National Bingo Night
Encyclopedia
National Bingo Night is an American
game show
hosted by Ed Sanders
which premiered on ABC
on May 18, 2007 with a six-episode order. Sanders is known for his work on another ABC show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
. The show was cancelled by ABC and was repackaged as Bingo America
on GSN, first hosted by Patrick Duffy
, and in October 2008 by Richard Karn
.
The creator of this program, Andrew Glassman, also created the reality television
game Average Joe.
The game is an interactive experience for both the studio audience and viewers at home. On NBN, members of the studio audience attempted to win a game of bingo while competing with a solo studio contestant. For Bingo America, it is played as a straight general knowledge quiz format with two players and a home viewer bingo game within.
Home viewers play along with pre-printed game cards that are available from the network website just before each episode airs, and are also eligible to win prizes.
The show was expected to return for a five-episode run during the week of December 17, 2007, but on November 13, 2007, ABC
decided to replace it instead with its new game show, Duel. In 2008, the show was cancelled and was afterward shopped to other networks. Eventually GSN acquired the rights and the game was repackaged into a five-day-a-week 30-minute version with modifications listed below.
On at least two occasions, the stunt was to draw balls that contained a certain number, such as five 5's ("High Five"; drawing G-55 would count for two 5's) or four 9's ("Baseball")
If the contestant successfully completes the stunt before anyone in the studio audience gets a bingo, the contestant wins one of various prizes. If not, then an audience member wins $5,000 (or a prize the studio contestant failed to win on at least one occasion). In the event that the in-studio contestant completes their game and an audience member gets a bingo, only the audience member wins.
All games were winner-take-all
. Non-winning contestants received nothing.
and aired new episodes on GSN from March 31, 2008 to January 2, 2009. In the new format, two contestants competed on each show for a top prize of $100,000. The new version also included an at-home element in which viewers had the chance to win prizes.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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 Ed Sanders
Ed Sanders (television carpenter)
Ed Sanders is an English carpenter and television personality. He learned carpentry to help keep himself employed between acting jobs.In 1999, he landed the role of Eddie Moliano in the Sky One series Dream Team...
which premiered on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on May 18, 2007 with a six-episode order. Sanders is known for his work on another ABC show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a reality television series providing home renovations for less fortunate families and community schools etc...
. The show was cancelled by ABC and was repackaged as Bingo America
Bingo America
Bingo America is an American game show airing on GSN that follows two contestants as they try to compete to win up to $100,000, as well as letting at-home viewers print bingo cards at GSN.com that allow them to play along with the show to win money....
on GSN, first hosted by Patrick Duffy
Patrick Duffy
Patrick George Duffy is an American character actor of stage and film. He is best known for his role on the CBS television drama Dallas, where he played Bobby Ewing from 1978 to 1985 and from 1986 to 1991, Duffy returns to reprise his role as Bobby in a new up-to-date Dallas currently scheduled to...
, and in October 2008 by Richard Karn
Richard Karn
Richard Karn is an American actor and game show host. He is most well known for his co-starring role as Al Borland in the 1990s sitcom Home Improvement and his tenure as the host of Family Feud during the 2000s.-Early life:...
.
The creator of this program, Andrew Glassman, also created the reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
game Average Joe.
The game is an interactive experience for both the studio audience and viewers at home. On NBN, members of the studio audience attempted to win a game of bingo while competing with a solo studio contestant. For Bingo America, it is played as a straight general knowledge quiz format with two players and a home viewer bingo game within.
Home viewers play along with pre-printed game cards that are available from the network website just before each episode airs, and are also eligible to win prizes.
The show was expected to return for a five-episode run during the week of December 17, 2007, but on November 13, 2007, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
decided to replace it instead with its new game show, Duel. In 2008, the show was cancelled and was afterward shopped to other networks. Eventually GSN acquired the rights and the game was repackaged into a five-day-a-week 30-minute version with modifications listed below.
National Bingo Night
Each hour-long episode of NBN was divided into three games – Red, White, and Blue. Only cards with the correct designation were eligible to win prizes. Unlike the audience members, studio contestants did not actually have a bingo card. Instead, they participated in stunt games. During these games, they took guesses on what the next ball to be drawn from an over-sized bingo drum will be. Generally, this took the form of odd or even, red or black numbers (originally red or black decals on the balls), or whether the next number is higher or lower than the previous one.On at least two occasions, the stunt was to draw balls that contained a certain number, such as five 5's ("High Five"; drawing G-55 would count for two 5's) or four 9's ("Baseball")
If the contestant successfully completes the stunt before anyone in the studio audience gets a bingo, the contestant wins one of various prizes. If not, then an audience member wins $5,000 (or a prize the studio contestant failed to win on at least one occasion). In the event that the in-studio contestant completes their game and an audience member gets a bingo, only the audience member wins.
All games were winner-take-all
Winner-take-all
Winner-take-all is a computational principle applied in computational models of neural networks by which neurons in a layer compete with each others for activation...
. Non-winning contestants received nothing.
Bingo America
The format was later retooled as Bingo AmericaBingo America
Bingo America is an American game show airing on GSN that follows two contestants as they try to compete to win up to $100,000, as well as letting at-home viewers print bingo cards at GSN.com that allow them to play along with the show to win money....
and aired new episodes on GSN from March 31, 2008 to January 2, 2009. In the new format, two contestants competed on each show for a top prize of $100,000. The new version also included an at-home element in which viewers had the chance to win prizes.