6 /10 1 Votes
Running time 30 minutes Original network GSN Network Game Show Network Cast Chris Harrison | 6/10 TV Production company(s) Stone-Stanley Final episode date 31 August 2001 Presented by Chris Harrison | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Original release April 1 – August 31, 2001 Similar WinTuition, The Money List, Inquizition, How Much Is Enough?, Prime Games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mall Masters is the name of a game show from Stone-Stanley that aired on GSN, from April 1 to August 31, 2001, with reruns airing until December 1, 2001. The show was hosted by Chris Harrison. Three contestants competed to test their knowledge of pop culture. The show was taped at the Camp Snoopy Theater inside the Mall of America in Minneapolis during November and December 2000. Most of the contestants were from the Minneapolis area, many working at the mall itself. Though the theater was on an upper level in the mall, the video production truck was located a half mile away in the basement loading docks. Post production was done in Los Angeles.
Contents
Round 1
In round 1, Chris read a toss-up survey question based on a poll of 100 shoppers at the Mall of America with three choices. The first to ring in with the most popular answer which was the right answer got a chance to choose from one of four stores inside the Mall of America. If incorrect, the correct answer was revealed and the other two players were asked a question with the third player locked out. If one of those players got that question wrong, then the remaining player would be asked another question unopposed. If that player gets the question wrong, the next question is asked to all 3 players once again (if this was ever the case, only the last questions asked until the last question at that point was answered correctly, were kept and aired). Once a store was picked, a person who was at that store would team up with the contestant to answer a general knowledge question relating to that store in any way, this time, with four choices. The contestant could then agree or disagree with the mall shopper's pick. If the in-studio contestant disagreed, they had to choose from the other three possibilities. If correct, the contestant scored 100 points. Once a store was picked, it was gone, and another store took its place. If the shopper got the question right, regardless if the contestant got it right or wrong, they got a $50 gift certificate from Mall of America. Two or three store questions were played in this round.
Round 2
Same as round 1, but point values doubled, which meant correct answers to store questions were worth 200 points. Also the three unchosen stores from the previous round carried over.
Round 3
As with most Stone-Stanley games, the game ended with a 90-second (1:30) speed round called the Lightning Round, with correct answers worth 100 points. A general-knowledge question was asked and the first player to ring in with the correct answer got the points. If the first player got the question wrong, the other two players could ring in. If one of the other players got that question wrong, the correct answer was revealed and the question was thrown out. When time ran out, the player with the highest score won the game. If the game ended in a two-way tie for first place, or if all three tied, a tie-breaker question was asked, with the first to ring-in getting a chance to answer, and if correct, moved on to the bonus round, but if wrong, the opponent won (in the case of a three-way tie, if the first to ring-in was wrong, he or she automatically lost, and the other two would ring in to answer, and if incorrect, the last contestant won).
Bonus Round
The contestant was asked up to nine questions, all relating to one of the stores in the Mall of America in any way possible. Each question had two choices, and a right answer got $100, but a wrong answer or failure to answer in ten seconds got a strike, and three strikes ended the bonus round, but if the contestant could get seven of the nine questions correct, he or she won $5,000 (accompanied the $5,000 graphic and footage of shoppers applauding appearing on the video wall).
Three new contestants competed on each show.
Cancellation
Due to low ratings for the show, Mall Masters was cancelled on August 31, 2001 after five months on the air. In July, Rich Cronin, the president of GSN, announced that the plug had to be pulled on this show after its initial order was completed because it did not attract enough viewers. The last episode to air on GSN was on exactly the same date as its cancellation (August 31, 2001).