Test Pattern (TV series) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Test Pattern was the first 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...

on the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

television channel MuchMusic

MuchMusic

MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...

in the late from 1989 into the early 1990s. The Music and sound man was Bill St. Amour. The show's announcer was Bill Carroll (Except for one week when Bill Nasimok took his place). It occasionally featured Canadian musicians who were prominent at the time. Dan Gallagher

Dan Gallagher

Dan Gallagher was a Canadian broadcaster who hosted the CBC Television music video program Video Hits from 1991 to 1993. In the 1980s he appeared on the Canadian music channel MuchMusic as a VJ and host of the Pepsi Power Hour...

hosted the program and it was produced and directed by Sidney M. Cohen

Sidney M. Cohen

Sidney M. Cohen is a Canadian television director specializing in live multi-camera productions requiring minimal editing and is also a TV program creator.He was born in Montreal, Quebec and began his career with CFCF-TV and later CBC Television...

. The show was cancelled after two seasons. Reruns currently air Mondays and Fridays on GameTV. Reruns of episodes from the show's second season also aired during the summer of 2003 on MuchMoreMusic

MuchMoreMusic

MuchMore is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media, based at 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario....

.

The show was a points-based contest, with the highest scorer winning a grand prize. There were four five-time champions in the first season. These four contestants were deemed the best contestants that season, and won trips to Las Vegas, Mexico, Jamaica, and Florida. All four participated in a "Tournament of Champions" show in season two, for which the grand prize was a home stereo.

Gameplay

The main game featured a "video wall" with a grid of nine windows with television screen facades. Each window concealed a category or other game feature. In the each of the two main rounds, contestants would take turns throwing a fake brick at the game board; For most screens, this would reveal a category from which trivia questions would be asked to all three contestants by ring-in format. Each correct answer added points, while each incorrect answer deducted them. Questions in the first main round were worth 10 points, and in the second main round were worth 20 points. The board also concealed mini-games, which that contestant would play, and a "switch" space: This space knocked the player out of the game and switched them with another contestant waiting to play.

The most often categories are:

S*x (inappropriate for children)
Things LOSERS/AMERICANS don't know
Cold Cash - The contestant is directed to the fridge and picks "Cold", "Colder", or "Coldest" envelope, each revealing a different number of old 2-dollar bills. It doesn't mean that "Coldest" has the most 2-dollar bills and hence, the help from the entire audience.
Switch - The contestant in the deck switches with the contestant who revealed the category. However, the contestant who revealed "switch" will get all the profit when the new contestant wins.

The show also had a round featuring a large floor-based game wheel with eight mini-games. An audience member was selected to lie on the wheel and act as the indicator, and the wheel with the audience member was spun once by each contestant who would play the game that resulted.

The show had at least two slightly different formats: In one format, the two main rounds were the first two rounds of the game with the board in the second round remaining as it was following the first round; this was followed by the wheel round. In the second format, the first round was following by the wheel round; the board was reset for the subsequent second main round, including the switch space which was once again available. It is unknown which of these formats preceded which.

The fourth and final round of each game was a lightning round

Lightning round

A lightning round is a round of a game or contest in which the duration of the round is a pre-determined length of time, and the goal is typically to accomplish as much as possible within that period. The most common format of a lightning round is in a question-and-answer game, to answer as many...

, in which the contestants donned motorcycle-style helmets outfitted with a lightbulb and a button on the forehead. Contestants had to slap the button to ring in. As many questions as possible were asked in the 58-second time limit. The player with the highest score at the end of the round won the grand prize and returned on the next episode. If there was a tie between two players, a tie-breaker more question was asked.

Mini-games

Among the mini-games played were:

Pablo's Hands - The contestant would be blindfolded and have to identify a slimy substance on Pablo's hands by smell, touch and/or taste.
The Hairy Back Brothers - A pair of large hirsute men would take off their shirts, revealing extremely hairy backs with several band-aid
Band-Aid
Band-Aid is a brand name for Johnson & Johnson's line of adhesive bandages and related products. It has also become a genericized trademark for any adhesive bandage in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India and the United States....

s on them. The contestant had to remove a band-aid and reveal a reward or penalty.

The labels on the game wheel, which resulted in random questions or challenges, were:

Test Drive
The Steve Show- contestants who where named steve
Dan's Choice - The host (Dan) gets to choose any mini-game on the wheel
Spinner Winner - The audience member in the wheel wins "The Official Test Pattern 2-Slice Toaster"
Going Going - The Contestant will choose an X Y or Z envelope. Dan will ask a question. A correct answer keeps them in the game. A wrong answer means the contestant will have to switch with the on deck contestant. (when a contestant chooses "Y" this is usually followed by Dan saying "He/she is choosing Y" followed by the audience saying in unison "because we love you.")
Guts - The contestant is directed to a diagram of the human anatomy. On the diagram are 3 envelopes, each labeled with a different category (usually "Sex", "Music", and "Cheese").
Free Lunch
Dance Break - Contestants must perform an aerobic dance and the best dancer (determined by the crowd applause) wins points
Top 40 - The host (Dan) is handed a record with a question on it. Dan asks the contestant the question and if they get it correct, they win points and the record. If the contestant answers incorrectly, they still get the record.
Mystery Potato Head - The contestant smashes one of 5 potatoes with a hammer to reveal a prize or point value hidden inside.
Goofs, Goofs, Goofs
Paper Boy
Human Pinata - A staffer wears a ski-doo helmet, a neck brace, and safety goggles then climbs to the top of a ladder. They hang a brown paper bag from their neck and wait for the host (Dan) to ask the blindfolded contestant a question. If the contestant answers correct, they are given a cardboard tube to swing at the "pinata", where they can win the treats inside the bag.
Bowl & Win - The contestant is directed to a 6-pin bowling alley and gets blindfolded. If the contestant gets a strike, the contestant wins 30 points.
Hide The Salami - The contestant is directed to a fridge on-set and has to guess in which compartment in the fridge is a salami on which is points the contestant either added or deducted from his score.

Gameplay

Mini-games

See also