Russian Roulette

Network: GSN
Airings: Weekdays at 6:00PM ET, Tuesdays through Sundays at 10:00PM ET
Vote for how many stars you think the show deserves to the right, and then leave a comment!

Russian Roulette is the ultimate game of chance. Four contestants stand on “The Revolver” and on their own “Drop Zone”. A question is stated and the player in control chooses who to pass the question to (or they can answer it themselves in the final round). A right answer awards the challenged money while a wrong answer bankrupts a player and forces them to play “Russian Roulette” with however many drop zones are active for the question. When the handle is pulled, lights circle the set, and if a red light stops under the player’s feet, that person literally drops from the stage and is eliminated from the game. The sole survivor plays the Killer Questions and, potentially, one final game of “Russian Roulette” to win $100,000.

This is and was GSN’s quintessential game show and their only remote answer to the big money game show craze. It had it all: big money, amazing set, amazing soundtrack, fantastic host, tough trivia, and one of the best and most exciting end games on television. Honestly, there’s little to fault the show with other than a few production errors, especially in season two. The producers seemed to be very keen on making sure that players who chose not to gamble for $100,000 could have potentially won. It seems they often edited out the first hypothetical spin and threw in a second one to make sure they seemed like they made the right choice instead of losing out on six figures. The sound effects for the spin were completely screwed up for that season as well.

The only other larger issue was the questioning on the end game. They could just never seem to get it right. The five Killer Questions in 60 seconds seemed too easy, but the ten Killer Questions seemed too difficult to some. I really think six questions in the season one brainteaser format would have kept it a bit more original while making sure no one gets a three drop zone $100,000 spin. But that was a minor issue that barely made an impact in my eyes. Why’d the show disappear? Network politics and more. Hopefully with game shows fully back in the public eye some smart production company and network will bring this gem out and let it shine while there’s still a demand to see people fall through holes in the floor.

[rating: 4.5/5]

Links
Clips and episodes of the show courtesy of creator Gunnar Wetterberg