Merv Griffin s Crosswords
Merv Griffin’s Crosswords
Merv Griffin’s Crosswords is an American game display based on crossword puzzles. The showcase was created by its namesake, Merv Griffin, who died shortly after beginning production on the series. Ty Treadway was the host, [Two] and Edd Hall was the announcer.
The series ran in daily syndication from September Ten, two thousand seven [Trio] and aired first-run scenes until May 16, 2008, with reruns airing in most markets until September Five, 2008; it has remained in continuous reruns on various outlets since then.
The showcase was produced by Yani-Brune Entertainment and Merv Griffin Entertainment, and was distributed by Program Fucking partners.
Contents
Crosswords primarily pitted two contestants in direct competition, packing in answers in the day’s crossword puzzle one at a time in random order. The reaction boxes denoting the number of letters in a word was shown with a crossword clue and a dollar value. As the game progressed a word could have numerous blanks already packed in.
After the clue was read, the contestants could ring in, with the order they did so denoted on the screens on the front of their podiums. A contestant had to give a correct response and then spell it correctly in order to earn the money fastened to the clue. If the contestant misspelled the word, did not come up with the correct solution, or failed to give an response, the amount of the clue was deducted from their score.
For all but one week of gigs in December 2007, Round three values were the same as in Round Two; the Round three values shown above were later made permanent.
At the beginning of Round Two, three more contestants, dubbed "spoilers", joined the game and stood in a row of three podiums behind the players that embarked the game. The spoilers were able to ring in, but the front row players always had priority when answering and a spoiler could only attempt a word if nobody on the front row either got it right or rang in. If a spoiler gave a correct solution to the clue, he/she instantly moved to the front row and traded places with one of the players. If both of the main players got the reaction wrong or failed to ring in, the spoiler had a choice of which podium to take. However, if only one contestant got the reaction wrong the spoiler had to take that position. Ringing it with an incorrect response locked a spoiler out of play, and spoilers could only come back to the game if one of the other two answered correctly and took a position on the front row or if they each gave an incorrect reaction, at which point all three spoilers would be let back into the game.
The player standing at the podium with the highest money total when time ran out at the end of Round Trio, regardless of whether his/her score was positive or negative (the latter occurred once during the showcase’s run), won the game and whatever money was in the podium, and advanced to the bonus round. The losing player and spoilers received a Croton observe with the display’s logo on it.
In the event of a tie, one final tiebreaker clue was played to determine the winner with all players and spoilers involved; the very first to solve it correctly won the game.
Special words Edit
Crossword Getaway Edit
In the original format, one word in each of the very first two rounds was designated the "Crossword Getaway," placing a journey in the bank of the contestant who solved that particular word. Trips were usually to resort destinations in California, Nevada, and Arizona. If a Getaway-designated word went unsolved, the prize was not awarded and gameplay continued without it.
Crossword Extra Edit
The Crossword Extra was a bonus word played once in Round one and twice in subsequent rounds (originally once in each round, with the 2nd word added following the removal of the Getaways). Similar to the Daily Dual in Jeopardy!, the Extra clue was exposed upon correctly guessing another word. The contestant then wagered all or part of his/her score (or up to $500, $1,000, or $Two,000—depending on the round—if he/she had less than those amounts). A correct response added the wager, while an incorrect reaction deducted it.
In several scenes (five of which aired in double-run markets in late September 2007), there were alternate "Crossword Extra" rules. The Crossword Extra word was not part of the main puzzle (so it was truly an "extra" word) and announced before certain clues in each round. A correct Crossword Extra response was worth $300 in Round one and $600 in Round two with no deduction for a wrong reaction or no reaction at all. There was no Crossword Extra in Round Three.
Switches Edit
Beginning with the scene aired November 1, 2007, the Getaways were eliminated, and extra Extras were added (based on the original format). One Extra appeared in Round 1, but two Extras appeared in Round Two, and one or two appeared in Round Three. The Round three wagering maximum was also enhanced to the higher of $Two,000 or the player’s total score.
For a brief time, the Crossword Extra was known as the "Crossword Xbox three hundred sixty Extra" as a promotion for the Crosswords movie game released on Xbox Live Arcade, which also added an Xbox three hundred sixty console to the bonus prize during gigs with this promotion. Beginning in late December 2007, players were permitted to bet up to $Trio,000 in Round three if they had that amount or less; this was added with the redoubling of the dollar amounts for Round Three.
