Safecrackers - Geoff Edwards RARE PILOT 

Always thought it was a weird factoid that Geoff Edwards made his network TV debut on NBC in 1963 ... as a Dallas radio reporter being interviewed after having just witnessed Jack Ruby's gunning down of Lee Harvey Oswald.

I remember seeing something like this before. There was some guy who I know in the game show business now who ripped this idea off but forget the name of it only because of how awful it was. This one was pretty good. The game sort of like Match Game but original enough to be something of its own and the bonus round was well executed. Surprised this didn't make it past the pilot stage. Thanks for the upload Wink.

The regular play is slowish. But the bonus round is really exciting. $25,000 was a whole lot in 1976!!

Geoff is a great host. He made this game work and pushed it through. The front game is choppy and slow with a little bit of polish this could’ve been a very good game.

Wait, there’s a vault inside a vault?!

Poor McLean. Following his ill fated choice to leave MASH he would become just a game show lizard

Thank you so much for sharing this rare pilot, Wink. A lot of takeaways from this one: The set is cool, albeit a little cheap in some spots. The front game can get a little tedious and slow at times, but it’s interesting. Geoff was the master host he usually was. I’m thinking for the bonus game, “Could there be some sort of buyout offer if the contestant doesn’t feel confident in their answers?” Again, really nice to see this rarity. 😁

Before I viewed this, I was thinking "Safecrackers" may have been a Goodson-Todman Production, considering the name being used for one of The Price is Right games, and Edwards DID have an open relationship with those producers since he was considered to host Family Feud (while Dawson obviously got the nod) but at the end of the credits, it said "1975" and the pricing ga,e with the same name debuted very soon after that (maybe 1976). That Fisman-Freer didnt do much, at least during the 80's & beyond. This is why I only call myself an AMATEUR game show historian, a profesional game show historian would know all about them. I wonder off the top of my head if they produced "Dealer's Choice"?

You Won $25,000!!!!!

Thanks for this one! Always good to see Geoff Edwards - such an affable guy!

If there was any reason this game wasn't picked up, it was that front game. I could see it running long and over time frequently - it wanted to be Pyramid, but I could see frequent cases where the joking around would mean a full episode would be ONLY front game - and possibly not even a full match's front game. That said I woudn't have minded. Gameplay was engaging and none too difficult to follow along with.

Should've had Emile Autori guarding the safe with the money in it.

This was pretty good.Geoff Edwards is great such an comfortable man.

Why didn't this sell? This would have been a great show, and honestly I think it's worth another try even today.

I can see why this didn't work. Too many Hollywood Squares like bluffs coming from McClane Stevenson while answering questions in the form of classic Goodson-Toddman panelist shows like I've Got A Secret, What's My Line, or To Tell The Truth. This was ideal for Geoff Edwards despite working on 30 episodes of The New Treasure Hunt that year (1975), he was about to be discharged from Jackpot and did two pilots in case he lands on a replacement. Other than Safecrakers, the other was Shoot The Works (later Shoot For The Stars). Also, he turned down the offer to host Family Feud for ABC because he thought their other game show The Neighbors sucked. Family Feud would have lasted within a year with him on board anyways. Thank God for Richard Dawson. Edwards did settle for Shoot For The Stars even if it lasted a mere 9 months.

I would have pegged this as a Bob Stewart show (more celebrities than civilians, Geoff Edwards hosting, blue and yellow set), but it was Fishman-Freer. I can see why it didn’t sell, the main game was kinda slow and had nothing to do with the bonus game or the overall safecracker theme. Plus there were just a glut of game shows in 1975.

Great game format with the legendary host Geoff Edwards. The credits mention the copyright year 1975 which is the same year that McClean Stevenson left the series MASH.

It's like "What's My Line?" on LSD.

Thank you as always for the upload! NOT at all difficult to see how this pilot did not sell. Awful.

is this like 20 Questions?

Ha. "Crunchy Granola Suite" by Neil Diamond as the theme piece, with a slight re-arrangement. Nice choice.

Hey I heard the YAHOOOOOOOOOO guy on the end credits. The same guy that was always heard during NBC game shows in the 80's!

I found this game very funny. First time I have seen this one. It can be dirty also. Look at the words and think about it. 😮‍💨😂

Took awhile to start the show with that introduction. I was like, "Where's the announcer?"

An idea if the cash in the safe was not won: It would increase by $5,000 each day as a jackpot until someone wins it.

This is a super awesome 1976 game show classic, R.I.P. Geoff Edwards, a great game show host!

what year was this?

The bonus round is nothing like the front game

This being a Fishman-Freer/CPT production, it would have, in my estimation, very likely had CPT's Pretzel logo on the end titles (being that the Pretzel was the first logo of CPT).

You KNOW it's a true pilot when the theme music sounds like it was grabbed from a stock music reel/record at the last minute before taping. The music featured here is _THE ULTIMATE ANTITHESIS_ to game show ambiance.

