What do you get when you combine The Price is Right with Beat the Clock? A hybrid game show called Shop Til' You Drop, a durable game show where contestants compete in stunts and are tested on their consumer knowledge. From 1991 to 2003, STYD was situated in a two-tiered California shopping mall (not unlike the Mall of America); 2003 and later in a mega-store (think Sam's Club or Wal-Mart). Two teams of male-female couples (it could also be two teams of brothers or sisters, too) competed. Each team plays two rounds of games, which centered on pricing items (not unlike The Price is Right), celebrity trivia or performing a silly stunt. Before each round, the host (or his sidekick) described the first stunt to one of the teams, and they decided who would play it. Successfully completing a stunt earns the team points (100 in Round 1, 200 in Round 2) and the right to select a prize from one of the stores in the mall (or, in later episodes, from one of the store's departments). One of the prizes hid the "Shopper's Special," which if selected earned the team a bonus prize (always a trip). Round 3 was the "Shopper's Challenge," a 90-second speed round of questions about entertainment and shopping. Each team member alternated answering questions (the men and then the women). Correct answers were worth 50 points. The team with the highest score after three rounds advanced to the bonus round. The bonus round was a shopping-spree type round. One of the team members was the shopper (usually but not always the female) while the male half was the runner. One at a time, the team opened one of six packages on a table. The shopper decided whether to keep the gift or beckon the runner to exchange it. If they wanted to exchange the item, the runner scurried like the dickens to one of the stores (or departments in the superstore episodes) and exchange it for what the team hoped was a better gift. In either case, the runner had to take the item to a table on one side of the set and hit a plunger before the shopper could open another box. After all six boxes were kept or exchanged, or after the 90-second time limit expired, the host announced the values of each prize, one by one. The team kept whatever they collected, but if the prizes' value was $2,500 or more ($1,000 in 1991-1992), the couple won a vacation. For the first 12 years STYD was on (and off) the air, Pat Finn was the host, with Dee Baker his wacky sidekick. When the series returned in 2003 (with the new superstore setup), J.D. Roberto was the host and Don Preiss did the annoucing. | 
