Second Chance (2)

Host

Jim Peck

Announcers

Jay Stewart Jack Clark Joe Seiter (pilots/sub)

Broadcast

Pilots: 11/9/1976 ABC Daytime: 3/7/1977 – 7/15/1977

Packagers

Carruthers Company Productions/ Warner Brothers Television

PILOT SPIEL:
"Today, (insert contestants' names) will be risking everything they've won every time they play… SECOND CHANCE! And now, here's the man who gives everyone a second chance, Jim Peck!"

SERIES SPIEL:
"It's Second Chance, Hollywood's most exciting new game! And here are today's players: (player intro by name and hometown). And each/all three of them will be risking everything every time they play… Second Chance! And now, here's the man who gives everyone a second chance, Jim Peck!"

Second Chance was the original precursor to Press Your Luck.

Gameplay

Three contestants competed in a question/answer game for points which would be turned into spins and traded for cash & prizes on a game board.

Question Round

In each round, the contestants were asked three questions. On each question the contestants wrote down answers on cards (ala Match Game-style) in five seconds or less and placed them down on their card holder (which were actually their scoreboards for when they went to the board) when they were finished.

Host Peck then told the contestants how well they did (ex: "At least two of you are wrong" or "At least one of you is right") unless (in the series) everybody wrote the same thing; then gave three possible answers (aka Second Chance Answers). This was where the show got its name. Each contestant was asked to either stay with his/her current answer or replace it with one of the Second Chance answers (aka taking a Second Chance). When all was said and done, the correct answer was revealed (usually one of the contestants revealed the correct answer if at least one of them had it).

A correct original answer scored three points, while a correct Second Chance answer scored one point. There were 27 points up for grabs, and all three contestants could earn up to nine points each. All points earned were turned into spins for the game board.

An example of Second Chance answers. Which of these is Walter Mondale's home state?

Contestant Lyn Klein changes her answer.

The end of the first question round. The lighted circles represent spins the player has earned on the Bonus Board.

The Question Round from the aired series. If you were a Las Vegas casino, which of these famous entertainers would you hire if you wanted to attract high rollers?

Three perfect scores! Note that the contestants are placed closer together than in the pilot.

Second Chance Bonus Board

When the question round was over, the contestant island moved over for the contestants to see the game board (which would open up like a book).

The board itself had 18 spaces (just like on Press Your Luck) with thousands of dollars in cash & prizes but with several differences:

• The lights around the squares flashed really fast.
• Whenever the board spun, a disco-like tune that looped continuously (a variation of the theme song) was played.
• None of the squares changed except in later episodes (see below).
• At first there was only one long pattern (64 squares long), which was later replaced with an even longer pattern (128 squares long).
• The prizes were hidden behind gift boxes.
• A bell sounded when a contestant landed on a good square.
• Instead of Whammies, there were devils on the board; a "waa-waa" sound was heard whenever a devil was hit. The devil squares were highlighted in red (just like the Whammy squares in Whammy!). There were three of them on the board; unlike the Whammy, however, the devil would not show any on-screen animation acting; once hit, the contestant's score just cleared out and the character popped up (except on the pilot, where the devil lit up).

In the pilot, the top dollar value was $2,500 in Round 1, and $5,000 in Round 2. During the series, Round 2 also rewarded contestants that hit the top dollar value with an additional spin. Later still, the top value in Round 1 decreased to $1,000. By May, the Round 2 board would also feature a randomizer with an eggcrate display placed in the big money/free spin square and its value could be anywhere between $1,000 and $5,000 in increments of $1,000. Prizes were typically worth less than $1,000 in the first round and significantly more in the second.

In both rounds, the player with the fewest spins or the player at far right in case of a tie always went first.

The contestant in control of the board took as many of his/her earned spins as possible and on each spin the contestant stopped the board by hitting his/her button and by yelling "STOP!" If he/she hit a cash amount it was added to his/her score; if he/she hit a gift box, the prize behind it was revealed and its value was added to his/her score. If at any time the contestant hit a devil, he/she lost all his/her money up to that point, and hitting four devils puts that contestant out of the game. In the pilot, the devil(s) appeared behind the player in lights; in the series, the devil showed up on cards.

