The Joker's Wild - RARE PILOT - Special Guest Pat Finn
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Joker's Wild was brought back into daily syndication in the 90's with an amazing new-comer, Pat Finn. Take a look at his Joker's Wild pilot and have a laugh with a few stories from the man himself, the talented Pat Finn.
Go behind the scenes with TV and radio legend Wink Martindale!
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Pat Finn was a great host. First the short-lived The Joker's Wild and the even successful Shop 'Til You Drop!
Don't forget the big spin
I enjoyed this pilot, I think Pat is an underrated host in the sense that he can host anything and do an excellent job.
@Will N you’re right on that.
I wish he was hosting a game show now. Surprised that GSN didn't ask him to host something. ABC could've asked him to host one of their summer game shows.
I actually like this version. It's frenetic and entertaining at the same time.
I did but heres how i would have done it: on the wheels for the first two rounds, one wheel is a category ala the classic joker, the 2nd wheel is the money amouts and the 3rd wheel is the time allotted/ the joker. The joker is wild and double the amount of the spin in round 1 and triple in round 2.
This pilot was taped in 1989, a year before this revival premiered but was axed due to low ratings.
So this was Pat Finn’s first game show he ever did before moving on to bigger & better things like STYD and the California Lottery’s Big Spin! Also I notice he was wearing glasses and was IIRC 34 years old at the time he made his debut as a game show host Thanks for this rare find Wink!
I used to watch that 90's version of The Jokers Wild when I was a little boy.
I was entering high school at the time! The show aired late nights in the New York area, so I only caught it occasionally.
The theme music is still stuck in my head! 😁
The set was cool....and I read on Wikipedia that a tribute plaque to Jack Barry was on the slot machine...wonder if it’s in anyone’s possession. 🤔
Pat Finn is a great host. Really appreciated his stories about the late, great Chris Farley on Biography a few years back.
(Thanks- in advance -for another great post, Wink! 👍)
@@FrankTeddy2011 No Frank, that's the other Pat Finn, the comedian born in Chicago.
I vaguely remember when the 90s version was originally on (I believe in a decent time slot in my market). I have better memory of the reruns on USA.
@@smashwhammy that’s how I remember that version when it reran on USA.
Me too
Having absolutely adored Jack Barry’s version of TJW when I was nine, I found this new version hard to get used to. When I did, I just loved it-especially the music and the host! 😉
I’d love to hear more about Richard Kline. What would possess a guy to take Joker’s Wild then change the heart of it? Why wouldn’t he want a host to joke with the contestants? He told Gene Rayburn essentially the same thing while doing Break the Bank. I really appreciate Pat Finn’s job hearing how he was dealing with a fun hater and the flawed game. (“Uh, no, you were supposed to assume we were talking about tennis sets, not chess sets.)
Also, Wink had hip computers on Tic Tac Dough, but animation didn’t advance far enough to make these slot machine reels look good. They should have stuck with slide carousels, flashlights and for that matter the iconic Joker.
God help Mr. Kline if ANY of the hosts of Family Feud hosted this, particularly Ray Combs, Richard Dawson, Louie Anderson (cringe) or Steve Harvey...but really any of them! Also Bob Eubanks or Tom Bergeron would have to tone down their funny humor if he were here (unlike on Card Sharks and Hollywood Squares respectively).
I also wonder how Bert Convy & Co. got along with him for "Win, Lose or Draw" and "The 3rd Degree" - I thought both of those shows showcased his brand of humor and personality as well as "Tattletales" and "Super Password" did. Possibly had to do with Bert & Burt having equal billing with Richard (co-production, but Burt & Bert's idea).
@@cevancarr I even wonder how other hosts like Geoff Edwards, Jim Lange, Bill Cullen, Jim Peck, Jim Caldwell, Joe Farago, Joe Garagiola, J.D. Roth, and Alan Thicke got along with Richard...
@Andrew Schroy by the time Jim Caldwell hosted TTD Richard Kline had already left B&E and established Kline & Friends. But yes about the rest of them! Also, Robb Weller and Vicki Lawrence (Schultz).
Patrick Wayne actually probably crossed paths with Richard Kline twice, being on celebrity versions of Bullseye and Wink's TTD.
I think Kline wanted to keep the drama and serious elements of the B&E shows (more like Jeopardy than Match Game and most of the Goodson shows of the 70's and 80's).
