[1] In 2006, the show made up the third segment of Gameshow Marathon, a seven-part summer series that aired on CBS, with Ricki Lake as host and Rich Fields as announcer.

Contestants were required to perform tasks (called "problems" by Collyer) within a certain time limit which was counted down on a large 60-second clock.

Bentley's departure in 1956 coincided with Hazel Bishop's sponsorship and a period of having no main assistant (see production changes below).

In October 1957, Beat the Clock ran a contest inviting viewers to submit drawings of what Bennett, who was never shown on camera, might look like.

Over 20,000 viewers participated, and winner Edward Darnell, of Columbus, Indiana, was flown in to appear with Bennett on the December 2, 1957, show.

Substitute announcers included Lee Vines, Bob Sheppard, Hal Simms, and Dick Noel.

Collyer usually would talk to the children, asking them what they wanted to be when they grew up, or, if the kids were not at the show, to have their parents wave to them on TV.

The women's jumpsuits, unlike the men's, which were rather plain, were patterned to look like a pair of overalls with a collared blouse underneath.

In response to the big money prizes on other networks' game shows, CBS talked Mark Goodson into increasing the stakes on Beat The Clock.

Originally the stunt was played at the end of the show by each couple that qualified, and "because of the high prize value" a special timing machine made by the Longines company was used, which was touted as the most accurate portable timer available.

The stunts would usually be constructed out of common household props such as cardboard boxes, string, balloons, record players, dishes, cups, plates, cutlery, and balls of almost every type.

Common twists included blindfolding one or both contestants, or telling them they could not use their hands (or feet or any body part that would be obvious to use for whatever the task was).

The other common element in the stunts was to get one of the contestants messy in some way often involving whipped cream, pancake batter, and such (usually limited to the husband of the couple).

Many times the wife would be shown a task, be blindfolded, and then her husband would be quietly brought out and unknown to her she would be covering him with some sort of mess.

If the time limit was nearly up on a task, he would often give them a few moments extra, or tell them if they started before the clock ran out and succeeded in that attempt, he would count it.

If there was a problem with a prop breaking or running out of a supply, such as balloons, Collyer would simply give the stunt to the couple, citing it as the show's fault.

The sets, as was the style at the time, were freestanding pieces of furniture that sat on legs on the floor with a speaker mounted below the screen.

When it was novel, Collyer would open the box and explain that it would be fun for not just children but adults at parties, and he would point out the working clock and the instructions for stunts and all the props.

From 1956 and for the rest of the show's run on CBS, the Jackpot Prizes usually consisted of a Magnavox Color TV, Fedders air conditioners (usually awarded as a pair), Westinghouse washer and dryer pairs, and refrigerators, Hardwick ranges, Whirlpool freezers, and Easy "Combomatic" combination washer-dryers.

Jack Narz hosted the first three seasons of the series before leaving and his announcer, Gene Wood, replaced him for the remainder of the run.

In early episodes, couples, now aided by a weekly celebrity guest, played for points simply by completing stunts.

In a 2007 Internet radio interview, Narz finally explained that the show's budget did not include his personal travel expenses.

Another throwback to the Collyer era (when the show was seen in the daytime) was the revival of "Ladies' Day", where women only (not counting the celebrity for that week) would play the game.

Despite continued popularity on local stations in both daytime and prime time access timeslots, Goodson-Todman decided to discontinue production of Beat the Clock in 1974 when the Canadian government asked the company for half of the proceeds from advertisers awarding their wares as contestant consolation prizes.

Wood returned to voice-over work, and went on to a 20-year career announcing Los Angeles-based shows for Goodson-Todman and occasionally other packagers.

Production moved to CBS Television City, taping in Studio 31 and marking the first time a Beat the Clock series originated from Los Angeles.

In the former case, the clock was run as a fail safe, and if neither couple managed to complete the stunt, the team furthest along won.

The winning couple played the "Swirling Whirlwind of Cash and Prizes", which took place inside a machine similar to a vertical wind tunnel.

The "swirling whirlwind" was previously used in the bonus round of The Diamond Head Game, a show hosted by Bob Eubanks in 1975.

On October 12, 2017, Universal Kids announced that it had ordered a revival of Beat the Clock from FremantleMedia North America, which premiered on February 6, 2018.