Remember This?
| Remember This? | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Sande Stewart |
| Directed by |
Bruce Burmester Sande Stewart |
| Presented by | Al Roker |
| Country of origin |
 United States |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Sande Stewart Robert Mayer |
| Producer(s) |
Molly Gray Jake Tauber |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Sande Stewart Television MSNBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | MSNBC |
| Original release | October 25, 1996 – October 5, 1997 |
Remember This? was a game show that tested contestants' knowledge of facts behind NBC News headlines. The series aired on MSNBC on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from October 25, 1996 to October 5, 1997.[1]
Today Show weatherman Al Roker hosted the program, his first game show. Sande Stewart (son of Bob Stewart) and Robert Mayer were executive producers.
Remember This? was MSNBC's only game show.
Premise
Similar to College Bowl and It's Academic, two teams of three players (all college and university students or faculty) were shown news footage from the NBC News archives and answered a series of questions about them to win scholarship money. 32 schools from around the New York city area entered the tournament. Villanova University won the Championship final beating Montclair State University in a game decided on the last question. In the semi-finals, Montclair State beat Vassar College in a close contest, while Villanova romped in their win. Other schools in the tournament included Eastern Connecticut State University, Wesleyan College, Columbia School of Journalism, SUNY-Stony Brook, and Drexel University.
Rounds 1 & 2
In the first two rounds, teams were shown a news headline from the past, and then a toss-up question about the headline was asked. A correct answer scored points plus a chance to earn more points by answering another question in which the only players who didn't buzz-in could answer. A right answer there earned the right to answer one last question in which only the player who hadn't answered yet could answer.
An incorrect answer from the buzz-in player on the first two questions gave the opposing team a chance to steal the points and control of the next question by answering it. If both teams missed, the next question became a toss-up for the remaining players.
Scoring/Number of Headlines
Each round has a point value for all questions and played a certain number of headlines (one of them took a commercial break midway into the round).
| Rounds | Questions | Headlines |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 10 | 3 |
| Round 2 | 20 | 4 |
Round 3
The game ends with the "Lightning Round" where all questions were worth 30 points but no headlines were played. Correct answers were worth 30 points, but an incorrect answer deducted 30 points. The team with the most points when time ran out in the round won the game. Mr. Rishi Bhandari (at the time of the show a senior at Vassar College) is considered to be the greatest Round 3 player in the history of the show. In the five games that Vassar College won (finishing 3rd out of 32 schools), in four of those wins Bhandari pulled his team to victory after having begun the round trailing by at least 50 points.
Winning and Losing
Winning teams from Friday & Saturday shows faced each other on Sunday in which the winner won a $1,000 scholarship and advancement to the playoffs at the end of the season for a chance to win a $20,000 scholarship. Villanova University was the ultimate "Remember This?" champion.
Losing teams stayed on the show until they lost two games, at which point they retired from the show but received a Remember This? hat.
References
- ↑ Ryan, Steve; Schwartz, David; Wostbrock, Fred (1999), The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3 ed.), New York: Checkmark, p. 31, ISBN 0-8160-3847-3