Trivia Trap Review

Welcome to the first Trivia Why's review. I don't know how frequently this feature will appear, but I already have the second item lined up, Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac, my current reading selection. I will try to feature trivia-based game shows (current or in syndication), books (from my library or anything you send me ;-), and other active trivia blogs (probably as a summary).

Name	Trivia Trap
Original Run	October 1984 to April 1985 (65 episodes)
Host	Bob Eubanks
Length	Half hour
Currently On	Game Show Network (1 a.m. weekdays; check your local listings)
IMDB	Link (see the external reviews section for pictures)

Description: Trivia Trap pits a team of three Seniors (30 years old and over) against a team of three Juniors (18 to 29 years old) in several varying rounds of trivia.

Fact or Fiction: The first round asks true/false questions, worth 25 dollars each, one to each member of each team in turn. This round was not part of the show's original format but is part of the episodes currently airing.

Trivia Trap: The second round contains multiple-choice questions with the following twist. The first contestant responds, then each teammate can agree or disagree, without specifying their actual choice. If the first person is wrong, any teammates that disagreed then give their answer. Correct answers are worth 50 dollars, with a $50 bonus if all three teammates are right.

$1,000 Race: The third round displays a rack of three topics, and the team in the lead goes first. In turn, each player selects a category, which is replaced with another, and gets first crack at the short-answer question. An incorrect answer does not end their turn however, as the other teammates also get a chance to answer. If all three answer the question incorrectly, control passes to the other team. The round continues, with dollar values increasing from $100 to $200 after ten questions, until a team goes over $1,000 for the game.

Trivia Ladder: The winning team goes on to the bonus round, where each individual has a chance at $10,000 Pot of Gold. The highest-scoring team member has the choice to play or pass after seeing the four answer options to the first question (ditto for the second player in turn). Eventually, all three players attempt a qualifying $1,000 multiple-choice question, with correct answers advancing them to the $10,000 multiple-choice finale. Players write their answers to the final question down, and correct answers split the grand prize. The winning team returns for the next contest until they win five games in a row or lose.

Conclusion: Overall, Trivia Trap is a fast-paced, low-budget game show that features interesting, reasonably high-quality trivia (Fred L. Worth was on the editorial staff), although current events questions are necessarily focused on the Reagan era. The team format is excellent, and the lack of bells and whistles only serves to better highlight the trivia focus of the show. In later episodes, celebrity teams, such as soap opera actors, compete for charities.