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Game show fans are truly living in a golden era. Not only are classic episodes of beloved genre favorite Jeopardy now streaming on Netflix and Hulu, but Pluto TV recently launched a free 24/7 game show channel, which means vintage episodes of Supermarket Sweep, Match Game, Classic Concentration, To Tell the Truth, Password, Card Sharks, and more are available all day every day. I’d never disparage these classics, but even Alex freaking Trebek is no match for one of my all-time favorite game shows: Press Your Luck.
Airing on CBS in the mid-80s and now streaming on Prime Video, Press Your Luck centered on three contestants who collected spins by answering a variety of trivia questions and then used said spins to try to win big money on a dazzling, extremely showy game board. Sounds easy, right? Nope. Contestants were also forced to contend with the most devious game show villain in history: The Whammy.
The spirit of satan with a wardrobe I’d describe as Evel Knievel meets the Domino’s Pizza Noid, “Whammies” were randomly scattered throughout the big board. If you were unfortunate enough to land on one, this jovial degenerate would not only take all your money, he’d also mock you via animated tomfoolery. These are the acts of an unscrupulous monster.
Whammies are natural-born antagonists, and while I hate them with every fiber of my being, I just can’t look away. I was and am transfixed by these little scamps. They seem to enjoy, in no particular order: manual labor, sarcasm, singing, laughing, and blowing themselves up. Contestants would yell some variation of “big bucks, no Whammy!” in an attempt to avoid these bozos, but it was futile.
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and Whammies.
Press Your Luck was also known for producing one of the most notorious scandals in game show history when an unemployed ice cream truck driver won over $110,000 after memorizing the patterns used on the game board, which is perhaps the greatest “Whammy” of them all. If you’re interested, the Game Show Network produced a documentary on the memorable event, Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal.
There’s a trove of classic game shows available to stream on Prime Video — including vintage episodes of Family Feud — but you can’t go wrong with Press Your Luck.
