Game show blunders that will have you laughing til you cry

2. What Did the Chair Do to You William Shatner? (The $20,000 Pyramid)

Television legend William Shatner will always be best known as Captain Kirk on the '60s television series Star Trek. However,  Shatner has a lot of game show experience, appearing on shows like Match Game, Tattletales, and the game show that he blundered big time on, Pyramid. Shatner even hosted a short-lived game show called Show Me The Money in 2006, but that show doesn't need to be mentioned again.

To be more specific, this is a moment from The $20,000 Pyramid in which Shatner and his partner Shirley were in the "Winner's Circle" trying to win $20,000. This is Shirley's fourth time in the "Winner's Circle" and she earned her way to the chair by beating out her opponents, the celebrity guest being Shatner's Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy, by a split-second. Shatner and Shirley made a great Pyramid partnership. They communicated well together and only missed two answers in total during the main game. Their one-on-one connection powers traveled with them to the "Winner's Circle" as they were on target through three categories. On the fourth category, Shatner and Shirley made up some time getting the category "Hobbies" in four seconds. This means they had 26 seconds left to get the final two categories.

With $20,000 in sight, the category "Dark Places" came up and Shirley guessed it in a respectable eight seconds leaving 16 seconds to win the top prize. The trillion turned and the category was "Things That Are Blessed" which can be difficult. Shatner though had the perfect clue in his mind, "the Virgin Mary." That clue just might have written the $20,000 check, but unfortunately, Captain Kirk crumbled at the worst time possible. Shatner started to say "the Blessed Virgin Mary" by mistake, and once he heard himself say "the blessed," he knew he blew it.

The loud buzzer sounded, the audience awed, and Shatner began his shaming process. He let out an emphatic "no" and then did something that makes this clip one of the most memorable moments in Pyramid history. William Shatner picks up his "Winner's Circle" seat and throws it down on the ground outside the circle. Host Dick Clark then proceeds to pick up the chair, which has separated from its stand, and Shatner starts to explain that he wanted to say "the Virgin Mary" and thought Shirley would've had it with that clue. Unfortunately, all Shirley had now was an additional $350 and the set now had a broken chair. Definitely not a "blessed" day for Shirley and the staff, but a great day for fans of game show blunders.

The moment was so funny that Dick Clark replayed it for the audience on the following day's episode of The $20,000 Pyramid to show everyone what great sportsmanship William Shatner has. There have been many times in the "Winner's Circle" where clue givers have mistakenly said part of the answer, but Captain Kirk wins the award for the most emotion shown after a buzz than any other celebrity player or contestant.

William Shatner may look back on this moment with guilt, but we are all "blessed" that this blunder exists.