High Tension

***High Tension*** is a Transmanian interactive television game show format produced by Bradmore & Covalo Productions with the same element of Barry & Enright Productions & Mark Goodson Productions. Two versions were produced: a 1993–1995 run initially on ATN Daytime & Afternoon and then in ATN Primetime and a celebrity version of the show's run called *Celebrity High Tension* from 1994-1996. The show premiered on ATN Daytime & Afternoon on July 5, 1993, and ended on August 20, 1993, but moved to ATN Primetime and premiered on September 6, 1993, and ended on December 20, 1996, and has a total of 14 seasons and over 1,000 episodes. The programme brought back with celebrities playing for charity and the show changed its name to *Celebrity High Tension* broadcast on ATN Primetime from 1995 until 1997. The show was hosted by Carla Pales.

## History

### Creation

The creation of the game show was led by Ian Rowan Bradshaw and Samuel Covalo, who had earlier found the independent television production company CTRS Entertainment (later OST Entertainment in the 1980s). Tentatively known as *Feel the Force*, the show took its title from the term **High Voltage** and later took its title from the 1949 Swedish film *This Can't Happen Here* (Swedish: Sånt händer inte här, also released in other English-speaking countries as *High Tension* in which the show took its title from.) Between January-May 1984, Bradshaw & his partner Covalo started to create a new concept of this game show format for their company Bradshaw & Covalo Productions called *Feel the Force* in which contestants battle off to answer multiple-choice questions based on general knowledge to win money. The concept felt inappropriate to pay for contestants to compete and although it never commissioned in the UK (due to Independent Broadcasting Authority checking and banning every system before it was made), so he tried to rest his own concept of this quiz show format. In the early-1990s, Bradshaw, assisted by his partner Covalo teamed up together to create a new game show format called *High Tension*. There, as the show created, it assigned Carla Pales as the show's host, and it is set to premiere in 1993.

## Game Format

### Main Game

#### The First Two Rounds

In the first two rounds, Two contestants, one a returning champion faced a *Jeopardy!*-like computeriszed electronic game board consisted of 16 squares arranged in a 6✕5 grid, each of which had a screen in it that displayed one of the different set of 16 categories which have amounts ranging from Đ100-500, for a maximum of Đ4,000 and the money amounts were doubled in second round ranging from Đ200-Đ1,000, for a maximum of Đ9,000. Each round lasts for less than 6½ minutes. The champion (or the challenger) goes first by stopping the board with the buzzer in front of him/her, the player picked the category and answer the question, if he/she gets the question right, the player wins money and if he/she gets it wrong, the value of the category will be deducted from his/her score and it is up to his/her opponent to answer the question to steal the money. After both players took their turns in the first round or after each player had a turn, the categories were moved into new positions on the board and the prize money remains the same. If a player has had a fear of *High Tension*, the contestant can stop and set a maximum number of 3 questions for the contract to give his or her opponent a chance to answer in which determined by the daily contract. If an opponent gets it wrong, the champion will steal the money and have a final chance to answer. The first player gets Đ3,000 or more in proper turn at end of the first two main rounds wins the game. Both players took an equal number of turns, in the event the second player/challenger reached Đ3,000 first in the second round, the first player/champion wagers in an attempt to catch-up. In the event of a tie at Đ3,000, a new game will be played with another different set of categories, the money values will be increased by Đ100-Đ500 and continue to double, the scores continued to grow until it erased. (Originally, the second player/challenger will win a standard prize package worth over Đ100, and extra rounds were played and whoever was ahead in score at the end of a complete round was the winner.) The winner of the game with the most money at the end of the first two main rounds earned a chance to play the bonus round.

In addition, every contestant gets 5 games won in a row wins a brand new automobile. Championship players stayed on the show until they were defeated or exceeded the ATN winnings limit of Đ100,000. In later shows starting in early October 1993, champs retired after exceeding the new winnings limit of Đ200,000.

### "Burn the Reaper" (Bonus Round)

In this bonus round, winning champions faced the board to which consists of 15 black boxes. Behind all but one of the boxes were money amounts, prize packages worth a maximum of Đ3,050 and some "WIN" symbols. Behind that one remaining number was a "reaper" icon. The winning contestant's job was to meet a certain goal before running into the evil grim reaper. Every safe box usually earned money, which the player could stop and keep if he/she desired, or risk it to keep playing. Winning the bonus round earned a cash prize of at least Đ5,000 and a prize package worth between Đ2,000-Đ5,000. Running into the evil grim reaper ended the game and "forced" the contestant to lose the money.

#### Seasons 1-2, 1993-94

The bonus round featured a different bonus round. To begin, a player has given the rules by Pales before receiving a pendant of life (from the 1993 Nickelodeon game show *Legends of the Hidden Temple*) in order to play the bonus round for money and prizes. Behind this star are 2 bonus prizes, pendants of life they have given (1, 1½, or 2) and the Devilish Reaper. Starting with Đ5 (or more) won during the main game, the contestant calls off a number, if each time the money amount appears, it earns contestant the money. This process continued until reaching the number in the contract set by the Number Jumbler (winning Đ80/Đ160/Đ320), prizes worth a maximum of Đ3,500 or a dreaded reaper appeared (which bankrupted the player). If the Number Jumbler was stopped on a star, the contestant could continue to go on until running into the reaper or winning Đ5,000 in cash or more to keep with all the small prize packages (which, starting at least Đ5, would take fifteen spins).

#### Seasons 3-5, 1994-95

In the bonus round starting around late 1994, the board consisted of 15 boxes and one star appeared, each of them has money amounts ranging from 10f to Đ320, squares marked NERVE & DRAMA, three bonus prize squares and only one reaper appears. The money amounts were jumbled up making sure that there was only one way to win. The object of this game is to get Đ1,000 or more or find the "NERVE" and the "DRAMA" (which the total bumped to Đ1,000). The winning contestant started calling off numbers, and for each money amount found, the money amount was added to the pot. Finding the reaper at any point caused the player to lose the money; that's why he/she always got the option to stop and take the money or continue playing. If these squares marked the "NERVE" and the "DRAMA" were uncovered, the total of this bonus round jumped to Đ1,000 and stopped the game. Doing either one of those things won not only the cash but also a special prize package.

## Broadcast history

### Original Daytime & Afternoon run

*High Tension* premiered on ATN daytime & afternoon television and was the first interactive new wave game show to test new effects. The series ran from July 5 to August 6, 1993, at 12.00pm/11.00am Central.

However, ATN's *High Tension* ran only five weeks.

### Primetime run

On September 6, a previously-planned nighttime version premiered on ATN.