The Joker's Wild

This article is about the American game show. For other uses, see Joker's Wild (disambiguation).

The Joker's Wild
File:Tjwcbs.jpg Logo of The Joker's Wild used during the CBS era.
Created by	Jack Barry
Presented by	Jack Barry (1972–1984) Bill Cullen (1984–1986) Pat Finn (1990–1991)
Narrated by	Johnny Jacobs (1972–1979) Jay Stewart (1977–1981) Bob Hilton (1979–1980) Art James (1980–1981) Charlie O'Donnell (1981–1986) Ed MacKay (1990–1991)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	CBS: 686 Total: 2,496
Production
Production locations	CBS Television City Hollywood, California (1972–1975, 1990–1991) Chris Craft/KCOP Studios Hollywood, California (1977–1984; 1985–1986) The Production Group Studios Hollywood, California (1984–1985)
Running time	~25 minutes
Production companies	Jack Barry Productions (1972–1975, 1990–1991) Barry & Enright Productions (1977–1986) Kline & Friends, Inc. (1990–1991)
Original release
Network	CBS (1972–1975) Syndicated (1977–1986, 1990–1991)
Release	September 4, 1972–June 13, 1975 September 1977 - May 23, 1986 September 10, 1990 – March 8, 1991

The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times during the 1970s through the 1990s. Contestants answered questions based on categories that were determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine.

The show was billed as "the game where knowledge is king and lady luck is queen", and was notable for being the first successful game show produced by Barry-Enright Productions after their role in the quiz show scandals during the late 1950s. Originally the show was simply a "Jack Barry Production", but Barry added Enright's name upon the start of the syndicated version in 1977 (although the show was still a property of "Jack Barry Productions"). Barry's sons, Jonathan and Douglas Barry, were co-executive producers for the 1990s version, which was produced in association with Richard S. Kline and billed as a Kline and Friends production.

Hosts

Series creator Jack Barry hosted the show from 1972 to 1984.

Jack Barry, who created the show and eventually used it to revive his partnership with longtime producer Dan Enright, hosted all versions of the show up until his death in May 1984.

Barry was not the original choice to host, due to his past involvement in the 1950s quiz show scandals. As a result, Allen Ludden hosted the first two pilots for CBS. Barry hosted the local KTLA series in 1971, but CBS was still hesitant to let him host the network run in 1972; while Wink Martindale, Tom Kennedy, and Ludden were the three top choices to host, each was already committed to other shows. With no alternatives, Barry was given the green light to host, but only for a thirteen-week contract.

By January 1973, with no complaints from the viewers or the network, Barry signed a regular contract to host the program and continued in that role up to its cancellation in June 1975. Enright was brought on as executive producer of Joker during its final CBS season, and was mentioned by Barry himself on the program's final CBS episode.

Beginning in 1981, Jim Peck occasionally substituted for Barry until Barry died in May 1984. Barry and Joker producer Ron Greenberg had planned for Barry to retire at the end of the 1983-84 season and have Peck assume the full-time hosting duties for Joker at the beginning of the following season, which was to be the syndicated series' eighth. However, after Barry's death, Enright hired Bill Cullen to take over as host. Peck also filled in for Cullen for a few weeks in 1986.

Pat Finn hosted the 1990–1991 version.

Announcers

Johnny Jacobs, a longtime friend of host Jack Barry, was the original announcer of The Joker's Wild. Jacobs served through most of its CBS run, with Johnny Gilbert and Roy Rowan filling in for Jacobs on occasion, plus a young Marc Summers, and other announcers who worked at CBS as a page of the network. When the series returned to first-run syndication in 1977, Jacobs, Gilbert, and Jay Stewart alternated the primary announce position. Stewart became the exclusive announcer for The Joker's Wild (as well as for all Barry & Enright-produced game shows at the time) during the 1979–1980 season; Bob Hilton announced the final three months of the 79-80 season and Art James announced the 1980–1981 season, with Stewart announcing the final three months of the 80-81 season as well as the 1980 Tournament of Champions. In 1981 Stewart was replaced as Barry & Enright lead announcer by Charlie O'Donnell, who announced for the remainder of the series' run. Johnny Gilbert and John Harlan filled in for O'Donnell on occasion.

