Battlestars (partially found Merrill Heatter game show; 1981-1983)

The logo from the show's original run.

Status: Partially Found

Battlestars was an American game show created by Merrill Heatter (his first solo show after his production partner Bob Quigley retired in 1981) that is similar to Hollywood Squares. It was hosted by Alex Trebek and it ran two separate runs from October 26, 1981, to April 23, 1982, and from April 4 to July 1, 1983. The show didn't do well in the ratings and both runs were gone by the summer. Likely due to not enough NBC stations picking up the show, very little of the show has resurfaced.

Format

Two contestants (one in red and one in blue) faced a six-member celebrity panel, who sat in a large set made up of triangles with three numbers attached to their points; hence, they were called "Points of Light". The contestant in control pushed a plunger on their podium to stop a flashing randomizer, and the number it stopped on determined which celebrity would be asked a question. Alex would ask the celebrity a question with two possible answers. Once the celebrity chose their answer, the contestant had to agree or disagree with the celebrity. A correct response meant that the contestant kept control. If the contestant was wrong, control passed to their opponent. Regardless of how the contestant in control answered, the Point of Light was lit and it was then taken out of play. However, if a miss would result in the capture of a celebrity to an opponent by default, the Point would remain in play. When landing on a number on the top or bottom row, the contestant had to play with the celebrity whose triangle touched that number; but when landing on a center row number since they were attached to two or more triangles, the contestant chose which celebrity to play with, although the choice defaulted if it meant a star could be captured (unless of course more than one star could be captured). If the player in control lit the last Point of Light around a celebrity, even if their opponent was responsible for the other two lights, the player captured that star. The first contestant to capture three stars won the game and would played the bonus round. Also, if a contestant captured all six celebrities, they won a bonus prize.

In the original run, the winning contestant had to identify a famous celebrity face that was hidden under 16 numbered blocks. The contestant chose three cards which Trebek would put in a scanner on his podium. After the three blocks were removed, the contestant picked one more square that would help them most. On some episodes, the contestant's choice was made prior to drawing the three cards. If a card drawn matched the number of the square the contestant already chose to reveal, the contestant would draw another card. The contestant then had a chance to identify the celebrity for $5,000. However, if they gave a wrong guess or couldn't answer, the contestant drew up to three additional cards (one at a time) and could solicit help from the celebrities by having them identify the star instead. The prize value dropped to $3,000 for the first card, then $2,000 and $1,000. If the contestant failed to identify the face after these four attempts, the contestant chose another space to reveal and played for $500. If the player fails to win $500, they choose one last space and play for $250. If they fail to win the $250, the game ends and they win nothing.

In the revamped run, the winning contestant and the three captured Battlestars played a three-question bonus round. Each multiple-choice question had three possible answers which were now displayed to everybody. After the celebrity in play offered their choice, the contestant was asked whether they agreed or disagreed. If the contestant was correct in disagreeing, they had to choose the correct answer from the two remaining choices to win any cash. The first two questions were played for $500 each. If the contestant answered all three questions correctly they won the "Battlestars Bonanza", a jackpot that started with $5,000 cash and a prize package (generally a combined value of at least $10,000), with another prize package added every time it was not won.