Bonus round Edit
In the closing round, the winning contestant attempted to pack in the remaining spaces of the demonstrate’s crossword puzzle within ninety seconds. The champ would begin by calling out a number ("9 Across", "22 Down", etc.) and would listen to the clue for that word. As before, the word had to be correctly guessed and spelled, but the only penalty for an incorrect guess was to have to pick the word again.
If the champ finished the puzzle within the time limit, he/she won $Five,000 cash (originally $Two,000) and a excursion. For a brief period of time, as part of the aforementioned promotional deal with Microsoft, an Xbox three hundred sixty was also awarded to the champ if he/she won the bonus game along with a game package. [Four] In the "alternate Crossword Extra" gigs, players received $100 for each bonus round word they answered.
The contestant received a Croton see in the event he/she won the main game with no money and lost the Bonus Round.
Crosswords was originally planned to be recorded at the NBC Tower in Chicago but instead recorded at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood. Stock audience sound effects were used instead of a live audience.
The theme song was an updated version of "Buzzword," written by Griffin and arranged by Tim Mosher and Andy "Stoker" Growcott (credited as "Tim Mosher & Stoker"). The original version was used as a prize cue on Wheel of Fortune in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
During the program’s development, the series was originally known as Let’s Play Crosswords [Five] and later switched to Let’s Do Crosswords. [6] On each scene, host Treadway used either phrase to begin the day’s game. The Play title also appeared on some on-screen VCR displays and pre-programmed television listings.
Griffin worked on the pilot, which had contestants building a cash jackpot that would be suggested to the eventual winner, and the very first week of the series’ production, when he died; [7] in addition to his creator credit, he was listed posthumously in the demonstrate’s credits as executive producer. The clues and puzzles used across the run were written by veteran crossword puzzle maker Timothy Parker, who also writes the USA Today crossword and was hand-picked by Griffin.
Crosswords was sold to approximately 100+ markets and aired during the 2007-2008 season, usually placed in mid-morning or early afternoon slots. In addition, the series was either packaged with other game shows such as Temptation (a one-season revival of Sale of the Century) in some markets while others aired an hour-long block (two scenes).
Critical reviews Edit
The demonstrate’s earlier scenes, with a top payout of just over $Four,000, were on par with Game Showcase Network’s earlier original programs (through 2002) – albeit these enlargened to a more respectable $Ten,000 range by the end of the run; despite the low clue amounts, some contestants won five-figure sums in the main game alone (for example, contestant Bruce Haights, an executive assistant from Indiana, won $11,550 and two trips in his podium). [8] Further, Crosswords did not provide a "house minimum" for winning contestants, causing some to walk away with little to display for their efforts and at least one contestant with a negative total score who didn’t accomplish the puzzle and didn’t win any money.
Ratings Edit
Initial ratings for Crosswords were a 0.8 share, significantly less than the more established games which have garnered at least 1.Five shares. [9] In November 2007, Crosswords hit the 1.0 mark and was reported to have been picked up for a 2nd season in the November 26, 2007, issue of Broadcasting & Cable magazine, [Ten] with official confirmation coming on January 28, 2008. [11] [12]
Airings and reruns Edit
Since Crosswords aired two scenes in some markets, the series taped "extras" (most all of which were of the original format) for the purpose of reducing repeats; this resulted in forty five weeks of shows being taped, however not all double-run (or even single-run) markets aired all two hundred twenty five scenes.
Because of the format’s lack of returning champions, the series was not shown in taping order (i.e., the very first taped gig on September Ten, the 2nd on September 11, and so on – lacking repeats – through the 225th scene on July Eighteen); this made it unlikely for casual viewers to date rerun gigs (much like most original programs broadcast by Game Showcase Network) and were thus not able to determine whether one gig from a particular format was taped before or after another gig using the same format – indeed, the very first scene ever aired was in fact the 27th one taped, with no discernible rhyme or reason as to why certain gigs aired when they did.
The lack of returning champions also caused some odd scheduling in double-run markets – some affiliates aired an scene with the later format, followed by one using the "original" or "alternate" formats. At times, stations aired an scene several times in a two-week span, while other scenes were rerun in the 2nd half-hour after already being shown in the very first.
Aborted renewal Edit
Before production was slated to resume, however, in June two thousand eight Merv Griffin Entertainment and Program Fucking partners announced that production of the series would be halted until at least early 2009, [13] with the cited reason being high production costs (albeit the general response to this statement was that nothing done or given away on the showcase could have caused such a thing). [14] Three-quarters of carrying affiliates had been ready to pick up Season Two.
