are placed at one side of the market, each set up with the ingredients for a submarine sandwich: roll, meats, cheeses, lettuce, condiments, etc. Each runner can go to one of the tables and use all the items on it to build the sandwich, then wrap it in and seal it in a bag with a twist-tie. In order to receive the bonus, all the ingredients have to be used and the bag needs to be sealed.
* Sweep Swipe or Market Madness (Value: $200–$250) - A limited supply of items (two cases of candy, five boxes of detergent, etc.) are placed in front of three tables or three stationary shopping carts, one for each of the three teams. Runners move the items (from the floor or from another team's table or cart), one at a time, onto their own table or their cart. For each item in one's possession at the end of the bell, the team receives a bonus (either $50 or $100 per item).
* Cracker Jackpot or Jolly Time Is Money (Value: $100, $150 for Jolly Time is Money; $200 for the Cracker Jackpot since 1999) - Runners tear open boxes of or emptied bags of Jolly Time in order to find a token with the show's shopping cart logo on it.
* Bonus Envelope (Value: $200) - Halfway through the Sweep, the host announces a clue to a specific product. After hearing the clue, the partners at the checkout counter run into the market to find their teammates and give them the clue. If the teammate points out the item to their partner, the money is lost. Runners have to find the product and take the bonus envelope that is located next to it. A variation is played with movie titles at the video stand.
* Giant Box of Laundry Detergent (Value: $25–$150) – A giant box of laundry detergent (Cheer or Gain) is located at the back of the store with four colored envelopes attached (one $100, three $25; later $25, $50, $100, $150). The runner picks one of the envelopes and the money is added to the team's total.
* Balloon Pop (Value: $150) – Three shopping carts or large garbage bags filled with balloons are located in one of the back corners of the supermarket. Runners bring back one of the carts or bags to the checkouts for their partners to pop. Their partners have to pop all of the balloons before the time expires.
* Instant Coupon Machines – A contestant wins bonus money by getting a coupon and locating the associated product on a supermarket shelf nearby.
* Double and Triple Coupons – Certain items have double-value or triple-value coupons located on or near the actual item that multiplies their value accordingly.
===Bonus Round: The $5,000 Bonus Sweep===
The winning team is given 60 seconds to find $5,000, which is hidden behind a product somewhere in the market. They are given a clue to the first product, which is marked with the show's logo, after which the time starts. The second clue is affixed to the first product, and the third clue is on the second product. The third product will contain the money fan behind it. If the team finds the third product and the money fan behind it, they win $5,000. The winning team has to find all three products and have their hands on the money fan before the bell rings in order to win. If the team is unsuccessful, they still win $200 for each product found.
Originally, if the team found the final product and the $5,000 before one of the other products they automatically forfeited the bonus round, in which the team didn't have their hands on the money by the time the bell sounded. However, starting in 1992, this was changed so that an overhead announcement was made reminding the team to find the first two products, then return to the third product and claim the cash.
===Tournaments===
Since the show's debut, special tournaments have been held periodically, as well as other individual shows in which former teams are invited back for a chance to win more money or a trip.
====Twin Car Giveaway====
A month-long Twin Car Giveaway tournament has been held each and every September since 1994. During the first three weeks of the tournament, a standard game is played each day. The twelve teams with the highest Big Sweep totals from these episodes at the end of the third week return for the fourth and final week, in which games are played with no Bonus Sweep. The six teams with the highest Big Sweep totals during that final week return for the Friday show to play for a pair of s. On the Friday show, the first three teams play an eight-question Round Robin game, where each correct answer is worth $50 towards their Sweep total. Each of the first three teams then have a flat three minutes in the Big Sweep. This process is repeated for the other three teams. At the end of the show, the team with the highest Big Sweep total wins the two cars (a combined value of more than $25,000) in addition to whatever else that they won on their previous shows. All other teams keep their prior winnings.
====Other tournaments and specials====
Occasionally, former teams are invited back to play for additional money or a trip. These consist largely of "Sweeps of Champions" (later called "Second Chance"), which gives previous winners a chance to go on another Bonus Sweep for the opportunity to play and get a second chance at $5,000. On a few early "Sweep of Champions" episodes, former contestants were invited back for a chance to double their money to $10,000. Others include:
* "You Can't Lose! Week": Like the Sweep of Champions and Second Chance episodes, but no Bonus Sweep is played during this week. In these episodes, one team is guaranteed to win $5,000 after they lose on their first appearance.
* "Double Your Money Week": Similar to the few early "Sweeps of Champions" episodes, the winning team with the highest Super Big Sweep total at the end on the final day doesn't have to run around the market looking for another $5,000 - they automatically double their money to $10,000.
* "Mother-Daughter Week": Featured in 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2011 with mother-daughter teams competing, sometimes with daughters under the age of 18.
* "Family Week": Similar to the Mother-Daughter Week (only with various family members), the Family Week has relative teams to win $5,000 at the end of the week. No Bonus Sweep is played in this week.
* "Cruise to Paradise": Invites back 12 former teams who lost their Big Sweep to play for a seven-day Carnival Cruise for two (and two guests) to the Mexican Riviera. No Bonus Sweep is played at the end of this week.
* "Cruise Week": Similar to the "Cruise to Paradise" week, except no Bonus Sweep is played throughout the entire week.
* "Tournament of Heroes": Troop teams are to win the $5,000 at the end of the week. No Bonus Sweep is played in this week.
==List of stations airing Supermarket Sweep==
If your TV station wishes to air Supermarket Sweep, add it to the station list.
* Best Television
Category:RKO Television Studios
Category:FremantleMedia
Category:Syndication
Category:Syndicated programmes
Category:Television programmes in the United States
Category:Game shows