Ed MacKay, a local Los Angeles radio DJ and one-time overnight news anchor at KNX radio, announced the 1990–1991 revival.

Gameplay

The gameplay described below represents the format used from 1977 to 1986. Differences in other versions are discussed in the appropriate section.

Main game

Two contestants, one a returning champion, played. The challenger began the game by pulling a lever, which set three slot machine-style wheels in motion. The wheels each contained five different categories and a Joker. After the wheels stopped the contestant chose one of the displayed categories and had to answer a question from that category.

If the contestant answered correctly, the dollar value of the question was added to his/her score. If they answered incorrectly, his/her opponent had a chance to answer and steal the money. The contestants always received an equal number of turns in the event the challenger reached or exceeded $500 prior to the champion having one final spin of the joker machine. However, if the challenger won the game by answering a question previously missed by the champion, the champion did not receive an additional chance to tie or beat the challenger's winning score.

The value of each question was determined by how many times that category appeared on the wheels. If three different categories appeared, a question in any of the categories was worth $50. If a two of a kind and a single appeared, a question based on the pair was worth $100, and one based on the single was worth $50. If a natural triple (three of a kind) was spun, the question was worth $200 and a bonus prize was awarded to the contestant. Natural pairs and triples could not be split and had to be taken for $100 or $200 respectively. However, a contestant could answer a question on the displayed "pair" category for $50 as long as one Joker is on the board.

The game's slots were actually three slightly modified slide projectors. Each graphic was a separate slide loaded on a metal platter (similar to a ViewMaster wheel). Electric motors spun the platters rapidly, rotating the graphics through the gates. Unused categories were deselected by simply switching off the appropriate projectors. Turning the lamps on and off so much caused them to blow out repeatedly during tapings.

Jokers

In this still, a contestant has just spun three Jokers. Doing this enabled contestants to win the game simply by answering one question in any of the categories in play.

Jokers were wild, and a contestant could use them to match any displayed category to create a pair or triple, increasing the value of the question. They could also substitute a Joker for a category in play but not displayed on the wheels (which was referred to as going "off the board") for a $50 question using one Joker or $100 using two Jokers.

If three Jokers were spun, a contestant was able to choose a question in any of the categories in play during the game. Answering that question correctly automatically won the game, regardless of the contestant's score or whether a full round had been played or not. The winning contestant's score for the game was augmented to $500.

Using Jokers was optional, and contestants occasionally declined to use them if enough money was at stake for their opponent to win the game or take the lead (e.g., spinning a natural pair and a Joker, then playing the pair for $100 instead of turning it into a $200 triple). By playing this way, the opponent had less of an advantage if the contestant missed the question and the opponent answered it correctly.

Winning the game

After each completed round, the contestant who reached $500 or more was declared the winner and kept the money. If the challenger reached $500 first, the champion was given one last chance to spin and tie or beat the challenger's score. If both contestants tied with a winning amount, extra rounds were played until the tie was broken. The game automatically ended if either contestant spun three Jokers and correctly answered a question from any of the five categories. Only the contestant who spun three Jokers could answer, with the game continuing if he/she missed.

Any contestant who won five consecutive games received a new car as a bonus, usually a Buick Skylark or a Chevy Chevette. Contestants continued on the show until defeated; some repeat champions won more than $25,000 in cash and prizes. In the syndicated series, Joe Dunn won the most non-tournament winnings at $66,200 in cash and prizes; followed by Eileen Jason with $55,250 and Hal Shear winning $39,050.

