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Beware the power of the pyramid!
And we're not talking about the Luxor in Las Vegas.
One of the most popular game shows in the history of television--"The $10,000 Pyramid"--is returning to TV in a new incarnation.
The latest version of the program--titled simply "The Pyramid"--premieres on cable channel the Game Show Network (GSN) on Labor Day, Monday, September 3, 2012, at 6 p.m. ET.
"The $10,000 Pyramid" debuted on television on CBS in 1973 with Dick Clark as host and since that time has been on and off TV in a variety of formats with a variety of hosts.
The show has also been formatted as "The $20,000 Pyramid," "The $25,000 Pyramid," "The $50,000 Pyramid" and "The $100,000 Pyramid."
And though Clark is the host most often associated with the show, later versions were also hosted by Bill Cullen and John Davidson.
In addition, a short-lived syndicated remake of the show that was titled "Pyramid" was hosted by Donny Osmond and ran from 2002 until 2004.
It's been off the air since (except for old reruns on GSN).
But now the game show franchise that's won more Emmys (11) than any other game show in TV history except "Jeopardy!" (12) is back on GSN with new episodes and a new host.
That host is Mike Richards, who previously hosted the reality TV series "Beauty and the Geek" and is now the executive producer of two other popular TV game shows, "The Price is Right" and "Let's Make a Deal."
Despite the new name, host and set, "The Pyramid" will retain the same basic rules.
To begin, contestants and celebrities will give each other clues in order to elicit answers that all have a common theme (for example, colors of the rainbow or foods eaten at breakfast).
The top contestant-celebrity pairing will then "play the pyramid," which is basically a reverse of the qualifying round and entails one player giving examples of a category (such as gun, badge, uniform) in order to get the other player to guess the category (things used by a policeman).
If the player can guess six different categories in 60 seconds or less, the contestant wins a huge cash prize (it's been anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 in the past but the show hasn't revealed how much money contestants in 2012 will be playing for).
As with any TV game show, the program will need a steady supply of contestants from the general public.
There's always plenty of those.
But unlike "The Price is Right" or "Let's Make a Deal," which are pure guessing games where contestants don't need much (if any) intelligence to play and win, "Pyramid" is a highly-nuanced, quick-thinking game show which requires substantial intellect to be successful.
Which will make it a lot more difficult to get quality contestants.
But if you'd like to make a lot of money very quickly and think you are up to the task of competing on the show, which is filmed in Los Angeles, GSN wants to hear from you.
You can contact them to try out for the show via the GSN website, at www.GSNTV.com.
Happy pyramidding!
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
