Camouflage (TV series)

"This page is for the picture based game show. For the word game show, see Camouflage (2007 TV series)."

"Camouflage" is a United States television game show originally produced in 1961-1962 and revived in 1980.

1961-1962

The original game show was produced by Jerry Hammer Productions, directed by Gilbert Cates with Don Morrow as host, and Johnny Gilbert as the announcer. Contestants tried to find objects hidden on an electronic board by tracing the outline of the object using a wand.

The game began with Morrow telling the contestants what object to look for. He then asked them a true-false question; a countdown clock began at 10 and stopped when a contestant buzzed in. A correct answer scored the points showing on the clock and removed a piece of the camouflage; the contestant had ten seconds to find and trace the object. If s/he tried and failed, the opponent got a chance to trace it. To help, once a player scored 30 points in the quiz, s/he got to see what the object looked like. First player to spot and trace the object won the game and a prize.

Each game had a predetermined point value (up to 200 points), with ten points deducted from the value of the game when a contestant made an incorrect tracing or chose to pass and wait for more of the camouflage to be removed. The winner's prize was determined by that person's score in the quiz added to the points left in the overall value of the game. The day's big winner was given one more object to find in fifteen seconds for a new car.

The original version of "Camouflage" aired from January 9, 1961 to November 16, 1962 on ABC.

1980

In February 1980, Chuck Barris revived this show for syndication with Los Angeles disc jockey Tom Campbell as host. This time around, the contestants answered general-knowledge questions for $50 apiece, and each game had a designated dollar value of $200-$1,000, with 3 games played per show. The bonus round was basically the same as on the original version, except there was no time limit.

After several weeks, the format was changed slightly: two contestants competed in game 1, followed by two new contestants in game 2, with the the potential values of each game reduced to $200-$500 and the winner of each game playing the bonus round for an additional $1,000. The 3rd game was a playoff between the winners of the first two games, with the champion going on to play the "Super Bonus Puzzle" for the car.

This was one of the last once-a-week game shows to air in access time (7-8 Eastern, 6:30-7 Central), as most stations were switching to Monday-through-Friday "strip" shows. Consequently, "Camouflage" did not get wide distribution in syndication and was cancelled in April after a short run.

The episodes of the original version have most likely been destroyed, but tapes of the 80's version have been spotted on the trading circuit. The original version's first-anniversary show in January 1962 is available on the trading circuit. This episode is notable because Don Morrow was on vacation that day, and announcer Johnny Gilbert filled in as host. An episode with Morrow hosting has also turned up (see www.pageoclips.com).

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0198074 "Camouflage" at the Internet Movie Database]
* [http://www.xanfan.com/othergrabs/camouflage.htm Pictures of the 1980 Camouflage Revival]