Scandals and Reality TV: How Much is Really There?

Before the quiz show scandals rocked the world in the 50s, television audiences almost foolishly believed everything they saw. These days, the public tends to be more jaded - but are we jaded enough?

To fully explore the world of contestant-rigging, one must go all the way back to the grandfather of all modern-day game shows, The $64,000 Question. It took a 1954 Supreme Court ruling (that "jackpot" quiz shows were not considered illegal gambling) for Question to hit the air in 1955. Called a quiz show, more aptly named today as a game show, The $64,000 Question was the first of its kind. The premise of Question would be copied and re-used a thousand times over.

The CBS TV hit that was based on a popular radio show of the same name, The $64,000 Question soon ruled the air waves. President Eisenhower reportedly asked that he not be disturbed while the show was on, and restaurants and movie theaters lost business when Question was on TV. Hosted by actor Hal March and featuring contestants who were as American (and ordinary) as apple pie, Question became an unparalleled hit. Starting at small dollar levels, each correctly-answered question doubled the dollar value per question, giving contestants the option to risk their winnings or walk away as winners. A popular sister series, The $64,000 Challenge brought contestants of Question back to add to their winnings. The show featured an isolation booth that guaranteed high drama, and a "trust officer" whose job was to monitor questions and money. Notable winners of the show were 11-year old Robert Strom (total winnings $192,000), Teddy Nadler ($252,000), and then-unknown Joyce Brothers (who won big money in her chosen question category, boxing).

The CBS success launched other quiz shows, the most notable (and popular) being 21. The show aired on competing network NBC from September 1956 to October 1958, eventually becoming embroiled in the famous Quiz Show Scandals of the late 1950s. Hosted by Jack Barry, 21 was not an immediate ratings hit. Contestants struggled with the ridiculously hard questions, and audiences weren't interested. Allegedly prompted by show sponsor Geritol to make the show better, show executive Dan Enright (allegedly of his own accord and without being prompted by officials at the NBC network), began to choreograph the show. Coaching contestants on the answers, even telling contestants how to mop their brows to appear nervous, under Enright's direction the show began to enjoy phenomenal success.

In 21, contestants were put into isolation booths where they could not hear or see each other, never knowing what the other contestant's score was. Answering questions of increasing difficulty for 1 to 11 points at a time, the contestants raced to be the first to reach 21. The show became even more wildly popular when Charles Van Doren, prominent intellectual and college professor, arrived to challenge then long-winning champion Herbert Stempel. Van Doren made his first appearance on the show on November 28, 1956, and would eventually become famous and infamous all in the same year.

After a series of tied games ending with 21 points each, Stemple missed the seemingly easy question "What film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1955?" Though arguably Stemple knew the answer, as it was one of his favorite films, he gave the incorrect answer On the Waterfront (a Brando movie). Van Doren went on to quiz show fame, even being featured on the cover of Time magazine and being offered a job at the network on the Today show. Van Doren was unseated from his championship throne March 11, 1957 by Vivian Nearing after winning a total of $129,000.

Stemple's loud protests that he had been forced to "take a dive" went largely unheard and discounted until a scandal at CBS shook the entire quiz show genre to the core. Trying to compete with the other network (namely, NBC and the network's success with 21), CBS brought Dotto to the small screen in 1957. In this quiz-type show, contestants answered questions to connect dots that would make up a portrait of a recognizable figure. A notebook found in 1958 belonging to show contestant Marie Will by Ed Hilgemeier (another Dotto contestant) showed that Will had the questions and answers to the show - prior to taping. The show was immediately canceled, CBS and show sponsor Colgate-Palmolive 'fessed up that it was fixed, and the stage was set for a television-shattering scandal. Ten days later, the quiz show scandal officially broke and suddenly everyone paid attention to the claims against 21.

The $64,000 Question, though still extremely popular, was hastily pulled off the air before it could be implicated in the scandal that was rocking the nation. Many allegations and rumors regarding the show being "fixed" were raised later. And one by one, all the giants fell. Quiz shows left the air in a big hurry, and Charles Van Doren testified before a grand jury that indeed, he was given the answers to 21 questions prior to taping. Van Doren was forced to resign his post at Columbia University, and was politely let go from his Today show duties. He later became an editor for Encyclopedia Britannica and wrote several books. Stempel later became a teacher after receiving his degree.

If the fix was in, the public wanted out. Quiz shows, now more aptly named game shows, did not appear on television for the next several years, this time with no contestant rigging in place and winning limits imposed on cash prizes. The scandal did not lead to any indictments, and later Jack Barry and Dan Enright teamed up once more for the popular game show The Joker's Wild, a smash success. The quiz show scandal did eliminate sponsor-controlled programming, but not the ratings competition that would go on to shape American television, for better or worse, for the rest of time. The quiz show scandal is portrayed excitingly (if a little creatively) in the 1994 movie Quiz Show.

Today, the public looks upon TV with a more jaundiced eye - up to a point. These days, a different form of reality TV has taken root and blossomed for big network success. But accusations of contestant and voter rigging are still intense, and perhaps not all that far-flung. Manhunt, a UPN reality series, was most definitely rigged and no longer airing. Officials of the show even went so far as to re-shoot scenes weeks after the competition was over, reportedly bringing palm trees into an LA park to give re-shot scenes more realism.

Allegations of voter rigging and contestant rigging have touched even the most popular reality shows at the biggest network. Namely, CBS reality darling Survivor. The network was faced with a lawsuit when one former castaway alleged that producers pressured other contestants into voting her off, and CBS execs admitted that "body doubles" were used in filming certain scenes, to get better camera angles. Rumors of rigging have also surrounded CBS hit Big Brother. Almost since day 1, there have been claims, innuendo, and allegations that FOX mega-hit American Idol is completely manufactured as far as viewer voting goes, and it seems there is often an uncanny amount of Internet buzz regarding who will stay and who will go before the die has even been cast - though this buzz is almost always 100% accurate nonetheless. How can such spot-on predictions be made if the fix isn't in? ...Perhaps we will never know, or better yet maybe we do not want to know. Even in "reality" TV, viewers still take everything they see with a grain of salt.

After all, if it's all been staged pretty much from the beginning, why chose realism this late in the game?