Monopoly (game show) (Johnsonverse)

Monopoly is an American television game show based on the board game of the same name. The format was created by Merv Griffin and Phil Stacker and produced by the former's production company, Merv Griffin Enterprises.

It has aired on WBC since September 10, 1990, and former Jeopardy! contestant Mike Reilly was chosen to host the series, with John Harlan as announcer until his 2017 death. Paul Boland, the former Match Game announcer from 1999 to 2003, was chosen as the new announcer in March 2018 after a series of auditions.

First round
Three contestants (one of whom is a returning champion), colored red, gold, and green, start with $15,000. Whoever answers one of three crossword-style clues correctly is assigned a random monopoly (including railroads and utilities), but they're not revealed until after they're captured.

Second round
Contestants can acquire the remaining monopolies by landing on a property. The dice in this round is rolled on a shaker-table (called the Monopoly Rock-and-Roller) during a contestant's turn, and an offscreen stagehand presses a button to stop it on the player's command; this adds that number of lights randomly generated on the properties, even if someone else owns it (the person with the most properties in a three or four-color group has a chance to acquire the entire monopoly through a series of crossword-style clues, or in a two-color group, a tie-breaking question).

During a commercial break in the round, contestants have a chance to develop their properties (houses cost $50, and hotels cost $100); the rent for a specific property increases depending on the number of buildings, as long as they can afford it. After time is called, the round ends. The person with the most money wins the game. The person in second goes home with $2,000, while the third-place contestant has $1,000.

Final round
The winner has a chance to build on top of their existing score by going across the board in a certain number of rolls, with the dice again being rolled on the Rock-and-Roller. Rolling doubles adds an extra roll, though getting three in a row ends the game. Landing on a space (with the exception of Mediterranean Avenue) adds $100, though Chance, Community Chest, Free Parking, and Tax spaces are replaced by prizes of varying values. However, there are two Go to Jail spaces, in addition to its usual corner spot; landing on one ends the game, though main-game winnings are not affected. Passing Go nets $25,000, while landing nets $50,000. Running out of rolls before passing Go ends the game with the contestant keeping their winnings in the round.

Development
After years of negotiation with Parker Brothers, Merv Griffin acquired the rights to the Monopoly board game in 1987. A runthrough, hosted by Marc Summers, was produced. with wildly different rules. Two years later, a full pilot was produced, with host Peter Tomarken, and Patty Maloney playing Rich Uncle Pennybags, who represented the players' token. Among the contestants was Reilly, the stated "defending champion" of the pilot. However, Tomarken clashed with the producers over the use of Maloney, calling it "tasteless" and comparing it to slavery.

Broadcast history
The series was originally going to be syndicated throughout the country for the 1989-1990 television season. However, after the pilot was reviewed, only 22 stations signed on, with many stations objecting to the use of Maloney as Pennybags. Immediately, Phil Stacker, the CEO of Johnson Industries at the time, saw potential in the pilot and picked it up to air on the WBC (then known as JTV) daytime schedule, though he ordered many changes, as, having seen the pilot, felt that "the rules were too confusing". Maloney's spot on the board was replaced with lights on the board, and Tomarken was replaced with 26-year-old Mike Reilly, a waiter from Florida who had been a former Jeopardy! contestant and had played as the "returning champion" on the pilot.