Blockbusters (American game show)
Blockbusters is an American game show, created by Steve Ryan for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, which had two separate runs in the 1980s. On this program, contestants answered general-knowledge questions to complete a path across or down a game board composed of hexagons. The first series of the show debuted on NBC on October 27, 1980, and aired until April 23, 1982. In the first series, a team of two family members competed against a solo contestant. Blockbusters was revived on NBC from January 5 to May 1, 1987, but featured only two solo contestants competing.
| Blockbusters | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Steve Ryan |
| Directed by | Ira Skutch (1980–82) Marc Breslow (1987) |
| Presented by | Bill Cullen Bill Rafferty |
| Narrated by | Bob Hilton Rich Jeffries |
| Theme music composer | Bob Cobert (1980–82) Music Design Group (1987) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 372 (1980–82) 85 (1987) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ira Skutch (1980–82) Robert Sherman (1987) |
| Producers | Robert Sherman (1980–1982) Diane H. Janaver (1987) |
| Production locations | NBC Studios Burbank, California |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (1980–1982) Mark Goodson Television Productions (1987) |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 27, 1980 – April 23, 1982 |
| Release | January 5 – May 1, 1987 |
| Related | |
| Blockbusters (United Kingdom) | |
Bill Cullen hosted the 1980–82 version, with Bob Hilton as announcer. Johnny Olson and Rich Jeffries substituted for Hilton on occasion, with Jeffries taking over for the final two weeks. Bill Rafferty hosted the 1987 version, with Jeffries announcing the entire run.