Winnings limit

In 1981, CBS bought The Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough for its owned-and-operated stations. Many of its affiliates also were airing either one or both of the shows at this time. The network began asking Barry to impose a winnings limit on both series, and were successful in convincing him to do so for The Joker's Wild. Although CBS had a network limit of $25,000 for all of its shows, The Joker's Wild was allowed a $35,000 limit that was later extended to $50,000. The first (and only) contestant to reach the limit so during this period was Joe Dunn, who won 16 consecutive games and $66,200 in 1983. As per the rules, Dunn had to donate any overage to charity and chose to give his excess $16,200 to the charity of his choice, United Cerebral Palsy. After Barry and Enright convinced CBS to raise the $35,000 limit, Dunn was allowed to continue after winning over $35,000. After CBS finally agreed to raise the limit to $50,000, Barry noted that Dunn was the first contestant in the history of The Joker's Wild to retire undefeated, although the daytime network series saw several champions do so; however, as noted, Dunn was the first in the history of the syndicated series to accomplish that.

Barry and distributor Colbert Television Sales were not happy with the arrangement and almost immediately began courting non-CBS affiliates to pick up both Joker and Tic Tac Dough. After the 1983-84 season, enough of those stations had picked up the series for the limit to be lifted. However, the stations that picked the series up did not always air them in the same timeslots that their former stations had, and this was partially responsible for the decline in ratings suffered by both game shows after those seasons concluded. Additional factors for a decline in ratings included the launch of the syndicated versions of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! in 1983 and 1984, respectively, and controversy following Barry's death, in which stations and advertisers expected Peck to assume hosting responsibilities full-time (having been a part-time host since 1982); Peck was instead passed over and the host position was filled by Bill Cullen.

Endgame ("Face the Devil")

The wheels now contained various amounts of money ($25, $50, $75, $100, $150 and $200 money cards) and "the Devil". There were two Devil slides on only one of the wheels. Each of the three wheels had 12 slots, so the odds of the Devil appearing on any one spin were one in six. The object was to accumulate $1,000 or more while spinning without hitting the Devil. Doing so won the money accumulated plus a prize package worth anywhere between $2,000 and $4,000. If a contestant spun a natural triple they automatically won $1,000 and the prize package. However, if the Devil came up at any time, the game was over and the contestant lost whatever money they had accumulated. The contestant always had the option to stop after every "safe" spin and keep the money won up to that point.

Unlike the other Barry-Enright produced games Tic-Tac-Dough and Bullseye, the location of the Devil slide was not revealed after the bonus game was won or stopped. Occasionally, if a contestant stopped before reaching the $1,000 goal, Barry had the contestant take an unofficial spin to see if the Devil would have appeared or not.

Broadcast history

In the late 1960s, Jack Barry pitched the concept of Joker to Goodson-Todman Productions. The company was not impressed, and Barry continued tinkering with the format over the next few years.

The Joker's Wild debuted on CBS September 4, 1972, incidentally on the same Labor Day as the modern incarnation of The Price Is Right as well as Gambit. It ran until June 13, 1975 on that network, airing at 10:00 AM Eastern (9:00 Central). A total of 686 episodes were produced.

For the first two years, it faced NBC's Dinah's Place, the talk vehicle for singer/actress Dinah Shore, which gave way to the Dennis James revival of Name That Tune, which Joker easily defeated in the ratings. However, when NBC moved its panel game Celebrity Sweepstakes to 10:00/9:00 in early 1975, Joker went into steep decline, ending a nearly three-year run in the summer.

However, some big-market independent stations gave the game another chance the next year. After a syndicated rerun cycle of the last CBS season proved successful in 1976, the show returned to first-run syndication from September 1977 to May 23, 1986 (airing back-to-back with sister show Tic-Tac-Dough in some markets). A revival ran from September 10, 1990 to March 8, 1991 (with reruns airing until September 13), also in syndication.

Taping locations

From 1972–1975, the program was taped at CBS Television City. From 1977–1984, the taping location was moved to Chris Craft/KCOP Studios, with the exception of the 1984–1985 season, which was taped at the Production Group Studios near Columbia Square in Hollywood. Taping returned to CBS Television City for the 1990–1991 version.

Versions

1968 Pilot

The first pilot for The Joker's Wild was taped December 8, 1968 and hosted by Allen Ludden (CBS was not comfortable about Barry hosting due to his involvement in the scandals). This version was very different from the eventual series, most notably the fact that categories on the wheels were each represented by a different celebrity panelist (Don Drysdale, Rosemary Clooney, Pat Paulsen, Rich Little, and Irene Ryan), each of whom asked the questions in his/her specific category.