If at any point the contestant feared that a devil would show up on the next spin, he/she would pass his/her spins to the player in 1st place; if he/she was in 1st place, however, he/she had to pass them to the 2nd place player. Should both opponents have the same score, the passing player would decide who to pass the spins to. The player with the passed spins had to take them until he/she ran out or hit a devil (at which point the remaining passed spins became earned spins). In the later episodes of the series, each time the passed contestant hit money plus a free spin, the spin just played became an earned spin.

The player with the most money at the end of the game was the winner, and kept all his/her cash & prizes accumulated to that point. Originally, the winner would come back on the next show; however, this, was later changed to having three new contestants competing every day, but with one exception: should a contestant win the game with zero (and with fewer than four devils), he/she was invited back to play on the next show.

No devils, no devils… Stop!

Game show pilot mainstay Jack Campion landing on a Prize Box, which contains a fur coat.

The Round 2 board, with increased dollar amounts. The red circles indicate the mandatory spins Maggie Brown must take. Incidentally, she would go on to participate in the Press Your Luck pilot as well as two episodes of the actual series.

Ohhh dear. And it was such a high total too…

Lyn, the contestant on the right, currently has three Devils. One more and she is out of the game.

The Bonus Board from the aired series. Not much of a difference from the pilot except a different design for the Gift Boxes.

Oops. Sorry. Also, we've apparently downgraded from lit panels to pop-up cards.

The contestant on the right is lucky he made it out of the round with cash. He looks to be the only one with cash.

Round 2 in progress. The Free Spin panel replaced the flat-total $5000 panel from the early shows.

This is a nifty little panel. The dollar amounts rotated from $1,000 to $5,000 during spins. Let's hope for a 5K hit.

Last spin of the day.

More Pictures

Production Slates

Music

Score Productions

This theme was used originally on the short-lived 1976 version of I've Got a Secret. In addition, the theme was also used on the Australian version of Family Feud from 1978 until 1984.

Some of the sound effects were originally intended for Card Sharks/Double Dare.

Studio

ABC Television Center, Los Angeles, CA

Inventor

Bill Carruthers & Jan McCormick

Episode Status

Three pilots were made for Second Chance. Only the third pilot exists. The episodes that aired on May 31 and June 27, 1977, and the series finale (albeit only in audio form) are the only three episodes of the aired series existing to this day. An opening sequence announced by Jack Clark is also available (albeit in audio form).

Australian Version

Not only did Second Chance air for a time in America, but also in Australia as well in the same year on Network Ten, hosted by Earle Bailey and Christine Broadway. It was produced by Reg Grundy.

Cancelled Merchandise

In 1977, a board game version of the show was attempted by Milton Bradley, but it got cancelled before it went manufactured due to the show's poor ratings.

Related Shows

• Press Your Luck – the well-known cult-classic reboot that aired on CBS from 1983 until 1986, and was revived by ABC for prime-time airing in 2019.
• Whammy!: The All-New Press Your Luck (shortened to Whammy! in 2003) - the short-lived reboot that aired on Game Show Network from 2002 to 2003.
• Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal – a documentary about the late Michael Larson that also aired on Game Show Network in 2003.
• Gameshow Marathon – Press Your Luck was the 4th game of this 7-episode series that aired on CBS in 2006.
• TV Land's Myths and Legends: Michael Larson – A shorter version of the Michael Larson episode that aired on TV Land in 2007.
• Cover Story: The Press Your Luck Scandal - Another documented episode about the late Michael Larson that also aired on Game Show Network in 2018.

Tagline

“Until tomorrow/Monday, this is Jim Peck reminding you: It’s never too late to take a second chance. Bye-bye, everybody.” – Jim Peck (1976-1977)

Rating

Additional Page

Second Chance/Video Gallery

Links

Game Show Central: Second Chance
Second Chance information page