Episodes

#	Airdates	Celebrities	Status	Notes
1	Oct 26, 1981	Betty White, Dean Butler, Nell Carter, Joan Van Ark, Dick Van Patten & Garry Shandling	Lost
2	Oct 27, 1981		Lost
3	Oct 28, 1981		Lost
4	Oct 29, 1981		Lost
5	Oct 30, 1981		Lost
6	Nov 2, 1981	6 Unknowns	Lost
7	Nov 3, 1981		Lost
8	Nov 4, 1981		Lost
9	Nov 5, 1981		Lost
10	Nov 6, 1981		Lost
11	Nov 9, 1981	Richard Simmons, Willard Scott, Betty White, Gabe Kaplan, Randi Oakes & Skip Stephenson	Lost
12	Nov 10, 1981		Lost
13	Nov 11, 1981		Lost
14	Nov 12, 1981		Lost
15	Nov 13, 1981		Lost
16	Nov 16, 1981	6 Unknowns	Lost
17	Nov 17, 1981		Lost
18	Nov 18, 1981		Lost
19	Nov 19, 1981		Lost
20	Nov 20, 1981		Lost
21	Nov 23, 1981	Dick Martin, Randi Oakes, Skip Stephenson, Joan Rivers & 2 Unknowns	Lost
22	Nov 24, 1981		Lost
23	Nov 25, 1981		Lost
24	Nov 27, 1981		Lost
25	Nov 30, 1981	Randi Oakes, Fred Willard, Joan Rivers, Skip Stephenson, Tim Reid & Carol Wayne	Lost
26	Dec 1, 1981		Found
27	Dec 2, 1981		Lost
28	Dec 3, 1981		Lost
29	Dec 4, 1981		Lost
30	Dec 7, 1981	Nell Carter, Skip Stephenson, Lynn Redgrave, Joan Van Ark & 2 Unknowns	Lost
31	Dec 8, 1981		Lost
32	Dec 9, 1981		Lost
33	Dec 10, 1981		Lost
34	Dec 11, 1981		Lost
35	Dec 14, 1981	Rip Taylor, Gloria Loring, Leslie Uggams, Audrey Landers, Tom Poston & Skip Stephenson	Lost
36	Dec 15, 1981		Lost
37	Dec 16, 1981		Lost
38	Dec 17, 1981		Lost
39	Dec 18, 1981		Lost
40	Dec 21, 1981	Todd Bridges, Richard Simmons, Nell Carter, Nancy McKeon, Skip Stephenson & Richard Kiel	Lost
41	Dec 22, 1981		Lost
42	Dec 23, 1981		Lost
43	Dec 24, 1981		Lost
44	Dec 25, 1981		Found
45	Dec 28, 1981	Stuart Damon, Phyllis Diller, Skip Stephenson, Audrey Landers, Tom Poston & Roxie Roker	Lost
46	Dec 29, 1981		Lost
47	Dec 30, 1981		Lost
48	Dec 31, 1981		Lost
49	Jan 4, 1982	Dody Goodman, Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, Danielle Brisebois, Skip Stephenson, Betty White & Unknown	Lost
50	Jan 5, 1982		Lost
51	Jan 6, 1982		Lost
52	Jan 7, 1982		Lost
53	Jan 8, 1982		Lost
54	Jan 11, 1982	Dean Butler, Dody Goodman, Tom Poston, Jenilee Harrison, Rip Taylor & Phyllis Diller	Lost
55	Jan 12, 1982		Lost
56	Jan 13, 1982		Lost
57	Jan 14, 1982		Lost
58	Jan 15, 1982		Lost
59	Jan 18, 1982	Nell Carter, Rip Taylor, Joan Van Ark, Stuart Damon & 2 Unknowns	Lost
60	Jan 19, 1982		Lost
61	Jan 20, 1982		Lost
62	Jan 21, 1982		Lost
63	Jan 22, 1982		Lost
64	Jan 25, 1982	Nell Carter, Rip Taylor, Joan Van Ark, Tom Poston, Phyllis Diller & Unknown	Lost
65	Jan 26, 1982		Lost
66	Jan 27, 1982		Lost
67	Jan 28, 1982		Lost
68	Jan 29, 1982		Lost
69	Feb 1, 1982	Dody Goodman, Stuart Damon, Jennilee Harrison, Skip Stephenson & 2 Unknowns	Lost
70	Feb 2, 1982		Lost
71	Feb 3, 1982		Lost
72	Feb 4, 1982		Lost
73	Feb 5, 1982		Lost
74	Feb 8, 1982	Nell Carter, Tom Poston, Lynn Redgrave, Rip Taylor, Jenilee Harrison & Jerry Seinfeld	Lost
75	Feb 9, 1982		Lost
76	Feb 10, 1982		Lost
77	Feb 11, 1982		Lost
78	Feb 12, 1982		Lost
