The $10,000 Sweep

Host

Jack Clark

Announcer

Don Pardo

Broadcast

Unsold Pilot for NBC: 8/4/1972

Packager

Bob Stewart Productions

"This is a check for $10,000. It's signed, and it's complete, except for one line: Pay to the order of… whom? Will the check be made out to these Peace Corps volunteers who just returned from West Africa? Ladies and gentlemen, this is the show with the biggest cash prizes in daytime television history: The $10,000 Sweep, with your host, Jack Clark!"

The $10,000 Sweep was a primitive version of Pyramid. The host asks a question, and if the correct answer is given, it will lead his/her teammate to the identity of a related person, place, or thing; if a team makes a "sweep" by winning four games in a row, they win $10,000.

Gameplay

Two contestants in the middle saw an answer in their TV screens. Host Jack read a question in which its answer is a clue pertaining to the answer. The first player to ring-in with the correct clue, gave his/her partner a chance to guess the answer and if the partner is correct he/she scored points for the team. An incorrect clue from the ring-in player or an incorrect answer from the partner had Jack read the clue (sometimes a better phrasing of the clue), and gave the opposing partner a chance to guess the answer.

The gaudy contestant area.

Tie Game and this is the answer to the next question.
"For 12 points, how many men did she live with?"

The Orange Team at 74.
The Peace Corps volunteers looking pretty content there.

The Yellow Team at 71.
The airlines stewardesses are looking glad.

Point values increased by one point throughout the game with the first question worth five points. Each game also had three target numbers; hitting one of those target numbers on the nose gave the team a chance to answer the next question unopposed (all by themselves). The first team to reach 100 points wins the game.

The host's podium.

These are the three target numbers. They changed with each round and were completely "random".

Jack asking the 20 point question.

We have our winners!

Each game was worth $2,000 each for the championship team with the final game being worth $4,000. If the championship team lost any one game, not only their sweep ends, but their winnings were cut in half. If the championship team can win four games in a row, they win a check for a total of $10,000.

The following are the amounts for each game:

1st Game - $2,000

2nd Game - $4,000

3rd Game - $6,000

4th Game - $10,000

Gallery

Flashing the logo that the team has won the $10,000...

...so for that matter, they get this check for $10,000. Notice something missing? That’s right: the name on the blank that says "Pay to the Order of"...

...but Jack Clark is here to remedy that. He's writing the names of the $10,000 winners even as we speak.

Tickets

Trivia

The recording date appears on the check shown during the intro.
While taped at ABC, the presence of longtime NBC employee Don Pardo as announcer suggests it was for that network.

Links

The Game Show Pilot Light: The $10,000 Sweep
Rules for The $10,000 Sweep