If the contestant spun three different categories, a question for any of the categories was worth one point. If a contestant spun a pair and a single, two questions were asked worth two points each if the contestant chose the pair or one question worth one point for choosing the single category. If the contestant spun a triple, three 3-point questions were asked. Jokers represented any category the contestant chose, increasing the value of the questions if a pair or triple was formed as a result. The spinner had the option to answer any of the number of questions available depending on the spin.

Full turns were used, with the contestant reaching 13 points or more winning the game. A three-Joker spin resulted in a win if the spinner correctly answered a question from any of the five categories.

In the bonus round the game's winner spun the wheels, each of which contained different prizes of various qualities, ranging from a 5¢ piece of chewing gum to $500 cash. After the spin, the contestant could elect to keep the prizes shown, or give them all back for a second spin. This offer was then repeated after the second spin, but if a third spin was taken the contestant was forced to take whatever prizes came up in that spin.

This pilot did not feature returning champions.

1969 Pilot

A second pilot was taped a month later on January 5, 1969. There were no celebrities this time, with Ludden simply reading the questions himself; despite this change, the 1968 host-contestant podium remained in use.

Both pilots were produced by Barry in association with CBS, with Lee Vines announcing.

1970 Pilot: The Honeymoon Game

On October 3, 1970 another pilot was shot under the name The Honeymoon Game, hosted by Jim McKrell and produced by Barry in association with Metromedia.

Round 1 featured six couples (three in each segment), with one set of spouses given a category and asked up to six questions serving as clues to its identification, and if guessed correctly, that spouse's partner then had a chance to identify the subject for one point. The spouses then traded places for the second half of the round, with the lowest-scoring couple in each segment eliminated.

In Round 2, the four remaining couples competed against each other, again in two separate segments. As with the 1968 pilot, the wheels had celebrities on them, each one representing a category (Bob Crane, Jaye P. Morgan, former California governor Edmund G. Brown, Marc Copage, and Don Drysdale). After the spin, the couple selected which category they wanted. The scoring was similar to that of the Ludden pilots but, instead of Jokers on the reels, there were "Bonus" cards. If a couple spun three bonus cards the game instantly ended without a question being asked. Ten points or more won the game. For each bonus card spun, other than the situation where the contestant would spin three of them in one spin, a point was automatically added to the couple's score.

Round 3 was the "deciding finals" with the two remaining couples playing to win the match. This round was based on the 1969 pilot, with no celebrities and McKrell asking the questions himself. The contestants spun as before, with a category in the first wheel, "Take A Chance" in the second, and a dollar amount in the third (e.g., a spin of "Sports/Take A Chance/$10" would have McKrell asking a question on Sports for $10). A correct answer added the value to the couple's score. The couple then "took a chance", as the middle window implies, and saw what was behind the slide (anything from "Add $40" to "Deduct $100"). If answered wrong, the amount on the first wheel was deducted from the score; however, couples did not go below 0.

The game was played until time ran out, and the couple with the highest score played the bonus round, which was similar to the first bonus round used in the later CBS series of The Joker's Wild, with the only difference being that the couple was given three spins instead of two (see description below). There was also a second bonus round, where the wheels displayed hearts with numbers in them (1-2-3 in order of the slots), and the couple selected one of those three windows. Behind each window was a destination for the couple to choose for their honeymoon.

The Honeymoon Game was intended to be a 90-minute game show (the genre's first), and though it did not sell, a number of Metromedia-owned stations did air the pilot as a one-off special in mid-1971. Two versions of this pilot existed: one version had all rounds; another version had the first round omitted, replaced with Jack Barry introducing the program and explaining that the first round was omitted, as he felt it did not work.

1971: KTLA

A "tryout series" aired locally on Los Angeles' KTLA for about three months and was hosted by Jack Barry. The rules were similar to the regular 1972–1986 versions with the following exceptions:

Three contestants competed in each game, with the champion spinning first to begin the game. Spinning three different categories and answering a question in any of the three categories was worth $25, while pairs were worth $50 and triples were worth $100. $250 was needed to win, and as before an equal amount of turns was given. A three-Joker spin resulted in an automatic win with a correct response to a question from any of the five categories in play.

