Another Top 10 Game Show Scandals

"Pasapalabra" is a Spanish game show wherein celebrities team up with everyday people to help them win cash and prizes. Sounds innocent enough, right? Well, a small scandal occurred when it was revealed that one of the guests, model/actress Adriana Abenia, had cheated during one of the show's "name that tune" segment. Abenia was on fire, but when her legs began to flash and vibrate it was revealed that she was actually using Shazam to get the answers. Her ruse busted, the scam actually went down well with the studio audience and was mostly laughed off by the show's host as well as by Abenia herself.

If you're going to play the game, then do it the right way. Maybe this is what host Bob Barker should've told this flip floppy cheater. A contestant named Brenton was tasked with playing "Flip Flop," a game where the aim is to uncover four digits of an item's price via a series of flipped and flopped squares. Instead of doing this, Brenton decided to just press the button that reveals the item's actual price, effectively nullifying the entire game. Barker was not amused with this, and wandered off the stage, only to return and give Brenton the prize anyway.

Guests on "Wheel of Fortune" usually spin the wheel a couple of times before even attempting to solve the puzzle, but it took this lucky contestant only one letter to guarantee her victory. Caitlin Burke used a number of methods to choose her answer, including a lot of home play and the knowledge that "I've" is one of the most common contractions used in a sentence. As a result, with just an “L” and an apostrophe to go by, Burke solved “I've Got a Good Feeling About This”, which proved not only to be true but also to completely stunned host Pat Sajak.

Khaled El-Katateny fancied himself an "alpha male," and was supremely confident going into his appearance on the Australian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Katateny won a hundred thousand dollars during his appearance on "Hot Seat," despite not actually knowing any of the answers. Instead, the contestant read the body language, eyes and cadence of the show's host, Eddie McGuire. Since this isn't technically cheating, Katateny was allowed to keep his prize, a result that made this already smug Melbourne law student very happy.

The Gong Show was a cult hit for NBC, but never quite gelled with network executives behind the scenes, thanks largely to the show's chaotic, "anything can happen" atmosphere. Chuck Barris hosted the classic version of "The Gong Show" from 1976 to 1980, and fit in just fine with the array of everyday people looking for their fifteen minutes of fame. It was after the daytime version of the show was canceled when Barris really let NBC know what he thought of them, however, singing "Take this Job and Shove It" during the show's finale and flipping a censored bird to the camera.

This game show found itself in hot water right from the get-go. "Our Little Genius" was a kids’ quiz show that was supposed to debut on Fox in 2010, with comedian Kevin Pollak serving as host. However, producer Mark Burnett had the show postponed a week before it was scheduled to air, thanks to two separate accusations of contestants being given advanced knowledge of topics. Although answers were not provided, questions and themes were reportedly discussed at length with both parents and kids, resulting in "Our Little Genius" being canceled without airing a single episode.

How willing would you be to answer intensely personal questions, in front of a television audience, while attached to a polygraph machine? Well, Fox gave it a go, and the results were as cringe-worthy as you'd imagine. Case in point: the marriage of Lauren and Frank Cleri, which was ruined when Lauren's ex-boyfriend Frank Nardi, Jr. came into the picture. Lauren admitted that she had cheated on her husband, and answered positively to her ex's question of "do you think I am the man you should be married to?" Adding insult to injury, Lauren's final game tally was zero.

A moment of shocking violence erupted on the set of this Russian game show. Based around the classic touch-the-truck type of competition, one female contestant got more than she bargained for and less than she hoped for. Behaving irrationally throughout, and wearing a thong bikini, when she twirled her stiletto at a nearby male player things turned nasty. His response afterwards is quick and disturbing, as he lets go of the car, hurls her to the ground and bloodies her face. It's graphic, troubling and difficult to watch.

John Cooper didn't walk away from “Bullseye” a winner, but eventually his brief shot at glory was a major win for the British public. Unknown at the time, Cooper was already a two time murderer, having killed a brother and sister in 1985, and killing Peter and Gwenda Dixon a month after his game show strike out. In 1998 Cooper was convicted of a string of robberies, and served 10 years in prison. However, soon after his release police investigated a murder cold case, which through advanced forensic science, DNA, and his “Bullseye” footage, they were able to pin on him. Cooper was arrested soon after, and convicted in 2011.

"The Gong Show" returns, this time with one of the strangest and most surreal game show moments of all time. The so-called Popsicle Twins were a duo of young women whose act was titled "Have You Got a Nickel” Their segment was initially only aired on the east coast before being pulled, when it was noticed that the simple act of enjoying an ice lolly was a bit more suggestive and loaded than it first appeared. Score-wise, the act was a dud – with only Jaye P. Morgan picking up what the girls were laying down, and TV's Klinger Jamie Farr awarding it a mere two points.