Strike It Lucky
A popular British Game Show aired by the stations of ITV; three eccentric couples competed to fulfill a contract of answers to a question in order to earn moves across an arch of screens. When said monitors are "struck", they would reveal either a prize or a Hot Spot, which would cause the couple to lose their turn and the prizes they earned from the previous screens unless they chose to stop. But the last screen if a team makes it that far, contains a final question (the "final Strike it Lucky Question") which often contained a major prize like a vacation.
Much like several other famous British game shows, the format originally premiered in the United States, but flopped, and then became a bigger hit on its trip across the Atlantic. The show ran from 1986 to 1994, then revived in 1996 for a three-year run as Strike it Rich.
- Bonus Round: Pick one of the rows for each column of screens, revealing a move, a Hot Spot, or a true/false question that turns into a Hot Spot if you answer incorrectly (there are 10 of each across the 30 monitors). Try not to hit more than the number of Hot Spots on which you bid beforehand, because making a lower bid increases the prize money.
- Consolation Prize: Michael Barrymore was generous from time to time; if a couple didn't win much, he would either just strike a few screens to give them prizes, or give them back prizes lost from a Hot Spot.
- Luck-Based Mission: And that's Exactly What It Says on the Tin, too.
- Home Game: A DVD game was released in 2007. Unlike many DVD games, it was surprisingly faithful to the actual show, and Michael Barrymore even hosted it too!
- Personnel:
- Game Show Host: Michael Barrymore.
- Studio Audience
- Whammy: The Hot Spots, they're not good spots.
- Catch Phrase: What is a Hot Spot not?
- Market-Based Title: Originally called Strike it Rich in the United States, but changed to Strike it Lucky upon its trip to Britain as the lower stakes forced by the IBA's Game Show Winnings Cap of the era couldn't be considered "rich" by any means. The title was changed back to "Strike it Rich" on the revival because Thames Television wouldn't let its 2¼-days-a-week-only rival, London Weekend Television, use the old name (LWT and Fremantle were co-producing). However, the revival did have a larger prize budget since the IBA cap was no more, justifying the new name.
- Fremantle's British subsidiary Talkback Productions ended up acquiring Thames' assets in 2002. Henceforth, later merchandise (such as the DVD Home Game) returned to the old title.
- Retraux: Prize introductions were filmed in a 1950s slapstick style.
- Title Drop: The Final Strike It Lucky Question always shoehorns in the words "strike it lucky" somewhere.
- Trans-Atlantic Equivalent: An American version aired from 1986 to 1987 with Joe Garagiola as host. This series was a daily show with only two teams playing, Hot Spots were Bandits, and the Bonus Round was a little different.
- Working Title: The pilot of the American version was titled Arch Rivals.