In the event of a tie, the lowest scorer was eliminated and play continued until one was ahead after each round. The bonus round was similar to that of the Ludden pilots but had more elaborate prizes.

Highlights of this version were shown during promos of the eventual series, which began production on CBS in 1972.

1972–1975

For the first two weeks, triples were worth $150 and a three-joker spin resulted in an automatic win for a contestant without having to answer a question. From the premiere until around mid-1973, the champion went first.

Bonus Round

The bonus round went through a few different permutations:

• Prize Round #1: Contestants got two spins. They could take whatever prizes they spun the first time or could spin one more time, but were stuck with the prizes that were spun on the second spin. There were black circles around some of the prizes' icons. If all three prizes in a spin were circled, the contestant also won a new car. This format was only used on the first two episodes.
• Prize Round #2: Beginning with the third aired episode, the circles were eliminated and the car became a regular prize on the wheels (other big prizes including a boat or a trip were also added to the board).
• Jokers and Devils: Beginning with the third week, the wheels contained only Jokers and Devils. The contestant was given up to three spins, and each time three Jokers came up, a different prize was won, increasing in value with each spin taken. If a Devil appeared, the contestant lost it all. Originally the winning contestant got four spins with the last spin being worth a big prize such as a car or trip. For a brief period, the prize was not told until after the reels had been spun. For Christmas episodes, the Jokers and Devils were replaced with Santa Claus and Ebenezer Scrooge symbols--three Santas won a prize, a Scrooge lost it all.

In 1973, to avoid confusion between the category wheels and the bonus game reels, the Jokers in the "Jokers and Devils" era were marked with the word "Joker" instead of the word "Wild". This was implemented following a game in which the reels were not switched to the regular reels, and the champion spun three Jokers to begin the game. For one game, the left window mistakenly contained a bonus game reel (in fact, one spin read, from left to right, "Joker", "Wild", and a category). Barry did not mention why there was a difference between the two Jokers, or why every spin in that game began with a Joker on the left.

• Face the Devil: By the end of the CBS run, the "Face the Devil" round described above had been implemented, except a natural triple did not constitute an automatic win in the CBS version. It has been said that the Devil in the "Face the Devil" bonus game was meant to be a caricature of Jack Barry, and indeed many contestants over the years told Barry that the devil artwork resembled him.

Joker's Jackpot

Early in the show's run, returning champions were competing for a chance to win the "Joker's Jackpot," an accruing cash jackpot that started at $2,500. Contestants won this jackpot if they won three (originally four) consecutive games. After the "Joker's and Devils" bonus round stopped offering a fourth prize, a new automobile was added to the jackpot. However, if the champion was defeated, all of his/her cash winnings were forfeited to the Joker's Jackpot; though prizes won in the bonus round were his/hers to keep. After every game, the champion decided whether to play on for a chance to win the Jackpot or play it safe and retire from the show with his/her current winnings. The Jackpot continued to build until it reached $25,000, which was at the time CBS's maximum "winnings cap" for game show contestants.

The first contestant to win the Joker's Jackpot was Katherine "Kathy" Wechsler, who, despite the fact she didn't win any prizes in her attempts at the bonus rounds, retired with $15,400 in cash. Katherine won the $13,800 jackpot, answering a missed question by the challenger correctly for the win in a close game.

Originally, after winning the Joker's Jackpot, the champion was retired undefeated, but later on the rules were changed to allow champions to continue playing until either being defeated or reaching the maximum CBS winnings limit.

Upon implementation of the "Face the Devil" bonus round, the "Joker's Jackpot" was abandoned. Contestants kept whatever they earned while still retiring after winning $25,000. Five wins won a new automobile.

1977–1986

There were a few alterations to the syndicated show over the years. One was the addition of a "Natural Triple Jackpot" beginning in the fall of 1983. This was an accruing prize package offered to a contestant who had spun a triple of any category, without Jokers (at one point the jackpot reached as high as $18,000).

