Pyramid (2002)

Aired

Syndicated, September 16, 2002 - May 21, 2004

Number of episodes

315

Run time

30 Minutes

Host

Donny Osmond

Announcer

John Cramer

Origination

Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, California

This is chronicling the 2002 version of Pyramid, produced by Sony Pictures Television. According to the promo, it claims that "Once you start watching, you can't stop playing".

Game Format

Main Game

Two teams, each consisting of a celebrity guest and a studio contestant, attempted to guess a series of items relating to different categories within a short time limit based on clues given by their partners.

The game consists of six categories, each one cleverly written in order to give team members a vague idea of what it was about (ex: "Loosen Up" - things that are stiff; "Made Public" - things that are used by the public; "The Woodsman" - things that a carpenter uses). Some categories also involved famous people, which contestants and celebrities both dreaded. Each team played each category in alternating order (their choice), and for each category, one person on the team had 20 seconds to describe six items relating to that category to their partner. Teams scored 1 point for each correct answer (for a maximum of 6 points); if they passed on a word, they could come back to it if time permitted. The clue giver could use voice inflections and hand/body movements while describing a word, but they could not say the actual word or any other part of it or else they would lose out on that potential point score (accompanied by a "burble" sound effect). For the first two categories, the celebrities gave the clues, then the contestants gave the clues for the next two, and then for the final two, teams decided amongst themselves who would give or receive clues (the team that was trailing usually got first pick between the last two categories). The team in the lead after the sixth category moved on to the Winner's Circle.

Super Six

In each half of the show, there was a bonus card hidden behind one of the six categories on a board and for the team that uncovered it, the contestant partner had a chance to win a bonus prize which would be theirs to keep whether they won the game or not. Of course, to win the bonus, the team had to get all 6 answers right. In situations where a team didn't all 6 points to win on the very last category or they won the game automatically, if the very last category concealed the bonus card, the team was allowed to play the category all the way out to try and win the bonus prize. During the second season, home viewers who registered on the Pyramid website could win the prize offered if the contestant won it.

Tie-Breakers

If the game ended in a tie, the game shifted into a tie-breaker situation. The team that caused the tie had a choice between two letters leaving the other for the other team. Both teams had 30 seconds to get as many of the six items beginning with their letter(s) as they can. The teams continued building on their scores using the tie-breaker categories. As soon as the tie was broken, the game was over.

Winner's Circle

The Winner's Circle essentially reversed the process: one member of the winning team had 60 seconds to describe six categories of increasing difficulty to their partner by listing items relating to each category. Contestants always had the option of whether they wanted to give or receive clues in the Winner's Circle, but celebrities usually gave the majority of the time. The clue receiver had to say verbatim what the category was. Regardless of who gave the clues, there were strict rules involving the types of clues players could not give in the Winner's Circle (see below):

• Clue givers could not use their hands (their chair had special straps attached to the arms to prevent them from doing so)
• Clue givers could not give away any part of the category itself
• Clue givers had to use a short and concise list of clues; they could not use clues that were overly descriptive
• Clue givers could not use synonyms or prepositional phrases
• Clue givers' clues had to relate to the category itself

If the clue giver gave an illegal clue at any time, the category in play was thrown out, thus disqualifying the contestant from winning the grand prize. However, if this happened with time left on the clock and with unrevealed categories yet to be played, then the team was allowed to play the remainder of the Winner's Circle until time ran out or until the remaining categories were all correctly guessed. The three categories on the bottom row were worth $200 each, the next two were worth $300 each, and the final category was worth $500. If the team got all six right before the time expired, then the contestant partner won the grand prize.

The first Winner's Circle was worth $10,000; should it be won, then the second was worth an additional $15,000. However, if the contestant lost the first Winner's Circle, but made it to the second, it was still worth $10,000. Winning both Winner's Circles also qualified the player into a tournament for $100,000.

Tournament

The rules were changed drastically to being played between either four or six players who won $25,000 in their initial appearance, with two tournaments played each season. During a six-player tournament, each contestant's first attempt at the Winner's Circle was worth $25,000. If $25,000 was won in the first half and the same player returned to the Winner's Circle, that contestant played for an additional $75,000 and the tournament title. If the tournament ended with no players able to win both Winner's Circles in one show, either the contestant who won $25,000 in the fastest time or the player who won the most money would have his or her tournament winnings augmented to $100,000.

In a four-player tournament, contestants competed in single elimination, with the first two semifinalists competing on day one and the other two semifinalists on day two. Each attempt at the Winner's Circle was worth $25,000. The top two winners then returned to compete in the finals, where each Winner's Circle victory that day was worth an additional $50,000. A tournament sweep would be worth $150,000.

