Battle Stars

Game Show created by Merrill Heatter of The Hollywood Squares fame. Battlestars lasted for six months on NBC from 1981-82, then Uncanceled in 1983 for a few more months.

Battlestars bore a striking resemblance to the Squares, except that it featured only six celebrities who sat in triangles. Each celebrity was surrounded by three numbers. A randomizer selected one of the numbers, which corresponded to whichever celebrity would be asked the question. Also unlike Squares, the questions offered two possible answers. If the same player "captured" all three numbers surrounding a star, he or she then had to "capture" two more in a similar fashion to win $500 and the game.

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The following Game Show tropes appear in Battle Stars:

• Bonus Round: Two.
  • The first was called "Battlestars Two" and obscured a famous person's face under 16 blocks. Three blocks were chosen to reveal the face, and the contestant could then choose up to three more blocks to remove. Getting it with four blocks removed won $5,000, and each block afterward lowered the jackpot.
  • The second used the three celebrities the winner captured. Each was asked a multiple-choice question with three answers given, and the contestant could choose to agree or disagree with each. $500 was awarded for each right answer, and a Progressive Jackpot if all were correct.
• Personnel:
  • The Announcer: Rod Roddy (1981-82) and Charlie Tuna (1983). Roddy would later become known as the announcer on Press Your Luck and The Price Is Right, and Tuna as the announcer on Scrabble following Jay Stewart's departure from that series in 1986.
  • Game Show Host: Alex Trebek, then known primarily for High Rollers.
  • Studio Audience

Tropes used in Battle Stars include:

• Color-Coded Multiplayer: The panelists' backdrops turned either red or blue according to which contestant captured them.
• Fan Nickname: Some people, due to the fact that it ends up being a lot like Hollywood Squares, have jokingly called this show "The Hollywood Triangles"
• Opening Narration:

Charlie Tuna: [Names of the six celebrities], all on The New Battlestars! And here's the man in command, Alex Trebek!

• Panel Game
• Recycled in Space: With its space-y motif, it's almost literally Hollywood Squares 'In Space!"