This is slightly better than the version we got. However, one thing must be made clear: The Joker's Wild is *NOT* a game of definitions.
The original "Joker's Wild" (1972-84) had categories and queestions.
Couldn't agree more.
Kline & Friends messed this version up.
This was better than that wretched revival of Tic Tac Dough which this was packaged with.
Not in my market. Joker was on WSPA 7 (CBS) while Tic Tac was WYFF 4 (NBC). WSPA paired this with The Challengers.
Tic Tac Dough was just yikes. I loved that show, but that host was just not good. YOUUUUUU WIN! God, I hated that.
Pat really wasn't supposed to wear glasses when doing the show, however, it was Richard Kline's call for him to wear them to look cool. When he was on "Shop 'Til You Drop!," at that time, he reverted himself back to not wearing them, and would be that way, from then on.
Thanks so much for sharing this. I’ve seen very brief snippets of the pilot video and couldn’t figure out what the third window was until you showed the pilot in full. Thanks again and keep up the great work. Thanks to Pat Finn for the opening intro and retrospective!
I don't understand why the joker machine is spinning its wheels when the contestants are wanting to stop it.
It's strange to see this pilot of the 90's Joker's Wild without the iconic 90's Joker icon that we knew.
Had a hunch I’d be hearing Bob Hilton announce this pilot.
The decorations on the Joker Machine is better here than what was on the series. Also, the constant spinning reels drives me nuts.
I missed him when he was on The Big Spin here in California. I also used his catchphrase as a way to express how I say "farewell" to somebody.
Hello Pat Finn. I love you as the host of Shop Till You Drop in the 90s and 2000s. I knew that you hosted The Jokers Wild because I have the Encyclopedia of Game Shows and I read it. You was really handsome back in the day and still is handsome today.
I love Pat Finn’s version of the Jokers Wild. I’ve always liked Pat Finn as a game show host as well. This pilot episode was fun to watch.
I met Pat Finn at Price Is Right love when I was in college.
WOW!!! Completely different gameplay than the original...
but WAAAAYYY BETTER than what the gameplay ended up being on this incarnation!
I would have WATCHED THIS version with no argument. Why didn't they KEEP this style?
Only the producers and I suppose Pat know (and he of course didn't say here), but I agree, I liked this format, lots of drama in it and a fast pace. I mighta added a devil to the bonus game for added drama there and to be a tad more faithful to the original, but overall it was solid. The only change I woulda made is to allow a player the option to either choose to play off the dollar amount on the board (perhaps at a base 30 seconds? just realized that would be an issue), or spin again for a chance for more if they got a spin passed over to them. It woulda particularly came in handy on the final spin of the game, as Alan only needed $10 to win, so there was no reason to spin again, and in doing so, it allowed Kevin a better shot at winning himself should Alan have missed on a Non-Joker spin. Other than that, it was pretty perfect as was.
They did when it became a series minus the time limits. but around half way in the season, it went to the original format.
A lot of the discarded elements (like the clock and the spin that caused a player to lose control) would have made it much more complicated.
Great Pilot. I am a big fan of Pat Finn. I got the chance to see him in person for Price is Right Live and of course I watch Shop Til’ You Drop. I like the main series of Joker’s Wild.
This was always my favorite version of The Joker's Wild as it was the one I grew up with, mainly cause the formats were versatile and enjoyable. The format for the pilot here, not so much mainly cause I'm not crazy about a player losing control in the third window. They DEFINITELY should've kept that spinny thing on top of the machine for the main show. Pat still looks great after all these years too. Thank you for sharing the upload.
Pilot looks better than what actually aired.
This was actually better than the version that went to sir...racing the clock is almost always a good way to get adrenaline going.
The theme song to this version brought me to tears. I wonder what Pat Finn would think if I was a contestant and he saw me crying about the theme song. When I wanted to do a game show demo tape project, this was my biggest worry.
When Richard S. Kline told Pat Finn to stop being funny, I think that's what happened with Gene Rayburn on Break the Bank '85 as well.
No surprise Richard S. Kline is not so well-regarded.
@antonspivack3928 thankfully he didn't micromanage Bert Convy/Vicki Lawrence (Schultz) on Win, Lose or Draw (or Robb Weller, who wasn't as funny/loose anyway).