In the markets that aired Crosswords (plus some that did not carry the series, including West Palm Beach, Florida CBS affiliate WPEC; sister station WFLX had carried Season 1), stations were given a choice of three programs to air as part of a Program Playmates "Daytime Plus" package. One was a package of reruns from the very first season titled The Best of Crosswords. The other two choices were reruns of Style By Jury, a Canadian makeover series, and Inwards the Box, a pop-culture based game display that had run for one season in 2006. [1]
Most of the stations carrying Crosswords instantaneously dropped the series after the hiatus was announced, including the two largest markets of Fresh York and Los Angeles. Neither of those two markets picked up the rerun package, and most of the rest did not opt for either of the other "Daytime Plus" options (albeit WNBC in Fresh York, which had aired Crosswords, added both) and instead opted for other fresh syndicated programming – either game shows such as Trivial Pursuit: America Plays or talk shows such as The Bonnie Hunt Demonstrate. Stations that chose to air the "Best Of" package began with an scene from the "alternate" format, albeit viewers quickly noticed that nothing was added ("Best Of" logo, production slate, scene number, recording date, original airdate, etc.) to distinguish this set of repeats from Season 1; this had the side effect of causing stations that aired Season one to display continuous repeats since the first-run scenes ended. Crosswords was officially considered cancelled in February 2009, and around the same time the "Daytime Plus" experiment ended when Program Fucking partners pulled Inwards the Box from its affiliates.
Albeit the display only lasted one season, reruns have continued to air for almost a decade. Presently, the demonstrate airs on Retro TV. The display previously aired on cable’s FamilyNet and American Life Network. [15]
Three official tie-in books were released in paperback on October 16, 2007:
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords Volume 1: one hundred Easiest Puzzles
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords Volume Two: one hundred Effortless Puzzles
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords Volume Trio: one hundred Easy-to-Hard Puzzles
These puzzle books were edited by Timothy Parker, who supplied all the puzzles for the TV demonstrate and is puzzle editor for USA Today. It is unknown whether any of the puzzles used in the books were used in the series, but if this is the case then this would not hold true for at least seventy five of the puzzles.
Advertisements during two thousand eight shows announced that a Crosswords game was available through the Xbox Live Arcade. The Xbox three hundred sixty console was featured as part of the grand prize package and as a sponsor for the Crossword Extras, which for a time became known as "Crossword Xbox three hundred sixty Extras."
A board game of the showcase was released by Hasbro in fall 2008, with a DVD version also in the works. [16] Oberon Games released a downloadable PC game of Crosswords on February 11, 2008, and began selling it in retail chains later that year.
In 2008, Electronic Arts released a mobile version of Crosswords which was available for download at the display’s website.
On November Nineteen, 2008, THQ released a console version of Crosswords for the Wii.
Merv Griffin s Crosswords
Merv Griffin’s Crosswords
Merv Griffin’s Crosswords is an American game showcase based on crossword puzzles. The display was created by its namesake, Merv Griffin, who died shortly after beginning production on the series. Ty Treadway was the host, [Two] and Edd Hall was the announcer.
The series ran in daily syndication from September Ten, two thousand seven [Three] and aired first-run scenes until May 16, 2008, with reruns airing in most markets until September Five, 2008; it has remained in continuous reruns on various outlets since then.
The demonstrate was produced by Yani-Brune Entertainment and Merv Griffin Entertainment, and was distributed by Program Fucking partners.
Contents
Crosswords originally pitted two contestants in direct competition, packing in answers in the day’s crossword puzzle one at a time in random order. The response boxes denoting the number of letters in a word was shown with a crossword clue and a dollar value. As the game progressed a word could have numerous blanks already packed in.
After the clue was read, the contestants could ring in, with the order they did so denoted on the screens on the front of their podiums. A contestant had to give a correct response and then spell it correctly in order to earn the money fastened to the clue. If the contestant misspelled the word, did not come up with the correct solution, or failed to give an reaction, the amount of the clue was deducted from their score.
For all but one week of scenes in December 2007, Round three values were the same as in Round Two; the Round three values shown above were later made permanent.
