Game shows have a long, checkered past of shoving contestants down holes, under water, and into pits, but ABC's newest pickup adds to that list with great gusto: In Downfall, contestants who miss trivia questions may have to fall off a skyscraper, perhaps with the aid of a bungee cord. (Shame on Donald Trump for not thinking of this brand promotion first.) In honor of the new show, let's revisit four not-so-classic game shows where contestants plunged into despair and often took our tolerance with them.
Pitfall
This 1981-82 dud featured the gentlest "falling" conceit in game show history: If you didn't remember where the "pitfall passes" were located in a light show diagram presented before the bonus round, you could fall into one of eight pits in your path across a bridge towards victory. If you were trapped in a pit (via slow-moving elevator), Alex Trebek grilled you with general knowledge questions. Trebek later suffered the greatest fall, however, as he was never paid for his hosting stint on this series.
The Chair
The Chair was not only the greatest John McEnroe-hosted game show of all time (try and disagree!), it also featured a bizarre, wholly stupid format: Contestants answered multiple-choice questions while losing money for every second they couldn't keep their heartrate under a pre-designated number. The penalty for losing all your money? You remain in the chair as it descends into hell.
Russian Roulette
In this Game Show Network original, contestants who missed trivia questions faced the prospect of plunging into a pit. The ever-snide Mark L. Walberg (no relation to well-abdominaled "Good Vibrations" virtuoso Mark Wahlberg) helmed proceedings and didn't flinch when contestants dropped out of sight for good. Here's a pre-Lost Jorge Garcia falling into a big revolver chamber.
Dog Eat Dog
As NBC's Fear Factor took off and ignited interest in "extreme" game shows, the network followed up with a new version of a UK show called Dog Eat Dog. Ex-Bruce Willis paramour Brooke Burns wore halter tops and forced contestants to answer piece-of-cake trivia questions and participate in bungee-cord-dependent stunts. Big, waterlogged falls were the show's biggest draw, though this would prove tragic early in the show's run, as faulty equipment ended up suspending contestant Darin Goka underwater for an extended period of time. He was hospitalized afterward.