Game Shows Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Hosts
Scott Herriott (1991 pilot)
Pat Finn (1991-2002)
JD Roberto (2003-2005)
Hostess (Pilot Only)
Susie Faucett
Announcers
Mark L. Walberg (1991-1994)
Jason Grant Smith (1996-1997)
Dee Bradley Baker (1997-2002)
Don Priess (2003-2005)
Broadcast
Shop til You Drop Pilot Logo
Pilot: 1991
Styd
Shop Til You Drop Logo 1993 a
Shop Til You Drop Logo 1993 b Shop Til You Drop Holiday Special
Lifetime (Daily): 7/8/1991 - 9/30/1994
Styd96
Family Channel (Daily): 9/30/1996 - 8/14/1998
Styd00
Styd03
PAX (Daily): 4/3/2000 - 5/24/2002, 10/6/2003 - 5/27/2005
Packager
Stone-Stanley Productions

Shop 'Til You Drop was an American game show that aired on a number of broadcast television networks and in syndication.

Mall Format (1991-2002)

The backdrop of Shop 'Til You Drop was a 14-store, two-story shopping mall.

Stunt Rounds

Two teams of two contestants (almost always male-female; married, engaged, dating, siblings, or best friends) competed. Nearly all of the stunts were one-minute mini-games, which tested popular culture and consumer knowledge.

A coin toss backstage before the show determined which couple would have the option of playing the first stunt. The host described the first of two stunts and the team who won the toss chose to play or pass to the other team. Stunts varied widely through the years, but more or less involved the host announcing a category and the team answering questions appropriate to the topic or various other games based on item pricing. In earlier years, stunts similar to those on Beat the Clock were also played (such as the female partner stuffing three balloons in her husband's pair of oversized trousers without breaking any). Most stunts had a 60-second time limit; however, some early stunts were played with a 30-, 45-, or rarely 90-second time limit.

Successfully completing the stunt earned points and allowed the team to pick a prize from one of the seven stores on the lower floor of the mall. One of the stores also hid a mini vacation dubbed the "Shopper's Special". Sometimes a bonus prize was added to the Shopper's Special.

Two stunt rounds were played, with stunts in the first round worth 100 points and 200 points in the second round; plus, the second team who did not have the choice of playing or passing the first stunt in round one had the option in round two.

List of Stores

1991 Pilot

Most of these stores were carried over into the series.

24 Karats
Baby Land
Card Sharks (not to be confused with the game show of the same name)
Circuit Center
Fashion Fair (renamed Melanie's Fashion Fair)
Fun & Games
Good Scents (renamed Lotions & Potions)
Leaning Tower of Pisa Records and Videos (renamed Harry's House of Music & Video)
Pizza Pizzazz
Shutter Bug
The Book Nook
The Locker Room (renamed Good Sports)
The Shoe Tree (renamed Harris' Bootery)
Top Chef Kitchen Accessories

1991-1994

Stores in bold are reused.

24 Karats
Art Attack (Later Andrea's Art Attack)
Baby Land
Back to Nature
Brendlinger's Bed & Bath (Later Birkeland's Bed & Bath)
Circuit Center
Decorator's Showcase
Food Gloria's Food
Fun & Games
Gadgets & Gizmos
Gifts Galore
Good Sports (Renamed from The Locker Room from the Pilot)
Harris' Bootery (Renamed from The Shoe Tree from the Pilot)
Harry's House of Music & Video (Renamed from Leaning Tower of Pisa Records and Videos from the Pilot)
Heidi's Hair Hunt
Heidi's Healthy Living
Jerome's Leather & Luggage Goods
Justin Time
Lotions & Potions (Renamed from Good Scents from the Pilot)
Melanie's Fashion Fair (Renamed from Fashion Fair from the Pilot)
S&S Clothiers
Shutter Bug
Sweet Sensations
Tania's Beauty Secrets
The Book Nook
The Green House
The Pet Shop
Top Chef Kitchen Accessories
Von Schiffendecker's Furniture

1996-1998

Stores in bold are reused.