At the beginning of Round Two, three more contestants, dubbed "spoilers", joined the game and stood in a row of three podiums behind the players that embarked the game. The spoilers were able to ring in, but the front row players always had priority when answering and a spoiler could only attempt a word if nobody on the front row either got it right or rang in. If a spoiler gave a correct solution to the clue, he/she instantly moved to the front row and traded places with one of the players. If both of the main players got the response wrong or failed to ring in, the spoiler had a choice of which podium to take. However, if only one contestant got the response wrong the spoiler had to take that position. Ringing it with an incorrect reaction locked a spoiler out of play, and spoilers could only come back to the game if one of the other two answered correctly and took a position on the front row or if they each gave an incorrect response, at which point all three spoilers would be let back into the game.
The player standing at the podium with the highest money total when time ran out at the end of Round Trio, regardless of whether his/her score was positive or negative (the latter occurred once during the demonstrate’s run), won the game and whatever money was in the podium, and advanced to the bonus round. The losing player and spoilers received a Croton observe with the demonstrate’s logo on it.
In the event of a tie, one final tiebreaker clue was played to determine the winner with all players and spoilers involved; the very first to solve it correctly won the game.
Special words Edit
Crossword Getaway Edit
In the original format, one word in each of the very first two rounds was designated the "Crossword Getaway," placing a journey in the bank of the contestant who solved that particular word. Trips were usually to resort destinations in California, Nevada, and Arizona. If a Getaway-designated word went unsolved, the prize was not awarded and gameplay continued without it.
Crossword Extra Edit
The Crossword Extra was a bonus word played once in Round one and twice in subsequent rounds (originally once in each round, with the 2nd word added following the removal of the Getaways). Similar to the Daily Dual in Jeopardy!, the Extra clue was exposed upon correctly guessing another word. The contestant then wagered all or part of his/her score (or up to $500, $1,000, or $Two,000—depending on the round—if he/she had less than those amounts). A correct reaction added the wager, while an incorrect response deducted it.
In several gigs (five of which aired in double-run markets in late September 2007), there were alternate "Crossword Extra" rules. The Crossword Extra word was not part of the main puzzle (so it was truly an "extra" word) and announced before certain clues in each round. A correct Crossword Extra response was worth $300 in Round one and $600 in Round two with no deduction for a wrong response or no reaction at all. There was no Crossword Extra in Round Trio.
Switches Edit
Beginning with the scene aired November 1, 2007, the Getaways were eliminated, and extra Extras were added (based on the original format). One Extra appeared in Round 1, but two Extras appeared in Round Two, and one or two appeared in Round Three. The Round three wagering maximum was also enhanced to the higher of $Two,000 or the player’s total score.
For a brief time, the Crossword Extra was known as the "Crossword Xbox three hundred sixty Extra" as a promotion for the Crosswords movie game released on Xbox Live Arcade, which also added an Xbox three hundred sixty console to the bonus prize during scenes with this promotion. Beginning in late December 2007, players were permitted to bet up to $Trio,000 in Round three if they had that amount or less; this was added with the redoubling of the dollar amounts for Round Three.
Bonus round Edit
In the closing round, the winning contestant attempted to pack in the remaining spaces of the display’s crossword puzzle within ninety seconds. The champ would begin by calling out a number ("9 Across", "22 Down", etc.) and would listen to the clue for that word. As before, the word had to be correctly guessed and spelled, but the only penalty for an incorrect guess was to have to pick the word again.
If the champ ended the puzzle within the time limit, he/she won $Five,000 cash (originally $Two,000) and a journey. For a brief period of time, as part of the aforementioned promotional deal with Microsoft, an Xbox three hundred sixty was also awarded to the champ if he/she won the bonus game along with a game package. [Four] In the "alternate Crossword Extra" scenes, players received $100 for each bonus round word they answered.
The contestant received a Croton see in the event he/she won the main game with no money and lost the Bonus Round.
Crosswords was originally planned to be recorded at the NBC Tower in Chicago but instead recorded at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood. Stock audience sound effects were used instead of a live audience.
The theme song was an updated version of "Buzzword," written by Griffin and arranged by Tim Mosher and Andy "Stoker" Growcott (credited as "Tim Mosher & Stoker"). The original version was used as a prize cue on Wheel of Fortune in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
During the program’s development, the series was originally known as Let’s Play Crosswords [Five] and later switched to Let’s Do Crosswords. [6] On each scene, host Treadway used either phrase to begin the day’s game. The Play title also appeared on some on-screen VCR displays and pre-programmed television listings.
