Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman Productions game show which ran on CBS from 1950 to 1958 and ABC from 1958 to 1961, with later revivals. The show was hosted by Bud Collyer, and was one of the forerunners for stunt shows such as Fear Factor and Dog Eat Dog.

Beat the Clock ran again from 1969 to 1974 with Jack Narz and later Gene Wood (who was the original announcer for the show and who traded positions with Narz in 1972) (as The New Beat the Clock), from 1979 to 1980 (as The All-New Beat the Clock, and later as All-New All-Star Beat the Clock), with former Let's Make a Deal host Monty Hall as host and Jack Narz as announcer, and most recently, in 2002 with Gary Kroeger and Julielinh Parker as co-hosts.

In this daily syndicated revival of the durable game show, two male-female couples competed, with the aid of a celebrity guest, to complete various stunts within a time limit. The time limit was usually 60 seconds or less, depending on the stunt. As with the network series, the stunts (often messy) were the centerpiece of the show. Examples of stunts included putting on oversized underwear and then stuffing 12 balloons into it without breaking any; springing six mouse-traps using a large sausage tied to a fishing pole, and the partner freeing the mouse-traps; and throwing three custard pies through a wooden cutout that their mate stood behind, while the pie-thrower was blindfolded. A huge on-stage clock counted down the seconds, as the host provided commentary and encouragement. Couples succeeding in completing their stunt were taken to a large board to choose a letter in the show's title; behind each letter was a cash prize ranging from $25 to $200. Each couple competed in two stunts per show, plus the bonus stunt at the end of the show. Between each round, the celebrity guest tried to complete his/her own stunt, with the couples winning $50 for correctly predicting if the celebrity would complete the stunt within the time limit. Both couples competed in the grand-prize stunt to decide the day's winner. The winning couple received $500 and a prize package. The show was the only Goodson-Todman show ever taped in Canada. Written by Brian Rathjen

"Beat the Clock," one of television's all-time classic game shows, was revived in the fall of 2002 as an entry on the Pax Television Network. Three couples, all married, dating or otherwise related, competed. The team which completes the show's opening stunt first gets 10 points and the right to assign three individual stunts (for which vague descriptions were read). Each stunt had to be completed within 30 seconds (or 40, if they answer a two-part general knowledge question correctly). The stunts were just like those seen in previous versions of the show -- perhaps balancing jars full of coins on a teetering board, sifting ping pongs out of a sorter, so only the red ones remained or finding three hot dogs buried in condiments while blindfolded. Completing the stunt earned the team 10 points, plus additional points depending on time remaining. Each team's score determined their placement in another three-way stunt, of which only the first two teams to complete it will stay in the game. The remaining teams are then shown one final stunt and then bid downward from two minutes, a la Name That Tune's Golden Medley, on how short of time they need to complete the stunt. The team that completed the stunt or bid the opponent into defeat advanced to the "Whirlwind of Money," where they had 60 seconds to grab as much cash and prize cards as they could (up to $25,000 available). Written by Brian Rathjen

A revival of the classic game show featuring host Monty Hall. In this show, contestants are given unusal tasks to complete within a limited amount of time. Rather than requiring brain power of muscle power, the assignments frequently rewarded physical dexterity, lack of inhibitions and plain old luck. Contestants who succeeded in beating the clock won cash and prizes, and became eligible for the bonus rounds. Written by Jean-Marc Rocher

"Beat the Clock" was one of televisions most durable game shows. Its popularity was derived from its simple format and wacky action. Two couples, preselected from the studio audience, had to complete various stunts within a time limit (usually 60 seconds or less) to win cash and prizes. Examples of the often-messy stunts (the centerpiece of the show) included blowing a plastic ship carrying a ping-pong ball from one side of a water-filled tub to the other, without allowing the ball to fall off; stuffing eight balloons in a lidded wastebasket without breaking any; and extracting three marshmallows buried in Jell-O using a spoon held in his mouth, then placing each marshmallow on a plate next to them. A huge clock counted down the seconds, as host Collyer provided commentary and encouragement. Couples who successfully completed their stunt won cash (usually $100 to $200, depending on the round) and a prize. After the first round of stunts, each couple got a chance to complete an extra-difficult "bonus stunt" (e.g., blowing a feather off a table and then catching it with a top hat while it was being worn) worth $100 plus $100 for each show it was not completed. During the big-money quiz-show era, the bonus prize stunt was worth $5,000 plus $1,000 for each show not completed. The format of "Beat the Clock" factored into countless stunt-related game shows in the years that followed; two "Beat the Clock" revivals also followed one in 1969 and another in 1979, both enlisting the aid of celebrity guests. Written by Brian Rathjen