79	Feb 15, 1982	Fannie Flagg, Willard Scott, Jenilee Harrison & 3 Unknowns	Lost
80	Feb 16, 1982		Lost
81	Feb 17, 1982		Lost
82	Feb 18, 1982		Lost
83	Feb 19, 1982		Lost
84	Feb 22, 1982	Linda Blair, Fannie Flagg, Charles Haid, Telma Hopkins, Tom Poston & Rip Taylor	Lost
85	Feb 23, 1982		Lost
86	Feb 24, 1982		Lost
87	Feb 25, 1982		Lost
88	Feb 26, 1982		Lost
89	Mar 1, 1982	Dody Goodman, Ruth Buzzi, Richard Kline, Jennilee Harrison, Dick Martin & Michael Warren	Lost
90	Mar 2, 1982		Lost
91	Mar 3, 1982		Lost
92	Mar 4, 1982		Partially Lost
93	Mar 5, 1982		Lost
94	Mar 8, 1982	Tom Poston, Telma Hopkins, Betty Thomas, Stuart Damon, Doug Barr & Phyllis Diller	Lost
95	Mar 9, 1982		Lost
96	Mar 10, 1982		Lost
97	Mar 11, 1982		Lost
98	Mar 12, 1982		Lost
99	Mar 15, 1982	Dody Goodman, Didi Conn, John Roarke, Jennilee Harrison, Stuart Damon & Rip Taylor	Lost
100	Mar 16, 1982		Lost
101	Mar 17, 1982		Lost
102	Mar 18, 1982		Lost
103	Mar 19, 1982		Lost
104	Mar 22, 1982	Jerry Seinfeld, Jennilee Harrison, Rip Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, Nell Carter & Charles Haid	Lost
105	Mar 23, 1982		Found
106	Mar 24, 1982		Lost
107	Mar 25, 1982		Lost
108	Mar 26, 1982		Lost
109	Mar 29, 1982	Vincent Price, Lynn Redgrave, Michael Warren, Joan Rivers, Tom Poston & Ruth Buzzi	Lost
110	Mar 30, 1982		Lost
111	Mar 31, 1982		Lost
112	Apr 1, 1982		Lost
113	Apr 2, 1982		Lost
114	Apr 5, 1982	Phillip McKeon, Jennilee Harrison, Bowzer, Debbie Reynolds, Rip Taylor & Betty White	Found
115	Apr 6, 1982		Found
116	Apr 7, 1982		Lost
117	Apr 8, 1982		Lost
118	Apr 9, 1982		Lost
119	Apr 12, 1982	Jenilee Harrison, John Roarke, Nancy McKeon, Stuart Damon, Ruth Buzzi & Rip Taylor	Lost
120	Apr 13, 1982		Lost
121	Apr 14, 1982		Lost
122	Apr 15, 1982		Lost
123	Apr 16, 1982		Lost
124	Apr 19, 1982	Tom Poston, Debbie Reynolds, Jennilee Harrison, Rip Taylor, Jim J. Bullock & Ricky Schroeder	Lost	Final week of the original series.
125	Apr 20, 1982		Lost
126	Apr 21, 1982		Lost
127	Apr 22, 1982		Lost
128	Apr 23, 1982		Found
129	Apr 4, 1983	Erik Estrada, Debbie Reynolds, Tom Wopat, Jim J. Bullock, Glenn Scarpelli & Vicki Lawrence	Found	First week of the revamped series.
130	Apr 5, 1983		Found
131	Apr 6, 1983		Found
132	Apr 7, 1983		Found
133	Apr 8, 1983		Lost
134	Apr 11, 1983	Richard Simmons, Robert Mandan, Helen Reddy, Ted Schackleford, Tom Poston & Ricky Schroder	Lost
135	Apr 12, 1983		Lost
136	Apr 13, 1983		Lost
137	Apr 14, 1983		Lost
138	Apr 15, 1983		Lost
139	Apr 18, 1983	Jacklyn Zeman, Vincent Price, Brenda Vaccaro, Fred Willard & 2 Unknowns	Lost
140	Apr 19, 1983		Lost
141	Apr 20, 1983		Lost
142	Apr 21, 1983		Lost
143	Apr 22, 1983		Lost
144	Apr 25, 1983	Wayne Northrop, Abby Dalton, Charles Nelson Reilly, Doug Barr, Tim Reid & Unknown	Lost
145	Apr 26, 1983		Lost
146	Apr 27, 1983		Lost
147	Apr 28, 1983		Lost
148	Apr 29, 1983		Lost
149	May 2, 1983	Jim J. Bullock, Fannie Flagg, Ned Beatty, Barbara Bosson, Charles Nelson Reilly & Joan Van Ark	Lost