Griffin worked on the pilot, which had contestants building a cash jackpot that would be suggested to the eventual winner, and the very first week of the series’ production, when he died; [7] in addition to his creator credit, he was listed posthumously in the demonstrate’s credits as executive producer. The clues and puzzles used across the run were written by veteran crossword puzzle maker Timothy Parker, who also writes the USA Today crossword and was hand-picked by Griffin.
Crosswords was sold to approximately 100+ markets and aired during the 2007-2008 season, usually placed in mid-morning or early afternoon slots. In addition, the series was either packaged with other game shows such as Temptation (a one-season revival of Sale of the Century) in some markets while others aired an hour-long block (two gigs).
Critical reviews Edit
The display’s earlier scenes, with a top payout of just over $Four,000, were on par with Game Display Network’s earlier original programs (through 2002) – albeit these enlargened to a more respectable $Ten,000 range by the end of the run; despite the low clue amounts, some contestants won five-figure sums in the main game alone (for example, contestant Bruce Haights, an executive assistant from Indiana, won $11,550 and two trips in his podium). [8] Further, Crosswords did not provide a "house minimum" for winning contestants, causing some to walk away with little to showcase for their efforts and at least one contestant with a negative total score who didn’t finish the puzzle and didn’t win any money.
Ratings Edit
Initial ratings for Crosswords were a 0.8 share, significantly less than the more established games which have garnered at least 1.Five shares. [9] In November 2007, Crosswords hit the 1.0 mark and was reported to have been picked up for a 2nd season in the November 26, 2007, issue of Broadcasting & Cable magazine, [Ten] with official confirmation coming on January 28, 2008. [11] [12]
Airings and reruns Edit
Since Crosswords aired two scenes in some markets, the series taped "extras" (most all of which were of the original format) for the purpose of reducing repeats; this resulted in forty five weeks of shows being taped, however not all double-run (or even single-run) markets aired all two hundred twenty five gigs.
Because of the format’s lack of returning champions, the series was not shown in taping order (i.e., the very first taped gig on September Ten, the 2nd on September 11, and so on – lacking repeats – through the 225th gig on July Legitimate); this made it unlikely for casual viewers to date rerun gigs (much like most original programs broadcast by Game Demonstrate Network) and were thus not able to determine whether one scene from a particular format was taped before or after another scene using the same format – indeed, the very first scene ever aired was in fact the 27th one taped, with no discernible rhyme or reason as to why certain scenes aired when they did.
The lack of returning champions also caused some odd scheduling in double-run markets – some affiliates aired an gig with the later format, followed by one using the "original" or "alternate" formats. Sometimes, stations aired an gig several times in a two-week span, while other gigs were rerun in the 2nd half-hour after already being shown in the very first.
Aborted renewal Edit
Before production was slated to resume, however, in June two thousand eight Merv Griffin Entertainment and Program Playmates announced that production of the series would be halted until at least early 2009, [13] with the cited reason being high production costs (albeit the general response to this statement was that nothing done or given away on the showcase could have caused such a thing). [14] Three-quarters of carrying affiliates had been ready to pick up Season Two.
In the markets that aired Crosswords (plus some that did not carry the series, including West Palm Beach, Florida CBS affiliate WPEC; sister station WFLX had carried Season 1), stations were given a choice of three programs to air as part of a Program Fucking partners "Daytime Plus" package. One was a package of reruns from the very first season titled The Best of Crosswords. The other two choices were reruns of Style By Jury, a Canadian makeover series, and Inwards the Box, a pop-culture based game demonstrate that had run for one season in 2006. [1]
Most of the stations carrying Crosswords instantly dropped the series after the hiatus was announced, including the two largest markets of Fresh York and Los Angeles. Neither of those two markets picked up the rerun package, and most of the rest did not opt for either of the other "Daytime Plus" options (albeit WNBC in Fresh York, which had aired Crosswords, added both) and instead opted for other fresh syndicated programming – either game shows such as Trivial Pursuit: America Plays or talk shows such as The Bonnie Hunt Showcase. Stations that chose to air the "Best Of" package began with an scene from the "alternate" format, albeit viewers quickly noticed that nothing was added ("Best Of" logo, production slate, scene number, recording date, original airdate, etc.) to distinguish this set of repeats from Season 1; this had the side effect of causing stations that aired Season one to demonstrate continuous repeats since the first-run gigs ended. Crosswords was officially considered cancelled in February 2009, and around the same time the "Daytime Plus" experiment ended when Program Playmates pulled Inwards the Box from its affiliates.