24 Karats
Andrea's Art Mart
Beauty Secrets by Tania
Bob's Camera Shop
Chuck's Department Store
Circuit Center
Dave's Home Furnishings
Downtown Designs
Gifts Galore
Heidi's Housewares
J&B Sports of All Sorts
JJ's Fashion Fair
Mister Gadget
RCA/BMG Music & Video (sometimes just RCA Music & Video)
Scotty's Luggage Rack (later renamed Leather & Luggage Rack)
Sleep On It
The Greenery
World of Discovery

2000-2002

Stores in bold are reused.

24 Karats
Andrea's Art Attack (reusing the classic name from 1991)
Bob & Steve's Camera Shop
Brighten Up!
Chez Gourmet
Cosmetics Plus
Decker Marcus Department Store
Gary's Gadgets
Gifts Galore
Global Wonders
Good Time Charli's Clocks
Heidi's Housewares
Leslie's House of Music (sometimes just House of Music)
J&B Sports of All Sorts
JJ's Fashion Fair
Kanthony's Furniture Mart 
Leather & Luggage Rack
Outdoor Explorer (Later Levy's Outdoor Explorer)
Sally's Bedding & Beyond
Sue's Book Nook (renamed from The Book Nook in 1991)
The Greenery
Von Schiffendecker's Furniture (was replaced by Kanthony's Furniture Mart in the second season of the first generation PAX run)

NOTE: Many of the stores are named after people who worked on the show and for Stone Stanley Entertainment; one exception, "Cosmetics Plus", was actually based on a New York-based chain.

Shopper's Challenge

Challenge Round

We are ready to start the Shopper’s Challenge Round.

Round 3 was the "Shopper's Challenge" round, a 90-second series of rapid-fire three-choice questions, again related to entertainment and shopping. Correct answers were worth 50 points each and an incorrect answer gave the other team a chance to respond. The male and female halves switched places after each question.

The team with the most points at the end of the round won the game and advanced to the bonus round. If a tie occurred, a final question was asked. If the player answered correctly, his/her team went to the bonus round. If the player answered incorrectly, the opposing team automatically went to the bonus round.

Shop 'til They Drop (Bonus Round)

Dee as some tough guy

Dee Baker as some tough guy shows us to hit the button whenever bringing a prize at the table.

The bonus round was a shopping spree where the team tried to build a prize package of at least $2,500 in 90 seconds. One of the team members was the shopper (usually, but not always the female) while the other team member was the runner (usually, but not always the male). One of the stores (rarely two) in the mall contained a prize worth at least $700.

One at a time, the team opened one of six packages on a table, each concealing a prize. The shopper decided whether to keep the gift or exchange it with another gift from one of the other stores in the mall. If they decided to exchange it, the runner scurried to one of the stores for another prize. In either case, the runner had to take the item to a prize table on the other side of the set and hit a bell before the shopper could open another box.

After all six boxes had been exchanged/kept, or if the 90-second time limit expires (the rarer of the two), the host and announcer described the prizes and added up each item's retail price. The couple kept everything they selected (including any prizes from the first 2 rounds and the "Shopper's Special" if won), but if they exceeded the $2,500 threshold, the couple won a vacation.

In the pilot the couple only need one minute to reach the goal of $1,000. After all six boxes had been exchanged/kept, or if the 60-second time limit expired (the rarer of the two), the model and announcer described the prizes and the price of each prize was deducted from the $1,000 goal. (The series host only said the money needed to win while the current total bill was shown.)

During the show's first two seasons, the couple only needed to obtain $1,000 in prizes. In the first season with the $1,000 quota, there was always at least one prize that was worth $300 or more. In addition, some of the packages in the first season contained gag gifts (related to the store, with no photos of them shown during descriptions as was the case with the larger prizes), which if selected only added $10 or below to a team's total. The gag gifts were eliminated when the required money amount was raised.

1993 Christmas Special

On December 19, 1993, to commemorate the holiday season, a one-hour Christmas special aired, featuring celebrities playing for charity. The celebrities were J.C. Wendel & Joe E. Tata (Homestead Hospice), Victoria Rowell & Michael Tucci (Foster Youth Connection), Mother Love & The Nelsons (Lyphnoma Research Foundation America), and Farrah Forke & Brad Maule (Alzheimer's Association).