Prior to the Jackpot's introduction a bonus prize, usually around $500 in value, was given to any contestant who spun a natural triple. Natural Triple prizes were kept regardless of the game's outcome.

At one point, a special accruing jackpot was awarded to any contestant who won the bonus round by spinning a natural triple of three "Lucky $100" symbols.

Tournament of Champions

"Tournaments of Champions" were held annually between 1977 and 1980. Frank Dillon won the $50,000 and $100,000 tournaments in 1977 and 1978, respectively; Eileen Jason captured the $250,000 tournament in 1979 by defeating Dillon in the finals.

In 1980, The Joker's Wild became the first television program to advertise that it was giving away a $1,000,000 prize purse. It was the total purse for a special 16-contestant tournament of champions; the eventual winner got $500,000 of that total ($250,000, paid $25,000 annually for 10 years, plus $250,000 to the charity of his or her choice); The runner-up got $200,000 of that total ($100,000, paid $10,000 annually for 10 years, plus $100,000 to the charity of his or her choice). The remainder of the money was divided among the other participants in the tournament, depending on how they performed, with once again half of their winnings going to charity—those eliminated in the preliminaries received $15,000 (with $7,500 going to charity), the quarter-final losers pocketed $25,000 (with $12,500 going to charity), and the 2 exiting semifinalists collected $40,000 (with $20,000 going to charity). Rob Griffin won the grand prize winning three games to none, half of which went to the March of Dimes. Cassandra Dooley won $200,000 for second place, half of which went to Big Brothers Big Sisters. Other tournaments of champions ($50,000 in 1977, $100,000 in 1978, and $250,000 in 1979) were held prior to this, but no tournaments were held after the $1,000,000 tournament due to winnings cap limitations.

Different rules applied to Tournament of Champions play: the contestants played for points instead of dollars, with 500 points the target number to win; and in the championship game, winning two games out of three were needed to win the top prize (3 out of 5 for both the $250,000 and $1,000,000 tournaments). No special categories were used, but the scoring system for each game remained: 50 points for a single category, 100 points for a pair and 200 points for a triple. In the event a natural triple was spun, a $500 bonus was awarded to that contestant (later, it was a $500 donation to the contestant's favorite charity). Contestants drew numbers to determine who spun the wheels first—and, in the $1,000,000 tournament, also which game of each round the contestant would play (odd numbers spin first, even second). If the contestant who spun first (in the challenger's podium) spun three jokers and answered a question correctly, that contestant's score was increased to 500 points. The contestant who spun second got one final turn to tie the game in that case, or win the game if trailing by less than 200 points. The contestant who was ahead after each completed round once the target score of 500 points was reached was declared the winner, but as in non-tournament episodes, both contestants received an equal number of turns. Also, no bonus game was played throughout the tournament; after one game was completed, another game began.

Other special weeks over the years included "College Week", "Couples Week", "Teen Week", and "Children's Week".

Audience Game

An audience game was played beginning with the 1981–1982 season. Three members of the studio audience were selected for a chance to win money and a chance to spin against the devil. Each audience member was given one spin to get as much money as possible. The wheels contained money amounts ($10, $20, $30, $40, $50 and $100), with $300 the highest amount possible in one spin. Whoever had the highest score went on to face the devil for a bonus prize and an additional $1,000. In the event of a tie, a spin-off occur, with the members winning whatever came up on the wheels, added to what they spun before. The audience members kept whatever money they accumulated in the first part of the audience game.

In fall 1984, in order to accommodate new host Bill Cullen, two audience contestants were joined in the game by a home viewer who played using their touch-tone telephone (originally, they "spun" by pressing the "star" button, but later, any button between 1 and 9 could be pressed in order to "spin"). The change was made due to Cullen's disability from polio as a child, which did not enable him to move great distances quickly as Barry or Jim Peck were able to.

Originally when the audience game was introduced, it was played at least once every week (usually on the Friday episode), and audience members were allowed two spins with each member deciding to take the first spin or pass for the second. These rules were later changed to those described above and began appearing daily half-way through the 1981–1982 season.

