Whammy Pilot!

The first new episodes of Press Your Luck to be taped in over 16 years were the two Whammy pilots shot at Sony Studios in Culver City, California on February 13, 2002.  Peter Tomarken and Todd Newton each hosted a pilot, and both did a great job, but in the end, Todd was selected to be the new host of Whammy!

The pilot featured a few differences from the version of Whammy! that went to air:

* In round one, each contestant earned three spins to start with, and could pass them or play them, much like in the current round three.  There was no freezing allowed.

* Round two had four questions instead of five.

* A "Whammy Guard" could be earned if a contestant answered all 4 questions correctly on the buzz-in.  The Whammy Guard negated the first whammy that contestant hit in round three.

* Instead of the GEM Car, a Chevy Camaro was up on the board.  The path to winning the Camaro was exactly the same as the current GEM Car path.

* The board had smaller monitors.  The middle of the board featured a rear projection screen which showed the square hit, unlike the current show, where the space hit is super imposed over a static image of the Whammy.

* Super small contestant score monitors, with indicators lights for the Whammy instead of the Biggie Fry-esque Whammy pop ups that are on the actual show.

* The prize pictures were actual pictures instead of icons.

Here are some pictures from the Todd Newton pilot, and don't forget to check out the Multimedia section for some exclusive clips of the pilot!

I kinda liked the prize photos, although the icons are cool too.	The G Spot!
Noticed the different color of the background behind Todd.	The contestant podiums were vastly improved for the real show.  No Whammy! logo there, either.
Close up of the "scattered" motif board.	The Whammy guard was nixed quickly after the pilot.