The basic format remained the same, but four teams competed (three teams of two and one team of three), there were higher-priced prizes, and cash was used instead of points, each event not having a set value. Also, the celebrity teams picked a prize from one of the 14 stores in both the upper and lower floors of the mall. Also, the two low-scoring teams were eliminated before the "Shopper's Challenge", in which all questions were related to entertainment and shopping, including the holiday season. Each correct answer was worth $500, and the time limit in Shopper's Challenge Round was changed to two minutes. All teams won at least $2,500 for their charities. Finally, in the bonus round, the target was raised to $5,000, and reaching or exceeding that goal won an additional $10,000. Farrah Forke & Brad Maule defeated Mother Love & The Nelsons $6,300-$2,450, and went on to win the endgame with a score of $6,192. Their grand total for the Alzheimer's Association was $27,287. All told, the four charities represented on the show earned a total of $48,554.

Megastore Format (2003-2005)

In the new version, two pairs competed (regardless of marital status). The show was set in a 14-department warehouse store (similar to warehouse stores like Costco, Sam's Club, or BJ's). The podiums had sponsors of products found in the store. The 14 departments were played similar to the stores from the mall version (see below), and each had a blue light.

First Two Rounds

Stunts were replaced by a question/pricing round, with the choices being given in pun-laden categories. After choosing a category, host Roberto let the contestants know what the category entailed, and then gave the play-or-pass option to the team. Whichever team played the chosen category chose one player to play the category (though conferring was allowed).

Like the stunts in the previous version, the questions dealt with pricing items or knowledge of celebrities. The team was given one minute to come up with a set number of correct answers. As in the original version, completing the challenge earned 100 points in round one, and 200 points in round two.

Unlike the previous version, where teams verbally chose a store in the mall, the other member of the team went into the store to grab a gift box from any department that had a flashing light, then ran back to host Roberto, who opened the box and revealed their prize. As before, there was also a Shopper's Special which earned the team a bonus trip for finding it.

Round 3, the Shopper's Challenge round, was played exactly the same as in previous versions.

List of Departments

  • Electronics
  • Grocery
  • Appliances
  • Housewares
  • Sporting Goods
  • Music & More
  • Big Savings
  • Health & Beauty
  • Home & Garden
  • Bed & Bath
  • Furniture
  • Toys
  • Jewelry
  • Gifts (originally Gifts Galore in early episodes)
  • Price Busters
  • Office Supplies
  • Candy
  • Automotive
  • Frozen Foods
  • Beverages
  • Dairy
  • Clearances
  • Pets

Shop 'til They Drop (bonus round)

Styd roberto bell bonus round

In the Roberto era, the bell was rung and lit up automatically when JD told the contestants what to do in the bonus round.

Contestants now took turns buying/exchanging gifts in order to reach the goal of $2,500 in prizes. One opened the gift box and the other handed off the item to the partner, who then kept it or exchanged it for any prize in a department with a flashing light; with one department having a prize worth over $1,000. The partner took the box to the check out table, rang the bell, then came back to the table and handed off the next item to the first player, who repeated the process. Again, the contestants had 1:30 to complete the task.

For the second season, the clock had a sponsor, just as the contestants' podiums did.

Broadcast History

The show ran on Lifetime from July 8, 1991 to September 30, 1994, with reruns airing from October 3, 1994 to May 31, 1996.

On June 3, 1996, the show moved to The Family Channel and was renamed The New Shop 'Til You Drop. There it ran from September 30, 1996 to August 14, 1998. After airing reruns for a year, on April 3, 2000, PAX (later ION) began airing new episodes before canceling it on May 27, 2005. Reruns continued through August 11, 2006. PAX re-aired the 1996-1998 (Family Channel) episodes of The New Shop 'til You Drop from April 19, 1999 to October 29, 1999, and the final season of the Lifetime version from November 1, 1999 to March 31, 2000.