150	May 3, 1983		Lost
151	May 4, 1983		Lost
152	May 5, 1983		Lost
153	May 6, 1983		Lost
154	May 9, 1983	Debbie Reynolds, Jim J. Bullock, Teresa Ganzel, Skip Stephenson, Erin Moran & Michael Warren	Lost
155	May 10, 1983		Lost
156	May 11, 1983		Lost
157	May 12, 1983		Lost
158	May 13, 1983		Lost
159	May 16, 1983	Charles Nelson Reilly, Brenda Vaccaro, Josh Taylor, Abby Dalton, Jim J. Bullock & Robin Mattson	Lost
160	May 17, 1983		Lost
161	May 18, 1983		Lost
162	May 19, 1983		Lost
163	May 20, 1983		Lost
164	May 23, 1983	Charles Nelson Reilly, Shannon Tweed, Roddy McDowell, Leslie Nielsen, Eileen Davidson & Howie Mandel	Lost
165	May 24, 1983		Lost
166	May 25, 1983		Lost
167	May 26, 1983		Lost
168	May 27, 1983		Lost
169	May 30, 1983	Charles Nelson Reilly, Mary Frann, Andy Gibb, Fred Grandy, James B. Sikking & Emma Samms	Lost
170	May 31, 1983		Lost
171	Jun 1, 1983		Lost
172	Jun 2, 1983		Lost
173	Jun 3, 1983		Lost
174	Jun 6, 1983	Tom Poston, Lynn Redgrave, Abby Dalton, Jim J. Bullock, Vic Tayback & Denise Alexander	Lost
175	Jun 7, 1983		Lost
176	Jun 8, 1983		Found
177	Jun 9, 1983		Lost
178	Jun 10, 1983		Lost
179	Jun 13, 1983	Martin Mull, Dottie West, Mel Tillis, Jim. J. Bullock, David Brenner & Irlene Mandrell	Lost
180	Jun 14, 1983		Lost
181	Jun 15, 1983		Lost
182	Jun 16, 1983		Lost
183	Jun 17, 1983		Found
184	Jun 20, 1983	Charles Nelson Reilly, Marla Gibbs, Lydia Cornell, Richard Kline, Laurence Lau & Betty White	Found
185	Jun 21, 1983		Lost
186	Jun 22, 1983		Lost
187	Jun 23, 1983		Lost
188	Jun 24, 1983		Lost
189	Jun 27, 1983	Charles Nelson Reilly, Betty White, Candy Clark, Jim J. Bullock, Stuart Damon & Mary Crosby	Lost	Final Week of the series.
190	Jun 28, 1983		Lost
191	Jun 29, 1983		Lost
192	Jun 30, 1983		Lost
193	Jul 1, 1983		Found

Cancellation

Battlestars replaced Card Sharks on NBC's daytime lineup in October 1981. The show failed to make an impact in the ratings (given that it was up against the second half of The Price Is Right on CBS) and was cancelled to make way for the soap opera Texas (which would be gone by the end of 1982). The show returned in April 1983 now titled "The New Battlestars", but it still failed to make an impact in the ratings and it's competition (The Young & The Restless on CBS and Family Feud on ABC) and the show wasn't cleared in a lot of NBC's owned and operated stations wasn't helping improve it's ratings. The show would air until July 1, 1983, and would be replaced with reruns of The Facts Of Life.

Availability

Although NBC discontinued reusing tapes in 1980, very few home recordings of the show can be found today. The show wouldn't be mentioned again until 1992 when the show was advertised to be aired on the proposed "The Game Channel" starting in 1994. The channel never materialized, but the mention of the show makes it very likely that the tapes for the show still exist, though they haven't been reran on television since it ended in 1983.