Albeit the demonstrate only lasted one season, reruns have continued to air for almost a decade. Presently, the demonstrate airs on Retro TV. The showcase previously aired on cable’s FamilyNet and American Life Network. [15]
Three official tie-in books were released in paperback on October 16, 2007:
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords Volume 1: one hundred Easiest Puzzles
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords Volume Two: one hundred Effortless Puzzles
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords Volume Three: one hundred Easy-to-Hard Puzzles
These puzzle books were edited by Timothy Parker, who supplied all the puzzles for the TV display and is puzzle editor for USA Today. It is unknown whether any of the puzzles used in the books were used in the series, but if this is the case then this would not hold true for at least seventy five of the puzzles.
Advertisements during two thousand eight shows announced that a Crosswords game was available through the Xbox Live Arcade. The Xbox three hundred sixty console was featured as part of the grand prize package and as a sponsor for the Crossword Extras, which for a time became known as "Crossword Xbox three hundred sixty Extras."
A board game of the display was released by Hasbro in fall 2008, with a DVD version also in the works. [16] Oberon Games released a downloadable PC game of Crosswords on February 11, 2008, and began selling it in retail chains later that year.
In 2008, Electronic Arts released a mobile version of Crosswords which was available for download at the demonstrate’s website.
On November Nineteen, 2008, THQ released a console version of Crosswords for the Wii.
Merv Griffin s Crosswords
Merv Griffin’s Crosswords
Merv Griffin’s Crosswords is an American game display based on crossword puzzles. The demonstrate was created by its namesake, Merv Griffin, who died shortly after beginning production on the series. Ty Treadway was the host, [Two] and Edd Hall was the announcer.
The series ran in daily syndication from September Ten, two thousand seven [Three] and aired first-run scenes until May 16, 2008, with reruns airing in most markets until September Five, 2008; it has remained in continuous reruns on various outlets since then.
The display was produced by Yani-Brune Entertainment and Merv Griffin Entertainment, and was distributed by Program Playmates.
Contents
Crosswords primarily pitted two contestants in direct competition, packing in answers in the day’s crossword puzzle one at a time in random order. The reaction boxes denoting the number of letters in a word was shown with a crossword clue and a dollar value. As the game progressed a word could have numerous blanks already packed in.
After the clue was read, the contestants could ring in, with the order they did so denoted on the screens on the front of their podiums. A contestant had to give a correct reaction and then spell it correctly in order to earn the money fastened to the clue. If the contestant misspelled the word, did not come up with the correct solution, or failed to give an reaction, the amount of the clue was deducted from their score.
For all but one week of scenes in December 2007, Round three values were the same as in Round Two; the Round three values shown above were later made permanent.
At the beginning of Round Two, three more contestants, dubbed "spoilers", joined the game and stood in a row of three podiums behind the players that embarked the game. The spoilers were able to ring in, but the front row players always had priority when answering and a spoiler could only attempt a word if nobody on the front row either got it right or rang in. If a spoiler gave a correct solution to the clue, he/she instantly moved to the front row and traded places with one of the players. If both of the main players got the reaction wrong or failed to ring in, the spoiler had a choice of which podium to take. However, if only one contestant got the reaction wrong the spoiler had to take that position. Ringing it with an incorrect reaction locked a spoiler out of play, and spoilers could only comeback to the game if one of the other two answered correctly and took a position on the front row or if they each gave an incorrect reaction, at which point all three spoilers would be let back into the game.
The player standing at the podium with the highest money total when time ran out at the end of Round Trio, regardless of whether his/her score was positive or negative (the latter occurred once during the showcase’s run), won the game and whatever money was in the podium, and advanced to the bonus round. The losing player and spoilers received a Croton witness with the demonstrate’s logo on it.
In the event of a tie, one final tiebreaker clue was played to determine the winner with all players and spoilers involved; the very first to solve it correctly won the game.
Special words Edit
Crossword Getaway Edit
In the original format, one word in each of the very first two rounds was designated the "Crossword Getaway," placing a journey in the bank of the contestant who solved that particular word. Trips were usually to resort destinations in California, Nevada, and Arizona. If a Getaway-designated word went unsolved, the prize was not awarded and gameplay continued without it.
