Bullseye (American game show)

Bullseye was the title of an American game show that aired in syndication from September 29, 1980 to September 24, 1982. Jim Lange was the host, and the show was produced by Jack Barry and Dan Enright . Jay Stewart and Charlie O'Donnell, at turns, announced.

Gameplay

Main Game

Two contestants, one a returning champion, competed. Play began with the champion, who pressed a button to stop a gameboard of three "spinning" windows. The first two windows each contained different categories and dollar amounts, while the third was a "contract" number from 1-5 (or a Bullseye). When the windows stopped spinning, the player chose either of the displayed categories, and had to fulfill the contract by correctly answering that number of questions from that category. Each correct answer added money to a pot. An incorrect answer gave the opponent a chance to answer, and assume control of the contract.

If a Bullseye came up in the contract window, the player could choose an unlimited number of questions, with the option to stop after every correct answer.

After the contract had been completed, the player in control could elect to bank the money in the pot (passing control to the opponent), or keep control for another contract (leaving the money in the pot).

The first player to bank $1,000 or more won the game; after a few months, this was increased to $2,000 or more.

Endgame

In the bonus round (known to fans as "Bonus Island"), the champion again pressed a button to stop the three spinning windows. This time, the windows contained dollar amounts of $100, $200, or $300, or Bullseyes. One and only one window also contained a lightning bolt.

If money came up in a window, it was added to a bank. If a Bullseye appeared, the player had the option to "freeze" that window, which was then out of play for the remainder of the game. Lightning, if it came up, bankrupted the player and ended the game. The player had the option to stop after every spin and keep the money banked.

The object was to either get Bullseyes in all three windows, or to survive ten (later reduced to seven) spins without getting "struck by lightning." Doing either of these won a bonus prize package; getting three Bullseyes also doubled the current value of the bank, while going the maximum amount of spins (or getting three Bullseyes in a single spin) augmented the bank to a flat $5,000.

Celebrity Bullseye (1982)

In January 1982, the show changed its name to Celebrity Bullseye and featured celebrity contestants playing for their favorite charities. At this point, each main game became a best-of-three affair, but few if any other rules were changed. It was as Celebrity Bullseye that this series left the air in September of that year.

Notes

• The original pilot, made in 1979, featured a somewhat different bonus round. To begin, the player stopped a "Number Jumbler," which contained numbers from 3-5, or a Bullseye. The windows on the gameboard all contained either Bullseyes or lightning bolts. Starting with the $1,000 (or more) won during the main game, the contestant stopped the windows, and if all three of them contained Bullseyes, it doubled his or her money. This process continued until reaching the number in the contract set by the "Number Jumbler," or a lightning bolt appeared (which bankrupted the player). If the "Number Jumbler" was stopped on a Bullseye, the contestant could continue to spin, up until breaking the $1,000,000 barrier (which, starting at $1,000, would take ten spins). For obvious reasons, this ambitious game was considerably scaled back for the show as aired.
• Bullseye was well-known in its day for having one of the most expensive and stylish sets of any game show. It featured lots of neon and chaser lights, giant slide-projector windows, a large moving "island" for the endgame, and a bombastic music package to round out the show's "look and feel." A popular story among genre fans is that, during the period Bullseye originated from NBC Studios, no less an authority than Johnny Carson (whose Tonight Show taped just across the hall from where Bullseye was recorded) gave a personal thumbs-up to the set design.
• By the end of its run, Bullseye had moved to Studio 33 of CBS Television City, a venue perhaps best known as the home of The Price is Right (indeed, it's now called "The Bob Barker Studio") and The Carol Burnett Show.
• Bullseye was one of three Barry & Enright-produced quiz shows of the time; its "sister" series were The Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough. Among students of game show history, these three series are considered to be the core of B&E's "comeback" following the disastrous quiz show scandals of the late 1950s.
• Not to be confused with an entirely different British game show, also called Bullseye (see that title).