Remote Control is an American TV game show that ran on MTV for five seasons from 1987 until 1990. It was MTV's first original non-musical program and first game show. A concurrent syndicated version of the series ran during the 1989–1990 season and was distributed by Viacom. Three contestants answered trivia questions on movies, music, and television, many of which were presented in skit format.

The series was created and developed by producers Joe Davola and Michael Dugan. It was written by Michael Armstrong (head writer seasons 2–3), Desmond Devlin, Emily Dodi, Michael Dugan (head writer season 1), Lee Frank, Bob Giordano, Phil Gurin, Keith Kaczorek (also credited as Kadillac Keith),Chris Kreski (head writer seasons 4–5), Denis Leary, Andrew Price, Colin Quinn, Ned Rice, Richard G. Rosner, Adam Sandler, McPaul Smith and John Ten Eyck. It was directed by Dana Calderwood, Scott Fishman and Milt Lage.

Cast

Remote Control was hosted by Ken Ober and featured Colin Quinn as the announcer/sidekick. Quinn hosted the final episodes as Ober was away filming the short-lived series Parenthood. John Ten Eyck played several walk-on parts, joined in later seasons by Adam Sandler, Denis Leary, and Roger Kabler. Steve Treccase provided music; Marisol Massey (season 1), Kari Wuhrer (seasons 2–3), Alicia Coppola (season 4) and Susan Ashley (season 5) were the hostesses.

Premise

The show's theme song explains that Ober was addicted to television growing up and desperately wanted to be a game show host. To make his dream come true, he set up the basement of his childhood home as a television studio.

Set

Remote Control was taped in a Manhattan television studio set up to resemble a basement, complete with a washer and dryer, water heater, bric-a-brac, and a giant Pez dispenser that resembled Bob Eubanks.

The basement set was a mainstay of the show throughout its run; however, its decor was "rearranged" slightly every season. The contestants sat in leather La-Z-Boy recliners with seat belts, Musician Steve Treccase set up his keyboard behind a cluttered bar, at which Quinn and the hostess usually sat for the duration of the show. More clutter could be found around and behind the audience, very frequently including props used in previous seasons. Finally, the contestants' chairs were placed in front of breakaway walls, through which they were unmercifully pulled if they were eliminated.

Gameplay

Three contestants sitting in lounge chairs would select one of nine channels on a big-screen television that stood beside Ober; each channel represented a subject having to do with pop culture.

Celebrities that played the game:

  • One episode featured Phil McConkey of the NFL's New York Giants playing against Sidney Green of the NBA's New York Knicks (with his then very young son Taurean on the set throughout the show). The third contestant was series regular John Ten Eyck playing Steve Sax of Major League baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Ten Eyck intentionally gave foolish, incorrect answers as Sax, who had canceled his scheduled appearance at the last minute.
  • While in syndication, Remote Control had a "World Class Athletes Day" with pro athletes who lost out on championships in recent seasons. The three contestants were Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason, New York Mets pitcher David Cone and New York Rangers defenseman Ron Greschner.
  • LL Cool J, Julie Brown, and "Weird Al" Yankovic played for charity during the second season, with Yankovic winning.
  • Heavy metal musicians "Dizzy" Dean Davidson of Britny Fox, Lorraine Lewis of Femme Fatale, and Anthrax's Charlie Benante played against each other in season three.
  • Former child stars Brandon Cruz, Butch Patrick, and Danny Bonaduce played in season three.
  • Former Brady Bunch actors Barry Williams, Eve Plumb, and Susan Olsen played in the first aired episode of the syndicated run. This episode led to a writing partnership between Williams and Remote Control head writer Chris Kreski, who co-authored the best-selling Growing Up Brady biography.
  • The Red Hot Chili Peppers were contestants in the final MTV season.
  • Kathy Orr, former Chief Meteorologist for KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and now an evening meteorologist with crosstown WTXF, appeared on the show as a regular contestant.
  • ESPN anchor John Buccigross appeared on the show as a regular contestant.

International versions

{| class="wikitable" style="width:98%;"

|-

! Country !! Local name !! Host !! Channel !! Year aired

|-

|

| The Great TV Game Show

| Richard Stubbs

| Network Ten

| 1989

|-

|

| Controle Remoto

| Fausto Silva

| Rede Globo

| 1989

|-

|

| Remote Control

| Petros Filipidis

| Star Channel

| 1996

|-

|

| Urka!

| Paolo Bonolis

| Italia 1

| 1991

|-

|

| Control Remoto

| Xavier Serbiá

| WAPA-TV

| 1989

|-

|

| Remote Control

| Anthony H. Wilson

| Channel 4

| 1991–1992

|}

  • A Puerto Rican version entitled Control Remoto, hosted by former Menudo member Xavier Serbiá, was canceled after 3 months on WAPA-TV in 1989 because MTV threatened a lawsuit for copyright infringement.
  • A British version of the show was co-produced by Action Time Productions and Granada Television and aired on Channel 4 from 1991 to 1992. It was hosted by Anthony H. Wilson and featured comedians Phil Cornwell and John Thomson plus keyboardist Yolisa Pharle, with guest appearances by the characters Frank Sidebottom, Sister Mary Immaculate and Mrs Merton (both played by Caroline Aherne), plus Brenda Gilhooly as a 'yoof' TV presenter.
  • An Australian version aired on Network Ten in 1989 under the name The Great TV Game Show. It was hosted by Russell Stubbs with Jane Holmes and the regular panelists were Russell Fletcher, Margie Nunn, Linda Gibson, and Michael Blair. The show failed to see out the year along with a number of Network Ten game shows that were launched at around the same time.
  • The Italian version of the show was called Urka!, which was hosted by Paolo Bonolis and aired on Italia 1 only in 1991.
  • A Brazilian version of the show called Controle Remoto, hosted by Fausto Silva aired on Rede Globo in 1989.

Merchandise

  • A board game based on the show was released by Pressman in 1989.
  • In 1989, a video game based on Remote Control was licensed for multiple platforms, including the Apple II, Commodore 64, NES, the last of which was released in 1990. The video games were published by Hi Tech Expressions. The game remained quite similar to the show. The NES version omitted the final round, replacing it with a "Think Real Fast" round between the top two contestants.
  • 1990 also saw an MS-DOS version released; like the NES version, it has no endgame. The contestant in last place is eliminated when the TV goes "Off the Air" in the middle of the second round instead of at the end. The other two contestants then complete the round, and then play a "Think Real Fast" round.

References

  • Remote Control Retrospective on VeryFineNearMint.com
  • The Basement: An Online Salute to MTV Remote Control
  • Kenny Wasn't Like the Other Kids: An oral history of MTV's Remote Control

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