Welcome to The Magnificent Marble Machine guide at TV Tome. Add a general-knowledge quiz to one of the crazes of the mid-1970s - pinball - and what do you get? One of the best known flops in game show history. That's how many historians regard The Magnificent Marble Machine, which enjoyed a brief one-year run on NBC in 1975-1976. The two-stage game went something like this: Two contestants (one a returning champion) compete, each paired with a celebrity partner. In the first half of the game, the teams competed to answer general knowledge questions, which were displayed on a huge electronic readout on the machine (e.g., Q: "He's center and he's square." A: Paul Lynde). To help the contestants answer, they were told the number of words and letters in the answer, with letters filling in as time progressed. Each correct answer was worth one point; five points allowed the winning team to advance to the game's second stage. That second stage was The Magnificent Marble Machine