Joker! Joker!! Joker!!! (1979–1981)

Prior to the debut of Joker! Joker!! Joker!!!, beginning in 1973 The Joker's Wild featured children playing every year around Easter.

The program was a special once-weekly version of The Joker's Wild in which children competed with appropriately-themed subject matter. The format was essentially the same, with only some slight alterations. In the main game the children played for points, not dollars, with 500 points awarding a $500 education bond, whereas losing contestants received a $100 bond. The special categories "Mystery" and "Fast Forward" were not used in this version, but "Multiple Choice" was. As before, full rounds were played, and the contestant who reached 500 points or more after each completed round won. A three-Joker spin still was worth an automatic win with one correct answer from any of the five categories in play. More Jokers were also added to the wheels, which Barry himself pointed out during one episode after an audience member shouted out "fixed" during the opening segment.

The Joker cards contained a more juvenile-looking animated "joker" performing a handstand (with the word Joker written below the design), and the children played the Face the Devil round under the same rules as the adults on The Joker's Wild, except that members of their family joined them onstage for assistance.

1990–1991

Game play was changed dramatically when the series returned to syndication in 1990. In particular, the regular questions were replaced with terms that the contestants had to define. This version lasted only one season due to low ratings and late night time slots. .

A memorial plaque was placed on the slot machine as a tribute to Jack Barry.

Format #1

Round 1

In the first round, three contestants (one a returning champion) competed to be the first to reach $500. The game began with a toss-up definition, and whoever buzzed in first with the correct answer gained control of the machine. The wheels contained various dollar amounts (generally $5–$50 in each window), with a Joker in the third window tripling the value of the first two if it came up (and giving that contestant 15 seconds to come up with as many correct answers as possible).

After spinning, the contestant was given a series of rapid-fire definitions and had to figure out what those definitions referred to. Each correct answer earned the current value of the wheels. If a definition was missed, the other two contestants buzzed in and attempt to steal control of the board.

After this, the wheels were spun again, either by the correct answerer or (if no one had answered correctly) the controller of the last question. When one contestant reached the $500 target number, the round ended and that contestant and the second place contestant advanced to the second round. The lowest scorer was eliminated and left with parting gifts. In the event of a tie for second place at the end of round 1, the tied contestants each played a round of definitions, with the contestant who gave more correct answers moving onto round 2.

Round 2

The two remaining contestants advanced to the second round, which was played much like the first but with higher dollar amounts on the wheels (generally $10–$75 in each window). The contestants built on their scores from the first round and were able to choose from two categories after each spin. Additionally, an "Opponent's Choice" card appeared in the third window; this allowed the other contestant to choose the category from which the spinner answered definitions.

Contestants were not guaranteed the same number of spins as their opponent as on the original version of the show. The first contestant to reach $2,000 or more won the game and kept the money, while the loser left with parting gifts.

Format #2

About halfway through the run on January 7, 1991, the front game format was reworked to incorporate elements of the original Joker's Wild game. Although still played with the "definition" format, the categories and multiple Jokers returned to the wheels with spins worth $25 per correct answer for a single category, $50 for a double, or $100 for a triple. In this format, the contestant in control continued answering questions until he or she answered incorrectly or took too long to answer, at which point an opponent attempted to steal the money and control by supplying the correct answer.

Spinning three Jokers won the contestant an automatic $250 bonus (theirs to keep regardless of the game's outcome), adds $250 to their score, and the right to pick one of three categories for $100 a question. However, unlike the classic version where contestants went "off the board" and chose any of the categories in the round, Jokers only represented categories on the wheels and the value of the question had to be taken for $50 with one Joker and $100 with either a pair and a Joker or two Jokers and a category. No bonus was awarded for spinning a Natural Triple.

The winning score for Round 1 was increased to $1,000 at this point. In addition, the pace of the game was changed to allow games to "straddle" between shows if there was not enough time to play the bonus game in that particular show.

Bonus Round

The champion was given up to three definitions to different words, all starting with the same letter. Each correct answer given within a 60-second time limit earned one spin of the wheels. The wheels this time contained prizes, cash amounts ranging from $500 to $2,000, and Jokers. The object was to get three of a kind of any prize. After each spin, the contestant "froze" windows containing a prize they wanted to win and only the unfrozen windows continued to spin.