They should bring this show back; with at least $1 million; played at night; seen weekly! That would make an excellent cliffhanger; giggle!🤭

Best us game show in the world

The word game is interesting but McLean Stevenson, who seems to be there unwillingly, brings the game to a dead stop. Geoff Edwards is witty and engaging. He can host and give clues! The actual safecracking has nothing at all in common with the competition game is not compelling.

This was a great show. I didn't know that the olden days they had such great ideas. Bring in more of these to today.

Why wasn't celebrity with him in the bonus round

ＧＲＥＡＴ

The maingame should have really had something involving numerical answers in order to keep with the general theme of the show. It basically felt like it didn't belong there, given the show's name. End game was good, though.

Funny how the contestant always wins the big prizes in the pilot episodes.

This is like a hybrid of To Tell the Truth, Match Game and Password but really zany.

19:31 he said six before the contestant was anywhere near it.

It's easy to see why this pilot did not sell. Geoff was great. But where is Jane Nelson???

21:25 - Wheel of Fortune! The front game seemed slanted toward one side, but it went back and forth with each round. With other words, it might have worked. I actually missed the audience reveal of the word in third round to play along with the contestants, and I got it at the same time as the winner of the round. 23:33 could have used a sound effect of the vault closing (like TPIR).

I think this game would work with Tom Bergeron or Todd Newton hosting. Heck, even Wink could do it.

I was expecting the balloons to fall! That said. Drawbacks...the front game that could almost be like Top Secret only having to rely on Match Game 7X raunchy humor. The celebrities seem almost an afterthought. Major pluses...that set is gorgeous beyond anything (ed Flesh was a GENIUS) and the bonus game kind of has a Dream House element to it.

Wow!!!!!!

what year was this pilot taped and where was it taped at?

Thanks for sharing Winker! Great show, wish it would’ve lasted. Geoff was a great hand-universal game show host like Tom Kennedy

I like it

Didn't Fishman Freer produce "The Diamond Head Game"?

I’ve been a game show junkie my entire life. I love all these rare pilots. This one though was just horrible.

Jimmy Dar-rock!😍😂😂😂

Neil Diamond's Music, Cruncy Granola Suite!

The contestants' word display is very similar to the "Three For The Money" game with Dick Enberg but overall this was a fun game

The show itself is very slow paced but having said that it's still 5,000 times better than Bunco 🤣

This was funny with the bonus being kinda predictable in all honesty.

Was McClean deaf? He had to keep asking what was said.

The bonus round was a precursor to Winsanity.

Pretty embarrassing for all parties involved. That said, interesting as a period piece.

I thought this was done by Goodson-Todman the way it looked. Guess not.

Liked it that the bonus round did not include the celebs. Like in Wordplay a decade later.

I don't think we saw McClean's word in the third round.

Somebody tried to take password up a notch.

Very interesting game show.

This could be a good concept for a show produced in this era.

Obviously taped at NBC Burbank Studios as evidenced by the tell-tale recorded whistling track used in so many shows taped there in that era.

just by seeing the light fixtures, I was thinking this was a Chuck Barris Production. Is it?

21:18 alarm sounds

Not too bad of a show but this particular bonus round was too easy. I'm sure others would have been much more difficult.

This is ridiculous

Who is the announcer

Not bad

@1:05, the same microphone he used on Treasure Hunt.

This show had me cracking up. It was hilarious

Awesome!!!!!

What year this came out?

This pilot was taped at NBC in Burbank.

Is this set givin' y'all '80s *"Wheel of Fortune"* vibes??

Theme music sounds extremely familiar-anyone know the title or composer? (It was used form many years by KPHO-TV Phoenix as the theme from "Movietime".)

A word game with celebrities by someone other than Bob Stewart? Game itself is slow and obviously going for humor, hence the third celebrity. It’s almost like a spin on the old panel shows. Bonus could use a bailout or at least a consolation prize for getting so many right. I’m guessing this was shot at NBC Burbank, but possibly for syndication. Geoff does a good job with his John Daly like role in the front game.

Can anyone tell me if this ever got on TV???

The upfront game is kind of slow as molasses. There are a lot of double entendres. If this show were to play today, it would get a TV-PG rating. The end game was suspenseful, though.

It's a bit of a "meh" show. Not a bad concept and might be good for a home party, but I can see why it didn't make it. McLean seemed like he had no purpose there, and the comedy was there without him. And if you had two safe tries in a day, less camera time for the celebrities receiving those appearance fees; why not try to involve them somehow?

If this show did make it to series, depending on when they did this pilot, I'm sure that they would have run into some legal issues, because one of the pricing games that The Price is Right has is called Safecrackers. So I'm sure that the production company that came up with the name of the show would have to change the name of the show or face a lawsuit from CBS and or The Price is Right.

Amusing to imagine there being a safe inside a vault! Multiple levels of security...