The Winner's Circle payoffs increased as well. During a six-player tournament, as well as the semifinals of a four-player tournament, the first three categories were worth $500 each, the next two worth $1,000, and the final category was worth $2,500. For the finals of a four-player tournament, the first three were worth $1,000 each, the next two were worth $2,500, and the final category was worth $5,000.

Stations 

Stations that aired this included:

New York - WWOR / WNYW

Los Angeles - KCAL

Chicago - WCIU

Philadelphia - KYW

Boston - WSBK

Dallas - WFAA

Cleveland - WKYC

Milwaukee - WDJT

Green Bay / Appleton - WGBA

Atlanta - WXIA

West Palm Beach - WPTV

Oklahoma City - KWTV

Seattle - KOMO

Detroit - WDIV / WKBD

Dayton - WHIO

Rochester, MN - KTTC

Quincy, IL - KHQA

Des Moines - WHO

Sioux City - KTIV

Sioux Falls - KSFY

Quad Cities - WHBF

Dothan, AL - WTVY

Grand Rapids - WOOD

Miami - WPLG

Madison - WKOW

Twin Cities - KARE

Charleston, WV - WOWK

South Bend - WNDU

Omaha - WOWT

Bismarck, ND - KXMB

Minot, ND - KXMC

Harrisburg - WPMT

New Orleans - WWL

Charlotte - WBTV

Houston - KHWB

Providence - WLNE

Orlando - WRBW

La Crosse - WXOW

Eau Claire - WQOW

Tucson - KVOA

Sacramento - KXTV

Fresno - KMPH

Phoenix - KPNX

San Francisco - KRON

Yakima - KNDO

Kennewick - KNDU

Columbus, OH - WTTE

Zanesville, OH - WHIZ

Paducah, KY - WSIL

Louisville - WAVE

Buffalo - WIVB

Albuquerque - KOB

St. Louis - WRBU

Kansas City - KCTV

Norfolk - WTKR

Washington D.C. - WJLA

Pittsburgh - WPXI

Charleston, SC - WCBD

Denver - KTVD

Honolulu - KHNL

Greensboro - WXLV

Greenville, NC - WCTI

Raleigh - WRAZ

Wilmington - WILM

Savannah, GA - WTGS

Augusta, GA - WRDW

Asheville, NC - WLOS

Myrtle Beach - WWMB

Marquette, MI - WLUC

Amarillo - KFDA

Cincinnati - WKRC

Spokane - KREM

Cedar Rapids - KWWL

Youngstown - WYTV

Waco/Temple - KXXV

Sherman/Ada - KXII

Utica - WKTV

Topeka - KTKA

Johnstown - WJAC

Traverse City - WGTU

Lansing - WSYM

Flint / Saginaw - WJRT

Toledo - WTVG

Lima - WLIO

Zanesville - WHIZ

Terre Haute - WTWO

Indianapolis - WNDY

Evansville - WFIE

Peoria - WMBD

Champaign - WCIA

Wausau - WAOW

Ft, Myers - WBBH

Tampa - WFTS

Tallahassee - WTLH

Abilene - KTXS

San Angelo, TX - KTXE

Corpus Christi - KRIS

Wichita Falls - KSWO

Lubbock - KUPT

Odessa - KPEJ

Columbus, MS - WCBI

Jackson - WAPT

Greenwood, MS - WABG

Hattiesburg - WDAM

Twin Falls - KTFT

Boise - KTVB

Idaho Falls - KIFI

Eugene, OR - KEZI

Bluefield / Oak Hill, WV - WOAY

Bakersfield, CA - KGET

Merchandise

Board Game

Endless Games (2003)

Titled as Pyramid Home Game featuring Donny Osmond on the cover.

Prototype Boxes

Mobile Game

Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment (2003)

On November 8, 2003a mobile game based on this version was released for Sprint  carries only.

Banners

Online Game

Sony (2002)

An online Game based on this version was released on its former website at PyramidGameShow.com.

Photos

Articles

Trade Ads

Set with Osmond

Logos

City Sweep Truck

Banners

Poster

Test Pattern & Production Slate

Episodes

See also: Pyramid (2002)/Episode Guide

Video

See Also

The $10,000 Pyramid
The $20,000 Pyramid
The $25,000 Pyramid
The $25,000 Pyramid (1982)
The $25,000 Pyramid (2010)
The $50,000 Pyramid
The $100,000 Pyramid
The $100,000 Pyramid (1991)
The $100,000 Pyramid (2000)
The $100,000 Pyramid (2016)
The $500,000 Pyramid
The $1,000,000 Pyramid (2000)
The $1,000,000 Pyramid (2009)
Pyramid (1996)
Pyramid (1997)
The Pyramid (2012)
Pyramid Rocks
The Junior Pyramid
Junior Partner Pyramid
All-Star Junior Pyramid

Links

Official Website (via Internet Archive)
Official Website (via Internet Archive)