The Big Surprise
The Big Surprise is a television quiz game show broadcast in the United States by NBC from October 8th, 1955 to June 9th, 1956 and from September 18th, 1956 to April 2nd, 1957.
It was hastily created by NBC in response to the overwhelming ratings success of The $64,000 Question, which had premiered on CBS in Summer 1955 and almost instantly became a smash hit.
The Big Surprise offered a grand prize of $100,000. The series was originally hosted by game-show entrepreneur Jack Barry through March 3rd, 1956, after which he was replaced by journalist Mike Wallace for the rest of the run.
Contestants who had performed an act of heroism or generosity were accompanied by “reporters” who explained why that contestant should be chosen. The contestant then answered questions about his or her family, friends, hometown, hobbies, and other special interests. Questions started in value at $1 and increased up to $100,000. An incorrect answer on any of the easy questions lost all winnings, while an incorrect answer on any of the hard questions lost half of the winnings. If a contestant missed a question, another contestant could answer a question correctly and receive 10% of the original contestant’s winnings, with the original contestant keeping the other 90%. While there were some alterations in the show’s format over the next six months, it was basically a straight quiz with a few gimmicks such as two “insurance questions” which could be used, if answered correctly, to prevent the complete loss of winnings which otherwise occurred in the event of an incorrect answer to the regular questions. The questions were valued at $100, $200, $300, $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, and $100,000.