That swirly logo on the slot machine is pretty spiffy.
It's better than that creepy looking joker used in the series.
Aww, shucks..! When The Joker's Wild came back in 1990, I was 19, newlywed, maybe 14 months in the USMC, and drove my wife nuts Nuts NUTS with the theme song!
As a fan of the Barry/Cullen version, I liked the 1990 series as well. There were some flaws in this pilot, but I'm glad they tweeked everythingg before it got to series.
Pat Finn still looking great.
OK - I have so many questions. First off, these contestants were clearly prompted about what they needed to get right and wrong to make the pilot "work". This game would never work as formatted with the clock - just what constitutes a definition of "Ford's Theater" exactly? And having the contestants just grab the arm when they feel like it seems somewhat brutal. Heck, I am now at Plymouth Rock, and we need to debate the difference between "settlers" and "pilgrims". What sort of list could the host have on their card and be expected to manage this mess of a game?
But for Rin-Tin-Tin, "you know the famous dog" was accepted.
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SICK! Can't wait.
I thought the pilot was a lot better than the series, aren't they all. With that said, and having seen the trade ads in the game show wiki pages, I would like to see the pilots of Gene's 1984 Break the Bank and Joe's 1985 Strike it Rich. Both look like they had different main games than what aired as well.
Pat was a great host. I am VERY glad they cleaned this up from the pilot. The wheels constantly spinning made this so suspect. It's one reason Pat Sajak requested the Wheel of Fortune wheel no longer spin automatically at the start and end of the show. Also glad they updated the Joker character from the cartoon character LOL
I definitely like this version, especially with the Wild Card 3rd slot (and the varying options within it) in the opening round.
Interesting that there was a "steal" option where "____'s Spin" on the third reel could mean the named player could snatch control from another player to get better cash per question. Snoop's version had the "Three-Joker Stumper Potluck" in season two, where a question that was not just harder than the normal ones, but also in a whole different category than those played in the round the Three Jokers came up in, was asked for 500 times the round number.
THE 3RD REEL SUCKS! I'm glad they changed it. I liked the 90's Joker's Wild. I liked how they did their own version of the game, but I gotta admit, I loved it, when they changed the rules back to the 80's version of the game.
it was amazing.pat finn is a great host,he went on to shop til you drop a year later but the joker's wild 1990 version bombed it never caught on.
Oh wow. In terms of gameplay, energy, and general interest curve, this may be the best _The Joker's Wild_ I've seen yet!
just do it. I can think of something lol
The only thing not confusing and what I liked most about this pilot is Pat Finn.
This version was WAYYY BETTER than what aired. They could have gotten a 2 or 3 season run out of this one.
It still might have gotten axed due to bad time slots.
@@ABCEasyas-- well as we've seen with Harvey Feud and I think could have been a case back then. If enough people watch it and enough folks had if become fans TV stations would change time slots. Steve Harvey's first season of Feud came on here at 8am, now it's on at 5pm
@ABCEasyas-- Plus game shows not named Wheel, Jeopardy, Feud or Price were on the outs, and talk shows were in (with a glut of them continuing well through the 2000's before declining in the last decade). Family Feud would be cancelled in 1995 for four years. Game shows have made another comeback since the late 2010's just like in the late 90's/early 2000's with Millionaire, Hollywood Squares and the return of the Feud.
That wheel does not look random to me.
Oh my God! i loved that. It was fun to watch, fun to play along with and exciting. I liked the host too. Please tell me this one sold and I can see more of it.
It did and you can! TJW 90 Episodes are here prominently on CZcams! Enjoy!
A CAR was the grand prize instead of a cash jackpot in the Bonus Game? Weird, considering that we don't know WHAT KIND OF CAR he would be playing for!
The time’s up sound (sounds like lips flapping) was also heard on Hot Potato
why they didnt do this format is beyond me. it woulda caught on with this format
I always thought the PILOT was the very first episode. Evidently not, considering a comment made during the Introductions 3:08. "You have been here the past 4 days and have won over $17,000...." I was a big fan of the ones from the 80s with Jack. I was still a kid and it broke my heart to hear he passed away. Never saw another episode after that. I can still hear us as we watched every night.....Joker!! Joker!! JOKER!!!
