Concentration

"Concentration" was must-see TV to me when I was very, very young. It taught me how to count, how to identify objects and enhanced my recall and vocabulary. It was tons of fun to watch as well; Norm Blumenthal's puzzles were absolutely brilliant and oft times hilarious. It devastated me when NBC announced they were canceling it in 1973, but it was a sign of the times. It was getting beat by CBS' "The New Price Is Right" (conversely, the original "Price" was "Concentration's" lead-in from 1958 to 1963, and when "Price" moved to ABC, it would then run opposite "Concentration") and all the game shows were going comparatively high tech in visuals.

The original version of "the game of puzzles and prizes" is a true original and a true classic.

Because I started school in 1969 at age 6, so would be unable to see the morning shows, all my Concentration memories are from about 1966-1969 with Hugh Downs. I especially remember one show--and if anyone remembers this or has archive access to know the air date, please let me know. The game had just started and a lady had matched the first two pieces of the puzzle. As with most puzzles, at that stage, the first two pieces wouldn't be much help to solving the puzzle. But, as was customary, the woman was asked if she'd like to solve the puzzle. She made an exasperated sound then said, "I don't have the slightest idea." She was shocked when she was told, "You're absolutely right!!" That was the answer to the puzzle and she was the winner!! The rebus was revealed and that was what it said. Talk about saying the right thing at the right time!

What was great about the show is that it was suitable for all ages. At that time, I also had the home game of Concentration. Wish I still had it now!

I'd have never wanted to be a contestant on this show. I'm more a Jeopardy kind of guy. I had a great memory for matching the squares, but I was never all that intuitive at figuring out partial images to put the puzzle together with a lot of squares still covered ... and the best players could do that.

Watching the show a LOT was the key, because the puzzle artists standardized symbols and images for certain sounds, so when you saw part of those images you could often extrapolate to guess the entire image.

The is the ONLY game show where I have a personal connection. My Father-in-law was once a contestant, but YEARS before I knew him. According to my wife, he lost his one game.

Jack Berry productions came up with this in 1958. The secret to it's success through the 1960's was host Hugh Downs. Downs was such a consummate host that he went on to help ABC start the news magazine 20/20 and between those shows had a long career.

The game is played by matching the prizes on a board by turning over number tiles & remembering the prizes behind them. Spice was added by having tiles that would give your opponent a prize / take one of their prizes / or a wild card which would give you any prize chosen with it. Each time a match is made, it revealed pieces of a puzzle behind. since the winner had to solve the puzzle, it did not matter who made the most matches which makes it a little different from most games. Being the best puzzle solver was really the key to winning.

Downs made the show exciting & when he retired from it in 1969, the hosts who replaced him just never got back the original spirit he gave the show.

There are several reasons why the original Concentration is a game show classic. First, it's a very simple game that involves the home viewer. Second, unlike the big money quiz shows that died after the scandal the prizes weren't terribly high, except for a car. Third, there was plenty of drama as the contestants revealed portions of the rebus puzzle. Interesting note, the show's producer Norm Blumenthal created every rebus puzzled used on the air.

Let's not forget the hosts Hugh Downs and later Bob Clayton. Both were outstanding. For several months of 1969, Ed McMahon hosted the show but he wasn't accepted by loyal viewers, thus Clayton returned to front the show until it left the air in 1973 after the emergence of the Price is Right cut into the show's ratings and then new NBC Vice President of Daytime Lin Bolen wanted to get rid of the older, dated shows. Concentration was the last game show to use an organist.

As for the 70s revival, some things worked out well. The four head starts to begin each game, the addition of a bonus round and having both contestants play for the entire show. Jack Narz was very good as the new host, coming from Beat the Clock. But after a couple years, Goodson-Todman, who took over production from NBC decided to tamper with a successful show, speeding up the game with Free Looks and Bonus Numbers and making the rebuses easier. That's what caused the show to plummet in the ratings and end after five years.