Crossword Extra Edit
The Crossword Extra was a bonus word played once in Round one and twice in subsequent rounds (originally once in each round, with the 2nd word added following the removal of the Getaways). Similar to the Daily Dual in Jeopardy!, the Extra clue was exposed upon correctly guessing another word. The contestant then wagered all or part of his/her score (or up to $500, $1,000, or $Two,000—depending on the round—if he/she had less than those amounts). A correct response added the wager, while an incorrect reaction deducted it.
In several scenes (five of which aired in double-run markets in late September 2007), there were alternate "Crossword Extra" rules. The Crossword Extra word was not part of the main puzzle (so it was truly an "extra" word) and announced before certain clues in each round. A correct Crossword Extra reaction was worth $300 in Round one and $600 in Round two with no deduction for a wrong reaction or no response at all. There was no Crossword Extra in Round Trio.
Switches Edit
Beginning with the gig aired November 1, 2007, the Getaways were eliminated, and extra Extras were added (based on the original format). One Extra appeared in Round 1, but two Extras appeared in Round Two, and one or two appeared in Round Trio. The Round three wagering maximum was also enlargened to the higher of $Two,000 or the player’s total score.
For a brief time, the Crossword Extra was known as the "Crossword Xbox three hundred sixty Extra" as a promotion for the Crosswords movie game released on Xbox Live Arcade, which also added an Xbox three hundred sixty console to the bonus prize during scenes with this promotion. Beginning in late December 2007, players were permitted to bet up to $Three,000 in Round three if they had that amount or less; this was added with the redoubling of the dollar amounts for Round Three.
Bonus round Edit
In the closing round, the winning contestant attempted to pack in the remaining spaces of the display’s crossword puzzle within ninety seconds. The champ would begin by calling out a number ("9 Across", "22 Down", etc.) and would listen to the clue for that word. As before, the word had to be correctly guessed and spelled, but the only penalty for an incorrect guess was to have to pick the word again.
If the champ ended the puzzle within the time limit, he/she won $Five,000 cash (originally $Two,000) and a journey. For a brief period of time, as part of the aforementioned promotional deal with Microsoft, an Xbox three hundred sixty was also awarded to the champ if he/she won the bonus game along with a game package. [Four] In the "alternate Crossword Extra" scenes, players received $100 for each bonus round word they answered.
The contestant received a Croton observe in the event he/she won the main game with no money and lost the Bonus Round.
Crosswords was originally planned to be recorded at the NBC Tower in Chicago but instead recorded at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood. Stock audience sound effects were used instead of a live audience.
The theme song was an updated version of "Buzzword," written by Griffin and arranged by Tim Mosher and Andy "Stoker" Growcott (credited as "Tim Mosher & Stoker"). The original version was used as a prize cue on Wheel of Fortune in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
During the program’s development, the series was originally known as Let’s Play Crosswords [Five] and later switched to Let’s Do Crosswords. [6] On each gig, host Treadway used either phrase to begin the day’s game. The Play title also appeared on some on-screen VCR displays and pre-programmed television listings.
Griffin worked on the pilot, which had contestants building a cash jackpot that would be suggested to the eventual winner, and the very first week of the series’ production, when he died; [7] in addition to his creator credit, he was listed posthumously in the display’s credits as executive producer. The clues and puzzles used across the run were written by veteran crossword puzzle maker Timothy Parker, who also writes the USA Today crossword and was hand-picked by Griffin.
Crosswords was sold to approximately 100+ markets and aired during the 2007-2008 season, usually placed in mid-morning or early afternoon slots. In addition, the series was either packaged with other game shows such as Temptation (a one-season revival of Sale of the Century) in some markets while others aired an hour-long block (two scenes).
Critical reviews Edit
The display’s earlier gigs, with a top payout of just over $Four,000, were on par with Game Display Network’s earlier original programs (through 2002) – albeit these enhanced to a more respectable $Ten,000 range by the end of the run; despite the low clue amounts, some contestants won five-figure sums in the main game alone (for example, contestant Bruce Haights, an executive assistant from Indiana, won $11,550 and two trips in his podium). [8] Further, Crosswords did not provide a "house minimum" for winning contestants, causing some to walk away with little to showcase for their efforts and at least one contestant with a negative total score who didn’t accomplish the puzzle and didn’t win any money.
