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MEMORIES:
matthewb03 remembers...one of my favorite scene in remote control is the think real fast round. one of my favorite scene is audience ... More »
Posted on 09/17/08
PHOTOS:
CATCH PHRASE:
Network:
Release History:
1989 - 1990 syndicated
“Kenny wasn’t like the other kids (REMOTE CONTROL!)
TV Mattered, nothing else did (REMOTE CONTROL!)
Girls said yes, but he said no (REMOTE CONTROL!)
Now he’s got his own game show (REMOTE CONTROL!)”
If you visited the basement of 72 Whooping Cough Lane in the eighties, you might have found a few leather recliners, a retro-styled zenith television set with big buttons all around, and a misfit desperate for stardom. In other words, you’d find the hit MTV game show, Remote Control. Teens with access to cable TV flocked around their television sets and flipped it to the popular music video channel to watch the hilarious game show, laughing along with sidekicks Colin Quinn, Adam Sandler and Denis Leary, and the boys watched partly to drool over the second- and third- season hostess Kari Wuhrer. Everyone wanted to see who would go “Off the Air” – whether it was a college student (their standard contestant base) or a celebrity on a special edition of the show.
The show went into production in late 1987, and the idea behind it was that Ken Ober desperately wanted to be a game show host. So he set up a studio in his basement, complete with a washer and dryer, retro kidney-shaped tables, as well as the standard cheesy 70s and 80s bric-a-brac. The contestants sat in recliners, strapped in with seat belts. Behind Ober were autographed pictures of his game show host idols, Bob Barker, Monty hall, Bob Eubanks and Tom Kennedy. The hostess and sidekick would usually sit at the cluttered little bar throughout the show, along with keyboardist Steve Treccase.
There were three contestants, and the idea was that they could select one of nine channels, each of which would usually start off a three question topic on pop culture. For example, a contestant could choose “The Jon Bon Jovi Network” or “Brady Physics.” Other channels included “Leave Out the Beaver,” “Andy’s Diary” (for which Denis Leary portrayed Pop artist Andy Warhol) and “Inside Tina Yothers.” However, there were a handful of negative channels. If a contestant picked a channel like “Home Shopping Zone” they’d be charged 10 points for some ridiculous product, or “Ranger Bob” during which the contestant would learn a ‘camping safety tip’ for 10 points. After Round Two, a siren would go off and the player in last place would go “Off the Air.” Literally. And immediately. Chair and all (hence the seatbelts). Often times, audience members would sing a goodbye song to the contestant, like Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack,” Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” or “Get Off My Show” to the tune of the Stones’ classic “Get Off My Cloud.” After being ejected, the “Off the Air” contestant would be ‘tormented’ by stagehands while a fake-sounding scream sound effect played.
After the elimination, there was usually the “Think Real Fast” round. Remaining contestants during seasons two, three and four would compete in a thirty-second speed round. By season five, it was called “This, That or the Other Thing.” Season five also had “The Final Question” during which the remaining two players could bet and or all of their score on a final question, which was usually a math problem. The contestant had 20 seconds to write down an answer while something bizarre was going on around them to distract them. The winner of which would go onto the Grand Prize Round. During the first four seasons, the contestant was strapped to a Craftmatic Adjustable Bed in front of a wall of TV sets playing various music videos. The contestant had to identify the artist in each video, for prizes awarded for each correct answer. If the player could correctly identify all nine artists within 30 seconds, they would win the grand prize, usually a car or a vacation. The syndicated version of Remote Control featured the “Wheel of Jeopardy.” On the syndicated version, the contestant would be strapped to a carnival wheel surrounded by TV monitors, and asked ten questions about TV. In the last season of the MTV version, the final round was modified to resemble the “Wheel of Jeopardy”, but with the player strapped to a metal wheel at a 45-degree angle. There was a TV above, and a TV below. The contestant was shown nine videos and had 40 seconds to correctly guess all the artists to win the grand prize.
The shows popularity couldn’t keep it on forever, and by 1989 the show was “off the air.” Bits like “Snack Break” where food would fall from above were no more, leaving the kids who loved it with great memories of a truly memorable show.