One episode from 2000 aired on GSN, during The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time series in 2006, even though GSN never owned the rights to the show. The episode that aired on GSN had the biggest record in the Shopper's Challenge Round, which was 950 Points. However, on November 15, 2013, it was announced that the network had officially acquired the 2000 PAX version of the series (Finn version only) and is currently being rerun daily at 4 & 4:30 pm Eastern starting on December 2, 2013.[1][2]

Merchandise

Mobile Game

A mobile game based on the show was released by Reaxion, and plays mostly to the PAX-era "warehouse store" format of the show from 2003-05. JD Roberto does make an animated appearance on this game. Reaxion closed up shop in 2010.[3]

Video Slot Machine

A video slot machine based on the show was released to American casinos by WMS Gaming in 2006, In place of traditional reel spins, the reel symbols cascade into place as if dropped from above. All winning combinations pay as normal, but then something extra happens. The symbols in the winning combination disappear and new symbols cascade down to take their place. this process continues until no new winning combinations form.[4]

Three bonus symbols on an active pay-line trigger the Shop 'Til You Drop bonus. The bonus begins by showing a man and a woman along with an array of 16 boxes on shelves. The players selects boxes from shelves to reveal shopping items such as jewelery, clothes, sporting goods, etc. An award is paid for the item and then it is placed to the side in a template with four "Trip Lists". For each specific trip list that becomes filled, the game show awards a vacation trip paying an additional award. The bonus ends whenever two funny looking "honky" geese are found. (NOTE: This bonus may also trigger randomly at the end of a non-triggering play.) The theme song used in the slot machine game is the 2003-2005 Megastore version of the theme song.

Rating

72px-TV-G icon svg

Music

Gary Scott

Many of the cues from College Mad House were recycled into the Lifetime and Family Channel versions.

Theme Lyrics (2003-2005)

Shop 'Til You Drop!
It's a game full of prizes
and a few surprises!
So if you love to shop,
come on and play
Shop 'Til You Drop!

Shop 'Til You Drop!
If you win a dream vacation,
have a celebration!
So if you love to shop,
come on and play
Shop 'Til You Drop!

Spinoffs

Spend it Fast - a short lived spinoff that aired in 2002 where contestants had to purchase items in a store in less than 5 minutes.

Additional Pages

Shop 'Til You Drop/Quotes
Shop 'Til You Drop/Gallery
Shop 'Til You Drop/Video Gallery

Trivia

  • JD Roberto guest announced on The Price is Right in 2010 shortly after Rich Fields left the show.
  • While Don Preiss was present in the studio for all episodes of the Roberto version, he is not known to have been shown on-camera.
  • The 1991 pilot had Scott Herriott as the host and Suzie Fawcett as the hostess.
  • Two pilots were made for a kids version: one targeted at younger kids, the other targeted at older kids. Unfortunately, neither pilot has been aired and neither version was sold.
  • Pat Finn hosted the 1990-91 version of The Joker's Wild, as well as The Big Spin.
  • Mark L. Walberg hosted The Big Date, Russian Roulette, and The Moment of Truth, and is currently the host of Antiques Roadshow and The Game Plane.
  • Jason Grant Smith continues his career after he left the show after one season.
  • Dee Bradley Baker is a voice actor and is well known as Olmec on Legends of the Hidden Temple.
  • From 1991-1993, the theme song from College Mad House and many of its cues were recycled to this show. Beginning with the 1993 Holiday Special until 2002, the show's traditional theme was used with new music cues debuting in 1994 (one of them became the main theme for Quicksilver). In 2001-2002, the techno theme song was used in the closing credits. The show's final two seasons used a remix of the Shop 'til You Drop theme song with lyrics.
  • When PAX (Formerly I, now Ion) reran the final Lifetime season in 1999-2000, they edited out Mark L. Walberg's segments with the couple selected from the studio audience.
  • When GSN reruns the last two Lifetime seasons, they edited out fee plugs, the contestants hotline, and Pat's signoff (used in both of those seasons), and they edited out Mark L. Walberg's segments with the couple selected from the studio audience that was used on the final Lifetime season.
  • In the early episodes of the Roberto version, the Gifts Department was still under the name of "Gifts Galore".

References

Links

Official Sites

Information about the show itself
Look for the show under "TV Properties"

Rules

Jay Anton's Rules for Shop 'Til You Drop
Rules for Shop 'Til You Drop @ Loogslair.net
Rules for Shop 'Til You Drop @ The Game Show Temple
Josh Rebich's Rules for Shop 'Til You Drop

Advertisement