Speed Orders 20 Episodes of ‘Pass Time’
With New Title, Game Show Emerges From Incubator
By Kent Gibbons -- Multichannel News, 11/13/2007 10:06:00 AM
Speed Channel has ordered 20 episodes of the game show Pass Time for next year, making it the first series to emerge from its Sunday-night incubator block called “Launch Hour.”
Aided by host Brett “The Big Schwag” Wagner, Pass Time contestants attempt to guess how fast 10 cars will run the quarter mile, winning cash along the way. The first 10 half-hour episodes will be shot Nov. 8-9 at Memphis Motorsports Park in Tennessee, with the second 10 episodes scheduled to be shot Nov. 30- Dec. 1 at Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, Fla.
Produced by High Five Entertainment, Pass Time will be shot and delivered in 720p high-definition format. It’s tentatively scheduled to be stripped Monday through Thursdays at 7:30 and 11 p.m. (ET) when it launches next year, according to Fox Cable Networks-owned Speed.
The show, which aired five times as part of Launch Hour, has been renamed from Name That Test & Tune.
“As we’ve learned from our experience producing Pinks and Pinks All Out, much of the enjoyment at the track is derived from guessing just how fast these cars will run the quarter-mile down the dragstrip,” Speed programming vice president Robert Ecker said in a release. “This phenomenon lends itself to a traditional game show format that is both fun to play and fun to watch, bringing every smoke-filled burnout directly into the viewer’s living room.”
Other shows that have been road tested on “Launch Hour” – a show that seeks feedback from viewers -- are called Blow It Up, Rapid Turnover, Speed Records and Drag Race High.