Also, the part with Halley's Comet, he was originally(and technically) correct. Calculations show an average of every 75-76 years. However, it appeared 74 years apart from 1835(birth of Sam Clemens) to 1910(death of Sam Clemens). The Show's Staff should've known this. History shows Sam Clemens stating on his deathbed in 1910 at how fitting that he was born under the Comet and would die under it as well. He was 74. It was a very big subject(and topic) in 1985-86, when it was last here. Even for the 1990s, how do you miss a Historical Fact like that??
Seldom does a game-show pilot make it to air, even if the rules don't get overhauled. The aim of a pilot tends to be to demonstrate what a supposedly normal episode would be like--which explains why there are things like a fake "returning champion".
Another fine pilot; having the third wheel with the time was a nice touch. I also liked how they reintroduced the joker jackpot in the main game. Also noticed the bonus round was a bit cheeper when it went to air, just a nitpick.
Pat's version of "The Joker's Wild" was different from the Barry/Cullen version. The contestant could keep playing until he or she missed the definition. The endgame had no devils.
Here is something I didn't know about this pilot. I saw a couple of giant cherries on top of the joker machine. What's interesting is that you can still see the cherries in the syndicated series even if it's covered by a cardboard cutout of the Joker.
Better than the current version with Snoop Dogg; not as good as the original.
the joker here looks like a superhero.
The bonus round made the show more Vegas-like. Line up 3 to win a prize.
I wonder if the 2006 pilot is available anywhere? Word is there were plans for a revival of TJW in syndication for the 2006/07 season, but it never came to fruition.
So basically, Kline gave Pat the same advice he have Gene Rayburn on Break the Bank!
Old habits die hard, I guess...
What is up with these three people sharing a single lever? Oh dear, that came out so wrong....
the button sound was used on PYL. as the og show prior to PYL (second chance) used a devil
Bob Hilton would get back in front of the camera to host the revival of "Let's Make a Deal" for NBC in 1990 for Dick Clark and Ron Greenberg.
Where can I get the audio loop of the music you used on this? Best quality I have heard yet.
The woman reminds me of someone you'd see on an SNL gameshow skit. lol.
I’d love to know what the other pilot was. I was a kid when this show was on and always thought Pat was kind of a dip, but now that I’m watching as an adult I have a totally different take. He’s everything a game show host is supposed to be-speaks clearly, keeps the show moving, upbeat, stage presence. Good for him. 👍😁👍
Decent pilot of The Joker's Wild from 1990. It would have nice if BUZZR aired The Joker's Wild, unfortunately unless Fremantle the parent company of BUZZR & Sony Pictures Television Studios currently own this version outright as well as all the versions of The Joker's Wild, it's very unlikely BUZZR would air The Joker's Wild anytime soon. So in other words, does Sony or Comcast owns the rights to the 1990 version of The Joker's Wild? Just curious if Sony owns it.
This should've been a 90's version of bullseye
WOW that awesome
I always considered this version to be The Joker's Wild in name only as it had little in common with the original for most of its existence and that was probably its biggest downfall. That said, I always thought that Pat was a great host and did a lot with what he was given.
Always thought Pat Finn was a foxxy dude with a great attitude! Hey Wink, see if you can find his Shop Til You Drop pilot sometime! Love both of your guys' work! #GameShowFangirlFromWayBack!
Two arithmetic errors on Pat's part, he adds the second spin as $45 instead of $55 and counts up the winner's winnings as $6585 instead of $6580.
$7680 when you add the $1100 Joker Jackpot from round 2.
The technology lol
Passing around the lever among the contestants to spin the wheel was very awkward.
Did all the CBS game show hosts use Bob Barker's dressing room?
This makes for both a fun game and a fun way to do Joker's Wild, but it's not greater than the sum of its parts. As a different show about definitions it would work, and as the basis for a more traditional Joker's Wild revival, just not together. Still, this is awesome to see. I don't think this was a *bad* show, necessarily, and Pat did a very good job.
When I say it could work as the format for a more traditional Joker's Wild pilot, I mean something like this: say the first wheel has the five categories, the second the question value, and the third the time limit, sort of like a speed version of Bullseye. A joker in the first screen thus means you can choose any category, in the second each question is worth more than any other amount, and the third lets you go until you hit a maximum number of correct answers or miss. I think if you did it in this way, you could create a traditional take on The Joker's Wild that's more faithful than the "game of definitions" version while still maintaining a faster pace.
