Choose Up Sides facts for kids

Choose Up Sides was a fun children's television game show. It aired on NBC every Saturday morning. The show ran from January to March in 1956. Gene Rayburn was the host, and Don Pardo was the announcer. It was made by Goodson-Todman Productions.

Playing on the NBC Show

This version of Choose Up Sides featured two teams of kids. They competed to earn points. The team with the most points won a prize. Each team had four children, usually three boys and one girl. The boys competed against other boys. The girls competed against other girls.

Meet the Teams

The teams had cool names: the "Space Pilots" and the "Bronco Busters." Each team also had an adult helper. The Space Pilots' helper dressed like a space commander. The Bronco Busters' helper dressed like a cowboy. These helpers introduced each contestant to the host, Gene Rayburn.

Each player picked a postcard. These postcards were sent in by kids from all over the country. The winning team also won a prize for the child whose postcard they had chosen.

Fun Stunts and Challenges

The children competed in different stunts. These stunts were similar to those seen on another game show, Beat the Clock. The team that won a stunt scored 100 points. The team that lost still got a chance to earn points. They could earn 25 or 50 points in a special "consolation stunt."

A character called "Mr. Mischief" told them what to do. Mr. Mischief was a wall-puppet. Don Pardo operated and voiced the puppet. The time limit for the stunt was first a whistle. It could go off at any time. Later, this changed to a balloon in Mr. Mischief's mouth. The balloon would inflate until it burst!

When it was time for a losing team's child to meet Mr. Mischief, Gene Rayburn would walk with them. He did a funny "silly walk."

The Super Duper Doo Stunt

There was a special contest called the Super Duper Doo stunt. Each week, one child was chosen to do an extra stunt. They could win a grand prize at the end of four weeks. This was for the child who collected the most items.

One stunt involved tossing 15 playing cards. They aimed for a ball covered with sticky tape. The ball hung from the ceiling. The child stood in a box. The prize for this stunt was a boat-rig. Another stunt involved blowing 10 sheets of paper off a podium. The goal was to land them in a wastebasket. The prize for this was a television set.

Winning Big Prizes

The four children on the winning team received grand prizes. They won bicycles for the kids in the studio. Their home partners (whose postcards were picked) won cameras. The other team didn't go home empty-handed! They received a sportsmanship award. This included ice skates for both the studio contestants and their home partners.

If there was extra time at the end of the show, there were team stunts. These allowed a team to catch up on points.

The CBS Show Version

An earlier version of Choose Up Sides was made for CBS. GSN aired an episode of it in 2005 and 2007. Bob Kennedy was the host for this version.

Team Play and Points

The teams were called the "Space Rangers" and the "Cowboys." Each team had a large group of children sitting on bleachers. A child from each team competed in stunts. After the stunt, they earned points on a ring-toss board. Each peg on the board had a number of points.

The child who won the stunt got to throw two rings for their team. The child who lost threw one ring. The show had three "magic numbers" each time. If a team's point total matched one of these numbers, they won 10 extra points. They also won a special prize for the child who threw the ring. This process continued with different children until the show ran out of time.

Prizes for Everyone

All children on both teams received a "sportsmanship prize." This might have been something like a camera. The members of the winning team won a grand prize. This could be a watch. Several home viewers, chosen from letters sent in, also won grand prizes.

Behind the Stunts

The stunts used on the show were created by Bob Howard and Frank Wayne. These same two men also designed the stunts for Beat the Clock. That show was still on the air at the time.

Where Are the Episodes Now?

It's not fully known if all episodes of Choose Up Sides still exist. The company that made the show, Goodson-Todman, usually kept their shows. However, NBC often destroyed shows they didn't think were worth keeping. Children's shows were sometimes included in this.

GSN has shown one CBS episode and the first five NBC episodes in the past. On September 11, 2017, Buzzr aired the very first NBC episode.