Ratings Edit
Initial ratings for Crosswords were a 0.8 share, significantly less than the more established games which have garnered at least 1.Five shares. [9] In November 2007, Crosswords hit the 1.0 mark and was reported to have been picked up for a 2nd season in the November 26, 2007, issue of Broadcasting & Cable magazine, [Ten] with official confirmation coming on January 28, 2008. [11] [12]
Airings and reruns Edit
Since Crosswords aired two scenes in some markets, the series taped "extras" (most all of which were of the original format) for the purpose of reducing repeats; this resulted in forty five weeks of shows being taped, however not all double-run (or even single-run) markets aired all two hundred twenty five scenes.
Because of the format’s lack of returning champions, the series was not shown in taping order (i.e., the very first taped gig on September Ten, the 2nd on September 11, and so on – lacking repeats – through the 225th scene on July Eighteen); this made it unlikely for casual viewers to date rerun scenes (much like most original programs broadcast by Game Demonstrate Network) and were thus not able to determine whether one scene from a particular format was taped before or after another gig using the same format – indeed, the very first gig ever aired was in fact the 27th one taped, with no discernible rhyme or reason as to why certain scenes aired when they did.
The lack of returning champions also caused some odd scheduling in double-run markets – some affiliates aired an scene with the later format, followed by one using the "original" or "alternate" formats. At times, stations aired an gig several times in a two-week span, while other scenes were rerun in the 2nd half-hour after already being shown in the very first.
Aborted renewal Edit
Before production was slated to resume, however, in June two thousand eight Merv Griffin Entertainment and Program Playmates announced that production of the series would be halted until at least early 2009, [13] with the cited reason being high production costs (albeit the general response to this statement was that nothing done or given away on the showcase could have caused such a thing). [14] Three-quarters of carrying affiliates had been ready to pick up Season Two.
In the markets that aired Crosswords (plus some that did not carry the series, including West Palm Beach, Florida CBS affiliate WPEC; sister station WFLX had carried Season 1), stations were given a choice of three programs to air as part of a Program Fucking partners "Daytime Plus" package. One was a package of reruns from the very first season titled The Best of Crosswords. The other two choices were reruns of Style By Jury, a Canadian makeover series, and Inwards the Box, a pop-culture based game demonstrate that had run for one season in 2006. [1]
Most of the stations carrying Crosswords instantaneously dropped the series after the hiatus was announced, including the two largest markets of Fresh York and Los Angeles. Neither of those two markets picked up the rerun package, and most of the rest did not opt for either of the other "Daytime Plus" options (albeit WNBC in Fresh York, which had aired Crosswords, added both) and instead opted for other fresh syndicated programming – either game shows such as Trivial Pursuit: America Plays or talk shows such as The Bonnie Hunt Showcase. Stations that chose to air the "Best Of" package began with an scene from the "alternate" format, albeit viewers quickly noticed that nothing was added ("Best Of" logo, production slate, scene number, recording date, original airdate, etc.) to distinguish this set of repeats from Season 1; this had the side effect of causing stations that aired Season one to demonstrate continuous repeats since the first-run scenes ended. Crosswords was officially considered cancelled in February 2009, and around the same time the "Daytime Plus" experiment ended when Program Fucking partners pulled Inwards the Box from its affiliates.
Albeit the showcase only lasted one season, reruns have continued to air for almost a decade. Presently, the showcase airs on Retro TV. The showcase previously aired on cable’s FamilyNet and American Life Network. [15]
Three official tie-in books were released in paperback on October 16, 2007:
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords Volume 1: one hundred Easiest Puzzles
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords Volume Two: one hundred Effortless Puzzles
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords Volume Trio: one hundred Easy-to-Hard Puzzles
These puzzle books were edited by Timothy Parker, who supplied all the puzzles for the TV display and is puzzle editor for USA Today. It is unknown whether any of the puzzles used in the books were used in the series, but if this is the case then this would not hold true for at least seventy five of the puzzles.
Advertisements during two thousand eight shows announced that a Crosswords game was available through the Xbox Live Arcade. The Xbox three hundred sixty console was featured as part of the grand prize package and as a sponsor for the Crossword Extras, which for a time became known as "Crossword Xbox three hundred sixty Extras."
A board game of the demonstrate was released by Hasbro in fall 2008, with a DVD version also in the works. [16] Oberon Games released a downloadable PC game of Crosswords on February 11, 2008, and began selling it in retail chains later that year.
In 2008, Electronic Arts released a mobile version of Crosswords which was available for download at the display’s website.
On November Nineteen, 2008, THQ released a console version of Crosswords for the Wii.