SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 26, 2015) -- Army Entertainment and Rising Tide Sports and Entertainment Group have signed a contract to bring interactive game-show-style entertainment to the troops.
The U.S. Army Installation Management Command teamed with Rising Tide Sports and Entertainment Group, which will bring "Quest for the Best," an Armed Forces Trivia Challenge played in an interactive game-show fashion, to Army garrisons in 2016.
The Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation pilot program debuted last year with 569 contestants, mostly medical education and training students, in Fort Sam Houston Theatre on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, home of Army Entertainment.
"The feedback was great," Army Entertainment special events coordinator Scott Radosevich said. "It was fun watching those young Soldiers because when I talked to them outside as their buses were pulling up, they were like 'Ah, this is forced fun.' But after they got in and they got in the game, they were going crazy. It was a full house and everybody had a great time."
The "Quest for the Best" finalists were determined by five rounds of five multiple-choice questions, during which everyone in the audience participated. The highest-scoring member of each team in the preliminary rounds competed in the finals, during which contestants had to "know" the answers. The earlier rounds featured multiple choice questions.
"It's a live event experience," said Rising Tide Sports and Entertainment CEO Steve Sellery. "Is it a game show? Sure, it is. But at the end of the day, if you really boiled it down, it's an experiential event where everybody gets to participate.
"It's a game show like no other."
The pilot event featured the star-power draw of host Bruce Campbell, best known for his roles as Ash in the "Army of Darkness" and "Evil Dead" movies and Sam Axe in the television series "Burn Notice." He also wrote the book "If Chins Could Kill - Confessions of a B Movie Actor" and starred in an Old Spice commercial.
"He fell into that character of that game-show host perfectly," said runner-up Keith Keilberg, 42, a retired Air Force master sergeant. "Maybe that's what he'll do with the rest of his career."
Campbell, the self-proclaimed "King of B-Movies said he quickly bought into "Quest for the Best."
"It seemed to be a good fit," Campbell said. "It is a game show, but it's a game show where everybody plays. It's not just three people or a Family - it's everybody in that auditorium. And that, I think, makes a difference. The more you can engage the audience, the better it is."
"It's good for the troops," Campbell said. "It was just nice to see how everyone jumped into it."
Seaman Recruit Mike Walling said "Quest for the Best" was the "best mandatory fun" he could imagine.
"Out in the fleet, it's more like company barbecues and stuff like that," Walling said. "But this is a good experience of mandatory fun. We were 'voluntold' to be here, but this was awesome."
Patricia Keilberg, grand champion of the inaugural "Quest for the Best," also was impressed.
"When all was said and done, I think the troops were surprised they had as much fun as they did," she said. "The whole concept was awesome."
The Army plans to host 45 "Quest for the Best" competitions on 12-15 Army installations in 2016.
"With the design of the event, we're not going to let anything get in our way of taking it where it needs to go and to audiences that want it," Sellery said. "Our Twitter feed tonight was off the chart - people were going crazy with it."
Army Entertainment also sees revenue-generating potential for the show.
"We're working to see how we can build in revenue generation locally at the garrison with either food and beverage or other types of income streams," Radosevich said. "But ultimately we're going to take this game where it makes sense for the garrison. … Some of the components are going to be left up to the garrison because that's what they do and they know their local audience."
Campbell has not confirmed that he'll be back when the show hits the road, but he's convinced it's a winning concept with or without his participation."
"I think in the long term, these guys will do swell," Campbell said. "I would be more than happy to come back, but I won't always be available, and they may not always want me. It's cool. This is a good opportunity for any host."
Sellery and King thought maybe they outdid themselves at Fort Sam Houston Theatre.
"I don't think it could have gone any better," said Sellery, who gave the pilot an A+ grade.
Army Entertainment officials agreed.
"The crowd loved it and had a great time," Radosevich said. "I can't wait for Army garrisons to be able to experience it."
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