Beat the Clock (U.S. Syndicated Game Show)

Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman game show that aired on American television in several versions from 1950 to 2003.

The original show, hosted by Bud Collyer, ran on CBS from 1950 to 1958 and ran on ABC from 1958 to 1961. The show was revived in syndication as The New Beat the Clock from 1969 to 1974, with Jack Narz as host until 1972, when he was replaced by the show's announcer, Gene Wood. Another version ran on CBS from 1979 to 1980 (as The All-New Beat the Clock, and later as All-New All-Star Beat the Clock), with former Let's Make a Deal host Monty Hall as host and Narz as announcer. The next version aired from 2002 to 2003 on PAX (now ION) with Gary Kroeger and Julielinh Parker as co-hosts. The series was also featured as the third episode of Gameshow Marathon in 2006. Ricki Lake hosted while Rich Fields announced.

The current version was launched in 2013 with Jim Conroy (who voiced Ruff Ruffman in Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman) named as host, and June Smith, Lisa Johnson, and Keke Banks as the models. Unlike the 2002-03 version, this version uses the short-lived 1979 version of Beat the Clock. The current version is produced by Lady Luck Productions, in association with FremantleMedia.

Game Format
Two couples competed again; one couple was dressed in red and are the returning champions and the other was dressed in green and are the challengers.

Rounds 1 & 2
In rounds one and two, the couples competed against each other in a stunt worth $500 for the winner. One stunt had the women play, while the other had the men play; though the other partner sometimes had to help as well. The clock was run as a failsafe by which if neither couple completed the stunt within the time limit (usually 60 seconds), the couple nearest to finishing the stunt would win. The winner of each round's competitive stunt went on the play a solo stunt together for an additional $500.

Bonus Shuffle
After the first two rounds, both couples played the "Bonus Shuffle"; a round of shuffleboard on a special table which had stripes at the far end denoting $300-$1,000 in $100 increments, increasing towards the end of the table. The couple who was leading after two rounds shot first and had three pucks to shoot with, while the other couple had two. If the couples were tied going into this round, each couple had two pucks, and a coin toss determined which team shot first. The couples alternated shooting pucks, with each woman shooting first, then the men, and finally whichever member of the leading couple wanted to shoot unless there was a tie.

The table had no walls around it, and any pucks which were thrown or knocked off the side or end of the table, as well as any which did not reach the first money stripe, did not count and were removed. The team whose puck that was furthest along the board at the end of play and which was touching a money stripe (there was just enough space between stripes for a puck not to touch either) won that amount and got to play the Bonus Stunt for ten times the amount. Both couples kept their winnings from the first two rounds, but these winnings were not used in determining the champions. The couple who won the Bonus Shuffle would return as champions for the next episode.

If the neither team had a puck touching a money amount at the end of the game, or if the pucks were equidistant from the end of the board, the teams would play a playoff. The team with the advantage from the earlier rounds chose whether to throw first or second. Each team threw one puck. The first spot of the first puck was marked, and it was removed before the second team threw. The furthest puck touching a money amount was the winner like in the regular game.

Bonus Stunt
The winning couple played the Bonus Stunt for ten times their winning shuffleboard score, for a top prize of $10,000. A stunt would remain as the Bonus Stunt until a couple completed it or it was played five times. Theoretically, the most money a team could win in a single day was $13,000. Teams stayed on until they won $25,000 or more, or were defeated.