History Series / BowlingForDollars

GameShow where contestants...well...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin bowled for dollars]]. The unique twist is that the show wasn't a national broadcast, but a franchise where affiliates had their own local variant (Boston's version used candlepin bowling rather than tenpin bowling, Baltimore had a version with duckpin bowling and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada had Canadian five-pin bowling).

The title of the show has lent itself to many parody titles over the years, including the band Music/BowlingForSoup, the Creator/MichaelMoore documentary ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'', and Wiki/ThisVeryWiki's own BowlingForRatings.

!!GameShowTropes in use:

* Personnel:
** GameShowHost: Almost always a local TV personality, usually the main sports director for the local station that hosted or one of said station's on-air news personnel.
** StudioAudience

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!!This franchise provides examples of:
* MarketBasedTitle: Where standard ten-pin bowling was not dominant, the show was renamed to reflect the dominant form of bowling in the area. For example: Boston's ''Candlepins For Cash''.

* Market-BasedTitle: Where standard ten-pin bowling was not dominant, the show was renamed to reflect the dominant form of bowling in the area. For example: Boston's ''Candlepins For Cash''.

The title of the show has lent itself to many parody titles over the years, including the band Music/BowlingForSoup, the Creator/MichaelMoore documentary ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'', and ThisVeryWiki's own BowlingForRatings.

The title of the show has lent itself to many parody titles over the years, including the band BowlingForSoup, the Creator/MichaelMoore documentary ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'', and ThisVeryWiki's own BowlingForRatings.

The title of the show has lent itself to many parody titles over the years, including the band BowlingForSoup, the MichaelMoore documentary ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'', and ThisVeryWiki's own BowlingForRatings.

GameShow where contestants...well...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin bowled for dollars]]. The unique twist is that the show wasn't a national broadcast, but a franchise where affiliates had their own local variant (Boston's version used candlepin bowling rather than tenpin bowling, Baltimore had a version with duckpin bowling and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada had Canadian five pin bowling).

* ProductPlacement: Non-cash prizes were generally gifted by local sponsors.

GameShow where contestants...well...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin bowled for dollars]]. The unique twist is that the show wasn't a national broadcast, but a franchise where affiliates had their own local variant (Boston's version used candlepin bowling rather than tenpin bowling, and Baltimore had a version with duckpin bowling).

The rules were simple: each contestant bowled a frame, and won $1 for each pin dropped. If they scored a mark (a strike or a spare), they doubled their winnings (to $20). If they bowled a strike, they had a chance to go for a Double Strike Jackpot which [[ProgressiveJackpot increased for each contestant who played]]. Most versions also had a "Pin Pal": each contestant drew a name from a drum of postcards, and the person who sent in the post card got whatever the contestant got (in some regions, they'd only split a Double Strike Jackpot).

Some versions awarded additional prizes (generally gifted by local sponsors) for certain feats, including a special "Turkey" prize ("Turkey" being bowling slang for three strikes in a row); if the contestant won the Jackpot, they could be given a third throw; if they got a third strike, they'd win a large prize ("large" in this case being relative, and generally gifted by local sponsors). A few versions allowed the contestant who won the most money the previous week to come back for more the next week (and their Pin Pal as well).

The title of the show lended itself to many parody titles over the years, including the band BowlingForSoup, the MichaelMoore documentary ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'', and this very wiki's own BowlingForRatings.

** GameShowHost: Almost always the main sports director for the local station that hosted.

* ProgressiveJackpot: The Double Strike Jackpot. Generally (it varied by station), the Jackpot started at $200 and went up $20 for each contestant.

The title of the show lended itself to many parody titles over the years, including the band BowlingForSoup, the MichaelMoore documentary ''BowlingForColumbine'', and this very wiki's own BowlingForRatings.

''Bowling For Dollars'' was a TV game show where contestants could...well...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin bowl for dollars]].

A unique twist is that the show wasn't a national broadcast, but a franchise-style broadcast where each affiliate had their own local variant. (Boston's version used candlepin bowling rather than tenpin bowling, and Baltimore had a version with duckpin bowling).

The rules were simple: Each contestant bowled a frame, and won $1 for each pin dropped. If they scored a mark (a strike or a spare), they doubled their winnings (to $20). If they bowled a strike, they had a chance to go for a Double Strike Jackpot which [[ProgressiveJackpot increased for each contestant who played]]. Most versions also had a "Pin Pal": Each contestant drew a name from a drum of postcards, and the person who sent in the post card got whatever the contestant got (in some regions, they'd only split a Double Strike Jackpot.)

Some versions awarded additional prizes (generally gifted by local sponsors) for certain feats, including a special "Turkey" prize ("Turkey" being bowling slang for three strikes in a row); if the contestant won the Jackpot, they could be given a third throw; if they got a third strike, they'd win a large prize ("large" in this case being relative, and, as above, generally gifted by local sponsors). And a few versions allowed the contestant who won the most money the previous week to come back for more the next week (and their Pin Pal as well).

!!Game Show Tropes in Use

* ProgressiveJackpot: The Double Strike Jackpot. Generally (of course it varied by station) the jackpot started at $200 and went up $20 for each contestant.
* ProductPlacement: Non-cash prizes were generally gifted by local sponsors.

The title of the show lended itself to many parody titles over the years, including the band BowlingForSoup, the MichaelMoore documentary ''BowlingForColumbys own BowlingForRatings.