What's the point in pulling the handle when the wheel are already spinning?
That is possibly it's "standby mode" A regulation spin would count after the handle is pulled. But there was no harm letting em pre spin. Since they didn't stop unless it was pulled.
Just me or does he look sorta like Ray Combs meets Jason Bateman with glasses (also sounds like Jason)? Also emulating Jim Lange, Peter Marshall and Bill Cullen.
He should've had $7680 with the $1100 jackpot.
I do not care for this version at all. The original format is way better.
Nice to finally see the pilot...I think the format was vastly improved for the actual series, and while I liked that the bonus round offered some prizes better than those featured in the series ($500 cash? A trip to Vegas and $1K?), having all the words in the first part starting with the same letter made things a little easier for the contestant and saved time, since Pat didn't have to announce a new letter after each word.
The Joker's Wild is a game of definitions. And don't you forget it!
I hate that the wheels are already spinning before the contestant pulls the lever. Also, why couldn't there be three separate levers?
Cost cutting i'd bet. Cause it does cost a pretty penny rigging electronics wiring and other things for it to work.
Interesting pilot. A few things I disliked, 1. the passing back and forth of the lever, 2. the fact that the wheels were spinning while the questions were being asked, 3. having zeroes on the wheels (seriously????) and 4. having $1,000 as a bonus prize on the bonus wheels. For a show like this, never never never never EVER should a bonus prize pay off LESS than the front game prize. Pat showed a lot of enthusiasm. He reminds me a lot of a guy I used to work with back in the early 1990s too.
Truth be told in the 90 run the bonus prizes tended to be LESS than the $2000 need to win the game.
I hated this show was way too different from the 1st version with jack Barry of course I saw the first version on reruns in 94 when the game show network debuted and found that version better. Enjoyed pat Finn on shop til you drop
That's the 1990's classic reboot from the original 1970's and 1980's version of The Joker's Wild and I prefer the original 1970's and 1980's version better. #BeatTheDevil 👿
In these pilots, do the contestants actually win the money and prizes?
They are actors, or former contestants from other game shows. Paid a set amount of money to play test the game mechanics, under what would be a "normal taping setting." Though in pilot episodes no one ever wins the projected payouts, as it's scripted to have either a big win or loss, for selling purposes to networks.
I like the pilot.
30 + 25 = 45?
If this is a "pilot", why is there "returning champion"?
Because pilots are usually an exhibition of what a regular show would look like. So they use designated "returning champions" to put those rules to the test.
Wish that there was a devil
These questions have serious pinning issues.
Pat - I read in Game Shows FAQ that you were hired to host The Jokers Wild on a recommendation from Vanna White’s agent after you missed out on hosting daytime Wheel of Fortune. Any truth to this?
I really do not like this gameplay element of "definitions". It's way too open-ended, seems very subjective whether some of these answers should be ruled correct or not. But I guess they kept it for the aired version of this revival (which I've never seen)
Kinda curious why they switched from Bob Hilton to Ed MacKay for announcer when it went to series. No diss to Ed, mind you-- he did great on the 1990 Joker's Wild reboot. As well as Treasure Mall and the Powerball game show with Bob Eubanks.
Might've been Let's Make a Deal. This pilot was done in 1989
Lot better than Snoop dogs
Passing that lever around makes the game very awkward. Looking at it in COVID times, it’s not very sanitary either. 🙄
I wonder why Ed McKrell announced in the series and not Bob Hilton.
It was Ed MacKay that announced the series. Bob Hilton was too busy hosting the revival of "LMAD".
The various amounts of time is more of a penalty than helpful. Glad that was dumped.
Wheel is clearly rigged, but that’s OK in a pilot.
Too lazy/cheap to put a picture of a joker on the wheels until it is chosen?
As with the series, the Joker’s Wild title is clearly used just to sell the show. It’s only actually wild in the bonus round.
I thought rigging is illegal in game shows... even pilots.
Take it from someone who has done his share of pilots, if the pilot isn't for air, you can do whatever you want, it's not illegal. Some pilots are done with the intention of airing, if that's the case, it has to be done just like real shows. But if it's just to sell to station groups, there is nothing illegal about it. Hope that answered your question.
The 90s version was ok (at least before they switched to categories that ruined it for me cause the main game took too long), but I prefer the classic joker's wild.