Broadcast History: Jan. 5, 1987 - May 1, 1987, NBC Daytime Host: Bill Rafferty Announcer: Rich Jeffreys Executive Producer: Robert Sherman Producer: Diane Janaver Director: Marc Breslow Music: Music Design Group, Stanley Blits Packager: Mark Goodson Productions

The object of the 1987 incarnation is the same as the original game--make a connection from top-to-bottom or side-to-side.  However, the game was one-on-one, not two vs. one like in the original game.  For the first game, the white player (usually the champ) has to connect the left and right sides, which takes a minimum of five moves, while the red player has to connect the top to the bottom, which can take as little as four moves.

The roles were reversed for the second game, with the white player having the advantage.  If there was a tie after two games, the tiebreaking game was on a 16-hexagon matrix, where neither player had an advantage.  Instead of winning $500 per game, each game was worth just $100 in 1987.  Two games won the match and an opportunity to win extra money at the Gold Run.  A contestant could stay on for up to 10 matches.  Defeated contestants left with any money won, as well as a parting gift.

Unlike the original version with its challenging questions and interesting facts, the revival featured numerous helpful hint questions, primarily from Mary Ellen, as well as numerous questions about cooking.  These questions were obviously aimed towards the most likely people to watch television at 10:30 AM on a weekday morning in 1987--housewives.  If you were wondering what O is a good item to use to get rid of dead skin cells when mixed with water (oatmeal) or what E can be opened more easily by rubbing it against a hot light bulb (envelope), Blockbusters circa 1987 was a prime location to find such useful (?) information. Bill Rafferty introduced some terms to the game show lexicon during his brief game show career.  Among these "Raffertyisms" are... "Dual implication"--The situation occurs when both players can win a game by answering a question correctly, as whomever acquires the hexagon will connect one side to another.  The image to the right shows a dual implication. "The Land of Parting Gifts"--Where losing contestants go.  In other words, it means "Bye bye, enjoy your dishwasher."

The Gold Run

Nothing changed with the Gold Run between 1982 and 1987.  The object was still to connect the left side of the board with the right side.  Making the connection in 60 seconds earns the contestant $5000. During Blockbusters' run, an escalating jackpot was incorporated. The jackpot started at $5000 and increased $5000 per miss.  Like Hot Potato, this jackpot was reset to $5000 whenever a new champ was crowned.  If the sides weren't connected, $100 was awarded per correct answer.

Ultimately, Blockbusters went to TV's equivalent to The Land of Parting Gifts in May 1987.  Some fans believe that this revival was meant to be temporary, used just to fill the 10:30 AM time slot before NBC debuted Classic Concentration.  Interestingly, during the final weeks of Blockbusters' run, Bill Rafferty did in-show contestant plugs for Classic Concentration.

To answer a question I've received numerous times, the contestants saw the game board on a monitor located inside the hexagonal neon border. To the left is a vidgrab of this monitor, immediately to the right of the 2nd green hexagon in the first column  The monitor was likely accidentally revealed since the game play went from a Gold Run to a contestant interview, to the start of the first game, with no commercial interruptions.