Debt is an American game show

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

 hosted by Wink Martindale

Wink Martindale

Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...

, which aired on Lifetime from June 3, 1996 to August 14, 1998. The show featured contestants who were trying to earn money to get out of debt

Debt

A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...

.

Gameplay

Three contestants are introduced with the amount of debt they have (usually between $7,000 and $10,000) and the reasons why. After introductions, the debt of the three contestants was averaged to level the playing field. The scores were shown in negative amounts to reflect the debt of each contestant.

Round 1 (General Debt)

In the first round, contestants faced a gameboard with five categories, each with five questions in negative dollar values ranging from −$50 to −$250, in increments of $50. The first selection went to the contestant who had the lowest debt before averaging the scores. On a contestant's turn, he or she chose a category and value, after which a "Who am I?"-type question was revealed (e.g., "I'm the name of the fictitious, mustachioed 'ranking officer' who hawks the Quaker Oats cereal Peanut Butter Crunch."). Contestants buzzed-in to answer and were required to phrase their response as "You are..." to receive credit (although the contraction "You're" also was accepted). The correct answer to the example is "You are Cap'n Crunch

Cap'n Crunch

Cap'n Crunch is a product line of sweetened corn and oat breakfast cereals introduced in 1963 and manufactured by Quaker Oats Company. Quaker Oats has been a division of PepsiCo since 2001. The product line is heralded by a cartoon mascot named Cap'n Crunch, a sea captain .-Development:Pamela Low,...

." A correct answer deducted the question's value from the contestant's debt. A wrong answer or failing to respond within the time frame added the value, increasing the contestant's debt.

One of the questions in the round was labeled "Debtonator", the round's most difficult question in the producers' opinion, and was worth −$500 regardless of the face value of the question.

When time ended or after all questions had been asked, the contestant with the highest debt was eliminated and received a $200 savings bond, along with a piggy bank.

Season two changes

Before the start of round one (and after the averaging of the debts), the game started with a toss-up question worth −$1 and the right to pick the first category from the board. Also, contestants were no longer required to begin their responses with the phrase "You are..." at any point in the game. Additionally, rather than choosing individual questions, contestants chose an entire category from the five on the board and five questions from that category were asked in succession. Due to this change, the "Debtonator" represented an entire category, with each question played for twice normal value (−$100 to −$500).

Round 2 (Gambling Debt)

After revealing the category, each contestant announced how many out of five questions he/she could answer to win the money for that category. At the beginning of the round, the contestant with the lesser amount of debt placed the first bid; his or her opponent then had the opportunity to increase the bid. Bids were exchanged until the maximum bid of five was made or a contestant directed their opponent to "Prove it!", forcing them to fulfill the contract. If the controlling contestant completed the contract, the money was subtracted from that contestant's debt. If the contestant was unable to fulfill the contract, their opponent's debt was reduced. The winner of each category earned the right to place the first bid for the next. Five categories were played in this round, with values of −$300, −$400, −$500, −$750, and −$1,500.

The contestant with the higher debt was eliminated at the end of the round and received a $500 savings bond, while the contestant with the lower score won and advanced to the bonus round. If at any point in the round it became impossible for a contestant to catch up, even if he/she were to win every remaining category, that contestant was "mathematically eliminated" and automatically received the consolation prize.

Bonus round

The show's bonus round was played in two stages called "Get Out of Debt" and "Bet Your Debt".

Get Out of Debt

The winning contestant was given an "expiration date" (time limit) of 60 seconds to answer 10 questions in a particular category. Winning the bonus round meant their entire original debt (before the averaging of debts) was paid off. Losing the bonus round meant the contestant kept whatever money they earned in the first two rounds.

Bet Your Debt

After the first part of the bonus round, the contestant was given the option to "Bet [their] debt". A category selected by the contestant prior to the show on their particular favorite subject in the world of pop culture was presented as a one-question double-or-nothing gamble. The contestant could elect to keep what they had won up to that point, or risk all of their winnings to add an amount in cash equal to their original debt or their main game winnings, based on how well they fared in the first part of the bonus round.

If the contestant chose to play, the question was read and the contestant had 10 seconds to respond. If the contestant responded incorrectly, all of the money won up to that point was lost, and the contestant received a savings bond worth $1,500 if they won the first part of the bonus round, or $1,000 if they failed to win the first part of the bonus round.

Broadcast history

Debt replaced Shop 'til You Drop

Shop 'Til You Drop

Shop 'til You Drop is an American game show that aired on various broadcast television networks from 1991–2006. The series was hosted by Pat Finn from 1991–2002, followed by JD Roberto from 2003–2005. Co-hosts/announcers included Mark L...

, which moved from Lifetime to The Family Channel

ABC Family

ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...

 in 1996. Debt aired at 6:30 pm Eastern for its entire run, paired with reruns of Supermarket Sweep

Supermarket Sweep

Supermarket Sweep is an American television game show. Part of the format was similar to other team-based quiz shows; the other part was a live-action race through a supermarket, a novel concept at the time...

. Debt was replaced by reruns of Ellen

Ellen (TV series)

Ellen is a U.S. television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from March 29, 1994 to July 22, 1998, producing 109 episodes.The theme song, "So Called Friend" is by Scottish band Texas...

in 1998.