Jokers could be used to match any prize showing; spinning three Jokers won a "Joker Jackpot" that started at $5,000 and increased by $500 each time until won. However, this could only be done in one spin, as Jokers could not be frozen and had to be converted into other prizes on the board when they came up. The highest "Joker Jackpot" ever won was $36,000 on February 4, 1991.

1990s audience game

Like the previous version, the revival also had audience members spin the wheels for money – however, this was only done when the main game (and the bonus round, if possible) ended sooner than expected, being used to fill remaining time and avoid straddling. Each audience member was given three spins to get three of the same bonus prize, or cash amount on the wheels; if successful, $100 was awarded, otherwise the contestant received a Joker T-shirt as a consolation prize.

Final week change

During the final first-run week of this version (Mar. 4-8, 1991), the format reverted back to the original "dollar amounts" version, presumably to keep the game from straddling on the Friday show.

Adaptations

Board game manufacturer Milton Bradley produced four editions of The Joker's Wild home game, starting in 1973, the fourth of which was actually branded for Joker! Joker! Joker!. The first edition of the game included the "Jokers and Devils" bonus round.

In the mid-1990s, Philips produced two games for its CD-i platform based on The Joker's Wild, licensed by Sony Pictures Television, by now which owned the franchise. These games featured "real" hosts and were based more or less on the first syndicated series, while the sets on both games resembled the 1990 version. Wink Martindale "hosted" the first and best-known of these games, while Marc Summers could be found on a special "Junior" edition of the game. Charlie O'Donnell served as announcer on both games. Martindale was among the first candidates to host the original series when CBS was still not entirely sold on Jack Barry as host, due to his involvement in the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. However, Martindale already chose to host Gambit, which premiered on the same day in 1972 on CBS. O'Donnell was an announcer on the series in question also. The theme music in these games was a remix of the 1977–1986 theme.

In 2009, IGT released a slot machine based on The Joker's Wild.

Theme

The theme used from 1968 to 1969 and 1971–1974 was "The Savers", a 1967 track by electronic music artists Perrey and Kingsley. During the third and fourth weeks of the CBS run, because Barry had failed to secure clearance rights to "The Savers", a sound-alike theme was used while the clearance issues were resolved. The suit was settled for $24,000 in the publishers and composers' favor. "The Savers" was also used as the main theme of the first syndicated season.

A new theme composed by Alan Thicke entitled "Joker's Jive" was introduced in 1974, and was used for the 1974–1975 season and for the closing of the first syndicated season. In 1978, the show introduced a new theme (retaining some thematic elements of "The Savers") composed by Hal Hidey, which remained until the end of the run in 1986. For the 1980 Million Dollar Tournament, the theme from B&E's earlier game show, Break the Bank was used.

Joe Manolakakis, for Hancock & Joe Productions, composed a new theme and music package for the 1990–1991 version.

Episode status

The status of the KTLA series is unknown; brief footage is known to survive through 1972 CBS promos.

For many years, only the third season of the CBS run was known to exist. In 2000, a search of New York's WCBS-TV found both the first two seasons (restoring the 686-episode run) and the entire series of Spin-Off (which replaced Joker in 1975). This presumably certifies that the network did in fact cease wiping in September 1972, and that most (if not all) games produced afterward exist. A clip from a January 1974 "celebrity week" was used during the network's anniversary special CBS At 75. The show is currently held by Sony Pictures Television & CBS Television Distribution.

The 1977–1986 syndicated episodes exist, and were reran (along with some of the first CBS season) on GSN. The show is currently held by Sony Pictures Television.

The 1990s version is held by StudioCanal via its acquisition of the library of Orbis Communications, which distributed this version. US TV rights are currently licensed to CBS Television Distribution.

USA Network reran episodes of the Cullen era from April 1, 1985 to April 24, 1987. It also aired the 1990 revival from December 30, 1991 to September 11, 1992 and March 29, 1993 to June 24, 1994.